“KNOT” being the Best Athlete that You can be?

Here are a couple of things to help you improve and enhance your athletic performance…

Did you know that by receiving Sports Massage Therapy and stretching can prevent sports injuries and enhance your performance no matter what sport you participate in? Let’s first begin by explaining what Sports Massage Therapy is and then why stretching is so important.

What is Sports Massage Therapy?

Sports Massage Therapy (SMT) is a type of massage that uses specific massage techniques that enhance or relax the muscles for your specific sport or event. Sports massage therapy is essential for optimum treatment of certain injuries and becomes part of an athlete’s conditioning. This applies to Olympic athletes, professional athletes, and college athletes. They incorporate this into their athletic regimens; so why shouldn’t you do the same?

What are the benefits of SMT?

Several benefits to receiving Sports Massage Therapy

1. Improves flexibility and elasticity of muscles
2. Reduces the tightness and/or soreness
3. Boosts power and performance
4. Decreases the chance of injury
5. Speeds up recovery time
6. Improves range of motion (ROM)
7. Restores mobility to injured muscle tissue
8. Increases the flow of blood and nutrients
9. Helps eliminate muscle cramps and/or muscle spasms

How can SMT specifically help you as an athlete?

Between practicing, working out, training and then playing a sport, your body is put under a lot of strain as you push your muscles to their limit. When muscles become overwhelmed they can cramp up or spasm and if left untreated you could end up with a sport injury. Then something even worse may happen, you get injured and you’re on the bench or worse yet, out for the season. Massage therapy helps break up the “knots” and/or scar tissue as well as releases the toxins within the muscles. Once the muscle releases and become loose, there is an improved range of motion (ROM), flexibility and the chance of injury has decreased. The best part of receiving a sports massage, as you begin to run, cycle, play football, basketball, soccer, baseball, tennis, swimming, hockey etc. is your improved and enhanced performance, which allows you to be the best athlete you can be. When receiving a sports massage it can even lengthen your gait. Because your muscles now have the capability to extend further you are able to have a bigger gait allowing you to run faster. Examples: if you are a football receiver, you can run down the field faster; if you are a baseball player you can run to home plate faster; if you are a soccer player you can out run your opponent to score a goal; if you are a basketball player you can run faster to make that layup shot; if you are a runner, you can decrease your finish time. I think you get the picture. The benefits for each sport and muscle group just go on and on…

Why is stretching so important?

Now that you know the importance of receiving a sports massage, it is also and just as important to stretch. Stretching is something that is easy that you can do on your own once the correct stretches are shown for each muscle groups. Keeping your muscles flexible and mobile is the key in reducing the chance of injury. Stretching should be a part of your athletic regimen every day just as you are on a specific nutritional diet, exercise, strength training, receiving sports massage therapy treatments and meet with a trainer or coach. You do all of these things to help you achieve your athletic goal. Why not add stretching as another tool to help you? Olympians, professional athletes, and collegiate athletes all stretch every time they practice, hit the field, court, pavement etc. and most of them receive a sports massage therapy. Why? Because it helps to improve and enhance their performance and helps prevent sports injuries.

Sports Massage Therapy and stretching can improve and enhance your performance, decrease recovery time and keep you at your peak allowing you to achieve maximum results time and time again. So get the “knots” out and be the best athlete you can be! Receive a Sports Massage today and feel the benefits and let us help you become a better athlete.

You can learn more about Sports Massage Therapy and about the massage therapist by checking out this website www.thesportsmassage.com or by calling 704-277-4169.

Jessica L. Marriott, NCTMB, LMBT



Jessica L. Marriott, NCTMB, LMBT is a nationally certified and licensed by North Carolina. She has been a therapist for over 12 years. She loves to watch and play sports. She has always been an athlete and has played some type of sport most of her life. She love helping people especially athletes. She has worked on professional athletes such as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Cobras as well as the "every day athlete". She helped athletes in a variety of sports ranging from hockey, football, soccer, basketball, baseball, golf and tennis as well as dancers, gymnast, runners, cyclist, and tri-athletes. As your sports massage therapist she strives to help you become a better athlete by helping you achieve your goals and help improve and enhance your performance.


Charlotte Licensed Sports Massage Therapist

Charlotte Leading Strength/ Speed Coach Expert and Personal Trainer

Stretching Can Hurt Speed Training

Here are some of the dynamic exercises in the video (lunge walk, high knee, Frankenstein, lateral lunge walk, leg swings forward and side to side, butt kicks, and curtsy walk).

Flexibility training is perhaps the most undervalued component of speed training. While recent and ongoing debates question its role in injury prevention, athletes can still gain much from a stretching regime. Flexibility is defined as the range of motion about joint surrounding muscles during a passive movement. Passive movement refers to gravity or partner assisting the movement instead of actual muscle contraction to activate the stretch. This article is dedicated to explaining why flexibility is important in developing speed. In addition, we will look at the difference types of stretching and when to use them, when they are beneficial, and when they are detrimental in an athlete’s speed workout. We also will discuss how to stretch and develop a stretching program for a speed workout.

Flexibility may reduce injury and increase range of motion ROM. There are factors that also affect flexibility:

Age: flexibility particularly extensibility decreases with age
Gender: Females exhibit greater ROM
Activity: those that are active are more flexible
Internal tissue temperature: temperature influences ROM which is why it is important to warm up before stretching. Athletes should take 10-15 minutes after their workout for static stretching and should concentrate at least 30 seconds per muscle group.
Injury: scar tissue from previous injury affects ROM in a joint

A more flexible athlete equals a more mobile athlete. A good flexibility regiment enhances movement on the court and field and causes athletes to have a greater ease of movement as well as increases the body’s awareness and promote relaxation. For instance, take the hip flexor muscles which are one of the most important muscle groups for running. The hip flexor is located above the thigh and affects the stride length and stride frequency (which is the most important) of athletes. Increasing flexibility in the hip flexor results in an increase in stride length. Athletes in different sports have varying flexibility needs in order to avoid injuries. For example, sprinter type athletes (soccer players, football players, rugby players, basketball players, and baseball players) have a much larger movement and ROM requirement for their sport in comparison to an endurance/ distance runner. As a result, the sprinters would need more of a flexibility regiment than the distance runners. In addition, even though flexibility is important, it can vary between individuals.


Static stretching is the most common form of stretching and is a more traditional way to improve flexibility. Static stretching just prior to an event may be detrimental to actual performance due to the nature of the stretch and hold component. It is performed with no bouncing during the stretch and there is no emphasis on speed. The athlete holds the stretch for at least 30 seconds. It should be incorporated into the cool-down phase of a training session. Static stretches are often simple to learn and perform and require little effort.

However, dynamic stretching is more beneficial because it mimics the actual movements that will be engaged in the events and activities. It should be done after a proper warm up prior to training. Dynamic flexibility is performing stretches or movements that would simulate the actual movement required of the activity. These movements are performed at similar speed to the movement and differ from ballistic stretches in that they do not involve any bouncing or jerky movements.

Sample stretching workout

Dynamic stretching
Lunge walk
Butt kicks
Frankenstein
Lateral Lunge walk
One sided carioca
Curtsy walk
High knees
Skipping
Figure 4
Spiderman
Backward runs
Leg Swing (Forward/ Lateral)

Static Stretches
Hamstring Stretch
Sit on the ground with both legs straight out in front of you.
Bend the left leg and place the sole of the left foot alongside the knee of the right leg.
Allow the left leg to lie relaxed on the ground.
Bend forward keeping the back straight.
You will feel the stretch in the hamstring of the right leg.
Repeat with the other leg.

Calf Stretch
Stand tall with one leg in front of the other, hands flat and at shoulder height against a wall.
Ease your back leg further away from the wall, keeping it straight and press the heel firmly into the floor.
Keep your hips facing the wall and the rear leg and spine in a straight line.
You will feel the stretch in the calf of the rear leg.
Repeat with the other leg.

Hip and Thigh Stretch
Stand tall with you feet approximately two shoulder widths apart.
Turn the feet and face to the right.
Bend the right leg so that the right thigh is parallel with the ground and the right lower leg is vertical.
Gradually lower the body.
Keep you back straight and use the arms to balance.
You will feel the stretch along the front of the left thigh and along the hamstrings of the right leg.
Repeat by turning and facing to the left.

Adductor Stretch
Stand tall with you feet approximately two shoulder widths apart.
Bend the right leg and lower the body.
Keep you back straight and use the arms to balance.
You will feel the stretch in the left leg adductor.
Repeat with the left leg.

Groin Stretch
Sit with tall posture.
Ease both of your feet up towards your body and place the soles of your feet together, allowing your knees to come up and out to the side.


Charlotte Leading Speed and Strength Coach

Top Speed Training Myths Revealed

As a speed coach, I receive questions about training speed. So I've taken those questions that I hear the most and answered them in a slightly different format.

1. Static stretching prepares you to compete/practice

Static stretching actually reduces power output. The best type of stretching that an athlete should utilize before practice is dynamic stretching which warms up the body and prepares and mimics the movement that the athlete’s body will be engaged in doing. The progression of movement should start off from basic, low intensity movements to faster, more explosive movements as the muscles loosen up.

2. Stretch and then do a warm up

You should never stretch a cold muscle because you can cause more harm than good to the muscle belly while the muscle is cold. Instead, athletes should do some small warm up to increase the body temperature so that the muscle is warm and plausible to stretch. Think of the muscle as a rubber band. Would you stretch a cold rubber band that has been in the freezer for days?

3. Strength training makes females too bulky

This is a popular mindset with many female athletes that we have worked with. However, this as far fetched of a myth than any of the ones that I have to debunk. Strength training not only is of injury prevention because it assists with building the muscles, tendons, and ligaments to withstand the stress of the sports. In addition, we know that the female population is more susceptible to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries than their male counterparts. Fatigued lower limb muscles can inhibit the ability to control dynamic sports landing movements, increasing the risk of non-contact injury to the knee’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), particularly among females. Prevention and prehabilitation is always better the rehabilitation. Strength training will improve performance and reduce injury if done correctly. If you look at Mia Hamm, Venus and Serna Williams, these athletes train with weights and have a great physique on and off the court.

4. You can’t train speed


For some reason it is a popular belief that you are born with a certain amount of ‘speed’ and you can’t improve it. If that’s the case than the Olympians that participate every four years waste their time throughout training to get better because they have nature born speed that will just come on when the touch foot on the track. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Speed is a skill that can be learned and the problem that I see with most young athletes is they are so physically weak and mechanically out of tune that significant improvements in speed can be made often just by working on technique and form. Athletes at any age and any level can improve speed when implementing a complete speed training program designed to improve and develop the entire athlete.

5. Training slow makes you fast


I don’t think coaches directly believe this way, but their training implies otherwise. I think they understand this when it comes to practicing for their sport for they know that in order for the athletes to get a true feel and understanding of what is required when in competition, the athlete must be put in ‘game speed’ situations so that their bodies are able to react. The same is true for speed training, in order for an athlete to be able to get faster, they must train their fast twitch muscle fibers consistently and properly so that they will be able to translate their training to the competition. Athletes must train how they play or train the way their sports demands of them. For example in sports that involve a higher aerobic element such as soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, etc. I see kids out running mileage and doing long slow intervals of several minutes of continuous running. If their goal is to get faster for the season and want to improve their overall speed and first step quickness to the ball, they must train their muscles to fire and work in the same manner that the demand will be placed on them for the sport. If you want athletes to improve their acceleration and top speed so they can get to the ball faster or get back on defense, then you have to train by running at full speed in practice.

6. You can train hard every day

Most coaches and parents understand this concept when it comes to strength training with training the same body part over and over. However, when it comes to speed training this concept gets thrown out the window for some reason. The workout itself is only a piece of the training puzzle. Just as with strength training, athlete’s muscles aren’t built in the weight room but during the recovery period, so is true with speed training. It is the time between intense workouts, the recovery, where athletes make their improvements. And generally it takes 36-48 hours to recover from high intensity training. If athletes are doing too much, too often they become over trained. Coaches can expect to see an increase in injuries, athletes complaining that they are sore more often, decreased performance, higher levels of fatigue earlier in games, and the BIG ONE—burnout. It’s always better to under train an athlete than over train. Err on the side of caution to get maximal results.

7. Strength training will stunt a young athlete’s growth


This is another myth held over from a different time. With parents having their kids participate in year round sports, strength training can assist with preventing some of the injuries that these athletes may be susceptible to with year round participation. These loads on the body can have a much greater physical impact than a well designed strength training program. Though I don’t usually begin training with weights with pre pubescent athletes, they can benefit from body weight exercises such as push ups, full body squats, pull ups, crunches, sit ups, etc. This will increase muscular efficiency, speed up recovery, improve coordination and overall speed.

8. The harder the workout, the better the result

Some athletes (and coaches) have this mentality that if a workout doesn’t reduce them to complete exhaustion and/or make them vomit, that it wasn’t an effective workout. I hated coaches that thought like this and now that I am a speed/ performance coach, I still hate it. The reasoning behind the vomiting is that the body is trying to buffer the blood due to it being too acidic and the lack of oxygen left for the muscles to use during the workout. Now that young athletes are dying due to myocarditis and other abnormal heart conditions, ‘old school’ coaches that have this mentality need not apply with working with youth athletes period. Also those who have this mentality probably see a lot of injuries and frustrating performances. The purpose of a workout is to stimulate an adaptation by the body. If the body is forced to do too much work in a given time period, it will break down. The skill in coaching is to stimulate the adaptation in the body, without reaching a point of diminishing returns.

9. Interval training is the same as speed training

Running repeat 100s, 200s, etc will not improve top speeds. Even running
repeat 40s with short recovery will not improve acceleration and top speeds. I wish someone had explained this myth and concept to my college coaches when they had us doing repeated 100s and 200s in the hot summer heat to improve our speed! Speed work is defined at 2-8 seconds of maximal intensity running with full recovery. That means at least 2 minutes of light dynamic movement between each effort. This
goes against the experience of some coaches, but simply put, is the only way to improve speed. An athlete must be able to focus on proper form and maintain intensity in order to get faster. If they do not recover properly from each interval, they will not be able to replicate proper mechanics with consistency and they can not improve.

10. Flexibility won’t help you get faster

Both coaches and athletes spend so much time on the skills of their sport, speed training and conditioning that they often forget a fundamental component of success: flexibility. After practice or a game, the muscles are warm and loose. Now is the time to work on increasing flexibility. So many athletes suffer injuries or compete below their capacity because poor flexibility inhibits their range of motion and speed. I see this often in the hips and hip flexors where athletes’ stride length appears conspicuously short. Most often I see this in male athletes who will lift weights, train hard and then skip out on their cool down and flexibility work. Hey I have been guilty of this one myself throughout the years of my high school and collegiate career.


11. Lift your knees

I hear so many parents and coaches yelling to their kids when they want them to run faster or when they are beginning to fatigue, “Lift your knees, Get your knees up”.
This is one of the most backwards cues you can give to athletes. The way to run faster is to apply more force to the ground. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, so the more force you apply to the ground, the more the ground will give
back. So when we cue athletes to lift their knees we’re doing two things incorrectly. One, we’re telling them to use their hip flexors to lift instead of their glutes and hamstrings to drive down. Just think about the size of your hip flexor versus the size of the glutes and hamstrings. Now which muscles do you think can create more force and therefore more speed? Second, we’re cueing them and teaching a movement that is in opposition to what generates speed. If an athlete learns at age 7, to lift their knees when they need a burst of speed, that improper cue will be hardwired into their brain. To unlearn that as a teen and try to do the opposite and drive down, that athlete will have a difficult time coordinating an entirely new way of running and will potentially have to take a step or two backwards. That’s why it is critical to learn proper form early and get an advantage over those who still aren’t getting the best instruction. So cue athletes to step over the opposite knee and drive the foot down into the ground, with the foot landing underneath the hip.

Speed/ Performance Coach and Speed Camps in Charlotte, NC

Global Training for Youth Athletes

The majority of my information on today's topic is taken from one of the leading youth fitness experts in the world, Mr. Brian Grasso.


With that said let's get started.

Remember back in the day when you were a kid, you would go outside and play multiple games throughout the day. The day may start off with you and the fellows walking to your neighbor's house to ask and see if your best friend could come out but during that trip you wouldn't just walk on the sidewalk like normal kids, you would walk on the edge of the sidewalk to test your balance and coordination or play "Don't step on the crack cause it'll break your momma's back. Remember that was the game where you jumped the lines that separated the slobs of cement from each other on the sidewalk. Once everyone got outside you guys may warm up by playing a quick game of freeze tag. Then progress to playing some type of sport rather it was touch football, or basketball, or some type of organized play depending on the season that was in or televised on tv. Afterward, somebody would notion everyone going to get their bikes so you guys could ride up to the corner store to get some candy or something. And if you didn't have a bike, then you either rode standing on the back spokes of the guy who did have a bike, or you rode on the front handlebars as he used you as his personal Tom Tom navigation system. And at the end the day you guys may have orchestrated "the fastest kid in the neighborhood" race so to see who was the fastest kid in the neighborhood.

I had the opportunity this week to work with one of the local high schools where I currently reside. Before working with them, the coach and I met so that I had a clear vision on what goals she wanted for her team. I thought her response was going to be for me to come in and bring out all the toys and whistles that I have i.e. the agility ladder or some piece of agility/ speed equipment. But I was pleasantly surprised because that was not the case. What she said her number one goal that she wanted me to work with her girl's basketball team on was developing and improving upon their global skills and motor skills instead of concentrating on sports specific training.

Some reading this article may ask why???

And here is the answer. FOUNDATION.


Most parents, coaches, and trainers have narrow goals when designing a program for their youth athlete. However, like yesterday's post, the main goal for youth athletes should be for them to master the different motor skill components of coordination before they are introduced to more complex topics or sport specific drills and subjects. A global development of training approach not only ensures success in the future for the athlete but also prevents future injury.



The goal in early training for youth is to develop coordination through movement based stimuli so that they graduate later in their adolescence and post adolescence years to a more sports specific type of training that parents, coaches, and trainers are accustom to seeing and more familiar with their athlete participating in. First, let's define coordination. Most reading this post may think of coordination being a single ability or single skill; however, coordination is made up of several elements that work together. These elements are balance, rhythm, spatial orientation, and the ability to react to auditory and visual cues. An example of a coordination program would be a young athlete performing some type of spatial awareness exercise with no speed involved in the beginning and later progress to the same skill with the incorporation of a speed component combined with a change in the environment to make it more challenging for the athlete to master.


Research points out that coordination development is best introduced between the ages of 7-14 with the most crucial period of learning and training being in the period of 10-13. At the age of 16 usually is when the athlete has optimized the development of coordination. As a result, the drills planned should be age appropriate and structured so that it is challenging but yet fun for optimal results. Athletes who have a firm foundation with coordination development are far better athletes in the long term than athletes who are never exposed or are exposed to coordination/ global training later in their athletic career after these prescribed ages.


Why you might ask?


Because it is all about building a firm foundation to work upon. I like to use the analogy of a Jenga game, in which one piece missing could be detrimental in the end and cause the whole structure to fall. Thus young athletes should have a firm foundation so that they become a successful and healthy athlete in the long term.

Coordination development is a process of years of exposure to diverse yet versatile exercises and training. Coaches, parents, and trainers must understand that coordination training is a process and that each component builds upon the other. This statement alone should cause parents, coaches, and trainers to sit up and pay more close attention. Young athletes should have an opportunity to be exposed to different kinds of sports on a yearly basis so that they are introduced to a variety of coordination skills that they ordinarily would not be exposed to if they were to play the same sport year-round. Parents and coaches should not concentrate so much on sport-specific and specialized training for young athletes early on because it causes a faulty, weak foundation in the long term.

In addition, parents, coaches, and trainers should not wait to introduce global training in the beginning of an athlete's adolescent years because of the rapid changes that occur in their bodies during this period of time. The best time to introduce global training is during the pre-adolescence years when the athlete's nervous system is still highly plausible and their motor skill learning has not become fully developed permanently. Once the athlete masters the pre-adolescent stage, the next level to build upon is their adolescent years in which the main goal should be to refine those skills that were introduced in the pre-adolescent stage. Then and only then should the concentration be shifted to a more sports-specific or specialized type of environment for the athlete, which we will call the post-adolescence stage.

I must address the issue of genetics as it relates to global training. Less coordinated athletes will never exhibit the coordination of well-skilled athletes no matter how much global training they receive; however, improvement will be seen and achieved on a more personal level.

So to recap all that was covered today these are the base points that parents, coaches, and trainers should consider when training a young athlete in the beginning:


1. Start young – coordination improves as a result of learning and mastering new movements. Start young athletes off early with coordination-based exercises that challenge their abilities (within reason). The more coordination a young athlete has, the more ability he or she will display at any perspective sport.


2. Challenge young athletes on an individual and appropriate level – Some youngsters have good balance while others display good rhythm. The key to successful coaching is to undercover what elements of coordination each athlete requires and develop drills/exercises that most suitably target the weaknesses.


3. Change exercises frequently – young athletes learn quickly in most cases. Be sure to challenge them physically and intellectually with new exercises often.

Until then keep working hard. Tomorrow we will look at what sports every kid must play in order to be an overall stud on the field/ court/ or rink.

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

The Recruiting Process: How to Protect and Help Your Athlete

This article was taken from FamilyResource.com and was written by Brent Elsasser and Gerald Masterson, Ph.D.

I remember when I was a junior and senior in high school playing football. I wasn't highly recruited coming out of high school. Heck, I don't even think that I was in the top 50 athletes in the city even though I was two time All Conference at the position that I was playing. I can remember the anxiety that I felt when it was time to sign my letter of intent; however, I didn't know what I was doing. My coach wasn't a great support system to use. He didn't do anything really in getting the schools to look at me; it was more my wrestling coach that tried to get some of the schools to look at me for football. My mother didn't have a clue as to how the recruiting process went cause I was her only son so she wasn't familiar with the process nor did she know what questions to ask the recruiter. It was very scary and frustrating at the time. We were like the blind leading the blind. We both were headed for the ditch. I wished I had someone that would have walked my mother and myself through the process that didn't have a bias interest in the matter.

Highly visible sought-after recruits receive heavy attention from college coaches, the media, boosters, and others that can make the recruiting process very straining on the recruit, their family, and even the high school coach. Recruiting blunders are a common occurrence as the need to win mentality in Division I college athletics is prevalent. As the high school coach of a recruit, there are steps that can be taken to help alleviate some of the pressures placed on your athlete.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has rules and you as a high school coach should be aware of these rules. First, the NCAA defines a recruited prospective student-athlete as a student who has started classes for the ninth grade or has received contact by a coach offering any financial assistance or other benefits before the ninth grade. The student officially becomes a recruited prospective student-athlete when contacted by a college coaching staff on more than one occasion for the purpose of recruitment.
Contacts

The NCAA limits contact during the year and specifies recruiting and non-recruiting periods. There are four periods specified by the NCAA: the contact, evaluation, quiet, and dead periods. The amount of face-to-face encounters and dialogue the coach is allowed with a recruit differs with each period. The contact period is the only time when coaches may visit the recruit's home and talk with the athlete and his or her parents. In the evaluation period, coaches can visit the recruit's school to observe the athlete at practice or a game and converse with high school coaches and guidance counselors. However, the coach cannot have dialogue with the recruit. The only in-person contact allowed during the quiet period is on the college campus during a visit. No face-to-face contact is allowed during the dead period. Telephone calls are permitted during all periods, with limitations on how often the coach may call. To view the dates for each recruiting period, visit the NCAA's website.
College Visits

A recruit can visit a college campus, either officially or unofficially, during the recruiting process. An official visit is paid for by the interested school and consists of transportation to and from the college, room and meals during the visit, and reasonable entertainment expenses such as a home athletics contest for the recruit and his or her parents. Before an official visit can take place, the recruit must provide a copy of their high school transcripts and ACT or SAT scores. The recruit is limited to five official visits, which can take place during the contact, evaluation, or quiet periods. An unofficial visit is paid for by the recruit and their family, except for complimentary admissions to a home athletics contest the school may provide. The recruit can talk to the coaches on any unofficial visit except during the dead period. A recruit can take as many unofficial visits as desired.
Signing Day

The most important day during the recruiting cycle is signing day, when recruits sign National Letters of Intent (NLI) to play for an institution. Signing a NLI binds the athlete to that college, with penalties if the athlete doesn't follow through, such as losing a year of eligibility for transferring to another school. The NCAA's recruiting year runs from August 1st to July 31st, and the NCAA specifies signing periods for each sport. The signing period for fall sports begins the first week in February and lasts until the end of March. Basketball has two signing periods; an early signing period lasting for a week in November and the second for a month beginning in mid-April. All spring sport recruits will sign their NLI during the November period.
Verbal Commitment

Until a recruit signs a NLI, which binds them to an institution, a prospect can only verbally commit to a school until they are able to sign. When a prospect verbally commits to a school, it is no more than a promise to the coaches he or she will sign. The athlete can break a verbal commitment, and many times coaches will continue to recruit committed prospects of other schools. Negative recruiting (supposedly against the rules), a practice in which coaches from a school will talk badly about another school in an attempt to gain a recruit's commitment, is common in the recruiting world. An important note here is that an athlete does not have to sign a NLI to attend a college.
NCAA Clearinghouse

For a high school athlete to be eligible to play at the NCAA level, the individual must register and be certified by the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse. The student's academic background, including grade-point averages for core-curriculum courses and scores from an ACT or SAT, are evaluated to determine eligibility. It is a good idea for prospective college athletes to register with the Clearinghouse after their junior year, but before their senior year, so any academic deficiencies can be addressed during the senior year. A new requirement is that prospective Division I and II athletes must send their ACT or SAT scores directly to the Clearinghouse from the testing agencies.

Many college basketball and football programs generate 20 to 30 million dollars annually in revenue (Fulks, 2000, as cited in Letawsky, 2003). Between 1985 and 2005, the average budget for NCAA Division I-A football teams more than tripled and men's basketball budgets more then quadrupled (Wolverton & Lipka, 2007). Success on the field can bring recognition, visibility and increased revenue to the school and the head coach.

Only 5.7% of high school football players and 3% of basketball players will compete at the college level, and less than 0.1% advance to the professional ranks (NCAA). The pool from which coaches select is very small, leading to intense battles for players. Winning on the field or court starts with winning on the recruiting trail. This means the recruiting battle for the highly sought-after blue chip prospects can be extremely competitive and dirty.

Fans and boosters also follow the process intensely, as the perception is attracting the best athletes to a school equates to winning. The media now covers recruiting as part of their regular reporting of college sports, and websites dedicated to recruiting have popped up all over the Internet, with fans paying to read which recruits their favorite school is pursuing. Recruiting websites receive millions of visitors monthly and rank players with a star system (1-5, with five being the highest). These websites try to stay in constant contact with recruits and tend to call prospects without parental permission. Since college coaches are not allowed to comment on a prospective student-athlete until he or she signs a NLI, these websites have numerous journalists collecting information and conducting interviews that are then relayed to their subscribers. Many journalists can be unprofessional and biased, and have been known to misconstrue quotes made by recruits. As a coach you need to encourage your athlete to limit interviews with these websites and have parents become involved by setting boundaries. One easy solution to avoiding these journalists is to not give out cell phone numbers. If you have to give them a number, only give out a home phone number where parents can help protect the recruit.

Another reason not to give out cell phone information is the escalation in frequency of text messaging. Since the NCAA limits the number of phone calls coaches can make to recruits, coaches had been sending excessive amounts of text messages to recruits. However, the NCAA recently addressed this problem by eliminating coach-to-recruit text messaging effective August 1, 2007.

The early signing period currently in place in basketball is beneficial for recruits who know their college destination and want to end the recruiting process. However you should not push your athlete into making a decision if they are not ready or if they are trying to avoid the pressure. When an early signing period is not available and your athlete has made a verbal commitment, hold them to that decision. Let the athlete know that once they've given a school their word, it should be binding. This also means that when other colleges call to inquire about the recruit, they must be told to move on and to stop recruiting the individual.

As a coach, you must stay neutral and guide your athlete along through the recruiting cycle. Offer suggestions and support, but do not pressure the player to choose a certain school. Set limits for college coaches in contacting your player, and do not let the athlete be persuaded by negativity. Help the athlete make a list of pros and cons regarding each school to help them make the decision. The decision may become easier when everything is laid out in front of them.

The NCAA has a detailed compilation of rules and regulations regarding recruiting practices. It offers information to recruits to help them know their rights and for coaches to clarify boundaries and help them follow the rules. To become better acquainted with the NCAA's policies, visit their website at www.ncaa.org and click on "Legislation and Governance" then "Eligibility and Recruiting."
References

* Wolverton, B., & Lipka, S. (2007). Knight commission to fight high salaries and recruiting pressures. Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 53 No. 22, p. 28.
* Judson, K.M., James, J.D., & Aurand, T.W. (2004). Marketing the university to student-athletes: understanding university selection criteria. Journal of Marketing for Higher Educations, Vol. 14 Issue 1, pp. 23-40.
* Letawsky, N.R., Schneider, R.G., Pederson, P.M., & Palmer, C.J. (2003). Factors influencing the college selection process of student-athletes: are their factors similar to non-athletes? College Student Journal, Vol. 37 Issue 4, pp. 604-610.
* Lipka, S. (2006). Hot-button recruiting. Chronicle of Higher Educations, Vol. 53 Issue 7, p. 37.
* Carey, J. (2007, January 29). Legal woes big challenge in recruiting. USA Today, Sports p. 3.
* Carey, J. (2007, January 23). Commission told of big changes in recruiting. USA Today, Sports p. 5c.
* Sperber, M. (2004). Sex and booze: two steps to winning football. Chronicle of Higher Educations, Vol. 50 Issue 27, p. 24.
* Jacobson, J. (2004). Rolling up the red carpet for recruits. Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 51 Issue 6, pp. 37-39.
* National Collegiate Athletic Association, www.ncaa.org.
* Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, www.knightcommission.org.

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

Female Athletes and ACL Injuries

Last week, I wrote about the experience that I had with working with a local high school girls basketball team and the conversation that took place with the head junior varsity coach and myself. I briefly explained the goals that the coach was seeking with working with me; however, I failed to talk about one other issue or topic that came up in the discussion.

Anterior cruciate ligament commonly known as the ACL.

Eight years ago 2.5 million high school girls and 145,000 college girls played some type of competitive sport. No longer are the days that girls are just participating in non-contact sports such as golf or tennis. They are now participating in more violent contact sports like football, basketball, boxing, roller demolition derby, field hockey, and lacrosse to name a few. Each year, females participation in sport has rising substantially in every major market or competitive arena from club sports all the way to collegiate competition. Even though, more females are signing up and participating in sports, more are watching on the sideline rather than playing on the field due to sustaining more injuries like ACL injuries.

ACL injuries are the most common injuries that most females will be faced with while participating in athletics. Each year, 1 out of 100 high school female athletes and 1 out of 10 college female athletes will go down with an ACL injury. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (more commonly known as the NCAA) reports that in a given year, approximately 2200 collegiate females are expected to go down with an ACL injury. These stats suggest that females are 4 to 8 times more likely to sustain this type of injury than males. Also research data shows that on average, an ACL reconstruction surgery costs a family $25,000 a year. In addition, the data from high school and college suggest that they spend over $100 million annually on reconstruction surgeries for females.


The question is why are females more susceptible to ACL injuries than males? And are there exercises that can be done to prevent them from being injured?

Many experts (myself included) think the reason why females are so susceptible is because of the anatomical differences that females have in comparison to males. In addition other common factors are muscle imbalances and variations in movement patterns.


Anatomical Differences

In the knee joint, an intercondylar notch lies between the femoral condyles. The ACL moves within this notch, connecting the femur (more commonly known has the thigh bone) and the tibia(more commonly known as the shin), providing stability to the knee. The ACL prevents the tibia from sliding forward and rotating inward. The majority of women have a small notch, therefore restricting ACL movement. When movement is restricted, the femoral condyles can easily pinch the ACL within the joint, especially during twisting or hyperextended movements. This ultimately can result in a tear or rupture.

The other difference lies in what is called the Q angle or the angle from the hips, femur, and tibia. The femur is affected because it meets the tibia at this angle and if a person has wider hips (which most females do in comparison to their male counterparts) it can have an affect on their ACL. The wider the hips, the larger the Q angle. At this greater angle, forces are concentrated on the ligament for stability each time the knee rotates. This increases the rotational forces on the ACL, raising the probability of a tear. A large Q angle also results in a more pronated foot (a foot that is turned outward), further stressing the knee.

Muscle Imbalance

The balance and relationship between how the quadriceps and hamstrings work together plays a crucial part to knee stability. Research shows that female athletes tend to have quadriceps to hamstrings muscle imbalances -- with the quadriceps as the dominating knee stability muscle. On the other hand, men have a better balance between quadriceps and hamstrings. They engage the hamstrings first when performing a movement, which actually decreases stress on the ACL. Therefore, the stability of the knee is more quadriceps-dominant (an ACL antagonist) in females and more hamstrings-dominant (an ACL agonist) in men.

So let's relate this concept to female involvement in sports. As stated earlier, females are now engaging in similar activities like their male counterparts which place the same demands on their bodies and knee structures with similar intensity (equal twisting and loading forces on the knee joint). Twisting, cutting and landing movements all stress the ACL to provide stability. As the quadriceps contract, additional stress is put on the ACL, increasing the risk of injury. So, if females or more quadriceps dominant, they are more susceptible in putting their ACL in danger of tearing because it is stressed more during the activity.

Variations in Movement Patterns
Contrary to what a lot of you reading this article may think, the majority of ACL injuries come from non-contact incidents on the field or court. These injuries are divided equally among the three main non-contact movements -- planting, cutting and straight-knee landings with hyper-extended knees. For unknown reasons, women tend to perform all these movements with straight legs. Straight-legged activities require the knees to absorb forces equal to four times an individual's body weight as well as encourage hyperextension of the knee joint. Hyperextending the knee is one of the major contributors to non-contact ACL injuries. Also, videos have show that women tend to perform planting, cutting and landing movements by turning the knees inward, further exaggerating the Q angle stress on the ACL and therefore increasing risk of an ACL rupture.

How can the athletic community assist females to decrease the risk of an ACL tear?

Obviously, anatomical characteristics that increase the risk of ACL rupture cannot be changed. As a result, the focus for prevention has been on teaching athletes the correct motor patterns to prevent excessive stress on the ACL through jump training (landing and propelling). Finally, because quadriceps-hamstring strength imbalance appears so important, athletes must also work to maintain flexibility of both of these muscle groups. As muscles are strengthened, flexibility can be lost unless athletes conscientiously cool down and stretch at the end of the workout..

The bottom line is:
• ACL injuries are a big problem
• ACL injuries are a bigger problem for females
• ACL injuries are preventable

Every serious female player (of ANY age) should:
Practice proprioceptive training (a good idea for competitive male soccer players as well)

Strengthen hamstrings by:
• Jump training and/or leg curls
• Avoid turning and landing with straight legs
• Cool down and stretch after exercise
These measures can help prevent serious injury and will almost certainly improve performance to boot. Sorry about the pun. I just couldn’t resist.
Reference:
Stephanie Vlach, M.S., is the Manager, Fitness Education for the Life Fitness Academy.

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

Female Sports Injuries: The Creature from Jekyll Island

Majority of you reading this probably are wondering what is the Creature from Jekyll Island about. Well, yesterday while preparing for my speed camp, I was reading an article entitled The Creature from Jekyll Island, and I thought that since I had posted yesterday about the benefits of sports participation for females, why not talk about some of the injuries that most females sustain from playing sports. Jekyll Island is a real island located off of New York. It was a private island, it was a resort club, it was where the families of the very, very, very wealthy went to escape the cold winter months of New York. There you will find documents where a very small group of billionaires from New York met to establish what we now call the Federal Reserve Bank. But enough about the real Jekyll Island, I thought it would be cool to name this entry The Creature from Jekyll Island. Jekyll and Hyde is a portrayal of a split personality, split in the sense that within the same person there is both an apparently good and an evil personality each being quite distinct from each other; in mainstream culture the very phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" has come to mean a person who is vastly different in moral character from one situation to the next. So I thought since yesterday I posted about the "Hyde" or benefits of participation of females in sports, it would be rightfully deserving to post about the "Jekyll" or injuries that most females are susceptible to while participating in sports.

Female high school sports has increased 900% which equates to female participation doubling every 10 years. As stated in yesterday's blog post the benefits for female participation are numerous. Some of those benefits are:

female athletes are less likely to:

• Be in abusive relationships
• Teen pregnancy
• Chemical use
• Obesity
• Cardiovascular risks
• Develop breast cancer

however, females who participate in sport are more likely to:

• Finish high school
• Enroll in college
• Have an increase in self confidence
• Have better bone density
• More positive body image
• Learn and implement goal setting skills
• and develop team work capabilities

As discussed in a previous blog post, female athletes are more likely to injure their knees than male athletes. They are 2 to 8 times more likely to sustain an ACL injury. They are 2.5 times more likely to go down with a MCL/ LCL injury. And they are twice as likely to sustain a menisci injury. The mechanisms that causes these types of knee injuries are usually non-contact in nature. They usually come from females trying to change direction or cut on a surface, decelerate, or land from a jump.

Training programs should be designed to include prehabilitation components within it.
Within the program exercises should include:
• Stretching
• Plyometric type of exercises (type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the functions of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of improving performance in a specific sport),
• Proprioceptive balancing exercises (the term proprioception refers to a sense of joint position. Proprioceptive training is highly common in rehabilitation of injured athletes, but it can just as easily be used to prevent injury),
• Strengthening
• Flexibility
• Incorporate some hamstring activation type of exercises
• Landing drills with the emphasis on landing on the ball of the toes
• and Deceleration training

Concussions and cervical neck strains are injuries that females sustain while playing sports with soccer having the most incidents reported. Majority of the concussions appear to be from head to head collusion with other female soccer players. At the same rate, more females are suffering worst from post concussion syndrome. Post concussion syndrome or PCS, is a set of symptoms that a person may experience for weeks.
Symptoms include:
• Dizziness
• Lethargy
• Decrease concentration
• Poor sleep
• Decrease appetite
• and Memory deficits

Some girls who play sports or exercise intensely are at risk for a problem called female athlete triad (FAT). Female athlete triad is a combination of three conditions: disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. Amenorrrhea is the absence of menstrual period for more than 3 months. A female athlete can have one, two, or all three parts of the triad. In 2007 the American College of Sports Medicine redefined FAT as recognizing the relationships among energy availability, menstrual function and bone mineral density, which may manifest into eating disorders, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis in at-risk female athletes. Triad disorders are thought to be most common among female athletes in sports or activities which emphasize a lean physique or low body weight, such as gymnastics, swimming, or track and field.

Our last group of injuries are shoulder and foot related. Generally females have more joint laxity than males which predispose them to injuries of the shoulder joint. At the same rate, females are 9 times more likely to develop foot disorders from playing sports. The main culprit for foot injuries and disorders are improper fitting of the shoes.

Some of these disorders are:
• Metatarsalgia-general term used to refer to any painful foot condition affecting the metatarsal region of the foot. This is a common problem that can affect the joints and bones of the metatarsals.
• Bunions
Hammertoe-twisting of the toes that are caused by high heels, narrow shoes and wearing improper shoes
• Neuromas-refers to any swelling of a nerve

In conclusion the rate of female participation is outpacing males. Injuries sustained by female athletes are unique in that they are intrinsic and extrinsic in nature. The ultimate goal is to empower female athletes, promote musculoskeletal health, and facilitate a lifelong participation way after their high school and collegiate careers are over.

Reference:
www.naot.org
Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

Motivating Female Athletes

Yesterday I was working with one of local high schools in the town and I made an observation. The team is predominantly female with the head coach being a female and her assistance being a male. I usually talk with both coaches after practice just to see how things are going with the team and it's funny to hear them talk about their perception on what they think the girls need to improve upon for the team to get better. Now, both coaches are really experienced in the field of coaching basketball but their approach and methodology are different. The male coach has coached basketball for 30 plus years, with majority of the population that he has coached being males. The head coach, which is a female, is a former basketball center, who coaches female athletes majority of the time. This made me start to wonder about their language and delivery towards the girls and how the female coach gets more positive feedback from the girls and the assistant sometimes runs up against resistance when he instructs them to do different things.

Is there a possibly that there should be a different approach when coaching females? Or should females athletes be coached the same as male athletes? I asked two females for their perspective on the matter. One was an current athlete and another was a former athlete.

My findings showed that female athletes compete for different reasons than boys and require different kinds of stimuli to achieve. WITH THE POPULARITY of women's basketball at an all-time high, hundreds of young female athletes are beginning to dream of playing professional basketball. I can remember when my little sister started put pick up the sport and how excited she was with wanting to become the best possible athlete she could be. Many times females are being coached by individuals who do not understand the many factors involved in motivating and coaching female athletes, and this can lead to much frustration and misunderstanding.

The three basic areas that must be addressed in motivating female athletes are:

camaraderie among the players and between coaches and athletes,
a positive self-perception,
and the realization that female athletes compete for different reasons than males and require different kinds of stimuli to achieve.

The girls' coach must also understand that males look for an action oriented environment for competition, while females prefer a more meditative ambiance which explains why the two coaches approaches were totally different and one gets through to the female athletes and another is received with resistance. They want to be addressed in a friendly and respectful manner and are turned off by yelling, screaming, and the throwing of objects.

Overbearing displays of emotion create a hostile environment that could cause sensitive athletes to drop out.

Coaches who believe in yelling should do it only sparingly and should direct it at the group rather than the individual.
It's possible that winning for winning's sake is less important for the average female and that she is more goal-oriented than the average male. Likewise, girls are also different from boys in their need for nurturing a family-like camaraderie with teammates and coaches which explains the head coach talking about how the girls get excited about buying each other gifts for special occasions. It is important for them to feel comfortable with their teammates and coaches, and they have to be motivated to achieve.

Where male teams predicate enjoyment largely on playing time and winning, the most enjoyable kind of team for a female coach is a group of girls who get along well both on and off the court. The teams who have the best camaraderie are almost always the ones who are the most successful in terms of team unity and seasonal improvement.

Team Chemistry

The role of team chemistry has different shadings in female and male sports. Whereas it is an essential prerequisite for optimal performance in female sports, it is more a by-product of optimal performance among male teams.

Self Perception

Many female athletes tend to have lower levels of confidence than men. Their confidence depends on three things:
1. nature of the task
2. need for clear and positive feedback
3. social acceptance.

To enhance a girl's sell-perception, coaches must make certain she is comfortable with the nature of her task. The sport she is competing in must be gender-role appropriate. She must feel comfortable in it, just as a boy would be comfortable playing football, but feel at ease playing on team.

Feedback

Females also need clear and positive feedback. Ambiguous, negative criticism will likely impair their self-perception. They are much more likely than boys to be disturbed by negative comments. They respond very well to positive feedback as well as praise and encouragement. John Wooden believes that coaches should seek out private opportunities to praise athletes who need it. Too many coaches are too willing to criticize and too reluctant to dole out much-needed compliments (quick to criticize and slow to commend). Many coaches contend that such verbal reinforcement is the key to success in coaching women.

All in all females athletes want to have fun just like their male counterparts. However, team chemistry, self perception, and feedback are areas that need to be addressed and developed in order for females to be motivated and have success in their sport.

Personal Trainer and Sports Psychology Consultant in Charlotte, NC

Sudden Death: Young Athletes Dying In Sports part II

A couple of days ago, I wrote about the tragic incidences that have been occurring in the world of sport as it relates to youth athletics. The past couple of years, numerous athletes have been cleared by the physician to participate in their sport later to collapse and die while participating. This post is a follow up and is taken from News 14 about the latest case, a 15 year old basketball player that died during the team's first game. Our heart goes out to his family, friends, teammates and coaches, and all that knew him.

WINSTON-SALEM – The state medical examiner has determined that the high school basketball player who died after collapsing during his team's first game died from an uncommon heart condition.

The autopsy showed 15-year-old Khalid Prince, died Saturday from myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that weakens the heart.

"It is the result of viruses that are directed at the heart," Dr. Vinay Thohan, Wake Forest University associate professor of cardiology, said. "In the process of the body healing, or killing off the viruses, it starts to attack the heart also, and when it attacks the heart, it makes the heart weak."

Thohan, who did not treat Prince, said the condition is seen in young athletes but is not common. About 5 to 9 percent of young athletes who die suddenly suffer from myocarditis, he said.

And it can develop at any time."The challenge is this can occur after a routine physical," Thohan said. "So an individual may have had a perfectly normal, routine physical, develop myocarditis two months into their season and have an unusual course."

And since it can develop even after a physical, he said people should know the symptoms.

"If two weeks ago you were able to run five miles without getting short of breath and now you can't run a mile without feeling short of breath or having palpatations or feeling like you're going to pass out, that is a clear change in the way you are feeling," he said. "And that should be evaluated by a physician."

Students and staff at Parkland High School are mourning the loss of the freshman starting point guard, who collapsed after a basketball game Dec. 2. He passed away at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Parkland Principal Tim Lee said Monday that Prince was cleared to play both basketball and football for the school.

So what causes myocarditis and what are the symptoms?

Myocarditis is an uncommon disorder. In children it is usually caused by viral infections that reach the heart, such as the influenza (flu) virus, Coxsackie virus, and adenovirus. However, it may also occur during or after other viral or bacterial infections such as polio, rubella, Lyme disease, and others.

When you have an infection, your body's immune system produces special cells that release certain chemicals to fight off disease. If the infection affects your heart, the disease-fighting cells enter the heart. However, the chemicals they produce can damage the heart muscle, causing it to become thick and swollen. This leads to symptoms of heart failure. In addition, the virus or bacteria damage the heart muscle.Symptoms may be mild at first and difficult to detect.

Possible symptoms include palpitations (heart racing or "skipping" heart beats), low energy levels, and low exercise tolerance. Symptoms of congestive heart failure also include rapid breathing, clammy sweating, poor appetite, poor weight gain in young children, and swelling around the eyes, hand, and feet (more common in older children and young adults).

Symptoms in children over age 2 may also include:

* Belly area pain and nausea
* Chest pain
* Cough
* Fatigue
* Swelling (edema) in the legs, feet, and face


How can one be treated with myocarditis?

There is no cure for myocarditis, although the heart muscle inflammation usually goes away on its own in time.

The goal of treatment is to support heart function and treat the underlying cause of the myocarditis. Most children with this condition are admitted to a hospital. Activity can strain the heart and therefore is often limited.

Treatment may include:

* Antibiotics to fight infection
* Anti-inflammatory medicines called steroids to control inflammation
* Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), a medicine made of the substances that your body produces to fight infection, to control the inflammatory process
* Medicines called diuretics to remove excess water from the body
* Medicines to treat heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms


Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC
Taken from news14.com and www.drugs.com/enc/myocarditis-pediatric and www.med.umich.edu/mott/chc/patient_acq_myo.html

Sudden Death: Young Athletes Dying In Sports

Gladiators. Invincible. Freaks of nature. Gods of the Grid Iron. Superheroes. Athletes are looked upon as men and women of steel sometimes. They are marveled as immortal- coded and blessed with genes from the gods of sports. But in the last 3-4 years, a number of high school and even middle school athletes have collapsed and died during practice, games or scrimmages. It's not just one sport. It's been football, lacrosse, tennis, hockey, etc. More and more athletes around the country are dying in sports. In North Carolina recently, a 15 yr old player collapsed and died during a basketball game. Sean Fisher was only 13 years old; Max Gilpin was 15 years old; Douglas Morales a 17 year old high school student; Ereck Plancher a college freshman. These students all died as a result of participating in football training. I can remember when I was in high school, one of our offensive linemen also played basketball died during a organized scrimmage in the preseason of basketball. He was only a freshman.

Students who train year round anticipate being able to play in their favorite sport. In fact, they prepare and practice sometimes all year, hoping to make the team. However, in order to participate in any form of physical activity, most schools require a clearance from a physician. The fact that the students are cleared for physical activities/sports is no longer a reason to feel confident that they are going to be safe while playing their sport.

For example, I had a client recently who sustained a concussion during the preseason. Yet he debated rather or not he was going to tell his coaches about his injury. He wanted to play so bad and wanted to impress the coaches so much, he was willing to jeopardize his health and life.

Likewise, I wasn't always a saint myself. Heck, even now, I sometimes try to defy the laws of nature by pushing through injuries that I know I shouldn't. I can remember on two occasions in my early career, in which I put my health and life on the line just to play. One was when I was playing little league football against our cross town rivals the Tiny Vikings. I got hit so hard that I experienced double vision for a whole series; however, I stayed in the game and continued to play. Another incident was when I was a freshman in college, I wanted to make a name for myself to the point that I played through a mild shoulder separation and a mild concussion without telling anyone on the coaching or athletic training staff the whole preseason. My reasoning was that I didn't think that the injuries were too serious enough for medical attention, as well as, I didn't want to seem weak and have to miss practice or God for bid be pulled from a game.

So what's going on here? What is the problem?

Who is responsible for this?

Is it the physician's giving the physical responsible?

Is it the coaches' fault for pushing and putting high expectations on the players especially if you are in a highly successful program?

Or is it the player's fault for playing Russia Roulette with their health?

Are students who are physically cleared appropriately tested?

Are we listening to their concerns/complaints?

Are they being pushed too far during training?

Or better yet, could the parents be the guilty party because they are enthusiastically counting on their child to perform?

As the coaches/trainers prepare the team to play the game, they focus on intense drilling. The goal of the coach/trainer is to build endurance mentally and physically. Students may experience shortness of breathe, exhaustion, dizziness and other signs of fatigue – but the coaches/trainers often ignore the complaints as they are focused on building endurance and physical stamina – perhaps it is more in the form of thinking mind over matter – work through the challenges because you most likely won't be able to stop for a drink of water/Gatorade/etc. during an actual game.

Here are some things that parents can do:

Have your child thoroughly tested - including an EKG that may be able to detect any heart abnormalities during physical activities. If you feel uncertain, go ahead and ask for a stress test/heart ultrasound.

Tell your doctors as much information as you can about your family history (has anyone had a sudden cardiac arrest at a young/early age?)

Talk to your child - ask him/her about their physical response during activities? Be specific in asking if they have experienced any shortness of breath, chest pains, feeling faint or weak?

Do not take anything for granted - a heart murmur is serious. Remember the movie John Q with Denzel Washington.

Speak to your school's trainer or coach, ask him/her if they have the necessary equipment to assist the students in the event someone collapses on the field/during practice? Have they received the training to operate the equipment?


For the coaches:

Communicate with the athletes that injuries will not cause them to lose their position.

Do not encourage kids to play through an injury.

Likewise discuss with them that playing injured only puts them in more danger than if trying to play through the pain and ignoring the signs and symptoms.

Encourage an open door policy with your players to talk about any and everything regarding the team.

Express that playing injured doesn't categorize them as being tough.

Explain to them that getting hurt is a part of the game and it shouldn't be looked upon it as being shameful.

Don't question the validity of their injury.

Don't give them the silent treatment or alienate them from the team.

While the physicians may not be too keen on the idea of the thorough physical testing, keep in mind that this is your child. If your car broke down, you would take it to the mechanic and have it repaired or you may even decide to purchase a new one. On the other hand, if your child collapses, you may not be able to have him/her fixed and there is definitely no replacement for the loss. If the physician is unable to perform the tests due to insurance restrictions then by all means pay for it yourself. You may find that it is actually affordable or perhaps you can ask your physician to work out a payment plan. It's less than the cost of a funeral and the lifelong emotional pain that may cost you in therapy fees.

In getting a thorough examination and in support of your child's team, you have done your best. Now it's time to cheer them on - Let's Go.

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC