The education session this week was held by head strength coach Dan Boothby. The emphasis of the session revolved around how important it is to get support and “buy in” from not just athletes but sport coaches and administration. The image of strength coaches being grunts and groans is archaic. The new “model” of strength and conditioning programming is all backed by science. Everything that the strength coach writes down onto a new phase of a lifting card has a specific purpose and objective. Being able to look at heart rate variability and training loads with the Polar system, movement patterns using an FMS, ACL statistics, physiology of nutrition from person to person, and systems of the human body using tools such as the Omegawave are all pieces of the puzzle that formulates grander picture of the athlete’s career. It isn’t very difficult to get some type of response from training without putting much thought into a training program or periodization layout but the level of performance and reduction of injury could be so much greater if tailored specific to the team’s true deficiencies.
Injury prevention and sport performance are the two main focuses of any strength and conditioning professional’s job but what about life after sports? It is sad to see athletes that get worn out and broken down after four years of being pounded in the weight room with foolish training protocols. They are often left with chronic injury and dysfunction once competitive sport has been removed from their daily life. Was it worth it? As strength and conditioning coaches, our jobs now are not just injury prevention and sport performance; we must also look at sustainability when they are no longer competing. Fortunately if the proper data is taken for each individual athlete, a well-integrated periodization is both beneficial for their sport career and long term lifestyle.
Education is powerful. I have noticed that when discussing topics such as nutrition, the expressions on athletes, coworkers and just about anyone’s face is perplexed. There are so many different components of nutrition and everyone’s body handles foods differently from the cascade of hormone release to the basics of palatability of foods. Education on small things can make an enormous impact on quality of life. Having “buy in” from athletes is the most powerful components of a coach’s job. Everything down to the way we breathe is going to affect how we train, recover and handle stress. Having the dedication from the athlete in regards to these small changes makes the big difference. The buy in from sport coaches and directors above you is crucial for getting the necessary support so that the athletes can truly get the biggest benefit that we as strength coaches have to offer.