Under Armour Combine360
By Josh Luck



Well, it’s official! Elite Football has just completed the Combine360 Training Certification that took place in Bradenton, Florida at IMG Academies. After 5 days of training and meeting some amazing people, I am one of 106 Under Armour Combine360 Trainers in the world. It was an honor and privilege to be one of the first to implement this great training tool.



Combine360 is a SAT if you will, of athletic performance. It’s a measurable tool that assesses the athlete in all components of sports performance. The beautiful thing about it is that it covers not only physical performance but visual, nutrition, mental, and communication skills. This assessment is a coach’s dream to have this kind of information. It is also important that you know! It’s the means to taking yourself to the next level!

The physical tests that are administered are based on pure athleticism and the sport specific movements involved with each sport. A conducted score of all the tests are then put into a data base were they are compared to other athletes of the same age, gender, and sport. The athlete can then see where he or she compares to others throughout the world. This is amazing feedback!

The visual component is something that we tend to overlook. The intrinsic eye muscles are something we need to train as well. A visual test conducted by the scientists of Isee, have put together a test in which the athlete uses both left and right motions of the eye, up and down, and also near and far. Vision is one of the most important aspects of sport. How well do you see the field of play, and how well can you utilize your vision for the best possible performance.

Performance nutrition is another aspect that cannot be over looked when talking about a 360 degree approach to performance. The education and awareness is something that the IMG/Under Armour team thought necessary to test for optimal performance and awareness. This is something that a lot of programs over see and should be one of the most important. It can be a rude awakening to a lot of athletes that think they have it down and can be stunned on the actual reality of it.

The biggest thing I took away from the whole thing was the mental game. Being strong mentally and able to provide yourself the self talk that an athlete needs to overcome fear, emotional barriers, and the competitive nature, separates oneself from even the physical abilities to a certain degree. The test conducted is a self test that acknowledges ones strengths and weaknesses. The science behind the whole thing is structured to even point out when an individual skews the test by lying on certain aspects of it. They have thought of everything, and will know.

My experience at IMG Academies was one I will never forget. I was fortune enough to learn from some of the best, like Todd Durkin (Head of the Under Armour Council), Peter Twist (Twist Conditioning), Jeff Dillman (Head Performance Coach/IMG), Trevor Moawad (Director of IMG Performance Institute), and many more. To have such a sound understanding and structure put in place for athletes to succeed in, is something to really copy as a blue print in producing athletes. They really do an amazing job, and its understanding with the staff they have. Oh and did I mention, there were a few “decent" athletes that were there as well. Guys like Rocket Ismail, Chris Wienke, Michael Clayton, and more.



We are excited to conduct and be a part of the Under Armour team and lift this thing off the ground. The movement has started, and the global standard of testing athletes has begun. What is your 360 score? I encourage you to take part in this test and get the feedback you need to lift yourself, and game to the next level. Under Armour conducts these tests all over, and now you can even take part in it with some of the trainers that may be in your neck of the woods. Combine360.com can inform you of were you can sign up for a combine and find a certified trainer within your area.

I would love to hear some of your scores and feel free to email me at coachluck@elitefootballtraining.com to let me know. Good luck warriors and as Coach Peter Twist's entry states when you walk into his facility, “ Give everything you have today or lose it forever!"

Josh Luck is the creator and founder of Elitefootballtrianing.com and has been training athletes for over a decade from all levels of performance. For more information on football conditioning and program design, visit http://www.elitefootballtraining.com or email coach Luck at: coachluck@elitefootballtraining.com