SANTA CLARA –
Frank Gore begins practice by himself.
Some of the other star players, like Vernon Davis and Braylon Edwards, they get one-on-one time with coaches. Not Gore.
Everyone leaves him alone, including the other players.
What else is there to teach him? He’s a master of his craft, and he picks up schemes quicker than anybody else on the team.
The Niners’ attitude is to leave Gore alone so he can get himself ready. It’s a winning strategy, too, because Gore is always the top performer in 11-on-11s, and he’s been the best player on the team for half a decade.
Here’s how Gore started his day.
- Dynamic stretches. Groin, quads, hamstrings, he stretches them as he bounces, and he jogs ten yards between each set. He looks like a sprinter warming up for a race.
- Shadow cuts. Gore puts his head down and cuts left and right across the practice field. No player can make this exercise look as smooth as Gore can. The way he cuts, accelerates, and changes directions, he looks like he’s skiing.
- Core-strengthening. After he’d warmed up his lower body he asked a trainer to throw a medicine ball with him. A couple of times Gore threw the ball back over his head twenty yards.
- Agility work. The trainer watched Gore as he hopped in zig-zags across the field.
- Sprints. Gore finished his warm up with light sprints, emphasizing acceleration. He started the sprints off slow to make sure he didn’t pull or tweak a muscle. Once he’s gotten through a few strides, he burst forward ten yards. Then he walked back and did it again.
And that’s just what he did today. His warm ups change daily because he can do whatever he wants.
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