Eternal Questions.

In a meeting just the other day, we were discussing the issues faced by Strength and Conditioning coaches- across all sports. Noted Coach Vern Gambetta- upon the assembled questions titled these: “The Eternal Questions”, and he’s right on- so what are they?

1. IS TRAINING TO HARD- OR TOO EASY?
The question here is always- what are you training for? And by that – we mean (a) by sport- (b) by level (or league) (c) by position and (d) by athlete. A good coach has analysis- detailed analysis of layers a-c, and highly detailed knowledge of their individual athlete. The right training starts with this understanding.

2. SHOULD ALL PLAYERS BE ON THE SAME PROGRAM?
We have touched on this previously- but the biggest issue I see in professional baseball is the lack of resources to individualize programs for the specific needs of the player. There is technology coaches should familiarize themselves with- such as movement monitoring technologies inclusive of physiological and position monitoring (watch out for TrainTrak- a new product about to hit the market) Metabolic Analysis products (my favorite being the portable New Leaf System), and movement screens such as those available through NASM, that truly give you a precise individualized objective measurement foundation. With this information- you’ll have the tools to take to the athlete to next level- free of any guess.

3. IS THE ATHLETE READY TO RETURN FROM INJURY?
Now we have to be careful here- not to overstep our boundaries- but a good coach will be working closely with the ATC’s and even team Doc’s to understand the extent of an injury- and what specifically- the coach can do following treatment.

I had the pleasure over the last two years to work with an enlightened ATC – Steve Miller. He has that unique ATC ability- to accurately diagnose and attain confirmed diagnosis of injury on the spot, and then produce a rapid fire rehab process- which fully integrates the strength and conditioning role. Together- we’ve been able to reduce soft tissue injuries and re-injury substantially at the AAA level.

Return to play- is based upon many factors- and again- some of the new technology becoming available will allow us to objectify the percentage of load stress on athletes and if they are truly ready for a return to the dynamics of the game.

The eternal questions- understand these- and you’ll know your role in athlete conditioning.