Individual
assessment of each athlete is the key to training success. Include past injuries,
medical history, and athletic ability. Two
athletes may get to precisely the same level of performance through radically
different means: the coaches' job is to discover those differences and design
the means for the body, the nervous system, and the psychology. Whatever
the approach: you cannot train what you don't have. ASSESSMENT
& EVALUATION
Evaluating athletes' potential and designing program for
that athlete is essential to avoid wasting time, causing injury. The
ATHLETIC ABILITY of the athlete including their skills at core stabilization,
shock absorption, aerobics, agility, explosiveness, balance determines the type
of training program. RANGE
OF MOTION
Evaluating range of motion will help define where athlete can
go. E.G. no ankle flex, no point in deep knee bends. Focus
on range of motion and biomechanics of athlete is crucial. JOINT
STABILIZATION
- Passive
stabilization = ligament assessment. Does the athlete need to be braced?
- Active
stabilization = muscular, here is where the coach focuses training.
- Focus
on the low back, shoulder, knee, scapula, hip for the general core stabilization
program across all sports.
Sports-specific
stabilization areas: swimmers = shoulder girdle, runners = lower extremities,
cyclists = low back, shoulder girdle. OPTIMAL
VERSUS MAXIMAL TRAINING
Find
optimal training load as opposed to maximal training load. With steroid use, athletes
could train to maximum level and recover using drugs. Today, finding optimal levels
is critical to success. Build
slowly to maximum threshold training programs ONLY when athlete has physical and
mental preparation for this training, otherwise injury will take place. Short
duration high intensity varied training programs have a role in the development
of all-around fitness in elite athletes. Overtraining
is a very common problem. It can blow a national championship. Keys:
optimal training for max training, short duration, varied programs, daily participation.
RECOVERY
Carefully
design recovery workouts Some
athletes are experimenting with breathing oxygen for recovery, but evidence is
that you cannot absorb enough O2 through the lungs to improve performance. Therefore,
some are experimenting with hyperbaric chambers. Performance effects not yet known.
Power sports:
Yoga good recovery method for off-season for power athletes, but some research
shows it has a detrimental effect on explosive force. We see many knee injuries
from Bikram Yoga. Warming
down times, post-exercise stretching, massage, and humor may be as helpful in
returning to pre-performance readiness as any legal supplements.
NEUROLOGICAL
AND PHYSICAL STATUS
The
neurological status of the athlete may be as important as physical status. Joint
reaction time and ability to recruit muscles can be crudely tested by a vertical
leap test. However, these tests are subject to considerable variability. | 
