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.
Experienced basketball coach Alex Groothuis enjoys hiking and running in his free time. As a resident of Broward County, Florida, Alex Groothuis has easy access to the Cypress Creek Greenway, a local trail that offers the opportunity to pursue both activities. The Cypress Creek Greenway stretches more than 23 miles through Broward County. The longest paved recreational trail in the county, the greenway leads runners, walkers, hikers, and bikers on a nearly uninterrupted path from the Everglades to the Atlantic Ocean.According to the Florida Sun-Sentinel, the greenway comprises a 10.6-mile path that is separated from automobile traffic and a 12.6-mile section that runs alongside the road. Visitors wanting to reach the ocean have to navigate a 1.6-mile stretch of road after the eastern end of the greenway terminates. However, last November, the city of Pompano Beach purchased 2.5 miles of nearby trails that may eventually allow the route to extend all the way to the Atlantic.
Possessing a bachelor's in speech communications from Syracuse University, Alex Groothuis has since carved out a career as a basketball coach at the collegiate and high school levels. Alex Groothuis has served as high school dean of students and head coach of the men's basketball team at Coral Springs Charter School since 2010, during which time he earned two Class 4A Coach of the year nominations and helped prepare three student-athletes to play NCAA Division-I basketball.Making it to a Division-I college requires much more than athletic ability. Naturally, to play sports at the highest collegiate level, students must meet specific academic standards, even if offered a full-ride scholarship. Students must graduate high school with a minimum 2.3 GPA, and they must also complete at least 10 of their 16 core courses before their senior year with no opportunity to retake any course for a better score.Prior to 2016, students needed only a 2.0 GPA to maintain NCAA Division-I eligibility and, while that standard has since been raised, it has stayed the same for prospective Division-II athletes. Conversely, the NCAA doesn't have academic requirements for Division-III athletes, however respective universities may set their own standards.
