NEW WEBSITE AND BLOG

Check out our new website, which now includes the AI Blog!!!

www.accelerationiowa.com

No Excuses, Work Hard Everyday

Van Der Kamp shows his Acceleration!!!

Kirby Van Der Kamp, former Valley football and soccer standout, is congratulated by Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads after showing his speed last Saturday night against Texas Tech. Kirby, Iowa State's starting punter, executed a fake punt to perfection when he pulled the ball down and ran for 17 yards and a crucial first down. We aren't sure if it was a called fake or he ran it on his own, but either way it looks like his hard work at Acceleration Iowa this summer paid off big time!!!

Knott Named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week

Congratulations to Jake Knott, sophomore linebacker at Iowa State, who was named Big 12 defensive player of the week. He was part of the ISU defense that forced five turnovers to record Iowa State's first shutout since 2004 in its win over Northern Iowa. Knott registered a game-high 11 tackles while forcing a fumble and also made his third interception of the season. Knott is 4th in the Big 12 in both tackles (48) and interceptions (3). Jake worked out at AI as a senior at Waukee High School.

I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you're a musician, a writer, an athlete or a businessman, there is no getting around it. If you do, you'll win--if you don't, you won't.

-Bruce Jenner, Olympic Gold Medalist, Decathlon

Fuller Succeeding at Ohio State

Megan Fuller, a freshman soccer player at Ohio State, is having an outstanding season so far for the Buckeyes. After coming off the bench the first game of the season, Megan has started every game since. She leads the Buckeyes in minutes played and has helped lead her team to a 6-2-1 record. Megan went to high school at Bondurant-Farrar and worked out at Acceleration Iowa throughout her high school career. We wish Megan the best of luck the rest of the season!

Former AI Athletes Starting for UNI

Two former Acceleration Iowa athletes will be in the starting line-up for the UNI Panthers this weekend as they head into Jack Trice Stadium to play Iowa State. Austin Zlab (top picture), a senior from Urbandale who is the starting center for the Panthers, worked out at AI prior to his senior season of high school. Chris Jepsen (bottom picture), a freshman from Urbandale, is starting at defensive end. Chris worked out at AI for several years in preparing to play college football.

It is great to see their hard work paying off. We wish them luck Saturday against ISU!

Quote of the Week

If you don't invest very much, then defeat doesn't hurt very much and winning is not very exciting.

Dick Vermeil - Super Bowl winning head coach

New Little Hawkeye

Reggie Hoegh, the Waukee Director, is pictured here with his wife Laura and their new little boy Ryan Allen Hoegh. He was born August 31, 2010 and weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces. The Hoegh family rooted for the Hawkeyes this weekend and Ryan is asleep because the game was a blow out! Ryan is looking forward to starting his training at Acceleration so he can dominate the competition as soon as possible.

Agility Drills on the Turf

The video shown shows Calvin Dixon (7th grade Waukee), Kristin Riley (11th grade Johnston), and Parker Reed(9th grade Valley) performing some fun yet challenging agility drills. These drills are great for working on footwork and cordination in making cuts as well as starting and stopping. Great work!

Kid's got ups!

Geordan Hetherton (junior, Dowling Catholic) shows off his ups by doing a 48" box jump with ease!

Going the Distance

Unknown to most AI athletes is our distance club. To become a member, athletes must complete intervals of running and holding on the treadmill for at least 1 minutes and 30 seconds. Congrats to Niko Bakros (above), Grace Vander Weide, and Nick McLellan on becoming the newest members! Look for more AI athletes to break on to the distance scene here soon!

AI Athletes Lead Ankeny to Win

Ankeny High School dominated North High School 47-6 last Friday, led by many AI athletes. Cole Myers (#7 above) had 96 yards passing, including 1 TD, while his brother Cory had an interception for the Hawk defense. Carter Brandt led Ankeny with 118 yards. Several other AI athletes started for the Hawks, including Jordan Studer, Drew Doig (#69 above), Matt Andriano, and Zach Thompson.

Nick Wilson Joins Acceleration Iowa Staff

Nick Wilson, a recent graduate of Simpson College, joined the Acceleration Iowa staff in August. Nick was an intern this summer and is now working at the Urbandale facility full-time. Nick went to Saydel High School where he was a 3 year letter-winner in track and football. Nick was named to the All-District team as a senior in football and holds school records for most receiving yards in a season (683), receiving touchdowns (7), and yards per catch (22.5). As a track athlete Nick was a 5x state qualifier. Nick was a Drake Relays qualifier in 2006 in the 110 high hurdles, the first Saydel athlete to do so in almost 15 years. Nick is also the school record holder in the 4x400 meter relay. In college, Nick was a two year letter-winner in track and was also a conference place winner in the 110 high hurdles in 2010.

Quote of the Week

Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.
-Vince Lombardi

"Ain't I" Footwork

Some slow motion of some of the footwork drills done for halftime at the Waukee location.

Born to Win

This video shows some athletes from the Waukee location using bands, performing footwork drills, and working at reaction time exercises. These are all drills done to allow the athlete to recover from the treadmill or plyo workout while still building valuable skills. Great work guys and keep making the most of your workouts. Working out might not always be fun but winning is!

Varner Named to First Team All-Arena

Acceleration Iowa's own Tanner Varner was recently named First Team All-Arena. The positions were voted on by coaches, media and fans, with several unanimous selections including Tulsa’s Gabe Nyenhuis and Arizona’s Rod Windsor.

Tanner trained at Acceleration Iowa in preparation for his best season as a professional athlete. Congratulations and keep up the great work, Tanner!

Athletes in the News

Congratulations to the following AI athletes who were named to the All-State baseball/softball teams:

Iowa Coaches Association All-State Softball

OF: Morgan Halverson, Sr., Martensdale-St. Marys
OF: Jenna Wolfe, Sr., Dallas Center-Grimes
P: Mandy DeMeulenaere, Jr., Pella
P: Paige Lowary, Eighth, Dallas Center-Grimes
OF: Ashley Prettyman, Jr., D.M. East


Iowa Newspaper Association All-State Baseball

1B: Bret Nyquist, Dallas Center-Grimes, Sr.
UT: Tyler Peyton, Dallas Center-Grimes, So.
OF: Dalton Parrott, Dowling Catholic, Jr.
C: Spencer Navin, Dowling Catholic, Sr.

New Training Hours

Acceleration Iowa will switch back to fall hours beginning on August 16th.

Urbandale and Waukee
Monday-Friday: 3:30-6:30
Friday: 3:30-5:30
Saturday: 9:30-11:30 (Urbandale only)

Ankeny
Monday-Friday: 4:00-7:00
Friday: 4:00-6:00
Saturday: 9:00-11:00

Sprint Cord Wall Ball in Waukee

This is Dynas Doud, a Junior from Dallas Center Grimes, and Austin Hinkle, a sixth grader from Valley. After a lot of hard runs on the treadmill they tried their hand at wall ball with sprint cords. Great job guys!

Circuit Training

This is Kelsy Shay Doing a Circuit for Part of her workout. She is getting ready for the upcoming fall soccer season which starts next week. She has been working hard and is sure to have a successful season.

Lanning's hot bat keeping Williamsport in 1st

Ankeny native and AI athlete Jeff Lanning has been on a tear for the Williamsport Crosscutters. The Crosscutters, a Short-Season A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, are currently in 1st place of the New York-Penn League.


In his last 5 games Jeff is hitting .385 with a pair of home runs and 6 RBI. He is leading the team with 7 HR and tied for the team lead with 22 RBI. Keep up the good work Jeff!!

Olejniczak signs with AIB

Above Tim Olejniczak showing off his Cheetah Club shirt after running 20.0 mph on the Super Treadmill. Later that day Tim signed a letter of intent to play basketball at AIB (picture below).
Tim was an all-state selection in football and in basketball during his junior year at Ankeny Christian Acadamy and has been pushing himself all summer preparing for his upcoming senior season. Congratulations on signing Tim and keep up the good work.

"Ice Cream Paint Job" Acceleration Iowa Style