North Olmsted volleyball players Kim Balcroft (left) and Ann Tomko go through their workout during a recent training session at the Shao-lin Center for Martial Arts. (West Life photos by Larry Bennet)

Martial Arts training helps Eagles prepare for season
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published Aug. 27, 2008

Head coaches are always looking for ways to give their players an edge come game time, and North Olmsted volleyball coach Jason Krucek is no exception.

Throughout the summer and the preseason, Krucek’s Eagles have been training with Frank Versagi of the Shao-lin Center for the Martial Arts. According to both Krucek and Versagi, the training has been all about giving the players a mental edge as well as working on physical fitness.

“Jason got a hold of me after he found out about the program through one of my students,” said Versagi after a recent training session with the team. “I can’t tell you how many people have cross trained with martial arts, and I told him I’d love to do it.”

“An old friend of mine who knows my wife, Casey, told us about the program,” said Krucek. “When I got in touch with Frank and he explained the program to me, I saw all of the training directly related to things you need in volleyball: verticle leap, quickness, vision, endurance.

“It provided everything you would want for your program. I approached the players about it and they got excited about the opportunity, so we did it,” he said.

Ann Tomko ducks a sweep from trainer Frank Versagi.

The Eagles trained with Versagi twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays for six weeks during the summer, then signed on for another three Friday sessions this month. Team captains Amanda Balasko and Kim Balcroft were pleased with the results.

“I think it makes me a much more disciplined player,” said Balasko. “It’s really a tough workout, but it really reflects on the way we practice. I think it also allows us to focus better, and that’s showed in our scrimmages.”

“I think it gives us more mental strength,” said Balcroft. “He taught us to focus on that particular moment in time, not to think too far ahead or dwell on the past.”

Staying in the moment is a big part of the program, according to Versagi.

“So many people think Martial Arts is just punching and kicking,” said Versagi, a Master Sifu who is a fifth degree Black Sash and trained/tested at Shao-lin Temple in China in 1995, 1998 and 2005.

“That’s part of it, but there is so much more regarding mental and physical focus,” said Versagi. “There are a lot of physical benefits, like improved footwork. As an athlete, you have to have good footwork.

“You also expand your vision so you can see more without turning your head away,” he said. “A Kung Fu fighter, for example, has to see more of what’s in front of him, what’s from either side, without turning his head. It’s the same thing on a volleyball court.”

Versagi said the program also brings about improvement in overall aerobic capacity. He teaches his students proper breathing techniques, how to breath “from the center of your body,” he said.

“You need to breath in from your nose to your naval,” he explained. “If you look at a baby, its belly goes in and out. You have to breath more like a baby does. It’s the natural way to breath, and it expands your lung capacity.”

One of the biggest advantages of the program, however, comes on the mental side of the picture.

“The biggest part of the mental training is to develop listening skills,” said Versagi. “Most of the players are young, and they haven’t developed those skills yet. It’s simple: I talk, and you listen. If you are talking, then you aren’t listening. If you are not listening, you’re not learning.

“Also, you have to learn to stay in the present moment all of the time,” said Versagi. “Don’t be thinking about your boy friend or school when you are supposed to be thinking about the next play out on the court. I watched them scrimmage the other day, and they did well for about 34 minutes. Then, they just lost it. They totally lost their mental focus. You could see it drifting away. That’s one of the biggest things they need to work on.”

“They train with me for an hour and fifteen minutes. We take time at the end for our visualizations. It’s a big part of the mental aspect, the meditation aspect,” he said.

Krucek felt his team has improved in that area, and is pleased overall with what Versagi has been able to accomplish with them in a relatively short period of time.

“There’s been a definite difference in our physical fitness,” said Krucek. “We’re jumping higher, seeing things better and reacting faster to things happening out on the court. Mentally, the players are much more focused and have a tougher attitude.

“And Frank has gone above and beyond what he’s needed to do. He’s been to our scrimmages and has been with us throughout summer league. He’s definitely made a difference for us,” he added.