Volleyball Winning w/ Full Squats w/ Knees Over Toes

Natalia Newsome trains with a full knees-over-toes squat

Date: September 4, 2026

Natalia Newsome’s vertical jump would have been top 5 in the NBA Draft!

Her strength coach at Southern Methodist University, Anthony Cockrill, uses a full squat with the knees over the toes, in spite of barriers.

One barrier is that it’s HARD, so it helps to know the tricks of the trade from those winning with it.

Anthony uses a THICKER, 25-pound bar (not the usual 45) so it’s not painful for the girls’ elbows.

If a regular bar hurts, you can use a towel.

Anthony worked at the University of Houston with Alan Bishop, who starts his huge basketball players with a mere 25-pound plate…

…then kettlebell…

…then barbell.

(Alan and I, filming a free squat seminar at the University of Houston)

Houston has been to seven straight Sweet 16s, something no one in college basketball history has come close to doing without much higher ranked recruits than Houston has had during their run.

Key Takeaway:

Load difficulty is not just how much, but also how CLOSE and high it is.

I use this same concept with my parents.

It’s also easy to overlook a full squat because a max jump is NOT a full squat.

Your ability below the jump is a missing zone of leg and knee SUPPORT.

It does not replace the art and adaptation of the JUMP.

It is also a fact that millions of college graduates were forced to believe NO KNEES OVER TOES ON SQUATS.

This was a natural mistake from a USA university in the 1970s.

Life is better by avoiding pressure, right?

That’s a good theory but the outcome shows the OPPOSITE.

When I was in college in the early 2010s there was still a picture in the exercise science textbook saying NO KNEES OVER TOES ON SQUATS.

Students message me even now saying their textbooks still say this.

Some professors have messaged me saying they annotate their textbooks so their students know there is new information, but I can’t expect that to be the norm.

Thus, my job has been making this knowledge and its solutions accessible to ANYONE.

I believe exercise is a beautiful freedom, but freedom isn’t guaranteed to stay free without educating on it.

Yours in Solutions,

Ben

For further help with my ATG Basics and Pro Sports programs: atgonlinecoaching.com

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