Southern California high school football team practicing yoga

Serra yoga
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Every high school football team in the nation is always looking for an edge.  In Gardena, California, Serra head coach Scott Altenberg and his wide receivers/strength and conditioning coach Chris Calvin have decided that yoga gives their Cavaliers a leg-up on the competition.

For the last two years, Altenberg and Calvin have brought-in Sarah Howard of Elite Mobility Training once a week to work with their players.

“In reviewing the season, I found my players to be more flexible, which led to fewer injuries and more time on the field,” said Altenberg.  “I also found my players to be noticeably more relaxed and confident in their own abilities, which I attribute directly to Sarah’s morning sessions. In the end, I believe that Sarah Howard and yoga has had a great benefit to the Serra High School Football Program.”

After an 0-3 start against one of the toughest schedules in the country, Serra has won six straight and can clinch the outright Mission League championship with a win over Alemany on November 4th.

High School Football America stopped by one of Serra’s early morning yoga sessions a couple weeks ago.  You can watch our video above.

Howard also appeared on last week’s radio show.  You can listen to that appearance below.

Serra’s not the only team in America doing yoga.  DeMatha (Maryland) head coach Elijah Brooks has been using yoga over the last couple of seasons.  He talked about last month on the High School Football America Radio Show.

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About the Author

Jeff Fisher
Jeff is an award-winning journalist and expert in the field of high school sports, underscored with his appearance on CNBC in 2010 to talk about the big business of high school football in America.Jeff turned to his passion for high school football into an entrepreneurial venture called High School Football America, a digital media company focused on producing original high school sports content for radio, television and the internet.Jeff is co-founder and editor-in-chief of High School Football America, a partner with NFL Play Football.