Alex Dean

@owensiebring Thank you for your coverage of the Lisbon program last fall. It was great meeting you. Best of luck in the future!

Friday will be my last day at KGAN. Our station is going through some transitions, and I (along with some of my colleagues) was given the option to either sign a new contract... or have March 20 be my last day. And I chose the latter. Frankly it has less to do with the change, and more to do with my current life status. I'm in a serious relationship with a wonderful women who lives in Michigan. So the next step was already going to be a relocation closer to her... this just pushed that decision forward by several months. The most difficult part of these last days is knowing how many stories I wanted to tell, but will be left unfinished. I won't get to cover the Hawkeye women's team in another NCAA tournament... I won't get to cover Quentin Nauman's final State track meet... I won't get to see the next chapter of Hawkeye football. This makes it painful to say goodbye, but it is necessary. It's been a tremendous honor over the last 4 years to cover sports in my home market. Every sports anchor dreams of doing big things in the world of broadcasting... but if you can't make it big, then working in your home market is a special honor that not a lot of people get to enjoy. I've worked for almost 9 years in this state, and I've had the pleasure of working alongside some of the greatest journalists Iowa has ever known. Calling myself a colleague of guys like Keith Murphy, Scott Saville, Brad Pautsch, Ron Steele, Chad Leistikow, Scott Dochterman, Jeff Linder, Mike Hlas... that has been an honor that I'll never forget. What's next for Owen? I have no idea. And frankly that's frightening... to be face-to-face with not knowing where my next paycheck will come from; I haven't had to deal with that in over a decade, and it terrifies me. Next week I'll be going to Kenya for a couple of weeks to visit some of the locations where my girlfriend runs a non-profit. After that, I'll likely be sticking around Iowa a little while longer before relocating to Michigan. But what I'm doing to make a living? I really don't know. I'm hoping to pick up some freelance work here or there; I have a few leads on that front, but I'm not sure what that might actually look like. I love this job, and deep down I believe this is the line of work I was built for. But it's entirely possible that this is the end of my television career, and a time for a transition to something else. Again, it's a frightening perspective, and one that I didn't think I would be facing at this stage of my life... but here we are. If anyone reading this has any connections in western Michigan, or knows of any places to pick up some freelance writing, shooting, reporting, or anything in a related field-I'd be happy to hear about it! I'll post more when my last day comes this Friday. But for now, just know that every day on this job has been a joy, and I'll miss eastern Iowa dearly.

Messages I get, "Wendi, my kid can't gain weight. How can I help him add size? He is always sore and getting sick. He is struggling to maintain his weight. What can we do?" Well, have your kid track their intake for 3-5 days and you will know exactly what is going on. Most kids skip breakfast, do not eat balanced meals and do not add any protein and carbs before or after training. Let's talk numbers on what an ideal BW is for high school football athletes. The avg 16 YO football athlete is: 👉5'9" to 6'1" (175 – 185 cm) 👉160 to 200 lbs (73 – 91 kg) Rough estimate per position: 🏈QB/DB: 5'10" – 6'1", 160 – 190 lbs 🏈RB/WR: 5'9" – 6'0", 160 – 185 lbs 🏈LB/TE: 5'11" – 6'2", 180 – 210 lbs 🏈OL/DL: 6'0" – 6'3", 200 – 260+ lbs The amount of calories, protein and carbs required to fuel growth, maturation and training demands at the high school level is often grossly underestimated. 👇

Consistent effort always leads to success.

@CoachDuncan25 Thank you Coach!

@coach__dean Congrats Coach!

Excited to be a part of a program that has been a big part of my life! Let’s go!

@CoachHaddy Thank you Coach!

Train During the School Day This is the game-changer. Why? • No before-school burnout • No post-practice conflict • Built-in consistency If school is in session, training happens. Every kid benefits—not just athletes.

Rev. Lunge & Split Squat have been a main lower body movement for us the last 5 years. The benefits are many: • Less spinal load • Better limb-to-limb balance • Improves balance & control • Easy to load & progress • High transfer to sprinting & COD Unilateral ≠ Accessory

If you are an athletic director, make sure you have a budget for your coaches to attend clinics. Pay for their hotel and transportation, and give them a per diem for meals. Coaching clinics are professional development that will help your coaches impact the kids in your school.

With a new head coach comes a new practice schedule for the Fall. @NDSUfootball opening up practice at 1:30 this afternoon as opposed to the morning starts in previous years. We asked Coach Polasek about his camp structure:

Want to get faster? Do the simple things with razor sharp precision.

Girls Soccer Parent Lift is in the books! 💪 Had a blast watching the girls take their parents through a training session! Always fun to showcase the hard work of our athletes day in & day out.

Ethan Thimmes sets a new school record and meet record with a throw of 53’9.25”!!! This is #1 in 1A and #4 in the state all classes!!!!

Ethan Thimmes sets a new school record and meet record with a throw of 53’9.25”!!! This is #1 in 1A and #4 in the state all classes!!!!

The goal of adolescent strength training isn’t to “bulk up”. The goals are 5-fold. 1) Improve Relative Strength 2) Improve Neural Adaptations 3) Improve Work Capacity 4) Improve Confidence 5) Positively Associate with Training Start kids early. Play the long game.

@ZEvenEsh @SmallTownSpeed Here is a quick article that explains the “why” behind training during the school day. pursuitpe.com/why

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Congratulations Ethan!

As we progress into 2024, here's a quick look back at our most improved boys and girls from the previous seven months of training. Keep working hard Knights! Full results here>#gid=1937256388" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…