Paul Bodenbach has an impressive resume. Not only has he been an athletic trainer for more than 25 years but the Milwaukee Brewers and the U.S. Speed Skating Team have been among his clients. He also has coached college level basketball, football, soccer and tennis.

COMPETITOR'S EDGE

• Where: It is located at Cincinnati Sports Club at 3950 Red Bank Road in Fairfax.   • When: Classes are 3:30-5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and limited to 25 athletes each. Each class is eight sessions. You do not have to be a member of the club to enroll in classes.   • Information: 527-4550.

        Now, Mr. Bodenbach is director of Competitor's Edge at the Cincinnati Sports Club in Fairfax. Former major league player Len Matuszek of Silverton has encouraged student athletes to enroll in Competitor's Edge. He credits Mr. Bodenbach with improving the competitiveness of players, including his son, Kyle Matuszek, a senior second baseman at Purcell Marian. He says Kyle increased base-running speed and doubled his stolen bases per season.

        Mr. Bodenbach talked with Enquirer contributor Carrie Henderson about training student athletes.

        Question: What is Competitor's Edge?

        Answer: Competitor's Edge is an athletic training program that focuses on performance, rehabilitation and personal training. Student athletes — ages 12 and above — use specialized equipment during their workouts to simulate the specific movements of a sport. The program is designed for each individual athlete and his, or her, sport.

        Many coaches don't have time to prepare the athlete's body for sport. Their main concern is strategy. This training program focuses on body preparation.

        Q: What is an average workout like for a young athlete?

        A: Typically, a 1 1/2 hour workout twice a week includeds strength, speed and explosion training.

        Strength training increases the athlete's strength for a specific sport and position and promotes quality movement skills. Weights are used in this rotation.

        Speed training focuses on techniques — how to start, accelerate, turn and stop efficiently. Parachutes and overspeed devices help athletes become faster by pulling against the rate of speed.

        Explosion training uses power gained during strength training to achieve higher and longer jumps, quicker starts and stops, and techniques for gaining a greater sense of balance.

        Q: What kind of results do you see?

        A: Improvement should be noticeable within two weeks. Hopefully, improvement is enough for coaches to notice and ask the athletes “What have you been doing in the off-season?”

        The program also helps reduce risk of injury on the playing field. Athletes are taught proper movement patterns without segmenting the body in a controlled situation. An athlete who is in better shape will have a lesser risk of injury.

        Q: Does training affect the mental aspect of sports?

        A: When the athlete's ability improves, self-confidence improves.

        A positive attitude is important on and off the playing field. Being smart only on the field is not enough in life.

        Q: Do you train athletes to be better team players?

        A. When athletes join Competitor's Edge, they form a new team. The team is one of encouragement, not competition. The athletes become the cheering section for their teammates. The program is tough and demands discipline. Encouragement is going to help an athlete succeed. There are three major expectations of each team: hard work, increase their abilities and improve individually.

        Q: How do athletics prepare young people for real life?

        A: Sports allows students to identify goals, work mentally and physically and develop interpersonal skills and social skills.

        Children are being encouraged to only excel at one specific sport. Athletes need a wide variety of movement patterns, and so it is beneficial to participate in numerous sports.

        Athletics at a young age help develop positive neuromuscular patterns.

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