Athletes are often very picky when it comes to who they want to train them whether it is on the field/court/ice or in the weight room. Oftentimes they believe that in order for a strength and conditioning coach to be of any benefit to them, that coach must have played the sport they are training. When this situation arises, what do we, as coaches, tell the athlete when they ask us how we could possibly help them?
The answer is that we teach them how to move more efficiently. Let’s say that we have an athlete who is a moderately fast runner, but they want to get faster. The sport coach works with them on the field trying to increase the athletes speed, but nothing is working. Now it is our turn. The athlete comes to us and we notice that while running, this athlete has a great deal of rotation in the torso while running, and also tends to flex at the thoracic spine. This causes a great deal of energy to be lost through extraneous motion that could be used for increasing the speed of the athlete. What we need to work on is getting that tight core and teaching the athlete how to run properly. This can be done through a series of wall drills starting as basic as just leaning with hands against a wall and maintaining a static position with one leg up as though running. It can then progress all the way to the point of doing three quick steps (or more) while maintaining proper forward lean and a tight core. This is just one of many possible things that could be noted and potentially corrected to assist the athlete in moving more efficiently and thus becoming faster.
Core stability can also be worked on in a series of posture holds, beginning with an athlete in an athletic stance with hand pressed together in front of the chest (picture someone praying). A partner then pushes/pulls the person’s hands/arms in any direction trying to make them lose balance when the athlete braces themselves maintaining a stable posture to prevent themselves from losing balance. Progressions from this point can include a staggered stance, single leg stance, or any of these with eyes closed.
One key piece of information learned, even though it seems simple, is that when changing direction, cross the plant foot in front of the other foot in order to get the body turned around before pushing off in the opposite direction. This prevents taking the extra step (or sometimes two) to get the body turned around and moving once again. In general, it is important to realize the benefits of moving properly and how much core stability plays a role in the way each of us move in our everyday lives, and how proper coaching can make all the difference for an athlete who just wants that extra pop in their step.