Could What We Do Now Affect What We....

So here it is, a beautiful morning, the sun shinning and my girls are getting ready for basketball camp at the YMCA. I was getting some work done when my son Brennen was fussing. I walked over to him to pick up when I suddenly sneezed. OH MY GOODNESS! It was like someone stuck a 12 inch knife in my lower back. I dropped down and for about 10 seconds my breath was taking away. The first thought that went through my head was #$%!#$! I then realized I had to get up and pick up Brennen. About 60 seconds later it actually felt much better, but I knew my plans for the day had changed. My plans were to work out and clean out some old stuff around the house. Well, not today.

This leads me into what this blog is about....Are the things we have our athletes do now affect them physically when they are older?

This is certainly not the first time I have written on this subject and it won't be the last. The field of strength and conditioning, which I am so grateful for and admire the purpose, has taken a weird spin in many cases and could seriously be at fault for the post athletic career injuries. Let me explain further...

I see a need for strength and conditioning in high schools, colleges, professional sports and of course private businesses. Strength and conditioning has allowed many athletes with lesser athletic ability to reach their true potential. It has totally changed around athletic teams and programs and given a sense of pride to individual players. Yet, there seems to be a greater disconnect between what its true role is in athletics and sports performance.

Without question, I see the role of strength and conditioning as being a conduit for greater sports performance on the field, court, or track. I don't see it as a competition within the weight room itself. I know many strength coaches form competitive situations in the wt room to "bring out the best" of the athletes and hopefully urge them to lift more pounds. I am not sure I agree with that concept, I'm not totally against it but I am not going to sell it to others either.

Let me give you a quick example of how I feel some coaches totally miss the role of strength and conditioning; One coach at the high school level, he is a head football coach and does the strength training for his team, set a standard of every player that is going to make varsity has to have a 400lb squat- otherwise they play JV or don't make the team. Going back to my original statement- Strength and conditioning is a conduit for greater athleticism and improved sports performance. This is why I feel strength training can be dangerous and cause serious health issues when athletes get older.

Let me go back to the statement I made about competition in the wt room. I don't want to be mis-understood. I love setting up situation where the athletes can compete against one another- but never at the risk of injury or poor training habits. For example; I use to love to have push up, pull up, or dip competitions. I would even do medicine ball throws, standing broad jumps, and even for fun put 100 pounds on the bar and see who could do the most. This competitions were set up as a fun day or a semi-monthly occasion that the athletes would look forward to. What I am opposed to is when athletes have to compete against each other to get on the 400lb squat board and they only way 130lbs and they are a freshman in high school. There needs to be better judgement in cases like this. Anyway- i think you get why I don't like certain competitions.

Getting back to what I feel strength and conditioning is all about. At the end of the day there are 2 major things that I am concerned with when it comes to training the athletes at the Lee Taft Speed Academy. The first is making sure they remain healthy and have a less chance of getting injured while they practice and play their sports. The second is that they can perform at the highest level possible.

I can accomplish both of them following one simple rule of thumb. Does the program I am using with the athletes pass my RISK/REWARD test? If the exercises I am using to help them stay healthy and produce better performances on the field, court, or track have greater risk of injury with not much reward in terms of performance that exercise is out the window in a hurry. There are way too many positive ways to accomplish my two primary goals without putting the athletes at risk to ever go near a high risk exercise.

The other important point that has been lost in the field of strength and conditioning is the role we truly play as strength coaches. I am not so egotistical to think my program is more important than the sport the athlete plays. Athlete come to me to play better and stay healthy, not to set records in my wt room.

Strength coaches that own their own business are always trying to outdo the "guy next door" and create a market niche for themselves. In doing so they invent new and different spins on old exercises that simply put a higher risk than reward on the athlete. I am all for thinking outside the box and using different exercises to stimulate the athletes, but not if it increases the risk factor.

The final point I want to make is we don't put enough thought into what our program might be doing to cause future health issues and discomfort in our athletes. I know when an athlete learns to do a single leg squat under complete control and balance or does a front squat with great form he or she is protecting themselves against injury as well as improving performance- yet not hurting themselves 20 years down the line. I also know when I have the athletes perform low level jumps, leaps, and hops with proper form they are not being put at a high risk now nor in the future. I also know that when I have the athlete perform a one arm one leg tubing row the chances of them learning how to generate strength, power, increase balance, and force through proper loading of all the joints goes way up- so does the transfer to the field, court, or track- but the risk factor stays really low. But I also know that when an athlete gets under a 400 plus back squat the risk of injury increases a lot. I am not against the big squatting I just think not enough coaches understand why, when, and with whom they should be allowing to perform this lift (I could have chosen any higher risk lift, I simply used the 400 lb back squat because of the example I gave of the high school coach forcing his players to be able to perform this amount to make the varsity team).

Let me finish my saying, all in all I appreciate what the strength and conditioning field has done for athletics. I think it will continue to help many athletes reach their potential. I just would like more coaches to respect their role better and appreciate what most athletes naturally bring to the table. It is our job to not put them at risk and it is our job to give them greater opportunities.

Yours in Speed,

Lee

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