When not busy with his work as a basketball coach, Alex Groothuis brings his athleticism to a different field - he runs marathons. Coach Alex Groothuis and many others must train every aspect of their bodies for a marathon, which includes diet and nutrition planning as well as more conventional training.Nutritional choices to optimize performance during a marathon need to be made days before the event itself. Before heavy training or small races as well as just prior to the marathon itself, runners should switch to a diet that gets more nutrients from carbohydrates than fats. On race day, breakfast should include at least 100 grams of carbohydrates, three to four hours before the race starts. This builds up glycogen in the muscles and liver, providing a healthy amount of energy going into the race.During the race itself, athletes need to hydrate well and continue to consume carbohydrates. Consuming at least 30 grams of carbohydrates per hour should get most runners through the race, although those running at high intensity may need to go as high as 60 grams. All athletes should also calculate how much they sweat over time by weighing themselves before and after training, and make sure to consume at least enough water to replace sweat lost during the race.
As head men’s basketball coach with Coral Springs Charter School in Florida, Alex Groothuis guides a team that made the 2017-18 regional semifinals and was ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 1 in the district for the season. One of the fundamentals that Alex Groothuis emphasizes is proper shooting technique in a wide range of game situations. A basic type of attempt on the basket is the jump shot, which provides elevation over the opponent. An explosive move that can result in momentary loss of balance, the jump shot is prepared for by taking a wide stance, with shoulders squared and knees bent. The ball is released at the apex of the jump, with the elbow held in a straight position toward the basket. The wrist provides a flicking movement that imparts just the right combination of spin and momentum to land the ball in the hoop.Another common in-flight attempt at the basket is the hook shot, which involves dribbling with the shooting hand while approaching the hoop from a sideways angle. With the ball protected from an opponent’s reach-in attempt, the shot is accomplished through pushing off with the left foot while the shooting arm thrusts the ball upward in a slightly bent position. A flick of the wrist sends the lobbed ball on its way for a swish or bank in.
An experienced basketball coach, Alex Groothuis has served as head coach of the Coral Springs Charter School men's team since 2010, during which time he has led the team to two district championships and one regional championship. Earlier in his career, Alex Groothuis was an assistant coach with Wagner College, where he assisted in the development of Jermaine Hall, one of the school’s all-time great scorers. A native of Dublin, Georgia, Hall joined Wagner for his freshman season in 1999 and averaged 16.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. The forward improved upon his point per game average in each of his four seasons with the team, culminating in a career-high 21.4 points per game during his senior season in 2002-03, when he won the NEC Player of the Year and NEC Tournament MVP and earned All-NEC First Team honors for the second consecutive year. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound forward also averaged career-best figures in rebounds (7.2) and assists (1.6) during his senior campaign while finishing first in the NEC in field goal percentage, effective field goal percentage, and win shares.Although he went undrafted in the 2003 NBA Draft, he has since played for professional teams in Portugal and Israel. Hall most recently played for Maccabi Ashdod of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.
Alex Groothuis had a twenty-year-long career as a successful basketball coach for college, junior college, high school, AAU (Amateur Athletic Union), and international basketball teams. In 2014 and 2015, he was nominated as Florida class 4A Coach of the Year. When not working, Alex Groothuis enjoys being active and participates in marathon running. Below are some tips on preparing for a marathon.1. When first starting out, make sure you are aware of your limits to avoid injury. Do not build weekly running mileage too fast, instead start by consistently running 20 to 30 miles in a week as a base mileage for about a year, then start training for shorter races. 2. After running a few shorter races, start building your base mileage by less than 10 percent weekly, and do a long run every 7 to 10 days. Long runs should be done at a slower pace to allow the body to adjust to an extra mile every week, building up to a maximum of 20 miles per run. 3. Rest days are important to allow muscles to recover and prevent injury and exhaustion. The goal of a rest day is to not run, although low-impact exercises are appropriate. As the day of the full marathon approaches, start scaling back on your runs to allow the body to rest and be in peak condition for race day.
