Story From Olympic Athlete and Former Husker Brian Duensing

Today, I am going to post a message from a former Husker teammate of mine, Brian Duensing. Brian had the opportunity to play in the 2008 Beijing Olympics for the USA baseball team. He is a tremendous athlete, a very hard worker, and most importantly, a great person. He is currently one of the top prospects in the Minnesota Twins organization. Getting to this point hasn't always been easy for him, though. He wasn't recruited by a ton of college teams when he was in high school, and he had a near career ending surgery on his throwing arm in college. Despite all of this, he has continued to outwork many others, and has had some incredible experiences in his athletic career. Brian has also continued to be very humble, and he is a great role model for kids in any sport or activity. Here is what Brian had to say about the Olympics, and also his professional baseball grind...

"Being part of the US Olympic Baseball team was one of the most unbelievable and exciting experiences I have ever been a part of. I felt like all the hard work that I have put into the game was coming back to help me. I was among some of the most amazing athletes in the world. As a team we hung out with team Canada the most really. Most of the guys on that team are teammates of ours during the regular season, and some we just know from competition in the states. Meeting the other US athletes, like Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps, Misty May-Treanor, and even coach K, was a real honor. However the part of the Olympics that really sticks in my mind is the medal ceremony. Being able to stand on the podium and have a bronze medal put around your neck and to have the few USA fans chanting while you do it, gives you chills. We are one of the best baseball teams in the world in that sport. Nothing can take that away from us. Its an unbelievable honor.

A lot of people think that playing a sport is only that. Every day we get to play a game. What a lot of people dont understand or dont realize is that we put so much time and effort in to working out and staying healthy that it becomes a battle against your mind and body. The baseball season is anywhere from six to eight months, depending on how good your team does. The next six to four months we are not just laying around doing nothing. Yes the first month or so is a relaxing time. We use this time to let our bodies recover from the punishment we give it during the season. After that then it is five to six days in the gym. There we lift and run to make our bodies stronger. This is really the only time we have to get strong. During the season we dont lift as much. We still run, and sometimes we run more during the season then in the off-season. The reason we do this is because we just maintain our strength during the season. There is no use risking injury. Our bodies are our weapons so to speak. If they break we dont get paid. So living a healthy lifestyle is like investing in ourselves, much like someone would in a stock."

Tuesday night classes and the Millard Bulldawgs

All of my speed and agility classes did an outstanding job on Tuesday. I think everybody probably learned a few new warmup exercises, and we worked a lot on our running form. Improving your form and being more efficient, is one way to improve your speed. We worked on our arm swings, our forward lean, our heads being relaxed, and a bunch of other stuff for different individuals. All of these things are easy to work on at home or at school, and you don't need a lot of space to practice them.

Here is the warmup routine for the Millard Bulldawgs(others can use this as well). Remember, I will run it again next week, and then we'll have the athletes start leading it after that.

Jog 2 laps, forward run/backpedal 2x, skips down and back, shuffles down and back.
Knee to Chest
Lunge to Straight Leg
Lateral Lunge
Leg Swings
Spidermans
Shuffles
Carioca
Power skips
A-Skips
Fast Leg
Falling Starts 2x
Domino Sprint 2x

What's Going on Here?

I should start this off by saying, I have never done a blog, and I was by no means a journalism major in college. The purpose of this blog is to provide information, share motivational and inspirational stories and quotes, share information from professional athletes, and give viewers anything related to athletics. With that said, if there is ever anything people would like to know, or things they would like to see, please let me know. If there are athletes, parents, or coaches viewing this, please feel free to ask questions, and let me know if there is anything you want on here.

I would also like to take a little space to let people know what I do other than Accelerate Omaha speed and agility camps. I love doing speed, agility, and athletic training for athletes, but I also enjoy training adults and helping people get in shape. I am a certified trainer, and if people are looking for training, please let me know. I can do personal training, or get a small group together and workout with some friends or family. The other type of training I do is hitting lessons for baseball and softball players. Baseball was my sport of choice, and I absolutely love hitting. If you would like lessons, or have baseball type questions, please let me know. I do my hitting lessons at UBA, and you can sign up for small group, or individual lessons.

We have a two week camp that starts tomorrow evening(Tuesday, January 20th), and will meet on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. All you have to do to get signed up is send me an email at jeff@accelerateomaha.com, and indicate that you would like to join. This camp will be at the new Ultimate Baseball Academy building off of 120th and 'I' St. The building is not 100% finished, but we are cleared to do our workouts in there. We have a ton of space to use, and we are excited to be able to use this awesome facility. I should note, that these camps are NOT baseball specific. There will occasionally be sport specific camps, but these are generally set up with an organization, league, or team. All of the camps on the camp schedule of the website, will be for all athletes, and will cover speed, agility, coordination, and many other skills to help your athlete in any sport!

Have fun, work hard, and check back often!

Welcome To Our Blog!

About Jeff Leise
Jeff Leise has enjoyed running, playing sports, and competing ever since he was a young child. Jeff played multiple sports through high school and played college baseball at the University of Nebraska, where he was able to play in the 2001 and 2002 College World Series. He also played one year of professional baseball in the San Diego Padres organization.

Jeff has won many awards in his college baseball career, including Big XII Sports person of the Year, Academic All-American of the Year, 1st Team All-American, and All-Big XII. He was also named a team captain of the baseball team at Nebraska and was recognized as the University's team Lifter of the Year.

What kind of kids attend Accelerate Omaha camps?
The Accelerate Omaha fitness training camps camps are great for all kids 8 to 18 years of age. Whether you are the fastest kid on your team, or you are looking to catch up to the fastest kids, we can help. Our sports camps are also a great way for all kids to get in great shape.

Join Accelerate Omaha, and get results! Here’s what to expect:

• Increased speed, agility, and quickness
• Improved balance and coordination
• Better flexibility and range of motion
• Increased power and explosiveness
• Enhanced athleticism
• Improved Vertical Jump

Thank you for visiting our blog!