VSP Highlight: Mikey Brescia & Matthew Byrne
This week’s VSP spotlight shines on two fantastic athletes & individuals – Mikey Brescia & Matthew Byrne.
When we talk about what a velocity athlete should be like – dedication, mindset, work ethic, skill level… These two boys come to mind every time. The amount of work the two of them put in this off-season, in-season, & everything in between yielded some of the best results we have seen in a long time.
Let’s dive in!
Background
To give some context, Mikey is a senior lacrosse player at Greenwich HS, & a Loyola University Lacrosse commit. Matthew, is a senior lacrosse player at Horace Greeley HS, & a UMass Lacrosse commit.
Coming into this off-season, the goal was clear. Prep their bodies & minds to dominate their last year of HS lacrosse and set themselves up to leave their legacy at their individual schools. Both of them had two distinct goals in mind: 1. Lead their teams to a playoff & championship run. 2. Break the school’s individual points record. Both of these goals… were lofty but very much in play.
Goals locked in, off-season in sight, we had to sit down and create a plan for these guys that they could buy into and push hard for.
Let’s dive into how we did that.
The Plan
Starting with our IAA, we were able to assess where both of these guys needed to improve their bodies to best suit their in-game needs.
With both of these guys being quick, shifty guys on the field, we knew they needed to improve their physicality to elevate their games. (Especially as they approach the NCAA level) Therefore, increasing their body weight & size became priority #1. This would help them be able to absorb & deliver more force & contact when on the field but also build a solid base to hopefully prevent wear and tear injuries as well.
Priority #2 was definitely getting stronger. Both guys were relatively fast for their size but overall force production & strength needed to improve as we added size.
Lastly, priority #3, would be taking their increased size and strength & making sure we were able to transfer it to increased power capacity. Specifically, rotationally, as these guys both needed that fast twitch rotation to increase their shot speed on the field.
So, this is what our off-season plan ended up looking like:
Phase 1: Hypertrophy – Focused on gaining size
Phase 2: Strength – Focused on gaining strength & producing more force
Phase 3: Power – Focused on taking new size & strength & transferring it into sport specific power
These guys were in our gym 3 days a week, every week, for over 7 months… Take a second… & think about how dedicated these guys were. Now think to yourself… are you doing enough to compete against or with guys like this?
In-Season Training
Now, where most people stop training in-season, these guys did not. They continued a pre-planned in-season training program where they trained in-house with us 1x per week & 1x at home doing our designed program. This allowed them to maintain their progress in-season & stay healthy all season long.
Should get you thinking about why you aren’t training in-season…
Results
Now, let’s dive into the results.
Let’s break them down into two categories: metric improvements & on-field results.
Metrically, let’s let these charts speak for themselves…
Some pretty steep increases…
As for on-field results, let’s get into it:
Matthew ended the season with 43 goals & 80 assists – totaling 123 points & broke the Horace Greeley all-time points record of 323 total points. As a senior captain, he took this success & led his team to the first section championship in school history.
Mikey ended the season with 60 goals & 31 assists – totaling 91 points & broke the Greenwich HS all-time points record of 248 total points. As a senior captain, he took this success & led his team to an 11-8 record and a spot in the conference & state playoffs where they ended up losing in the quarterfinals.
To put the icing on the cake… both guys were voted as All-Americans this season.
What should you learn from this?
PSA to all athletes: youth athletes who want to play in HS, HS athletes who want to commit to colleges, HS commits who want to prepare themselves for the next level, college athletes who know people are coming for their spots, or pro athletes in a similar boat… if you want the results – you better put in the work.
Determine what you want your goals to be. Set yourself up a plan. Dedicate yourself to that plan. Work tirelessly to make sure that plan is executed. And only then… can your goals start to be achieved and your potential start to be scratched.
To say we are proud of these two is an understatement. This is just the beginning for them both as they embark on their individual college careers. If they continue to dedicate themselves to this process… it’s going to be a scary sight to see for defenders at the college level.
To everyone else out there… What are you waiting for??? Let’s get to work!
See ya in the gym!
Written by: Jake Lebovitch – Assistant Director of Performance & Content Manager
