http://bit.ly/kneees

http://www.intu-flow.com/

I think it's great to look at symptoms and focus on the knee, but it's also great to focus on nearby areas to see what else is contributing (as you said, look for tightness in the quads/hams/calves–not just the gastroc but the *soleus*!!) but also check for mobility issues in the hip and ankle.

Hip mobility?
http://davedraper.com/blog/2008/09/25/how-to-get-hip-mobility/

Also check out some of these posts
http://fitprosarah.wordpress.com/tag/mobility/
and
http://davedraper.com/blog/2008/12/17/beginners-guide-to-joint-mobility/

I think it's also worth pointing out again that the way you move–run/squat/sit–can seriously affect your joints and knees.

If you can't do a rock-bottom deep squat with toes pointed forward with an empty bar held overhead, you probably have restrictions/tightness/mobility issues. But then again, it's hard to diagnose these things virtually.

Also, don't forget that it's been shown recently that author of the Lore of Running, Tim Noakes, changing the way you run can reduce the impact you put on your knee by 50%: http://www.google.com/search?q=tim+noakes+knee+impact

I haven't done POSE but it's similar to Chi Running, which I have studied. Both POSE and Chi Running are inspired by barefoot running biomechanics… Shoes will help you perform better (for competition), but they won't necessarily make you healthier in the long term.

In fact, shoe technology has gotten "better" over the last few decades and running injuries have only increased. Not only that, but no scientific studies have demonstrated that modern shoes reduce injury rates. In fact, only the opposite has been shown, that the more expensive the shoe, the more likely you are to get injured.

Anyway, mini-spiel over. The body is a complex machine and lifting a few weights can make you stronger, but you need to address fundamental movement patterns (deep squat, lunge, etc), maintain anterior/posterior balance, work out accumulated microtrauma in trigger points/fascia, have mobility enough to do spiderman crawls and run barefoot on grass without pain.

And yea, free resources are great but eventually we need to acknowledge our own ignorance and go see a few professionals (medical doctors, physical therapists, RKCs or CK-FMS specialists, bodyworkers and the like). Good luck

I do think that the D-plan's created vacancies provide some room for people to step up and grow, but there's definitely some minimum amount of talent you need to have on-campus to keep the intensity at practice high and, of course, build chemistry offensively and defensively.

Sophomore summer is not a perquisite, it is a requisite, and it is one of the main factors holding back the ultimate team (along with every other club / activity at the school that requires any amount of continuity throughout the year).