Planning a Knee Jerk Reaction

When Major League organizations review the end of their 2009 seasons, what’s top of mind? For those that missed the playoffs- one of the first issues at hand is generally- what can we do to be more effective in 2010- both physically (wins and losses) and financially (profitability).
Many clubs- especially those in large media markets- often have pressure to make changes- changes to appease fans that their hard earned dollars will be better spent on next seasons tickets. If a team is plagued by injury- for example- this will be an item of focus.
For this reason- strength and conditioning coaches need to know where they stand- being able to objectify their performance is one way to do so. Reduction of injury, lack of re-injury- and measureable performance improvements (pitcher endurance- pitcher velocities- home run production due to bat speed improvements) are all elements a strength coach can take some claim for- IF they are doing the job to exploit these performance needs.
As player development executives plan their reactions to defined lack of success in 2009, do they take a knee jerk reaction approach when it comes to strength and conditioning? Just how important is this initiative to the organization? It’s not always evident- but a good strength coach can and should have their numbers ready.
Assess- Train- Assess- Quantify. A good way to report up the chain to those who don’t know-who need to see progress.