Physical Training Phenomenon

Over the last 10 years young athletes have been introduced to to "weight training" or "physical conditioning, or "dry-land training". If the pros do it then so should those aspiring young athletes. The one problem we are now seeing is that if the athlete is not properly assessed and a program is not designed to deal with any imbalances or lack of core strength first the athlete ends up supporting the physiotherapist's new home!

All kidding aside the issue is that with improper training or with the wrong training the long term effects on the athlete is greater then if the athlete did no training!

If your child is part of a sports team and they plan to do athletic training make sure to ask a few questions to the coach and or the athletic training.

1. Long term Athlete Development Model: What stage of development is my child at. They should be able to talk to you in terms of Long term Athlete Development. At each stage of development there are specific physical abilities that can/ should be trained to maximize the training benefit. If these windows are missed the full potential of the athlete will be missed. On the other side training certain athletic abilities can have little impact or even be detrimental to the athlete and should be avoided. For more information on specific stages of development visit. WWW.LTAD.ca

2. Testing: What type of assessment will you be doing to educate yourself on my child's present physical capabilities. Here they should talk about doing a Functional Movement Screen Test or similar test. These test identify the athlete's strengths and weakness. It will identify if there are any imbalances in the athlete. These imbalances should be corrected first before any type of program is attempted.

If they are only doing physical testing such as how high you can jump, or how fast you can run you want to stay away from this trainer. Physical tests are important but more for motivation and tracking of progress of the athlete's physical development. If the athlete is not physically ready for a training program then they need to do a corrective program first.

3. Types of Programs: The athletic trainer should be able to provide a variety of programs to suit the needs of the athlete's. This may mean they have two to three programs running at the same time because the team will have athletes at different stages and needs. As well the athletic trainer should be able to deliver recovery programs when the athlete needs less training and more recovery.

4. Education: My biggest fear is that the athletic trainer will simply have the athlete 'do' and push them to do it at a high intensity. As any sport skill athletic conditioning also needs to be taught. The movements need to be taught, observed and corrected on  regular basis just like developing any other sport skill. If the trainer is not proving 'error detection and correction" then take your child out of the program. Doing some a lot of times develops the habit. If you are doing it wrong then you are developing the wrong movement which most likely will result in injuries.

Avery athlete should know what movement they are doing why they are doing it and how it will help them be a better athlete. Look for an athletic trainer that interacts and educates the athlete.

Fall/ winter sport seasons are being planned. Coaches are looking at adding programs that will help their athletes. Ensure the people you bring in to your team are well trained and have the best long term interests of the athlete in mind.

Best of luck this coming season!

Try-outs

Another soccer season has started and players (children) are being told where they will be playing this coming summer. Some hearts are broken, some dreams are made.

In the old days athletes learned of their fate by lists posted on walls or coaches called out names to divide groups up. It was all public and it is was obvious to all who made the team and who had to move on. Today we have tried to change this, to make it more human, but have we. Now it is line up and receive a sealed envelope and keep going, do not open until you are at your car..... Some coaches try to talk to players and let them know their fate etc but ....

I am thinking there must be more to this process then simply telling the child if they made the team or not. It needs to be more about providing the athlete (child & parent) with information gathered on the child throughout the try-outs. What did the coaches and evaluators see. What was the child's strengths and weaknesses, how did they compare to the other athletes what can they work on if they want to try and make the team next year....

My biggest concern as I watch try-outs or hold try-outs myself is the optics of the try-outs. It really bothers me when I watch evaluators and coaches standing beside each other talking and even with their backs to the athletes. I wonder how can they be making accurate observations. Do they think if they have seen the athlete once they know the abilities of the athlete?!

I, as a parent, who has paid $ to have my child at these try-outs expect that the coaches and evaluators spend as much time watching my child as possible. To see them over the largest time frame as possible! To make a fair educated judgement.

My Solution:

1. This year I decided to implement a new system for try-outs. I decided that I would provide all athletes with a report card on their abilities.
2. First I designed a template (rubric) for each of the skills I was going to evaluate the athletes on. This rubric had four levels for each of the skills.
3. This rubric was used by each evaluator to evaluate the players on each skill.
4. I then entered the data onto the spread sheet, calculated the average and then ranked the players. At the end I had quantified data on each player along with comments on some aspects of the player's ability.
5. I was able to take this info and produce a report card that outlines the level of each each skill, where they ranked amongst all the players trying out and I included some comments on strengths and areas to work on.
6. Then I used this report card as the evidence for our selection.

This information makes it clear to the athlete why we made the decisions we did. It also gives the athlete the opportunity to work on certain parts of their game if they are interested in making the team next year.

To me this was treating the athlete with respect and dignity and it showed that the we did do our homework in choosing the team. In the end I felt that I did the best job possible in selecting my team, I made the try-out process transparent and I provided the athlete with relevant information. It was time consuming but anything is the first time you try it. I strongly encourage coaches and associations to take the next step in try-outs and design a transparent methodology for their athletes. Provide the quality service that one deserves.

Love to hear your thoughts on try-outs.......