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In the world of performance training, a needs analysis of the sport is mandatory—but this only represents the first step to a fully optimized training program. A coach must also look at the playing style of the individual athlete and the demands the athlete puts on their body to be successful on the court. Not all athletes of the same position will have the same playing style, and understanding this is important for designing and coaching a training program to optimize performance and injury mitigation.

This article features a case study on Darryl Wong to show the inner workings of a performance training program for a basketball athlete. Darryl (from Vancouver, BC, Canada) is a lifelong basketball player, former high school team coach, and current captain to two competitive amateur teams. He’s an athlete who continuously goes out of his way to improve, working with professional basketball coaches in Canada and overseas in Asia to sharpen his skills on the court. Off the court, I have been in charge of his physical preparation on and off for the last five years.

Despite working incredibly hard and developing a respectable shooting game in the last several months, Darryl is known in his leagues primarily as one of the best and most aggressive finishers in the paint—as can be seen in this video of his playing style. Darryl’s reliance on agility (change of direction ability plus reaction time and game IQ), power, and mid-air acrobatic moves tell me several important factors that will affect my training prescription for him:

1. Single leg ground reaction forces are very high when he drives into the paint and tries to score.
2. The core must be strong and possess reactive abilities to rebalance after making contact with a defender in the paint.
3. Limb speed must match decision-making speeds mid-air (acrobatics).
4. Landing mechanics, proprioception (ability to sense where the body is in space), lower leg strength, and resilience must be high to land safely after each play.
5. Because of multiple previous ankle sprains, extra care must be taken to ensure re-injury does not occur.

These demands are specific to Darryl’s playing style preferences and injury history. For example, other players in the same guard position—even on the same team—may prefer a less contact-based style and favor a more catch-and-shoot approach, which comes with its own unique set of physical preparation demands.

How to Individualize Training Based on Position and Playing Style

Considering the factors identified in the needs analysis, what kind of training is the most suitable for Darryl? Let’s address each one of the five demands.

1. High single leg ground reaction forces while driving into the paint and trying to score

Simply put, Darryl must have adequate single leg strength and power to make this playing style successful. We develop this in our program through both bilateral and unilateral training at both low and high velocities.

Bilateral, low-velocity exercises include:

• Trap bar and conventional deadlifts
• Front and back squats
• Hip thrusts

Bilateral, high-velocity exercises include:

• Dumbbell and trap bar squat jumps
• Plyometric jumps (continuous jumps, depth jumps)
• Weighted countermovement jumps
• Multidirectional and rotational jumps
• Cleans and snatch variations
• Linear sprint drills
• Lateral and multidirectional cone agility drills

Unilateral, low-velocity exercises include:

• Multidirectional lunges
• Split squat variations (rear foot elevated, hand supported, dumbbells, barbells)
• Single leg deadlift variations
• Single leg hip thrusts

Unilateral, high-velocity exercises include:

• Single leg plyometric hops
• Single leg box jumps
• Single leg jumps (split squat jumps, staggered stance jumps)
• Explosive sprint starts in lunged, staggered stance position
• Lateral and multidirectional bounding

There’s a common misconception that, to achieve high single leg power, athletes must always—and only—train unilateral exercises at high velocities. While this satisfies the principle of specificity, performing a variety of bilateral and lower velocity work improves overall lower body strength (especially in the earlier stages of athletic development), allowing the athlete to fully reap the benefits of single leg power training.

All of the exercises listed above are included in the yearly training plan, while the intensity, volume, and emphasis of each category will vary depending on injuries, league season, and training phase.

For example, in the off- and pre-season (2-3 months before the season), we focus on building as much strength and power as we can with both bilateral and unilateral exercises. We also add sprints and drills to improve running and change of direction mechanics.

During the season, I generally take the number of exercises and the volume of training down a notch to keep recovery manageable. Our goal here is to maintain and possibly improve strength and power measures via low-volume means: high-quality weighted jumps, single leg plyometric jumps and hops, and high-velocity bilateral exercises like cleans and jerks.

Keeping the intensity high during the in-season is crucial to preserving the adaptations made in the off- and pre-seasons. I remove sprinting and agility drills because these movement qualities are already expressed and practiced during game competition; we can allocate the extra energy and training time more efficiently.

When I started training Darryl, he expressed that he wanted to become stronger on the court. His athletic profile reflected his assessment of his weaknesses: he had high reactive strength and performed very well in high-velocity situations and exercises but had relatively lower absolute strength. Our goal, then, was to improve his bottom line: low-velocity strength—essentially, build his overall strength base so he feels more resilient on the court and to supplement his power.

Specificity still wins, but not in the absence of building a foundational base. Share on X

The results were evident when both his vertical jumping ability and agility improved through strength work and minimal high-velocity power training. That was years ago. Currently, high-velocity power training is very much part of the program—specificity still wins, but not in the absence of building a foundational base.

2. Core strength and reactive ability

Core stability drills activate the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. We can’t sufficiently build stability and strength through low-intensity exercises like bird dogs and dead bugs, although I still include these in the program as a warm-up to the main work.

Our program develops general core strength through the main compound lifts like deadlifts, squats, pressing, bent rows, and Olympic lift variations. We supplement these with more specific exercises like offset loaded exercises, reactive Pallof presses, rotational medicine ball training, weighted isometrics, and loaded carry variations.

Regarding strength on the court, both core and lower body strength are critical. The ability to become an unstoppable attacker depends on the athlete’s ability to:

• Root their feet into the floor to push
• Possess a rigid core to prevent power leaks
• Push back on defenders

3. Limb speed must match decision-making speed in mid-air

Whether switching hands for the layup or faking a pass before the finish, mid-air acrobatics are part of Darryl’s game. In physical terms, he must have sufficient plyometric ability in his upper and lower limbs to change directions in mid-air.

Since Darryl already performed this at a relatively high level before I started working with him (through basketball training and his natural ability), my job was to supplement this talent. I used plyometric exercises like assisted clap push-ups, plyometric inverted rows (where the hands release at the top of the pull), continuous medicine ball slams, continuous plyometric box jumps, and plyometric medicine ball tosses. The overall goal is to develop his nervous system by making him think and move fast.

Video 1. Plyometric exercise, such as the one demonstrated in the video, supplement Darryl’s natural mid-air acrobatic talent.

When I prescribe these exercises, I have a set x rep scheme in mind, but the one rule I follow is to stop when the quality of repetitions decreases significantly. Through practice and communication of expectations, Darryl has developed a high standard for quality reps. My philosophy here aligns with power endurance protocols: fast, high-quality reps achieved through short, numerous sets.

4. Landing mechanics, proprioception, lower leg strength, and resilience must be high to land after each play safely, and
5. Due to multiple previous ankle sprains, extra care must be taken to ensure re-injury does not occur

Producing large ground reaction forces play after play, game after game, and season after season results in wear and tear on the muscles and joints in the lower limbs. Injuries occur when the system’s capacity is not sufficient to deal with the demands placed on it. Unfortunately, Darryl sustained multiple ankle injuries back in his high school days that have impacted his ability to train and recover between games. A large part of our training has addressed this because I believe an athlete is at the mercy of their weakest link.

Ankle injuries, specifically, result from several factors separated into two categories:

• Contact injuries. Examples include bad landings resulting from stepping on another player’s foot or being pushed off balance mid-air (after driving in or after a jump shot).
• Non-contact injuries. These include injuries sustained from improper landing mechanics after jumping and poor proprioception and weak reactive strength in the foot and ankle complex during change of direction and landing.

Ankle injuries caused by interrupted landings occur from the recreational level to professional basketball. Contact injuries are largely unavoidable because they are out of the athlete’s control, although the player’s preferred playing style can reduce or increase their likelihood. Nevertheless, we can still take steps to cover our bases and mitigate injury risk (more on this in the examples later).

The good news is that the two variables related to non-contact injuries are highly trainable. With Darryl and the other basketball athletes I work with, we improve landing mechanics and foot and ankle complex strengthening through a variety of means. This begins with educating the athletes on the concepts behind eccentric force absorption and the role of foot strength in jumping, so they can not only internalize the training we perform together off the court but also apply these tools to their game on the court. We also perform specific exercises to help develop force absorption and lower leg resiliency.

• Eccentric force absorption. To train eccentric force absorption, we perform box step-off and jump-off landings and vertical jump and reach landings (mimicking a layup or rebound) and introduce the depth jump when the players are ready.
• Proprioception and reactive strength. To develop proprioception and reactive strength in the ankle and foot complex, I prescribe multidirectional single leg hops (jump and stick the landing drill).

Video 2. This video shows a variation of a single leg hop focusing on lateral stability performed by Darryl’s teammate Charly.

Charly has also dealt with ankle injuries, both minor inversion and eversion ankle sprains. Adding this exercise to his training regimen as a warm-up has helped him tremendously.

Overall, these drills serve as a great way to warm up for the compound lifts and high-intensity jumps because they “wake” the athlete up without taking away from force production later in the session. I also have my athletes perform these without shoes—barefoot—to strengthen the intrinsic foot muscles.

Foot training has improved agility and plyometric ability for basketball players, martial artists, and racquet sport athletes. Share on X

Fascial training is not a big driver in my training prescription, but I do believe in the feet-glute fascial connection and having strong feet. I’ve seen positive results using foot training with basketball players, martial artists, and racquet sport athletes as it relates to agility and plyometric ability. However, I still preach that it’s merely a supplement to the meat and potatoes of any effective training program.

As I alluded to earlier, contact injuries are unavoidable, but we can still take steps to mitigate the risk. Two drills I want to highlight are the partner-directed single leg hops and reactive jump landings. In both drills, contact from the partner adds randomness to the training environment, forcing the athlete to adjust accordingly. By introducing an external stimulus, the athletes develop their ability to stabilize and absorb force reactively. While this doesn’t exactly mimic in-game conditions, it does train proprioception in a reactive, safe, and replicable manner.

Video 3. The athlete hops on one leg while his partner controls his direction, adding randomness.

Video 4. The athlete reacts to pushes by his partner while performing jump landings.

Case Study and Results—Darryl Wong (Before Sept 2018 Season)

In the pre-season leading up to Darryl and his team’s 2018 Fall season, I put many of these training principles and methods to the test. Since he had chronic ankle soreness from practices, our key goals in the pre-season were to improve:

• the health and strength of the ankle and foot complex
• key measures of agility using closed and reactive drills
• lower body strength

The eight-week training cycle consisted of two weight room sessions and one on-court session per week. Weight room sessions focused on building full body strength and power through compound lifts, plyometrics, and jumps training. The on-court sessions consisted of plyometric hops, reactive agility drills, short sprints, and basketball-specific conditioning training.

I created a pre- and post- training test to include a lower body strength test, an upper body endurance test, the pro-agility 5-10-5 test, and two tests included in the NBA combine: the lane agility test and ¾ court sprint test. These options reflected the demands of the athlete’s playing style, and improvements in these would give me a good indication that Darryl would be a better athlete on the court.

After eight weeks of training, we saw sizeable improvements across the board, both subjectively and objectively. Darryl reported feeling stronger and more resilient on the court during practice and scrimmages, reduced markers of ankle swelling and pain, and more responsive feet during a change of direction (crossovers, driving, etc.).

Objectively, his trap bar deadlift 3RM increased by 25lbs over the eight weeks, he added five reps to his bodyweight pull up, and improved his agility test scores 3-6%. Four other players on the team also saw improvements in all of the strength and agility tests.

Darryl and his team ended off the Fall 2018 season with only one loss and ended up clinching second place in the playoff finals. As of the time of this writing, Darryl and his team are headed into the Spring 2019 playoffs undefeated and as the number one seed.

Conclusion and Takeaways

The biggest takeaway from this article should be to dive deeper into the details of the athletes you’re coaching and training. Instead of only performing a needs analysis on a basketball player or position, understand the individual’s playing style and the associated demands and consequences that come along with that style.

Dive deeper than a needs analysis to understand an individual's playing style and the associated demands and consequences of that style. Share on X

I also use many of the exercises and methods discussed above with other basketball players who each have different strengths, weaknesses, and playing styles. However, I mold the training program, exercises, drills, cues, and recovery modalities to the individual player. This is what true performance training optimization and injury mitigation are about.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

I am just in my fourth year of devoting the majority of my coaching time to male athletes who participate in the high, long, and triple jumps. Prior to this, I coached girls for 12 seasons. During that time, my focus was the sprints, sprint relays, and hurdles. There were also years in which I had to work with high jumpers, depending on the make-up our staff.

I give this background to verify that the amount of time I spend at the sand pits during a meet has increased substantially. While I am a coach who is far from having even a portion of the answers to the horizontal jumps, there are things I see at every meet that leave me scratching my head. I consider these three the cardinal sins of horizontal jumping.

Cardinal Sin No. 1: Obtaining a Mark by Running Backward from the Board

I was guilty of doing this as an athlete, as I didn’t know any better. However, all coaches should know better. Whenever I see this happen at a meet, I make it a point to say to our jumpers, “That athlete may have more ability than you, but he is not as prepared as you. You have at least one advantage over him in this competition.” Here are three reasons why this needs to stop.

1. It screams, “Hey everyone, look at me, I am not prepared!” There’s no need to elaborate this point.
2. Every athlete who has a mark to rehearse before the meet hates the athletes who need to run back to set their mark. It disrupts the flow of warm-ups. Warm-up time is often limited, and negotiating who is running which way takes extra time. Furthermore, it is a safety issue. At times, high school athletes are not entirely in tune with their surroundings. I have seen near-collisions on the runway with athletes approaching each other from opposite directions.
3. It is inaccurate! I’ll be honest: I would find comic relief in athletes who use this method if I did not feel bad for the athlete’s lack of preparation, and sad for the future of humanity as a whole due to the lack of logic. During most outdoor meets, wind plays a huge role in the jumps. Most of the time, the direction of the jumps is aligned to take advantage of a tailwind. If a jumper is going to have a tailwind during competition, how the heck can attempting to establish a mark by running back from the board into a headwind be accurate?

When an athlete who uses this method tells his coach, “I’m not on the board,” what I hear is, “I’m not on the board…because I just ran into a 20 mph headwind, and now I am supposed to have the same number of steps going with a 20 mph tailwind.” This is the converse of timing a 10-meter fly spiked up on a track, and then heading to the beach and expecting the athlete to produce the same 10-meter fly time in the sand.

Solution No. 1A

Every athlete should come to a meet with their numbers (distance back from the board and number of steps/cycles). We define steps as going from left to right or vice versa. We define one cycle as LRL or RLR. So, a 16-step approach has eight cycles.

Jumpers should know their distance back from the board and their number of cycles. That way, when a coach is not available to watch their approach rehearsal, they can go to their distance away from the board and have a teammate watch where they are at in regard to the board by saying, “Mark my eighth left (jumping leg).” Most long jumpers take an even number of steps; meaning, their jumping leg is forward in their starting stance.

If an athlete monitors the approach of another athlete whose jumping leg is their left leg, the athlete’s second step would be the first time their left hits (first left). If a jumper takes an odd number of steps (more common for triple jumpers), their jumping leg is the first contact out of the starting stance and would be counted as first left or right. For reference, a 15-step approach would be considered 7.5 cycles.

When obtaining a starting mark, do so away from the runway (on the track straightaway). Roll out a tape measure and have the athlete start from zero. Give them a number of cycles to complete based on their experience. For long jump, I usually have beginners start with 5-6 cycles. Experienced athletes use 7-8 cycles. Occasionally, an upper-tier athlete may benefit from nine cycles. Have them rehearse the approach a few times, recording the distance where their jump contact hits each time. Ideally, the marks will be in the same ballpark, making it easy to assign an approach distance.

Due to the high force demands of triple jump, the number of cycles in the approach is usually 1-3 fewer than long jump. Decreasing the number of cycles does reduce takeoff velocity, but the trade-off is the athlete will be able to handle the forces to complete three quality phases. Besides poor posture and too high of a first phase, another reason that athletes struggle to have a second phase is they are unable to handle the force that comes with the velocity of their takeoff. In general, triple jump is a grown person’s endeavor—athletes need to earn the right to have a longer approach. The easy way to determine this is if they are able to consistently take attempts without any breakdowns.

Coaches must watch the long jumper’s approaches with their own eyes (during the practice leading up to a meet event) for an unfiltered view, says @HFJumps. Share on X

Once the distance is established, a mock board can be set up and the athlete can rehearse using the board as their target. During that time, it is imperative that coaches watch the approaches with their own eyes. If you want to record, have another person do so. An unfiltered view is the best way to determine if there is a disruption to the athlete’s rhythm and speed as they move through the approach. If there are changes to the rhythm or speed, further adjustments to the approach distance may be needed.

Solution No. 1B

The following guidelines are general ranges for approach distances. I often use this method for athletes who aren’t with us at the start of the season (competing in a winter sport) or begin doing the horizontal jumps mid-season. While the other athletes rehearse with their set approach distances, I give the new athlete a number and tell him, “Ignore the board. Just focus on what we discussed regarding getting to vertical in six steps and continue. I’m going to watch where your sixth left hits.”

I assign the number within the ranges based on my observation of the athlete’s stride length. Since the tape measure is on the track, it just requires simple addition or subtraction from the number I gave the athlete at the start. Note: These ranges are guidelines, not absolutes!

10 steps: 50-60 feet

12 steps: 60-75 feet

14 steps: 75-90 feet

16 steps: 90-110 feet

18 steps: 115-125 feet

Cardinal Sin No. 2: Switching Starting Legs to Get the Jump Leg to Hit the Board

To ensure clarity, here is what I mean: An athlete jumps off their left leg and begins their eight-cycle (16-step) approach with the left leg forward. During their rehearsal, their 15th step (right leg) hits the board. A common solution I have heard from various coaches and athletes who have done the event prior to being part of our program is to switch the feet at the start. However, while this may get the athlete to end up with the correct leg on the board, it is a garbage solution.

If the jumper can’t feel the difference of taking one less step in their approach, they simply haven’t spent enough time rehearsing their approach. It interrupts the rhythm. Share on X

The approach of any jumping event is a rhythmic endeavor. The flow of the tail end of the approach would have a significant disruption if it is one step less. If an athlete cannot feel the difference of taking one less step in their approach, they simply haven’t spent enough time rehearsing their approach. Ask a musician if the 16th beat taken out of a four-bar section in 4/4 time would disrupt the flow of a song.

Solution No. 2

If the wrong foot is hitting the board, a simple solution is to move the athlete forward or backward somewhere between 4 and 6 feet. This varies based on the athlete’s stride length. For example, if an athlete takes 16 steps and their 15th step is on the board, they could back up 5 feet and do another rehearsal. If the same athlete’s 17th step was on the board, they could move up 5 feet and do another rehearsal.

What if the athlete is between steps (misses the board completely)? Simple—have them get to the magic approach step number by moving them up or back 2 or 3 feet. In the hopefully rare case that the athlete is off by more than one step, just use a combination of the guidelines above. For example:

1.5 steps off – 7.5 feet forward/back

2 steps off – 11 feet forward back

Cardinal Sin No. 3: Altering Approach Distance Due to a Minor Foul

We have all seen this before. An athlete looks great down the runway and pops a huge jump, but the red flag goes up because of a toe foul. On the next attempt, the athlete backs up one foot, and toe fouls again. A book could be written on this topic alone, but what most miss is the phenomenon of steering.

As a jumper progresses down the runway, the variance in step location increases until they are six steps out, and then it decreases until takeoff. No matter the skill of a jumper, no two approaches are ever identical. Yet, minor adjustments are made like the next approach will be the same as the preceding one and, since the jumper is a foot further back, all will be good. I do not have official data, but in my experience, I would venture to say the success of those adjustments yielding a positive result is less than 50%.

No matter the jumper, no two approaches are ever identical. Yet, minor adjustments are made like the next approach will be the same as the preceding one, says @HFJumps. Share on X

An extreme example of this occurred with a jumper of mine a few years back. He looked great during run-throughs, but toe-fouled his first jump. He ended up moving back 7 feet by his fourth attempt (still taking the same number of steps in his approach). All four attempts were toe fouls. There were no noticeable changes in his rhythm. He did not “reach” for the board, and despite four “big” jumps, any of which would have won the competition, he did not obtain a legal mark.

Solution No. 3

I am not saying I do not make minor adjustments to an athlete’s approach length during competition. Ideally, the adjustments are made during warm-ups, but we all know that adrenaline can play a big role in approach consistency when the competition commences. I think there is a positive with small adjustments via enhancing an athlete’s confidence because an intervention is taking place. However, the approach length adjustment is not the first place we go. Here is a series of questions that you can use:

• Did you maximize the first six steps of your approach?

We emphasize consistency out of the back end of the approach. If we strive for as little variance as possible, the most controllable steps will be those at the start. To overcome inertia, we look for athletes to execute big, powerful strikes into the ground. We want these to be maximal because it increases consistency. Ideally, this will lead to less variance for the steps that typically have the most variance in the middle of the approach. We already know variance will decrease from six steps in.

• Did you manage your arousal level appropriately?

Athletes need to be taught strategies to manage their arousal level so they are in a state that will allow them to operate appropriately. Belly-breathing, meditating/visualization, singing, dancing, socializing, and doing some sort of physical activity between attempts are all viable ways for athletes to get “in the zone.” Every person is different. Give them options and let them explore what works best for them.

• What was your targeting system?

This could be the most overlooked area of all in the jumps. In fact, another cardinal sin could be coaches who tell their athletes to never look at the board. Young athletes have enough issues being accurate without having to wear a self-imposed blindfold down the runway. As the athlete gets closer to takeoff, they should use their peripheral vision to monitor the board. I do not want to jeopardize an athlete’s posture toward the end of the approach by having them tilt their head forward to look directly at the board.

When athletes are consistently over or short of the foul line, a better approach than altering the approach distance is to change their target. If the target is the foul line and the athlete is consistently toe-fouling, he could target the front of the board. If he is short of the board, he could target a spot behind the board. The jumper will steer to where he thinks the board is located, so this alteration is almost like trying to trick the brain into thinking the foul line is in a different location. You must note that this is highly based on the individual because visual interpretation of the world is variable.

When athletes are consistently over or short of the foul line, a better approach than altering the approach distance is to change their target, says @HFJumps. Share on X

I must also point out that factors such as track color, indoor lighting (bright, dim), outdoor lighting (day, dusk, night, cloud cover), precipitation, and board system (the boards we compete on vary from 8 inches to 18 inches) are all factors that can alter an athlete’s perception of the location of the foul line. Since a high school track schedule is often consistent, a coach should keep a library of the school’s facilities so they can be replicated during practice prior to the competition (if possible), along with a log of athlete performance at each meet. Over the course of time, trends can be established and adjustments that find the most success can be put into place.

• Given your answers, do you feel confident with the adjustment(s) that need to be made on your next approach? If not, do you think it is necessary to alter your approach distance?

While I may come off as a down-talking know-it-all in this piece, I do want to reiterate that I am still in the early part of my journey with the horizontal jumps. I hope I was able to offer some items for consideration and I would appreciate any feedback.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

A few years ago, an All-American 100 meter sprinter tried out for a wide receiver spot on our football team. Immediately, we thought we were going to have a new weapon in the playbook—until he went through a handful of workouts leading up to training camp. You would have been shocked. This highly accomplished sprinter couldn’t execute the simplest routes, except a “go” pattern where all a player has to do is run full speed straight down the field.

It’s not that he was slow or weak or had bad hands. It’s that he could only run in a straight line; when he had to make a break or change direction, he either slipped or the movement took way too long. For all of this athlete’s speed and strength, he couldn’t change direction because we never spent time developing his agility.

Agility is one of those attributes that’s deceivingly complexly simple. To boil down the concept, agility is about changing your direction. You start off going straight, but then you need to go left or right or maybe even backward. It’s how you physically perform this directional change that’s open to discussion. These discussions often cover techniques to be the fastest or the most efficient while moving, but the conversation should start a little differently. I talk to athletes about the relationship between action and reaction. Right? It’s a basic law of physics, and while it’s a concept that people might subconsciously understand, they don’t necessarily relate it to training.

How do I know this? Well, I ask my athletes.

If you’ve read any of my other pieces, you might know that I like to maximize every second in a workout. While sometimes we program recovery exercises, other times I like having a passive rest time so we can talk. During these times, I tend to ask simple questions to see if the athletes truly understand what we’re teaching. One session, I asked: If you want to move to the left, what direction do you need to put energy in the ground? For a moment, there was silence. Then…more silence.

This non-response led me to recognize that sometimes our athletes simply were going through the motions—they worked the skills we taught in a drill but didn’t transfer these skills to performance. Based on the lack of answers to my question, we started changing our cues. Instead of saying “Cut to your left at the cone,” we now say “At the cone, push the ground to your right.”

The fastest athletes use one-foot contact to put a massive amount of energy and force into the ground to go the opposite direction, says @CarmenPata. Share on X

The idea seems very elementary, but this concept of action and reaction is the entire point of agility training. The fastest athletes have become masters at using one-foot contact to put a massive amount of energy and force into the ground and go the opposite direction. If you’re anything like me, you believe that the skill of changing direction is a teachable skill, and here’s how I go about teaching it.

Acceleration: The Plyo Step

First, I’m going to introduce the concept that many strength and sport coaches aren’t a fan of—the plyo step.

If you haven’t heard of a plyo step, you may be familiar with its incorrect namesake, the false step. To make sure we’re all on the same page, I define a plyo step as a short, fast step in the opposite direction of where you want to go. So, if you want to go forward, you step backward first. If you want to go right, then first you step left. These are all examples of plyo steps. If you’re uneasy right now, it’s OK because I was there with you for a long time. Then I took a good hard look at the way people move.

For years, I taught athletes how to take a fast step in the same direction they want to move. It makes sense, right? If I want to go forward, I should step forward first; just look at the people who make their living by accelerating—track sprinters. One-third of their event is acceleration, one third is holding their top speed, and one third is trying not to slow down.

If one-third of the event is based on their ability to accelerate, it will make sense to look closely at how they move off the starting pistol. Their chest is forward and low, they’re extended through the back leg and arm, and most importantly, there’s no plyo step. If track sprinters don’t take a plyo step to accelerate, then we should surely teach people to accelerate like track sprinters, right?

Well, no.

In all my years of coaching and trying to mirror track sprinters’ acceleration skills, I missed one key element. The blocks! It’s embarrassing that I missed the most important factor that allows sprinters to accelerate. Physics reminds us that to go forward, you have to push backward—which the blocks allow them to do. The sprinter’s foot pushes straight back into the block, which lets them propel themselves forward. On the field or court, we don’t have blocks to push off from to accelerate, so we have to make our own.

The plyo step provides a means to push off so we can accelerate faster, says @CarmenPata. #plyostep #agilitytraining Share on X

That’s the point of the plyo step. It provides something to push off from so we can accelerate faster. The good news is that we all know how to do this already. The better news is that, like many things in life, we can improve it.

How to Teach Plyo Step Progressions

To teach the plyo step, I start with a snap down. Once the athlete snaps down, they’ll be on the balls of their feet with their chest forward. The difference is that their back foot is behind them at almost full extension. Their arms are in a sprint stagger as well; one arm is short and forward while the other arm is long and behind them.

Video 1. The first step to learning the plyo step is the snap down.

After the snap down into a sprint stance, the next step is a jump forward—not a sprint. It’s not a world record broad jump, but there has to be a jump going forward. The entire goal is to have athletes feel how their bodies use the plyo step. Many athletes I work with have long been taught that plyo steps are bad, and they should always step in the direction they want to go. Doing the snap down into a jump helps break that mindset easily by taking a movement pattern they already know and using it as an example of how natural it feels to take a plyo step to move.

Once the athletes have done a few reps using their plyo step to initiate a broad jump, it’s time to start running out of it. Everything stays the same: the same start with the snap down, the same body position, the same plyo step. The only difference is that the athletes are not jumping. Except, in some way they are. They still have to propel themselves forward, but they move their feet in a different pattern.

The final progression step is to start from an athletic stance. Get the athletes down in their playing stance, and on a visual cue, sprint. Why the visual cue? Tell me a team sport that doesn’t require players to see a target and react to it. Can’t come up with one? Neither can I. So, here we are.

Push step is a good verbal reminder to push the ground backward for the ability to move forward, says @CarmenPata. #plyostep #agilitytraining Share on X

The athletes place their toes on a line with a coach in front of them holding a ball, and when the coach drops the ball, the athletes react and sprint. The coach should see a plyo step that goes the opposite way they need to move, and their body position should look like their jump stance. Have them take two (or how many you want) push steps forward. I like the term push step as a verbal reminder to push the ground backward for the ability to move forward as part of the action and reaction relationship.

Video 2. Once an athlete learns the plyo step progressions, they’re ready to start moving through agility patterns.

After their two push steps, the athletes finish in a jump stop. Yep, a jump stop. The same thing basketball players do when they land with their feet square and their weight on the balls of both feet, ready to move in any direction. Now the athletes are ready to put all of these together and start moving through agility patterns.

Agility Progressions

You’ve probably noticed that I like moving people through progressions. Each plyo step progression teaches a specific skill and gives athletes confidence in their abilities. Teaching agility is the same. There are three distinct phases of this training, which ultimately get the athlete to the most complex and game-like situations.

When you break it down, agility drills simply force a change of direction. There is more to it of course, but to keep it simple, it’s just changing direction. If an athlete has progressed through the jump and plyo step work, they should have a basic understanding of how to do this.

Whether you drew attention to it or not doesn’t matter because they’ve already done countless reps. The athlete has changed their level, meaning they’ve changed their center of mass by changing their body position. When an athlete is long, their center of mass is high, and when they do a snap down, their center of mass is lower. The athlete also knows how to put force into the ground in the opposite direction of where they want to go. In a way, they were doing the basics of agility work.

If you’re like me, though, agility drills mean a little more, and we want to see athletes run.

Closed Agility Drills

Closed agility drills are the starting point for teaching because they’re the simplest. There are specific start and end points. The athlete knows exactly how to get there, and they know what to do at each stage. The classic drill is a 5-10-5 pro agility. The start and end line are marked clearly. The athlete knows they must go to their right, touch the line with their hand, sprint back ten yards and hit the other line with their hand, and finish through the finish line. As I said, the athlete knows where they’re going and how they’ll get there at all points of the drill.

The problem with closed drills is that, while an athlete is changing direction, there is no element of reaction, which is unrealistic for team sports. On the positive side, they provide fantastic teaching situations to reinforce the movement patterns you’ve been working on, which builds confidence in the athletes. Now, I don’t ever use the 5-10-5 pro agility except when we test, simply because I want to see if the athletes have improved physically rather than getting better at taking the test.

The video below shows a better pattern—see if you can recognize everything I’ve talked about so far.

Video 3. The cone agility run offers a great sprint pattern that uses visual reaction cues, plyo steps, and sprints.

Did you see it all? The pattern is really simple: sprint to the cone, shuffle right, sprint to the finish. The athlete starts with a visual reaction cue and takes a plyo step to start and at each of the cones signaling direction change. The sprint pattern looks just like we’ve been drilling. She feels confident as an athlete and so do I as her coach.

Semi-Open Drills

While the closed drill tells athletes everything they need to know—where to start, where to finish, and how to move—semi-open drills take away some of the instructions, which forces them to figure out a solution. We’ve seen it before—players who can run closed agility patterns like an all-star but, when it comes to thinking on their feet, they stall out. Sure, they know what to do, but they can’t figure out how to do it. For these athletes, semi-open drills can help them take the next step to improve their performance.

In the video below, all the athlete has to do is get to a finish line only eight yards away from the start line. Her job is to avoid the coach and cross the line as fast as she can.

Video 4. In the semi-open agility drill, the athlete has to run to the finish line while avoiding her coach.

Open Drills

Maybe you’ve noticed that the things in life that give the best rewards will often cost a lot. That cost is not always financial; it could be emotional, spiritual, or paid in sweat and effort. Open drills give athletes the best reward of any agility drill, forcing them to play with their eyes and react. Open drills force them to be creative and allow them to have fun.

For coaches, these drills have costs. They cost us time to prepare and teach the athletes how to move and react. They cost us absolute control over our drills. There can also be a cost to our reputation if sport coaches see us as “hands off.” Here is what a head sports coach once told me: “Don’t you care about getting my team better? The other day I watched the entire session, and all you did with them was play games.” See what I mean about a cost to my reputation?

We were using a series of open drills to fine tune the athletes’ skills. It was late in the week, and this team was set to kick off their competition season on the upcoming Monday. They were fast, strong, lean, smooth, and in as good of condition as they could be without playing games. As a coach, I was really happy with where everyone was at.

The focus of this training session was to help them react to visual cues to move correctly without thinking about it. To accomplish this goal, I chose to focus on open-ended agility drills, which can mean playing games. That day, we played all sorts of games of tag. Yep, tag. The game we played on the playground or in gym class when we were kids. The game that forces us to move and react to the person who is “it,” know where the boundary lines are, and be able to develop some sort of game plan to win.

Of course, I tried to explain all of this to the sports coach. But in their mind, great coaching meant micromanaging. They wanted the athletes to get feedback every single rep all the time. To me, the ultimate form of coaching is to give athletes the least amount of feedback they need to do what you want them to do. See the conflict between our two styles?

Open drills like tag give almost all the power to the athletes. The athletes have to make choices and adjust their tactics, so they can best use their talents. All I did was set the rules, run the stopwatch, and watch to make sure they used all the skills we spent six weeks developing. The athletes took great plyo steps, changed their body positions, and stopped and started on a dime. Tag is a great example of an open-ended agility drill, and with some creativity, coaches can surely figure out others as well.

Putting It All Together

Coaching is a great reflection of life as we spend so much time preparing for what happens next. Think back to your childhood. You spent an entire year in first grade to get ready for second grade. Second grade took an entire year to get ready for third grade. No one spends one year in first grade and then moves to sixth grade the next year. Life—and coaching—don’t work that way. You have to learn the basics and how to apply them to go to the next step.

When athletes improve their open-ended agility drills, they improve the physical aspect of their game, says @CarmenPata. #agilitytraining Share on X

That’s what this article is. It’s a blueprint for how to use a simple tool like a jump to prepare athletes to compete in open-ended agility drills. When you help athletes get better with their open-ended agility drills, you improve the physical aspect of their game. This, after all, is still the most important result of training.

Which brings me back to the All-American track athlete trying out for football mentioned in the opening paragraph. What do you think happened? Well, after the first few practices, he was so frustrated he thought about quitting right then and there. He was one of the fastest athletes in the conference, but if something didn’t change, the odds were that he’d be watching a lot of football from the sideline rather than playing in the games. Going from being one of the best in the nation to someone who may not make the travel roster was a hard blow to his ego.

The head coach asked if I could start working with him for about 15 minutes a day during practice. That’s not a lot of time, so we focused on what would give him the greatest return. The choice was easy for me—we worked exclusively on closed agility patterns. Rep after rep, we only worked on exactly how many steps he needed to take, how to make a plyo step to change direction, and where the ball was going to be so he could get there first.

Sure, this helped him run better routes, but there was something else. All of a sudden, he had a way to contribute to the team other than being pigeonholed as the team’s deep threat. His confidence grew. Were these the best routes the coaches had ever seen? Of course not. But, by working hard on agility, his routes became good enough for him to get open on the field and ultimately earn a spot on the travel team.

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When people think about rotational power, golf should be near the top of the list. Unfortunately, it probably doesn’t even crack the top five. If you were to list your top rotational power sports, you probably would put golf somewhere around ultimate frisbee and frisbee golf. It’s a leisure game, right? Is it even a sport?

Golf’s low ranking on most people’s rotational power lists is likely due to the old stereotype of beer-drinking, cigar-smoking business guys making deals on the course and swinging a club between. So why am I, a guy who trains golfers exclusively, writing on the topic of rotational power training and the latest considerations to think about? Because times are changing and the speed you swing the golf club could mean millions of dollars.

Sports Science and Golf – Building Golf Athletes

Golf may be behind when it comes to sports science and the mentality of the majority of people who play and follow it, but it is evolving quickly. Most of the Sunday broadcasters and weekly morning show hosts still believe weight training makes golfers slower and that it destroyed Tiger Woods’ career. They believe all golfers should exercise with bands and do exercises that mimic the golf swing. Meanwhile, most of the top players in the world are looking more than ever to sport science for an edge, and the industry of golf fitness has exploded.

Anyone watch the 2019 Masters at Augusta? Yeah, Tiger’s career was not destroyed by strength and conditioning. In fact, it is the reason he was able to pull off one of the greatest—if not the greatest ever—major championship victories in history. When it comes to discussing rotational power and the best way to train these athletes, the challenge is that there is about as much agreement on how to train it as there is debate on whether weight training is good or bad for golfers.

For those of you who don’t know, rotational power in golf is expressed in one metric and one metric only: club speed. No matter what side of the strength and conditioning divide that people sit on in the game of golf, they all agree that club speed matters. There is a definite and clear relationship between average drive distance and how high on the money list a player is.*

* Ball speed ultimately determines how far the ball will travel, but factors such as quality of contact, what part of the club face hit it, spin rates, launch angle, etc., all come into play. Raw physical rotational power in golf is more easily measured by club speed with the other elements of ball speed and total carry distance removed.

This has led to a plethora of devices, training aids, protocols, and “quick fixes” to increase club speed with as little effort as possible. Unfortunately, many of these are poorly researched (if at all) and they are often taken as a training item in isolation, instead of as part of a comprehensive, long-term training approach. Many rotational sports have this issue, so golf is not alone. There are countless disagreements about the best type of training to make the greatest improvements in what ultimately matters: performance on the course and rank on the money list.

Many of the devices, protocols, etc. used to increase club speed are often taken as a training item in isolation, instead of part of a comprehensive, long-term training approach. Share on X

My goal for the rest of this article is to dig into the nitty-gritty of what the science says and what it doesn’t say, and hopefully help both sides start to see the light at the end of the rotational power training tunnel.

What Type of Strength Training Is Best for Rotational Power?

To start, let’s just say that there is no single best training program to maximize rotational power across all athletes. There are, however, certainly principles and methods that reign supreme and boxes that you can put athletes into to create the best customized programs for them. When it comes to training rotational power, the options are endless as to the type of programs you can run, the training schemes you can modify, and the variations of exercises that you can throw at an athlete. Based on our research over the past couple of years, we have found that the program that works is dependent on the athlete and where they are developmentally, among other things.

Our initial two-year research study¹looked at junior to senior golfers (over 600 data points) and evaluated what type of training mechanism would impact club speed the most positively. We put all subjects through a conventional, periodized, and progressive program for one year, and then the next year put all of our athletes (from junior to senior) through a triphasic program.

Our goal was to see if there would be a difference, and the results were quite interesting. Over any given 12-week period during these two years, junior golfers (10-17) could expect to see, on average, about a 3.08 mph swing speed increase (equivalent to 8-10 yards gained off the tee). Adult golfers (18-70) saw, on average, about a 1 mph increase in any given 12-week period (equivalent to 3 yards gained off the tee).

The really interesting findings, however, came when we compared how each age group performed in the different workout program periods. There was a 50% better result in club speed for juniors during any given 12-week period compared to the 3.08 mph average when they were on the traditional periodized program. When this same age group was on the triphasic program, they experienced an underperformance to the 12-week average improvement in club speed of 10%.

The adults experienced a 40% improvement in club speed relative to the 12-week average when they were on the triphasic program. They conversely saw a 12% underperformance to the 12-week average when they were on the conventional training program.

These findings should incite some serious thought when it comes to deciding what type of training program to put a rotational athlete on (or any athlete, for that matter). When selecting and creating a program to improve an athlete’s power output (and ultimately, their performance), we need to pay attention to their biological age, as well as their training age, and also consider where on the strength-speed continuum they are.

My interpretation of these findings is that the more traditional model allows for improved “newbie gains” and gives the younger athletes the opportunity to build through volume, movement competency, coordination, and base levels of strength. The triphasic program appears to work best with post-pubescent younger adults up through senior golfers who have had a level of training experience with muscle mass developed at one point in their athletic career.

Since completing this study two years ago, we have seen continued positive results with our golfers. Our younger golfers have continued to see improved rotational power development by focusing on traditional progressive loading while they are young in training age. For them, the goal is to focus on building a foundation, athletic skills such as jumping, sprinting, etc., and overall coordination.

As they mature both biologically and with training, shifting to the triphasic program with a large focus on post-activation potentiation has continued to produce power and club speed gains year over year. As an example, we have golfers who have gained speed every year for the past six years, with some well into their 70s. It is rare that a golfer does not gain speed, and even more rare that one loses speed when we retest our golfers yearly with this approach, no matter their age.

Does Rotational Power Training Have to Be Golf- or Sport-Specific?

The short answer here is that no performance training program will ever be as sport-specific as the sport itself. Hopefully, we can agree on that much. A recent randomized clinical study among collegiate golfers found that “golf-specific” exercise does not have an impact on golf performance any more than traditional training does.²Perhaps the problem is the terminology.

What if we reserved “sport-specific” and “golf-specific” for when we talk about playing the actual sport and practicing the technical skills required to win at it? This would free us up to be specific about what we are actually training.

Are you training the kinetic sequence or output of your athlete? Or perhaps the kinematic sequencing is what you want to address? Perhaps you are looking to train power specific to the sport’s demands that is correlated (based on objective data) to sport-specific power output (i.e., club head speed or sprint speed) that directly correlates with outcomes in competition (wins and money)?

I think this would clear up a lot of confusion as to how a back squat, a cable chop, an end range active shoulder external rotation drill, and a clean pull are all “golf specific.” Just my two cents…

Another study we recently completed on eccentric flywheel training³showed that training up rotational strength definitely improves club speed even beyond what our initial two-year study showed. In our initial study looking at the triphasic and traditional models, we just utilized traditional rotary training methods, including bands, a Keiser cable machine, and medicine balls. In this follow-up flywheel study, however, we actually compared results when some athletes did eccentric overload training rotationally on the kPulley system by Exxentric, while other groups performed rotational exercises with bands and cables. The results were pretty compelling.

The group that used the eccentrical flywheel for rotational training had a 150% improvement in club speed relative to the study average, in half the time. Share on X

The group that utilized the eccentric flywheel for rotational training saw almost a full 1.5 mph improvement in club speed above and beyond the initial 12-week average we had found in our initial two-year study—and this was only over a six-week training period. Percentage-wise, this is a 150% improvement in half the time. That is huge and definitely something that you should note when you look to increase rotational power in a meaningful way.

I want to be clear that the rotational exercises we completed did not have athletes with a club in their hand or mimicking the golf swing. They were not “golf-specific” by industry “Instagram” terms. We instead made sure that athletes focused on rotational power output with proper kinetic force production and technique. By doing this, we looked to drive the most efficient kinematic sequence possible; hopefully resulting in the greatest amount of power output possible. We did this objectively by utilizing the Bluetooth technology in the kPulley system to give us immediate feedback on how the athlete was performing.

So, What Type of Rotational Exercises Work Best?

Like the majority of coaches today, I used to focus all our attention on programming details (i.e., systems focus, macros/mesos/micros, etc.) of the big four and Olympic lifts. When it came to auxiliary lifts (which rotational training often falls into, for some reason), I would magically forget that systems training and goals still applied. I would just do what I thought was “golf- and sport-specific.”

Having seen the results from our research, I now program our rotational lifts in conjunction with our other training goals, and the results have blown us away. For example, with our adults in a triphasic program, we start our rotational lifts with progressively heavier loads as we decrease volume (similar to traditional periodization) through the eccentric and isometric phases of the program. The goal during these phases is to maximize rotational strength and improve the body’s ability to store and absorb forces in rotation.

I now program our rotational lifts in conjunction with our other training goals, and the results have blown us away. Share on X

It is important to pay attention to the quality of rotation your athlete uses, particularly with the trend for rotational strap training. In video 1, I demonstrate the typical athlete’s move when you tell them to go as hard and fast as they can. Because the line of pull is horizontal on most cable machines (or kPulley in this video), the tendency is to drive laterally first. You can see the huge lateral lunge with an upper body lean that follows, and I even almost lost my balance—this is pretty common.

Video 1. Enhancing a rotation with lower body movement adds a layer of potential transfer. Invest in combining rotation and various leg driving patterns.

In video 2, you can see the correct sequence and loading that you should coach, with an emphasis on horizontal drive from the legs happening first, followed by torsional drive to clear the hips, and then finishing with vertical to the lead leg. Depending on your belief about leg dominance in creating power (keep reading), you can even cue which leg to drive through more.

The big difference in the two videos (besides the sequencing of the kinetic drive) is also the relative quiet upper body in video 2 compared to video 1. An athlete—particularly a very strong upper body athlete—will be tempted to use their upper body to create those speed and power numbers. We need to be on the lookout for this compensation and not be stuck with our eyes only on the screen telling us the raw numbers. Be sure to pay attention to how your athlete is creating those power numbers.

Video 2. The use of isoinertial flywheel loading is great for rotational power. This movement takes a few sets to fully grasp, but after that an athlete can learn to catch the eccentric load and be smooth with the hip snap.

When we move into our conversion to power phase, we go lighter on the flywheel and focus on the speed and explosiveness of reps. We also start to utilize lighter medicine balls to encourage speed as we approach our in-season phases of training for the year. It is important to continually track in-session peak power and speed outputs during this phase. It is possible to go too light with the flywheel and lose the desired peak power and speed numbers. Using the technology available in the kPulley is a strategy to combat this potential training inefficiency and error.

Speaking of Medicine Balls, What’s Their Role?

Well, the research is pretty clear, no one really knows how or why medicine balls work, but it appears that they do work to increase speeds in rotational athletes.⁴I choose to use medicine balls like all of our other training tools. In the off-season, we look to periodize their use with more volume and slightly higher load balls (perhaps 10-12 lbs.) to train up strength and resilience for the season to come. As the season approaches and the athletes start to play more, we start to use less volume with a focus on speed and explosiveness.

This transition to lighter balls with more speed in the rotational plane does not mean athletes lose focus on total power production. We are just attempting to maximize power output from the speed element of the equation, compared to earlier in the off-season cycle where the strength and resilience side of the equation was our focus. That being said, we are acutely aware that the load in a medicine ball is far below the threshold to truly be considered a power training implement. Instead, for real power training, we use clean pulls and other traditional methods where true meaningful load can be applied to the system to achieve the desired nervous system effect.

Similar to using the Bluetooth sensor in the kPulley, we utilize the technology of the Ballistic Ball by Assess2Perform to track the speed of our athletes’ throws. This gives us objective information as to how the athlete is performing.

Kinetic Specific Training

A common flaw that we see in rotational training with medicine balls, cables, flywheels, and band training is a severe lack of attention to coaching the athlete on how to use the ground maximally.

A common flaw in rotational training with med balls, cables, flywheels, and band training is a severe lack of attention to coaching athletes on using the ground maximally. Share on X

In videos 3 and 4, you can see with use of the Ballistic Ball that the athlete is initially able to produce just under 3 m/s with a rotational Iron Man throw (as we call it at Par4Success) with minimal use of vertical force (she doesn’t load into her trail leg vertically). She primarily uses torsional and horizontal forces.

Video 3. Concentric throws with no wind-up or loading phase have less velocity than countermovement throws, but are great for golf athletes.

But when we cue the athlete to start with the ball over the lead shoulder and load it diagonally into the trail side before throwing it, her speed jumps over 2x. By using a simple cue such as this, we are able to significantly increase the resultant necessary vertical force that would have to be produced, with the horizontal and torsional forces also increasing in sequence to throw the ball. We have seen this happen in both elastic and non-elastic loading scenarios while on force plates.

Video 4. Adding momentum increases the velocity of the throw with skilled and prepared athletes. You can compare concentric to countermovement throws to evaluate how athletes are able to use their coordination.

If you work with golfers, 99% of them kinetically sequence horizontally to torsionally, and then vertically. It is my belief, based on instances such as the one shown here, that it is critical to make sure we train athletes to sequence correctly kinetically to get the most out of our rotational exercises. Tools such as the Ballistic Ball and the kPulley are incredibly valuable to measure and give immediate feedback to an athlete and a coach for measuring improvements long-term. They are also valuable for educating athletes on how proper use of the ground can create incredible improvements in their output on the course.

Kinetic-specific training, not sport-specific training, is where the rubber hits the road in rotational power training. Share on X

Kinetic-specific training, not sport-specific training, is where the rubber hits the road in rotational power training. Tools that allow you to measure kinetic force output (force plates) or resultant speeds due to improved kinetics (such as peak speeds or power outputs as in the video above) are an incredible asset to any coach’s arsenal. The latter category is likely the one that is least cost-prohibitive for most coaches, but an understanding of kinetics would be a prerequisite in order to maximize efficiency of these tools’ uses.

Ground Reaction Force and Personal Power Profiles

We see incredible gains in club speed immediately by assessing a golfer’s leg dominance and kinetic force preference and coaching them to match their swing to their ability right then without any physical training. There is a mounting body of evidence that the better an athlete can produce ground force, the more power they will be able to produce in their golf swing.^5,6

Here is a recent case example:

• During his swing, a 35-year-old golfer shifts his weight 90% to his trail leg (right) on his backswing (based on pressure mat readings).
• He primarily uses vertical kinetic force to create his club speed (based on SwingCatalyst force plate data).
• He employs a swing methodology of trying to create as much x-factor as possible (tries to create as much elastic effect as possible by separating his upper and lower body maximally).

When physical testing is completed, it is noted that he is left leg dominant in the vertical plane and, according to his force generation curves, he can create a lot of power but takes longer to do so (he is not very efficient elastically). He also has a swing speed 8 mph faster on his left-leg-only swing as compared to both legs together or right leg only.

The following cues are made:

1. Only shift about 50% of his weight to his right leg on his backswing (to increase load on his left—dominant—leg at the start of the downswing).
2. Lengthen his backswing by minimizing separation and letting himself fully rotate into his right hip (to increase the amount of time in his downswing to reach his full force creation, since he has a slower rate of force generation).
3. Try to drive up off his left leg through impact (maximize his vertical thrust focus on his dominant leg).

This resulted in an immediate 10 mph increase in club speed (30 yards) and much improved consistency in face control, which is incredibly important for accuracy in golf. The subjective report was that it “felt easy.”

This demonstrates, in a case study, a simple example of what could potentially become incredibly valuable to not only golfers, but all rotational athletes. By starting to understand what our athletes’ natural preferences are, how good they are at harnessing elastic energy, and what kinetic preferences they may naturally have, we can potentially make immediate improvements in their sport without any training in the gym. Since this is proving to be true in the swing, the intriguing question on my mind is what if we trained the athlete toward this preference even further in the gym, with all of their rotary exercises? Would this example athlete get even better if I cued left leg vertical drive in all rotational drills? His speeds on the Ballistic Ball definitely increased in the gym when we did this…

Conversely, what would happen if we trained up athletes’ weaker performing kinetic abilities? In this case, that would be the horizontal and torsional kinetic force generation.

The future of rotational power training lies in the ground, and how we train our rotational power athletes to maximize the power they can create from it. Share on X

These questions are unanswered, and I could find no research suggesting one or the other. But this, in my opinion, is where the future of rotational power training lies. It lies in the ground, and how we train our rotational athletes to maximize the power they can create from it.

Other Considerations with Golf Performance Training

In the rotational world, especially golf, there is definitely a lot of talk about training the opposite side to improve rotational performance, but I tried to find studies on this and found the research is a bit scant. In theory, it makes sense, and we often train opposite in order to try to maintain balance because golf is such a one-sided sport (at least, that’s what we rationalize). Its performance benefits are not necessarily clearly defined, and I am not sure I could honestly say any of my athletes produce more power because they train the opposite side.

In our earlier research¹ we did note that an opposite-handed shot put throw had an r value of over .8 relative to club head speed (equivalent to the r value for the strong-sided shot put). This certainly suggests that being able to produce power on the opposite side rotationally is important. I am not sure, however, if it means more-coordinated athletes will generate more speed or if it is an actual indication of the importance of opposite training. It probably is a bit of both, but no one really knows at this point, as far as I can tell.

Another interesting topic to briefly cover is overspeed and underspeed training, which has become wildly popular in the golf performance world lately. It has a longer standing history in baseball and track and field (incline and decline training), where there is definitely a lot more research on it. I will elaborate in a future article on our findings on this method of training, but our initial research suggests that we can likely achieve similar speed gains with much less work than most protocols on the market suggest.

The takeaway here is to be wary of how much load you put on your athlete and always be aware of how big of a “cup” their nervous system has, so that you don’t overload them and cause their cup to spill. You need to consider injury risk when looking at high-volume protocols (90+ swings 2-3x/week), particularly in the context of the overall training program and where this type of training fits into the broader year-round periodization cycle. Also consider where athletes are on the strength-speed continuum. Does your athlete need to get stronger or faster, and how much room do you have left in their “cup” for these skills to be trained?

Post-Activation Potentiation Training

Post-activation potentiation (PAP) is an interesting topic and a staple of our training programs with our golfers. We pair every big four strength move focused on creating maximal force (squat, hinge, chest press, pull) with a power move in that same kinetic plane. For example, after a heavy squat, we might do a jump variation, and after a heavy hinge lift, we might do an explosive triple extension exercise.

There is interesting research that actually showed an immediate improvement in club head speed when golfers completed vertical jumps prior to swinging.⁷This study obviously looked at the acute impact of PAP, but it definitely is a point for rotational athletes to think about.

Use Real Training Practices with Golf Athletes

To wrap it all up, the simple equation of power = force + speed is not necessarily that simple. When it comes to rotational force production, strength training in the non-rotational patterns is clearly important and produces significant swing speed gains.¹But coaches need to be aware of athletes’ biological and training ages, as well as their individual needs. If you put them in the wrong strength training program, you actually can slow down their gains by up to 12%.

It appears you can potentially magnify the sport-specific rotational power metrics (swing speed) by training rotational strength eccentrically. This does not mean to train this in isolation; rather, do it in addition to the traditional big four training to maximize the training benefit. We need to move beyond solely utilizing low-load rotational staples such as medicine balls and bands and into the world of rotational overload training for maximal results.

When using medicine balls and completing rotational exercises, be sure to give feedback that helps athletes understand the impact of how they use the ground, and its effects on their outputs in competition. Improper use of the ground can lead to an athlete producing half the speed they are actually capable of every rep. This is a huge wasted opportunity if we, as coaches, do not pick up on it and cue properly.

Improper use of the ground can lead to an athlete producing half the speed they are actually capable of every rep. Share on X

The future of rotational power training is still quite gray and there are few, if any, definites in the literature. Hopefully, this article sparks some questions in your mind, and inspires you to go and find the answers to these questions with your athletes.

Golf-specific training is also a confusing gray area for athletes and coaches. Starting now, be acutely aware of how you train rotational strength, speed, and power, both kinetically and kinematically. Plan how you will periodize it. Research how you will measure it. Perfect how you will cue it. Prove empirically that how you are training it is working. Then teach the rest of us how you are doing it.

References

1. Finn, C., Prengle, B. and Cassella, A. Research Driven Golf Performance Training, Par4Success. October 2018, pp. 3-20.

2. Hegedus, E.J., Hardesty, K.W., Sunderland, K.L., Hegedus, R.J. and Smoliga, J.M. “A randomized trial of traditional and golf-specific resistance training in amateur female golfers: Benefits beyond golf performance.” Physical Therapy in Sport. 2016; 22: 41-53.

3. Finn, C., Prengle, B. and Cassella, A. Eccentric Flywheel Training and Its Effects on Club Speed in Golfers: A 6 Week Study. Par4Success. April 2019, pp. 2-10.

4. Szymanski, D.J., Szymanski, J.M., Bradford, T.J., Schade, R.L. and Pascoe, D.D. “Effect of twelve weeks of medicine ball training on high school baseball players.”Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2007; 21(3): 894-901.

5. Leary, B.K., Statler, J., Hopkins, B., Fitzwater, R., Kesling, T., Lyon, J., Phillips, B., Bryner, R.W., Cormie, P. and Haff, G.G. “The relationship between isometric force-time curve characteristics and club head speed in recreational golfers.”Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2012; 26(10): 2685.

6. Read, P.J., Lloyd, R.S., De, S.C. and Oliver, J.L. “Relationships between field-based measures of strength and power and golf club head speed.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2013; 27(10): 2708.

7. Read, P.J., Miller, S.C. and Turner, A.N. “The effects of postactivation potentiation on golf club head speed.”Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2013; 27(6): 1579.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

In the increasingly competitive world of youth soccer, the ability to prepare athletes technically, tactically, and physically at a high level is growing in importance for both the club and athlete alike. Quite simply, clubs want to be able to attract the best players and players want to play for the best clubs. As result, specialization from a coaching perspective is becoming more common. Individuals with highly specific skills with regard to technical training, in-game management, nutrition, sports psychology, and performance are becoming more valuable as the margins for error in any one these components become smaller and smaller.

With athleticism such a large part of the game of soccer, and speed perhaps the most sought-after attribute, having a good performance coach can truly make all the difference. Share on X

As with many things in life, attention to the finest detail is often what separates elite from great and great from good. With athleticism being such a large part of the game of soccer, and speed being perhaps the most sought-after physical attribute, having a good performance coach can truly make all the difference. Most professional clubs have had full-time dedicated performance specialists for years. More recently, there has been a growing trend among youth organizations to provide professional-level physical preparation for their young soccer players as well.

The Elephant in the Room – Female ACL Injury Rates

The primary goal of the performance coach at the youth level should be to make sure athletes are prepared for the rigors of soccer. Health and vitality should supersede performance at the critical stages of early development. A comprehensive program in which a soccer player simultaneously develops strength, power, speed, and fitness will address both injury prevention and performance. General physical preparedness is far superior to sport-specific development among young athletes.

Video 1. It’s easy to get silly with plyometrics, so make sure the drills in your program look sharp and not wild. Single leg hops with crisp landings are better than chasing extreme heights or complexity.

Collecting simple objective data points regarding performance provides insight that the process of physical development is on track. Data is also useful for revealing trends. Trends can be unique to an individual, possibly foreshadowing game-breaking efforts reflected in recent growth in performance indicators, or just the opposite, systemic fatigue or impending injury with sudden drops in indicators.

Trends can also be common among a population of athletes. For instance, the alarmingly high rate at which female soccer players experience ACL failures is one such trend. U.S. Youth Soccer has stated: “Numerous research studies that have been conducted over the past 10 years indicate that females are indeed more susceptible to ACL injuries; most studies report that females are 4-8 times more likely to tear this ligament.” In fact, many U.S. Women’s National Team members both past and present have suffered ACL tears, including recognizable names such as Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Brandi Chastain, and Shannon MacMillan, just to name a few.

The anterior cruciate ligament lies deep inside the front part of the knee behind the patella (knee cap) and connects the tibia (shin bone) to the femur (thigh bone). Its primary purpose is to provide stability to the knee by resisting excessive rotation and forward shift as the tibia relates to the femur. When the ACL is partially or completely torn as a result of excessive rotation of the tibia, stability around the knee is compromised.

Anatomically, women are at a disadvantage in comparison to men. Women have wider hips and a smaller intercondylar notch, which is the groove at the bottom of the femur where it meets the knee. This, in turn, can lead to inefficient movement patterns and biomechanics and leave the female athlete more susceptible to ACL injury. This predisposition is often exposed in more intricate sporting movements that involve landing, change of direction, lateral movement, or rotation. Incorporate physical contact as well, and you have a challenging environment for the female soccer player to safely navigate.

The best way to begin to combat the ACL epidemic in women soccer athletes is to get them strong. Share on X

The best way to begin to combat the ACL epidemic in women soccer athletes is to get them strong. Coordination/skill, rate of force, and the ability to decelerate are also necessary, but functional strengthening through a full range of motion in all planes of motion using conventional barbells, dumbbells, and kettlebells should be the foundation of a solid strength and performance program. Squatting, hinging, pressing, and pulling with mixed loads and velocities should be employed to develop both absolute and relative strength simultaneously.

Due to the energy demands of soccer, the ability to increase power while maintaining weight without adding excess bulk is very important. I personally use 1-5 rep maxes in the back squat, hex bar deadlift, and bench press as indicators of absolute strength, and chin-ups and skater squats (single leg squats) as indicators of relative strength. Optimizing both absolute and relative strength makes an athlete more resistant to fatigue.

This is important because most ACL injuries occur when the athlete begins to get tired. An American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine study monitoring vertical jump and drop jump performance concluded that high-intensity aerobic activity makes an athlete 45% more susceptible to an ACL injury. As an athlete fatigues, their ability to efficiently produce and absorb force dissipates and motor patterns break down.

While it is important to develop total body strength to maintain a well-rounded athlete, we should place primary emphasis on developing strength and stability through the legs and the core. The hips, glutes, hamstrings, lower back, and abdominals comprise the entirety of the core, which is the primary engine not just for a soccer player, but an athlete in general. Much of the stability around the knee builds on a strong foundation in the hips. Proper glute development and function, as well as sufficiently strong hamstrings, are necessary for a strong healthy knee.

Soccer athletes, both male and female alike, too often have significant muscle imbalances due to the quad-dominant nature of soccer and the lack of prerequisite strength of the hamstrings. Addressing this imbalance by strengthening the muscles of the posterior with squats, deadlifts, good mornings, glute-ham raises, and Nordics will not only create a safer environment for knee health, but also enhance performance. The glutes and the hamstrings are the most important muscles involved in sprinting. Bret Contreras specifies even further, suggesting that hamstrings are most important during the swing phase, whereas glutes are most important during the stance phase. Developing maximal force, rate of force, and speed of contraction for these two critical muscles is a must for a healthy, dynamic athlete.

Getting Started on a Path to Resilience with Strength

When beginning to strengthen an athlete, always be mindful that good strength development is first established on position. A strong position through a full range of motion in global movements such as a squat, hinge, press, or pull allows the athlete to move with load and velocity safely and efficiently later.

Video 2. Inchworms are great for athletes at any time, not just during the warm-up. Coaches need to think about remedial drills as basic strength, not just barbells and dumbbells.

Programming or, in some cases, reprogramming the nervous system or circuitry that controls muscular function is equally as important as developing the muscle itself in the female athlete. Combining and varying different types of muscular contractions early in development and strength-building cycles is excellent for promoting healthy strong positions in female soccer players.

“Controlling the stretch reflex is one of the most powerful assets an athlete possesses” –Cal Dietz.

Isometrics, or static holds, at various joint angles are great at developing strength at that specific position and providing a lot of neural feedback and a heightened sense of self-awareness. Fixed isometrics are also great because athletes can do them frequently without much muscular soreness or fatigue. Quasi-isometrics and eccentrics are also highly effective at developing high levels of strength in position. Quasi-isometrics are movements that are so slow they are nearly imperceptible. Quasi-isometrics can be done both eccentrically and concentrically through a full range or limited range of motion.

Eccentrics are specific to developing the stretch phase of a muscle and are critical in the deceleration process. The ability to effectively decelerate and absorb force is the essential first step in agility and change of direction, which so frequently occurs in soccer. Being incredibly strong will allow female soccer athletes to safely deal with the high forces generated from sprinting, leaping, and cutting.

Once sufficient levels of strength are demonstrated, athletes can dedicate more of their time and energy to doing more traditional speed, agility, and plyometric work. Ideally, I look for a 1.5x bodyweight squat, 10 full range of motion skater squats (single leg squats) with no knee valgus on each leg, and at least three good-quality chin-ups before really shifting my focus. It is important to note that these numbers are not absolutes and merely represent round estimates as to the ideal level of preparedness for more intensive training. Speedwork is really where all the strength and power development rightfully should manifest itself from a performance standpoint. Strength work may be the foundation on which power and speed are built, but how the athlete translates that to the field is what is most critical for a soccer player.

Strength work may be the foundation on which power and speed are built, but how the soccer player translates that to the field is what is most critical. Share on X

To that end, I always try to make sure I have a purpose for everything I have my athletes do. I’m constantly searching to create the biggest adaptation by utilizing the simplest means possible. In fact, it’s funny to look at my own evolution as a coach. When I first began nearly a decade ago, I used to constantly think about what exercise I could add or what elaborate progression I could use to take an athlete from point A to point B. Now it’s entirely the opposite—it’s more about what I can remove to simplify and make the entire development process more efficient.

Speed and Change of Direction Reserves – My Philosophy of Training

The value of speed, agility, and plyometric work is twofold. First, moving as fast as possible against little or no external resistance will increase the rate at which critical muscles such as the glutes, hamstrings, hips, and adductors are recruited. This is typically just viewed through a performance prism, but it is also largely beneficial in the reduction of ACL injuries because the same muscles are so important in the functional bracing of the knee. As quickly as an athlete can recruit a muscle to produce force, they can recruit the same muscle to absorb force.

Video 3. As youth athletes grow, landing skills must be introduced as they are now more at risk to ACL tears. Simple drills are great precursors for true plyometrics and are easy to implement in groups.

To specifically work on rate of recruitment and force absorption, I like to couple decelerations and landings from all different heights and angles with eccentric strengthening exercises. In sports such as soccer, where so much agility and change of direction are required, the ability to stop on a dime is arguably just as important as possessing breakaway speed.

In sports such as soccer, where so much agility and change of direction are required, the ability to stop on a dime is arguably as important as possessing breakaway speed. Share on X

Second, the technical development of speed, agility, and plyometrics will increase a female soccer player’s biomechanics in terms of positioning. As the athlete becomes more efficient in position when sprinting, leaping, or cutting, both performance and stability will improve. If an athlete is not strong enough to establish and maintain positions in static holds or under slower velocities as experienced against an external load, there is no chance they will be able to do so at full speed.

Optimal dosing for speed/agility and strength work would be 2-3 sessions per week of roughly 45 minutes in length, depending on whether in or out of season. The important thing is to make sure the sessions are as efficient as possible. The quicker and more effective the session, the quicker soccer players can get back to getting on the ball to develop their craft. When organizing training, I like to divide speed and agility work into three distinct parts: acceleration, max velocity, and agility. Each training session focuses on one theme, typically prior to strength work.

Acceleration

For acceleration work, I like drills that teach athletes to create a large amount of horizontal force rapidly. Postural drills done on the wall provide a great initial proprioceptive learning tool, allowing an athlete to feel the appropriate body lean while simultaneously maintaining correct limb orientation to effectively “push.” Lightly resisted accelerations and horizontal med ball throws that finish both with and without an acceleration are great at teaching the sensation of projecting the hips horizontally.

From a cueing perspective, I stress “strong” over “fast.” In my experience working with many young athletes, often in large group settings, utilizing “strong” to describe the first few steps during acceleration has proven to be the most effective at reaching the broadest audience.

Max Velocity

For max velocity work, basic technical drills that integrate posture, balance, and rhythm of ground contact such as ankling, prime times, derivations of A skips/A runs, skips for height/distance, and wicket runs are excellent. Fly-ins at 10-30 yards and float-hit-float runs are fantastic as well, because they require an athlete to effectively accelerate before reaching top speed and develop continuity between drive phase and max velocity. As an athlete’s top end speed improves, so does their ability to accelerate, which is precisely why it cannot be overlooked in the development of soccer athletes despite soccer primarily being acceleration-oriented. Plyometric exercises that produce vertical forces—such as pogo jumps, depth jumps, tuck jumps, and pike jumps—are great at developing the fast stretch shortening cycle necessary for ground contacts at max velocity.

As an athlete’s top end speed improves, so does their ability to accelerate, which is precisely why it cannot be overlooked in the development of soccer athletes. Share on X

Agility

To develop change of direction and agility, I prefer a combination of eccentric strength, decelerations/landings, and multidirectional plyometrics, as opposed to traditional choreographed cone and ladder drills. With the amount that female soccer athletes train and compete, they get enough sport-specific agility by merely playing. Therefore, it is unnecessary to administer any extraneous cutting, turning, and shuttle drills during their preparedness sessions with me. Employing a mixture of eccentrics, decelerations/landings, and plyos develops agilities underlying the mechanism of force absorption, lowering of center of mass, and proper ground contacts in relationship to the athlete’s center of mass in all planes of motion.

With legitimately unlimited degrees of freedom regarding change of direction scenarios within the game of soccer, having a female soccer athlete “learn to read” in training so she can “read to learn” while competing is of far greater value. The addition of reaction components to these various building blocks incorporates a layer of cognitive function and perception to the drill, making it slightly more sport-specific. Choreographed change of direction drills, such as the 5-10-5, 3-cone drill, and long shuttle, provide value primarily as feedback mechanisms to ensure development is on track. Choreographed change of direction drills are more for demonstration than development.

Warm-Up

Always begin with a good 5- to 10-minute dynamic warm-up. An effective warm-up should raise core temperature; elevate heart rate; activate and mobilize muscles of the glutes, hips, and core; and finally, excite the nervous system. I have found a nice mixture with subtle contrasts in resistance, time under tension, and intensity with glute/hip bands in combination with bodyweight mobility such as multiplanar lunges, single leg RDLs, Frankensteins, and a variety of crawls highly effective at preparing the body for more explosive movements. To fire up the nervous system, quick footwork, hops, jumps, and accelerations are simple and effective.

Video 4. Having athletes learn strength movements, even light ones, on the field helps them connect the dots. You don’t have to work seperate the gym and the field, but know when to employ real overload.

Active Restoration

After training and competing, it is always in an athlete’s best interest to gradually cool down as opposed to just abruptly stopping, but don’t expect a magical recovery. A 5- to 10-minute conventional cool-down is the first step in preparing mentally for the next session or competition by restoring baseline wellness, range of motion, and mobility, and addressing any sore or injured muscles. Mobilizing the hips and shoulders with simple abduction/adduction, extension/flexion, and external and internal rotations before some light static stretching or positioning and gentle foam rolling or lacrosse ball smashing can be very helpful in restoring an athlete to resting state.

Video 5. Activation for elite athletes may be overzealous, but developmental athletes benefit from the teaching and the resistance. Don’t forget that eventually you may need to move on from light resitance and progress to more demanding exercises.

An example training session emphasizing acceleration work and eccentric strengthening would look something like this:

Warm-Up

• Lateral Glute/Hip Band Monster Walk 1×10 steps r/l (band around ankles)
• Walking Lunge + T Spine Rotation 1×10 yds
• Glute/Hip Bridge + External Rotation 1×10 (band around knees)
• Alternating Single RDL 1×10 yds
• Kneeling Hydrant Circles (1×5 slow external, 1×5 slow internal r/l)
• Wideouts (CNS) 1×15-20 s

Acceleration

• Falling Boom + 5-Step Wall Acceleration x4 (2 r/l) (posture/position)
• Band Resisted Partner Accel from Kneeling 1/2 Start 3×20 yds
• Kneeling Squat Jump + Horizontal Med Ball Throw for Distance 2×3
• Timed 20-yd Acceleration from 2-Point Stance x3

Power

• 12” Depth Jump to Hurdle 2×3

Strength

• Eccentric Back Squat (5:0:0) 70%x3x3
• Eccentric + Isometric RDL (5:2:0) 2×5
• Eccentric Chin-Up (5:0:0) 2×4-6
• DB Lateral Lunge (light) 2×10 r/l

Stability/Mobility

• Dead Bug (contralateral) 1×16
• Side Plank + Abduction 1×12 r/l
• Single Arm Plank 1×20-30s (strict position)
• 90/90 Internal Rotation Hip Switches 1×16
• Backward Bear Crawl + Glute/Hip Band Around Knees 1×10 yds slow
• Low Squat + Slow Internal Hip Rotations 1×45-60 s

Mastery Disguised as Polishing the Basics

At the end of the day, developing high levels of strength and becoming skillful at sprinting, leaping, and cutting are the best ways to fight the growing ACL epidemic among female soccer players. Simple, time-tested means such as squats, deadlifts, and presses done at an extraordinarily high level will prepare girls properly for the forces they will face in training and competition. Be wary of programs that seek to build stability through instability and commonly throw about such buzzwords as “sport specific.” Stick to the basics, be demanding, and get your girls strong!

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

“The mental side of the game is way over 50 percent, probably about 80.” –Lebron James.

Is meditation the most significant legal performance enhancer available to athletes? From the contemporary mental health movement in the NBA all the way back to the consciousness ceremonies of the ancient Greek Olympic athletes, mindfulness practice and high performance in sports have quite the history together. Today, many athletes and everyday individuals are keeping this tradition and turning to their desired form of meditation practice for optimal health and performance, and a higher quality of life in general. With a growing trend of mindfulness turning more mainstream day by day, it’s time to explore how and why athletes should recruit mindfulness practices for gains on and off the court, field, and track.

Lessons from Pro and Elite Athletes

To the uninitiated, meditation may seem like a quasi-religious practice and in “woo-woo” territory. While some practitioners may also adopt these iterations of mindfulness practice, the reality is that these practices are more variations of what meditation is biologically: a software update that fine-tunes your operating system (brain and nervous system) back to the way it’s meant to function. The truth is that meditation is not some far-off enchanted land only visited by the enlightened. Not at all, in fact.

Meditation can certainly be developed and cultivated with certain processes, as seen in various iterations such as transcendental meditation. While exploration of various mindfulness practices and flow-state methods should be encouraged, the essentialist view here is to simply dial back and be. The practice can literally be as simple as sitting in a room with your eyes closed and engaging in conscious breathing.

For both athletic development and quality of life, it’s worth introducing your athletes to various forms of mindfulness practice, says @coopwiretap. Share on X

“It may sound silly, but just closing my eyes in a dark room and breathing for 10 minutes a day helps me,” says Marcus Morris, forward for the Boston Celtics.

Let’s address the elephant in the room before reading any further.

I understand the difficult path a coach has to understand their role here. You don’t want to overstep your boundaries and force something on someone. I get that. But the reality is that in addition to developing athletes, we also try to leave them better off as people in general. Meditation addresses both. The mentoring part of coaching is still important. You don’t have to force anything on anyone, but for both athletic development and quality of life, it’s worth introducing your athletes to various forms of mindfulness practice.

The Neuroscience of Your Brain’s Operating System

Upgrading athletes’ software might sound like something out of a dystopian science fiction movie, but in a funny sort of way, that’s what it does. Both a simple toe dip and a deep dive into neuroscience research can demonstrate the positive effects of meditation on the brain’s nervous system complex. Research and testimonies from the trenches both illustrate these physiological morphs being a key ingredient in performing at a high clip.

Both a simple toe dip and a deep dive into neuroscience research can demonstrate the positive effects of medication on the brain’s nervous system complex, says @coopwiretap. Share on X

This field of neuroscience gives some credence to the long-held esoteric belief that the mind and the physical body are linked. This is exciting news for athletes and coaches alike. Don’t get me wrong—we aren’t at the point where we can fully unweave the rainbow. We may never be, but we are at least at the point of being able to illustrate morphological changes in the physical body.

Brain imaging techniques, biofeedback, and other biomarkers have shown statistically significant improvements in response to continuous meditation practice. The brain’s adaptability—or neuroplasticity—to epigenetic training inputs is now understood to be fluid for a much longer period of time than originally thought. This is encouraging not only for tactical strength and conditioning items like motor skill acquisition, but also for rewiring the brain and nervous system complex of athletes for mental performance.

In adults, meditation has cultivated adaptations in the brain such as increased gray matter concentration within the left hippocampus, the cerebellum, the temporo-parietal junction, and the posterior cingulate cortex, to name a few. These are key areas involved in learning, memory, perspective adoption, empathy, sense of self, and emotional regulation. It’s not hard to tease out how this could impact an athlete’s confidence, next-play mentality, presence, kinesthetic presence in the body, and recovery from stress to better accommodate the eustress of training for better adaptations.

Mindful Muscle: Successful Program Implementation

Before delving any further, it’s worth addressing how to successfully implement meditation in your private practice or organization. While there is no right answer, there are definitely ways to go and not go about the process.

At a bare minimum, helpful suggestions and highlighting the importance of meditation individually and/or in a group setting is a good idea. This gets away from any force feeding and instead is a further demonstration of the level of care in your practice. It lets the athlete know they are more than their stats and that their long-term well-being is a top priority, though there are certainly performance downloads to be had.

I find that with younger student athletes, having rapport with parents helps—I inform and ask permission of the parents of high school athletes prior to having the conversation. At a minimum, these younger (and even collegiate athletes) may respond best to meditation apps in the beginning. Some of these are even slanted toward athletic performance, which helps enable trust and buy-in for the uninitiated.

I also find that a group seminar session can be incredibly impactful. This “selling” through education empowers the athlete to make the decision, while also giving you a platform to speak on the supporting research and benefits to be had.

My colleague, Mike Franco of the Dallas Mavericks, represents something of a growing trend in the NBA. While the concept of sports psychologists is nothing new, Mike is a mental performance skills coach who leans heavily on meditation as a tool for player transformation. Having worked with athletes at a variety of levels, Mike echoes the above sentiments and treats the process as a fundamental extension of player development and training:

“Working on your mindset is a skill set, just like working on the physical parts of your game. For the physical skills, we might work on shooting, in-game reads, and strength and conditioning. I look at this the same—it’s a skill. You need to be able to be in the moment, play present, stay focused, control emotions, and take confident action every play, no matter what. Really, it’s just about not stopping yourself.”

Meditation helps players unlock parts of their game, while also leaving them better off as people—something we should all strive for in our own practices, says @coopwiretap. Share on X

Mike currently works with first-year players, as well as at the G-league affiliate, The Texas Legends. He not only helps develop players, but also implements meditation protocols to help fresh faces adjust to all of the life changes that playing at the professional level demands. The resultant effect is helping players unlock parts of their game, while also leaving them better off as people—something we should all strive for in our own practices.

What Can Go Wrong with an Athlete’s Brain

In addition to basic meditation iterations, sometimes stronger, more neurogenic interventions are warranted. In the contemporary meditation space, there’s a propensity to stop at meditation and positive-think your way through things. While this is immensely powerful on its own, it’s still important to feel and thus look at the big picture, addressing the entire nervous system. In reality, athletes may require more kinesthetic, somatomotor interventions to truly perform at their best.

The best places to start with this research are the behavioral neurology being done at Huberman Lab in the Bay area, somatic processing science, and the biology of early life trauma. In essence, we all have had some type of traumatic event or period of high stress happen to us. This isn’t to say that all athletes have PTSD-level trauma, but perspective is what constitutes trauma, not the event itself. This traumatic event or period of high stress leaves a biological imprinting at the neurological level. This imprinting can then come back to haunt you in periods of high arousal, such as athletic performance. Allow me to elaborate.

As an example, let’s say an athlete (Jim) was picked last on the playground and this was traumatic and altogether embarrassing for him. In these type of cases, certain neural firing combinations associated with survival light up—often the amygdala and xiphoid nucleus responsible for fear, threat detection, and stress. The kicker is that, obviously, Jim survived or else he wouldn’t be playing basketball right now.

However, the forebrain projects meaning onto experience. So, if these distress-bringing neural firing combinations lit up in the face of Jim’s performance as a child and he survived as far as the brain is concerned, then guess what? There’s a solid chance that—prompted with similar triggers—Jim’s nervous system lights up and potentially sabotages his performance. This performance anxiety is neurogenic and often has to be trained with kinesthetic components in addition to baseline meditation.

The book, The Body Keeps the Score, is an easily digestible, consolidated reference for a deeper dive into this research, but it’s also worth looking at the rodent studies on functional neurology. Scientists have observed these qualities in rats during last man standing simulations. In essence, two rats were on a platform meant for one. The rat that won the first time by knocking his opponent off then went on to win over 80% of the time, all things being equal on a physical level. Observations of brain patterns echoed these neural “glitches.”

The boomerang here is that sometimes athletes will need interventions that reprogram the mind-body interface, neurologically speaking. This can be as simple as free breathwork practice or as advanced as biofeedback.

Athletes sometimes need interventions that reprogram the mind-body interface, neurologically speaking. This can be as simple as free breathwork practice or as advanced as biofeedback. Share on X

Author and former pro basketball player Witalij Martynow likes to use a collection of tools ranging from targeted breathing techniques to neuro-linguistic programming to help basketball players and other athletes perform at their highest ability. At the most basic level, he sees a need for players to be able to manage autonomics. “‘Excess’ sympathetic fight/flight/freeze response can negatively impact your game. We can consciously reverse that response with diaphragmatic breathing.”

Be it in a time-out or an in-game situation, it’s important to give your athletes a basic tool to switch stress response, slow down heart rate, and get into “flow states” (the zone) with conscious breathing. Being able to control your neural real estate is invaluable and as simple as strong nasal inhales with elongated, parasympathetic exhales (though many valid breathing techniques can work).

Your Body Speaks Its Mind

Occasionally, you’ll find athletes who have more significant “blocks,” find themselves in confidence valleys, and/or have severe performance anxiety independent of skill level. In these cases, it can be useful to refer out and recommend somatic processing or biofeedback techniques.

These techniques work on trigger-associated sensations, responses, and reflex arcs of the interconnected webs of the nervous system and respective subsets, including autonomic, peripheral, somatic, and enteric. These therapies include EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), TRE (trauma release exercise), neurofeedback, sound therapies, trauma body work, and beyond. All of these have the end goal of integration, meaning the ability to process and reassociate various parts of the nervous system for the purpose of elevated quality of life and performance.

These therapies have an end goal of integration, meaning the ability to process and reassociate various parts of the nervous system to elevate quality of life and performance, says @coopwiretap. Share on X

Mammals have the ability to shake themselves free of neurogenic trauma. For example, if you see a deer cross the road and almost get hit by a car, it violently shakes itself to rid the effects of stress from the physical body. Athletes and all humans have lost their way to engage this mechanism as easily, so these therapies exist to recapture this natural adaptive response.

One of my favorite techniques for self-study homework in athletes is TRE, which was first introduced to me by health coach Ryan Frisinger. TRE is a manual technique for reproducing this mammalian reflex in humans. The contemporary TRE movement has been ushered in by Dr. David Berceli. While what grabs the headlines has been its effects on veterans’ PTSD, much work has been done for athletes and physical performance enhancement. I find that after a fluid period of time, athletes have the ability to self-induce when needed, to a degree, not unlike the aforementioned deer example.

For me, personally, the net impact has been measurable in optimizing athletes’ health in some key biomarkers (Omegawave, Biostrap, biofeedback, labs), in subjective drops in performance anxiety, and also enhanced sport performance.

I personally refer out for most of these therapies, though I have found it helpful for me and Ron Acevedo to have sound therapies, syntonics, and neurofeedback helmets in-house for athlete needs. For athletes who claim to have trouble with mindfulness practices and/or can’t go see a practitioner, it has helped to be able to tackle this at a biological level while also respecting the athlete’s right to privacy.

The Brain’s Protect-to-Perform Continuum

In applied neurology, you’re taught that the brain works on a protect-to-perform continuum. This is also a major crux underpinning popular movement therapy schools, such as Reflexive Performance Reset, Postural Restoration Institute, Neurokinetic Therapy, and NeuFit.

The basic idea is that if your brain is shifted onto the protect side of things, you won’t be able to fully neurally express your maximum potential on the performance side of things. In his book, The Other 80, Witalij Martynow and Metta World Peace bring to light both sides of this spectrum in athletes.

The physical side of this is quite interesting. One potential manifestation of being shifted into the protect mode is limited neuromuscular function or diminished access to activation potential of certain muscles. This not only has implications on performance issues, but also on injury pathologies. When I see an athlete who is stressed, it almost always takes more work to get their movement prep work and corrective exercises to take effect or last. This is also where having the luxury of the direct current electrostim device, Neubie, greatly helps me to expand the central nervous system’s reach to the peripheral working muscle groups.

This can also play a role in rehabilitation. I’ve mentioned before that if a basketball player has an injury and their brain is still in the mode that they can only survive, say, a 20-inch landing, then their vertical is likely to be around that height. BUT if you can shift this into more of a perform continuum (e.g., tools like the Neubie, meditation, breathwork, etc.), then you can dissolve these central governors (limiters) and the athlete will be better able to express maximal intent. In this context, that vertical goes up right away in most cases.

In research on tension myositis (or myoneural) syndrome, also known as mind-body syndrome, it is taught that the brain is responsible for pain pathway generation and various tissue qualities, including stiffness and pliability. While training absolutely affects these, it really is a complex interplay of these inputs (nutrition, too), that can lead you down positive or negative roads. In some cases (and as referenced by Martynow), this can go as far as your brain injuring you to “protect” you from some perceived onslaught.

An extrapolation of this is to critically look at your weightlifting methods and identify which exercises place the athlete’s brain in a mode of bracing and survival (“protect,” e.g., heavy barbell back squat) vs. performing (e.g., sprinting). I think it’s fair that strength coaches should keep this in mind when performing a needs analysis. I suggest evenly splitting your exercises between ones that target loading benefits, such as metabolic and hormonal distress for muscle hyperplasia, and ones that target performance benefits for primarily neural adaptations.

Evenly split your exercises between ones that target loading benefits and ones that target performance benefits for primarily neural adaptations, advises @coopwiretap. Share on X

Closing the loop, it’s important to keep this in mind when assessing athletes, prescribing exercise selection, implementing corrective exercises, practicing breathwork, and setting meditation protocols. You need to look at the holistic picture in an alchemical sense, instead of guessing and checking.

A New Look into the Flow-Like Experiences of Athletes

A better understanding of athletes and their neural circuitry means a better understanding of the default mode network (DMN). The DMN is your body’s predictable resting state patterning that your brain drifts into when at rest. Unfortunately, this unengaged state is also where worrying, anxiety, and ruminating tend to coexist. Originally discovered in fMRI studies, the DMN is one of the most abstract networks of the brain.

Based on interpretations of the latest research, what we know is that the more an athlete is engaged with a task, the less activated this resting cognitive state is. Mindfulness meditation, breathwork, and many of the referenced mind-body interfacing techniques help to quiet the DMN to help support a more optimal state for the athlete to perform in. However, you can also have some other novel techniques in your pocket for athletes.

Looking at the work of leadership consultant David Rock, it’s important to create dedicated practices, interventions, and settings for your brain to evolve out of the DMN. For coaches, this can mean dedicated time spent implementing games out of training, fun focus training (e.g., pattern recognition), and/or implementing game scenarios by which the athlete has to fully engage with the task.

Could this perhaps be one of the reasons why training methods that require the athlete to fully engage and exert themselves—like sprinting, isoinertial resistance, or performance isokinetics—seem to work so well beyond the physical adaptations? I can’t say for sure, but it’s an interesting concept to ruminate.

Meditation in the Trenches

Hopefully, I haven’t lost you with that last exploration. I would like you see this article for what it is: an anthropological piece on meditation, mindfulness, and basic neuroscience for both athlete and coach. Much of what has been discussed underpins the surface level we all see discussed by athletes such as DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Love, and more. Even if all of this is a little new or “woo-woo” for you, it’s easy to appreciate the “Zen Master,” Phil Jackson, implementing meditation with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and his organizational culture. At the very least, you can’t argue with the results.

I see meditation and mindfulness practices as an extension of showing the human being behind the athlete, says @coopwiretap. Share on X

Rather than subscribing to one dogma, it’s important to educate athletes and invite them to do their own n=1 experimenting to discover what works best. I see meditation and mindfulness practices as an extension of showing the human being behind the athlete. You might just find some one-of-a-kind gains on and off the court.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Culture is a word that’s highly overused in the world of strength and conditioning. The word itself holds little meaning and is very vague. We as coaches have to look at our little section of the sports performance world and give it values and meaning that will translate to our athletes. That’s the easy part. Once we have defined culture, we have to go about living it. A truly great culture can’t be faked. The values you lay out must resonate daily across your program.

The Origin of the Rubric

When I left my last job to come to York Comprehensive High School (YCHS), I had a unique situation regarding weight room culture, specifically with football. At my previous job, our football program was not a highly successful one from a win-loss standpoint. However, our culture in the weight room was outstanding.

At YCHS it was the reverse. Although wins were more plentiful, our weight room culture was far from what I would define as high performing. I immediately started down a path to find ways to help educate our athletes about what a high-performance culture looks and feels like. Regardless of wins and losses, at some point, a poor culture will want its “pound of flesh.” Our goal was to minimize this while taking our culture to a much higher level.

Step one was to come up with a list of characteristics we wanted the athletes to strive for. Things that we could recognize our athletes doing or failing to do daily. We made a list of ten characteristics of the high-performance culture we wanted at YCHS. Number one was “Always have correct footwear in the weight room.” As you can see from the fact that something so basic was such a big issue, we had lots of work to do!

We talked to the athletes about the list. We made signs and wrote the list on our whiteboard. We referenced it daily. We stopped and recognized high-performance actions. But things did not change. I needed something more.

I spoke with our AD, who advised me to find a way to grade our athletes that would encourage them to meet our expectations. Attack the issue as if it were any other classroom with problems. We needed to evaluate how athletes would earn grades in athletic classes. If you tell an athlete “hey do better, or your grade will drop” they have no idea what that means. How much? What exactly do I need to do better? We were preaching attention to detail, but we were not living it.

At that moment, I knew I needed to think less like a strength coach and more like a classroom teacher. I needed a rubric for a high-performance culture.

Luckily for me, I had the beginning of this rubric already on hand. The previous June, I attended the NHSSCA NatCon in Noblesville, Indiana. Noblesville is the home of one of the great high school strength coaches in America, Brian Clarke. Brian had an amazing sign in his facility that listed five characteristics of athlete behavior: Resistant, Reluctant, Compliant, Committed, and Compelled. Connecting each was a “category” of expected outcome for each. For example, between Resistant and Reluctant was Losing. Each characteristic had a definition below it (see graphic above). I added a sixth trait I called Existent—just showing up and breathing and trying to get through the day.

Implementing and Applying the Rubric

My next step was to figure out what traits would stand as the pillars upon which to build our new culture. What were the graded assignments going to be each day? We went with Commitment, Effort, Discipline, Toughness, and Trust/Leadership. Each of these would be worth one point. Now we had our assignments and our characteristics categories. I also decided to keep five graded categories and all six levels of achievement. We reserved Compelled for extraordinary efforts worth one extra credit point. This gave athletes the potential to score six out of five and allowed an athlete to make up for an off day by having a great one.

The final step to building the rubric was to give them a specific action they needed to accomplish within each level. We could not afford to be vague or leave too much open to interpretation. I sat down and researched the exact wording for each step in the rubric. We kept the descriptions short and to the point, which could be easily referenced and understood by athletes and coaches alike.

Finally, we put it together and jumped in with both feet immediately after our final game last football season. We were going through a coaching change, which made it a perfect time for a major change in the weight room as well. I was able to freely make the changes I felt would make a difference in our room. Luckily, our new head coach came in with an extremely similar mindset, which has made a major impact so far.

We made sure the athletes understood each level that would dictate their daily grades. That was a big change for them. Previously, my football classes were viewed as “football.” I needed to make sure I set up my classroom with my expectations. And just as in an academic classroom, reinforcement of expectations became a focus.

I had a four-pronged plan to reinforce the rubric. First, we went to the athletes who were leaders and explained how they could help us build and protect our culture. Second, we pulled aside athletes individually who were not performing up to rubric standards. Steps three and four both emphatically pointed out individuals and whole groups who showed efforts that could “make them a six.”

We saw immediate improvements within the program. Athletes are competitive by nature, and the rubric turned into a competition. Before I knew it, other athletes outside of football were looking at it and wanted to be a part of it. Leaders began to emerge where none had existed.

Because athletes are competitive by nature, the rubric turned into a competition and we saw immediate improvements, says @YorkStrength17. Share on X

One of my most eye-opening moments happened during the after school program when a rising senior volleyball player approached me. She said, “Coach I love this high-performance culture stuff. I love this rubric. Can we meet and talk about ways I can help get this in volleyball? We have a chance to be really good. I want to be great my senior year.” We ended up sitting down for a 45-minutes discussion. That right there is our why as strength coaches. Moments like that make it all worth it!

Since we began using the rubric in November, we’ve had our ups and downs. It’s rewarding to have our athletes coming into the room talking about “being a six.” It’s also tough when I have to lower a grade. I can say we have athletes flirt with a grade of C and a few with low B grades, though every one of these athletes improved following a grade report lower than an A.

How to Score the Rubric

The actual process of scoring the rubric was probably the hardest part of the rubric development. To score so many athletes, we had to keep it simple. I decided to go with a five-point scale (plus the extra credit point for Compelled). I use that as 20% of the weekly grade per day. In hindsight, I would have used a 20-point scale per day simply to make the calculations easier when entering grades. My first thought about the daily scoring was that a four out of five would move an athlete to the next level. However, I had a change of heart about that. We’re going for an excellent culture (A grade), not an above average culture (B grade). If four out of five were the standard, we would be lowering expectations.

Currently, athletes are graded up to the point where their actions no longer meet the standard expected. If an athlete wants to earn an A, or Committed, they must achieve all five goals listed in that column (see graphic below). To earn a six, they must be not only Committed but also Compelled to influence their teammates to a higher standard.

The day to day scoring can be time-consuming. At first, I tried to come up with a way to use Teambuildr software. As I played with it, though, I decided it was too much data entry. Our school has an online grade book, which gives 24/7 access to students and parents, and we chose to use that to push out the grades to our athletes. Again, we wanted to keep the process consistent with other academic procedures.

I keep a class roster on a clipboard for each group and make notes for each athlete. When I see something that is a six behavior, I star it. Everyone has a version of shorthand they use, and I’ve come up with my own for this effort as well. As with any classroom, you will not observe 100% of the athletes 100% of the time. For this situation, I stole a line directly from the teacher evaluation process: “You will be graded on observable behavior.”

I grade our athletes on what I see each day. I also do my best to talk to my leaders to see if I’ve missed anything. Students are resentful of other students who get the same grades for doing less, and this situation is no different. Our guys will call out people who are slacking. When I go to them and ask, I find out who’s been doing well and who has skipped reps.

I don’t let that information alone affect a grade, obviously; I’ll go to that student and observe and have a conversation. It can be very powerful to call an athlete over and have them point to the spot on the rubric they feel they fall. I’ve found that these moments reveal honesty and cause reflection. Once in a while, if the class has a noticeably great day, I’ll allow the group to grade itself. The athletes love this. Surprisingly, they are tough on themselves. I’ve not had a group give itself a six yet! It’s also educational for me to hear the reasons the athletes give for the grade.

Enhancing Athletic Performance Using the Rubric

As many programs do, we block our athletes from Block 0 (middle school and down), Block 1 (new lifter), Block 2 (Novice), Block 3 (Advanced), and Block 4 (Elite). The rubric plays a role in this system as well. Having a dedicated class of freshman athletes has been a great research lab for our scoring system. I’ve found almost no instances of Compelled or Committed in 9th-grade athletes to start. In fact, we have a few Resistant. Our best usually come to us as Compliant. Basically, they do what they’re told. The rest fall in the Existent to Reluctant range based on lack of understanding of expectations. Most are not hard to get to Compliant. None will be moved up to Novice unless they reach Compliant, regardless of relative strength goals or technique. Our goal for freshman is to be consistently Compliant and often score as Committed. This has become a very important step in our progression of steps our incoming athletes must master: move well, move fast, master technique, and master procedure.

Our Novice, Advanced, and Elite athletes have no such leeway. We expect them to score consistently in the Committed level. What we’ve seen from a performance-enhancing standpoint can’t be denied. My first off-season at YCHS was a battle to get many of our football players just to do the minimum. Skipping sessions, tardiness, not having the correct footwear, skipping sets and reps, cell phone use, not following the program, and open defiance were a daily battle. Obviously, all of these factors have a strong negative effect on performance. Not to mention it made my job extremely tough. It was also very frustrating for the athletes who did want to excel.

Skipping sessions, tardiness, cell phone use, not following the program, & open defiance have all but disappeared, @YorkStrength17. Share on X

As my second off-season started and we installed our high-performance culture rubric, these issues have all but disappeared. The anecdotal evidence is strong as well in favor of large effect. I can see our athletes growing into our desired culture. The “coach’s eye” is still one of the strongest indicators of success. It feels really good to hear “Coach I’m a six today—you watch” when guys are warming up. Even better when two of our rising seniors (both of whom I had issues with last year) began doing athlete-led cell phone checks to make sure no other athlete violated the cell phone restriction. I can give more evidence based on statistics as well. Our numbers are up percentage-wise across the board from a year ago. Many factors play into this; however, the quality of participation stemming from our rubric plays a large role.

Relationships with our athletes are clearly one of the most important aspects of our job. There are many ways we go about improving these daily. I’ve always prided myself on taking a moment to look at each of my athlete’s in the eye and ask them how they’re doing that day. While I still do this, I now have additional opportunities to grow these relationships daily. It’s important to keep the athletes aware of the direction they are heading on a daily basis.

This process is one of behavior modification. Human nature dictates that even your best, most committed athletes will slip occasionally. The rubric gives us actionable outcomes to monitor and provide feedback on those days. I’m also a big fan of daily readiness surveys and used them extensively over the last five years. While these surveys give us information, they can be fudged. The rubric system lets me observe our athlete’s actual behavior—most of the time without their knowledge. Now I have information that lets me know there may be an issue.

The rubric is an accountability tool that helps us increase athlete performance on a daily basis, says @YorkStrength17. Share on X

After using the rubric for a while, athlete profiles develop. When a profile is off, most of the time we can talk to the athlete and get to the root of the issue. This allows us to adjust or assist the athlete, giving them what they need on the spot. It’s an accountability model in our toolbox that allows us to help our athletes’ performance increase on a daily basis. As they grow into the culture of high performance and strive for Compelled, every athlete that chooses to will improve. I can’t overstate the incremental gains our program has seen from athletes who follow our lead daily.

Use or Modify the Rubric for Your Situation

I hope you can take this information and use it in your program. The rubric will be a useful tool even for programs that already have a high-performance culture in place. It gives an athlete a measure of control over the outcome of a class or session. Feedback is important to them. “Why did I get an 85%?” can be a tough question to answer in a class that originates in a weight room. That’s become easy for us to answer because of the rubric.

While printing out the rubric and hanging it up obviously isn’t the path to greatness, it was the first step toward marked improvement in our strength program’s culture. As we move forward, living the standards it spells out will be the key to its continued usefulness as a tool in YCHS’s toolbox. Please feel free to use this rubric, change it to meet your needs, and anything else you see fit. And please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

It is not uncommon to go through the day and encounter a reference to “stem cell” therapy as a health-care solution, whether you are reading the newspaper, listening to radio or podcast interviews, or even having a casual conversation with friends and colleagues. Stem cells are certainly the medical “flavor of the month,” particularly with a growing aging population that desires to stay young, healthy, and active. In the realm of professional sports, stem cell therapies are attracting more and more attention for orthopedic injuries and soft-tissue strains as a means of extending professional careers and also returning athletes to the field or court of play in a shorter period of time. Regardless of what you have heard about this “technology,” stem cells are here to stay and will become a bigger part of health care, whether you are scoring touchdowns in the Super Bowl or hoping to walk your dog in the park in your retirement years.

Stem cell therapies as they relate to orthopedic injuries fall under the category of orthobiologic interventions. Our clinical and practical involvement with orthobiologics spans several decades. The term “orthobiologics” refers to the use of biological substances to assist in the faster and more complete healing of musculoskeletal injuries. These substances are used to improve the healing of fractured bones and injured muscles, tendons, cartilage, and ligaments, and are obtained from substances that occur naturally in the body. When orthobiologic substances are applied in relatively high concentrations, they can potentially speed up the healing process. Common forms of orthobiological interventions include:

• Visco-supplementation products
• Corticosteroids
• Bone graft preparations
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections
• Growth factors
• Stem cell therapies

It is important to note that there is significant overlap between these interventions, as many of the compounds in these processes can involve growth factors, stem cells, and other regenerative substances. We have also seen prolotherapy injections and food supplements identified as orthobiologics and they are often deemed “regenerative” approaches. Figure 1 identifies numerous types of orthobiologic treatments being used in modern regenerative medicine. It is important to note that a universal classification method for these categories has not been adopted, and we are simply attempting to display and document these approaches for discussion purposes.

It is worth acknowledging that while many of the innovations with regard to stem cell therapies are rapidly evolving, in the realm of orthopedic injuries, very little research has been documented that supports its efficacy and sustainability in human populations. The research around conventional orthobiologic interventions, such as the use of platelet-rich plasma, has been much more robust and supportive—PRP has been in practice for many more years and is significantly less expensive than current stem cell treatments.

The research around conventional orthobiologic interventions, such as the use of platelet-rich plasma, has been more robust and supportive than that of stem cell therapies. Share on X

At the 2018 NFL Combine, we had the pleasure of viewing Dr. Brian Cole’s presentations on orthobiologic interventions in sports injuries. It was interesting to hear that while he uses stem cell therapies for various cases, he had very positive comments on his experience with, and continued use of, PRP injections, despite the trend towards embracing stem cells for regenerative medical procedures. Accordingly, Dr. Cole reported that PRP only had 20 million Google searches in 2017, while stem cells had 94.5 million. Hence, stem cells continue to be the preferred search for the modern patient despite the efficacy documented in research for PRP.

While the administration and evaluation of various orthobiologic approaches continue, there has been very little investigation into the processes that surround regenerative medicine. In particular, the specifics of the physical rehabilitation and return-to-play process associated with orthobiologics have not been identified in any great detail, but only in concept. In 2018, a study published in the Journal of Orthopedics and Trauma, by McKay et al., titled “Rehabilitation Following Regenerative Medicine Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis – Current Concept Review” identified a conceptual rehabilitation approach following orthobiologic interventions, but only outlined a relatively general timeline for integration of individual therapies and exercises.¹ One of the most significant statements made in the study was:

“Limitations of our study include a large portion of the studies reviewed were not done concurrently with orthobiologic intervention. There is minimal research in the field of rehabilitation of patients post orthobiologic intervention with KOA although there is significant literature in the use of regenerative medicine in patients with KOA.”

Thus, the study was essentially a review of individual therapies and interventions in isolation that were not necessarily part of an orthobiologic procedure, and not evaluated as part of a broader, organized process. A more comprehensive and integrative rehabilitation approach that identifies specific protocols (timing, volumes, frequency, intensities, durations, etc.) for various orthopedic injuries and orthobiologic interventions must be developed to help guide both physicians and physical therapy professionals through the entire regenerative medicine process.

Provided below is an outline for a process directed at providing support for the administration of orthobiologic interventions. While we are learning more and more every day about the technologies and timelines around orthobiologics, our primary efforts are focused on surrounding every aspect of the orthobiologic treatment with a supportive environment for full and active recovery of the patient. Through daily hands-on experience, we are becoming more adept at solving the problems of when, how much, and how frequently when it comes to physical therapy interventions, the use of electrical stimulation, and the introduction of voluntary exercise.

Initiating Effective Assessment Protocols and Diagnoses

One of the most eye-opening trends that we experienced while being associated with a regenerative medicine practice, particularly when stem cell therapy was advertised as a potential solution, was the high incidence of patients who simply had poor quality of previous care and substandard assessments of their true condition. Due to their less-than-fulfilling experiences with other health-care practitioners, they were attracted to the allure of new and innovative “stem cell” therapies to resolve their chronic pain and discomfort. Hence, one of the key components of a complete orthobiologics support system is initiating the process with a comprehensive evaluation of the patient to identify the true cause of their discomfort, as well as assessing the efficacy of previous diagnoses and rehabilitation efforts. Provided below are some of the more common “gaps” that we have seen in the continuum of care of new patients when reviewing their history.

Inadequate or Non-Existent Imaging

A surprising number of patients inquiring about the possibility of stem cell therapy did not have adequate imaging to support their initial diagnosis. Although they were told they might have damage or degeneration to bone, ligament, tendon, or other connective tissues, there was rarely adequate imaging to support these diagnoses. Health-care practitioners were going on “hunches” or their regular stream of treatment, rather than digging deeper into the true causes of their patients’ discomfort and dysfunction. Needless to say, one of our first recommendations for these patients was to seek a referral for appropriate and current imaging to provide a clearer “picture” of their true status.

Narrowly Focused Source Identification

When asked about their previous examinations by physicians and physical therapists, it was very common for patients to relay that the exam only focused on the specific location where they were experiencing pain. Patients with knee pain were only assessed and/or treated at the knee joint. Low back pain assessment and treatment focused only on the lumbo-sacral region. When we incorporated functional movement and postural assessments—thus taking a more comprehensive and global examination of skeletal and soft-tissue structures—clearer patterns of etiology began to emerge that assisted in both an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment planning.

No Previous Experience with Conventional Orthobiologic Interventions

While stem cell therapy appears to be the “shiny object” that attracted people to our support services, it was interesting to note that many patients had no prior knowledge of other types of orthobiologic treatments for their condition. Perhaps the name “platelet-rich plasma” was too difficult to understand, or their referring physician did not have enough information on the technology to make an informed referral for the process. Nonetheless, it became clear that patients needed much more information on the options that were available to them.

Additionally, patients needed enhanced awareness of the variability in quality of orthobiologic options from practitioner to practitioner, as well as what actually constituted a stem cell product. Many of our patients were under the assumption that PRP treatments were, in fact, stem cell therapy. The lack of education around these various treatments has only created more confusion around nonsurgical options for patients.

A general lack of clarity and regulation around the orthobiologic industry has led to poor decision-making, less-than-positive outcomes, and misleading marketing. Share on X

Furthermore, in the case of PRP injections, some patients expressed disappointment with the ineffectiveness of their previous experiences with PRP, only to find out their injections were either prolotherapeutic (Dextrose) or not guided by either ultrasound or fluoroscope. A general lack of clarity and regulation around the orthobiologic industry has led to a combination of poor decision-making on the part of patients, less-than-positive outcomes for numerous procedures, and misleading marketing by unscrupulous practitioners.

Facilitating Appropriate Structural Alignment, Stability, and Mobility

While we all recognize that individual human beings can exhibit various degrees of variability when it comes to posture and movement, there are some basic truths and realities around skeletal alignment, joint stability, and overall mobility that must be followed as part of a comprehensive orthopedic rehabilitation and physical therapy process.

We know that skeletal and joint alignment can significantly influence motor control and muscle length-tension relationships through the detection of mechanical stimuli via the muscle spindles² and golgi tendon organs.³ In addition, synovial joints are recognized as sensory organs that provide continuous feedback about position sensing and degree of limb movement.⁴ Misaligned joints and skeletal structures have significant implications for movement efficiency, human performance, and joint wear and tear, as well as pain and discomfort in all populations. If an individual’s skeletal structure is not aligned properly within specific relative tolerances—and stable within that operating range—neuromuscular output capabilities inclusive of power and balance will be greatly compromised. Additionally, articular cartilage, menisci, joint capsules, ligaments, and tendons will continue to be unduly stressed and micro-traumatized regardless of the efficacy of the orthobiologic intervention applied prior to rehabilitation, due to the nature of unbalanced forces across the joint.

“Injuries and disorders that directly damage the joint structure or lead to joint instability are highly associated with osteoarthritis (OA).”⁵

As such, it is imperative to ensure the skeletal structures and joints are optimally aligned both prior to and following an orthobiologic intervention. It is no different than adjusting wheel alignment following the installation of new tires on a high-performance motor vehicle. This is done to ensure maximum traction and stability at high speeds, as well as manage appropriate and even wear of the tires for safety and longevity. Cars and humans share many of the same requirements for both healthy and safe locomotion, particularly at high levels of performance.

Cars and humans share many of the same requirements for both healthy and safe locomotion, particularly at high levels of performance. Share on X

Ensuring for appropriate ranges of motion and mobility in a joint system is also critical for managing stressors through a load-bearing system and kinetic chain. Restricted range of motion in a load-bearing joint can lead to a significant shifting of load to unaccustomed muscles and joints. We in the rehab industry commonly refer to this as “compensatory loading” and this phenomenon leads to a lot of overuse type of injuries.

“An injury causing inherent losses in passive tissue stiffness (specifically disc or ligament) results in joint laxity that necessitates higher levels of muscular activation/stiffness to ensure sufficient stability.”⁶  

Both chronic and acute injuries can result from these compensational shifts created by restricted ranges of motion. Following orthobiologic interventions, the gradual but deliberate achievement of full ranges of motion is critical to the successful outcomes where efficient and effective output is required by the patient during movement.

Implementing Adequate, Timely, and Progressive Loading

Once the primary physical therapist determines that a patient is exhibiting appropriate measurables in the realm of alignment, stability, and mobility, the next phase in the progression of care is the “loading” phase. Within the realms of rehabilitation and physical training, we often hear the term “loading” used to describe the volume and intensity of work being done by a patient or athlete. In many cases, the obvious definition of “loading” for the layperson is using some form of external resistance or weights to load an individual.

While conventional resistance training can be part of the progression, we must recognize that there is a specificity to loading that must be embraced throughout the process. Much of this specificity relates to the individual circumstances of each patient, including previous volumes and levels of function prior to the orthobiologic intervention, as well as expected function following completion of the rehabilitation process.

If a 20-year-old competitive male swimmer is being admitted for an orthobiologic procedure for a shoulder injury and has accumulated a significant training history prior to the appointment, his loading progression following the procedure will look significantly different than a 60-year-old female shoulder patient with little or no formal physical training in her history. Add into the mix the fact that the 20-year-old swimmer wants to be ready for the Olympic trials in eight months, and we have an even more ambitious progression of work.

It is imperative that any decided-upon loading progression does not delay, impair, or spoil the work of the orthobiologic procedure. For example, once patients are discharged from a PRP injection session, they are typically provided with basic guidelines for the first 3-5 days to maximize the efficacy of the procedure.

• Abstain from taking anti-inflammatory or anti-coagulation medication such as aspirin or common nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, naproxen, or Celebrex.
• Immobilize the joint with a brace or sling to prevent disruptions to the treated tissues.
• Avoid any strenuous exercise or lifting.
• Keep the injection site clean and dry to avoid infection.

However, beyond these general guidelines, it is extremely difficult to find any specific information on types of exercises and densities (volume, intensity, frequency) of loading for different populations for the broad range of orthobiologic procedures available to patients. When it comes to exercise, we have heard of physicians restricting patients from exercise for as long as 3-4 weeks, if not longer. Much of this can be chalked up to a lack of knowledge on the part of physicians around progressive exercise and a tendency to back off and opt for the most conservative approach. However, this extremely risk-averse approach can lead to protracted healing times and unsatisfactory results on the part of the patient.

When physicians restrict patients from exercise for weeks after a PRP injection, it can lead to protracted healing times and unsatisfactory results. Share on X

In a recent case that involved a PRP injection in the sacroiliac joint area, one of our patients complained about excessive stiffness and a lack of mobility through the region, accompanied by some soreness 3-4 weeks following the procedure. When we questioned her about her exercise activity during this period, she said that she was told to do very little, with the exception of walking and stretching. This individual was previously very active and a regular gym user. It was clear to us that her lack of resistance training for the last month was contributing to her stiffness and, to some degree, atrophy of certain muscle groups in and around the treatment site. As such, our immediate recommendation was to get back into a regular exercise schedule with some specific guidelines around progressing gradually and limiting unilateral or split-stance lower body work for the initial phase of training. Not only was our recommendation met with immediate joy, but also some significant results in a very short time.

Using the ‘Right’ Tool at the ‘Right’ Time

Practitioners in the rehabilitation realm often push their certifications in specific methods front and center or their use of a specific technology or modality as the magic solution to every patient’s ailment. Very infrequently do we hear about the process and decision-making behind the timing and implementation of various tools and toys. Within the realm of orthobiologic support, the application and timing of the tools and techniques must be exceptionally precise and well-coordinated.

Within the realm of orthobiologic support, the application and timing of the tools and techniques must be exceptionally precise and well-coordinated. Share on X

One of the modalities that we have seen enhance the entire orthobiologic support process is electrical stimulation, in various forms. In the early stages of an orthobiologic intervention, electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) can be used to manage muscle tension, minimize atrophy, enhance local and peripheral circulation, and minimize pain. Electrical stimulation has also been shown to boost the efficacy of stem cell therapy for nerve regeneration⁷ and influence stem cell behavior through the use of electrical fields in vivo and in vitro.⁸ Unlike ice and anti-inflammatory medication that may limit circulation or interfere with the healing process, electrical stimulation can facilitate the natural process of healing without introducing risk in and around the treatment site.⁹ Even in cases where a temporary cast, brace, or sling is required in the first week following a treatment, electrical stimulation can be safely integrated as part of the recovery and regeneration process to maintain muscle strength and improve overall outcomes.

As the patient transitions out of the early healing phase following an orthobiologic procedure, electrical stimulation can be combined with exercise (superimposed electrical stimulation) to further enhance recruitment and overcome the natural tendency for inhibition following an injury and associated orthopedic procedures.¹⁰ The use of electrical stimulation also supports the initial priorities of managing and maintaining alignment, mobility, and stability with joints during the reintroduction of high volumes and loads of exercise.

Other tools are used throughout the process to continue to manage pain and discomfort, malalignment, instability, joint restrictions, and overall output (strength, power, velocity). This may include, but is not limited to, specific soft-tissue techniques, manual therapy protocols, dry needling, IMS, proprietary ultrasound techniques, and various forms of stretching. The tools used in a session are ultimately at the discretion of the practitioner, but detailed guidelines around the use of each strategy have been identified for every injury scenario and orthobiologic procedure as part of our process. While some practitioners may have the ability to implement all of these tools at any given time, the process may necessitate a system of close cross-referrals to ensure that the patient is getting the best treatment at the right time.

We have branded the process “Force Balance Technique” (FBT)™, as illustrated in Figure 2. Mechanical techniques are closely integrated with neuromuscular loading strategies to effectively treat chronic injury and safely support the regenerative qualities of orthobiologics, if needed. A typical session involves the close interaction of mechanical interventions—i.e., massage, joint mobilization, IMS, acupuncture, fascial release, etc.—with superimposed EMS neuromuscular loading. Adjustments on a table may be quickly followed by a loading procedure on the gym floor to not only test the intervention, but also quickly solidify a desired movement pattern.

In the case of a knee or hip injury, efforts to loosen overactive musculature in the lower kinetic chain through dry needling can be followed immediately by an appropriate loading in a squatting or deadlift exercise to evaluate strength through a given range of motion, as well as determine if pain is still present during a loaded scenario. For soft-tissue injuries in a running athlete, we often place the athlete in an acceleration or upright running activity following a minor adjustment on the treatment table to monitor gait characteristics at various velocities. This process could have the athlete moving back and forth over several repetitions until the right “balance” of mechanical and neuromuscular loading is achieved for that particular session. We commonly refer to this interplay as “hardware and software upgrades” when discussing it with patients.

Throughout the entire session and process, patient data and measurables are constantly being collected and reviewed, with video assessments performed for every movement to capture movement in action for the patient’s electronic records. Team members can review this information at any time during the process to evaluate patient progress.

The ‘Art’ of Orthobiologic Support – Knowing When to ‘Push’ and When to ‘Pull Back’

It is not uncommon for patients referred to us following orthobiologic intervention to have questions about why their procedure has not yet resulted in an improvement. The typical clinical expectation is that we will see reduction in pain and improvement in function within 4-8 weeks, although this is dependent on the composition of the injection and the structure(s) involved.

We typically see a reduction in pain and improvement in function within 4-8 weeks, although this is dependent on the composition of the injection and the structure(s) involved. Share on X

Often, upon further examination, we find that the practitioner who conducted the orthobiologic procedure has either advised the client to do nothing or simply not given them any specifics on loading or stretching principles to assist in healing. As a result, it is not uncommon to see patients with moderate functional deficit and pain due to malalignment and/or mobility issues that were not addressed properly pre-procedure.

The typical example is a medial compartment of the knee pathology (meniscal tear, OA) injected in the presence of a moderate ankle pronation and/or ipsilateral pelvic rotation left unbalanced. As we mentioned earlier in this article, this logic and/or careless attention to detail is one common and easily remedied factor that leads to poor regenerative outcomes and, ultimately, frustration and great expense for the patient.

While we understand that exceptional care and due diligence are required during the early stages following application of orthobiologics to maximize efficacy, placing appropriate stress on the patient in a timely fashion is also required to create positive adaptations and facilitate healing.

Exercising the “art” of orthobiologic support requires strong and frequent communication between all practitioners. We have both “mechanical” and “neuromuscular” practitioners working in the same room with patients, interacting during a treatment session to identify opportunities for strengthening the patient while at the same time establishing boundaries around specific ranges of motion, velocities, and loads. In some cases, additional imaging may be required to validate a diagnosis or give practitioners confidence that the correct path has been chosen in treatment planning. However, moving a patient from left to right along our treatment continuum is an objective in every session. If one step backward has to be performed in order to ultimately move the patient 2-3 steps forward and beyond, all team members are consulted on the decision.

Figure 3 illustrates the conceptual flow of the process around orthobiologic support and “Force Balance Technique.” While it is convenient to depict the process in a relatively linear fashion, the reality is that the process can sometimes be fraught with roadblocks, challenges, chaotic events, and spontaneous decision-making on the spot. The two factors that almost always guide us along the correct path are “experience” and “communication” by team members.

The two factors that almost always guide us through the gray areas of health care and rehabilitation are the experience and communication of team members. Share on X

There will not always be research papers and user manuals to guide you through a process that is rarely black and white. The teams that can navigate successfully through the gray areas of health care and rehabilitation will always have much more success than those that do not have the same levels of experience and communication. While many physical therapy practices claim to operate under a multidisciplinary approach, very few effectively integrate expertise under one roof and operate in the interdisciplinary fashion required for successful orthobiologic outcomes.

The Process Moving Forward

When we recently outlined our orthobiologic support algorithm in a formal presentation to a group of local physicians, they were extremely happy to have the ability to refer nonsurgical patients to a well-organized approach to rehabilitative care. One of the doctors even said, “This is great… But shouldn’t all physical rehabilitation occur within the integrative model that you have just outlined? It just makes sense!” Our reply was, “…well, yes.”

Unfortunately, we had to remind the doctor how fractured the current system is, with many disciplines competing with one another rather than finding common ground and supporting each other for optimal results. Although many view orthobiological innovations as the panacea of nonsurgical regenerative treatment, we must be careful to pay special attention to the entire process around patient care. A quick- fix, shotgun approach will only result in recurring orthopedic problems that will inevitably end in more invasive surgical procedures.

Our intent is to educate practitioners and patients on the need for a systematized approach to rehab inclusive of orthobiologic intervention when appropriate and necessary. Share on X

Our intent moving forward is to educate both practitioners and patients on the necessity of a systematized approach to rehabilitation inclusive of orthobiologic intervention when appropriate and necessary. Unfortunately, proper source identification via thorough assessment and treatment planning are not the rule, and work has to be done to articulate the minimum steps necessary to ensure rehabilitative and regenerative efficacy.

Once we all understand the importance of a progressive and integrative approach, consistent results will be achieved in a timely manner. In a time when instant gratification is attained through personal technology hundreds of times per day, the necessary steps must be taken to gradually support the relatively new orthobiologic technologies available to individuals. Knowledge will ultimately be the most valuable technology that we can offer.

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…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

References

1. McKay J., Frantzen K., Vercruyssen N., Hafsi K., Opitz T., Davis A., and Murrell W. “Rehabilitation following a regenerative medicine treatment for knee osteoarthritis–current concept review.” Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma. 2019; 10: 59-66.

2. Bewick G.S. and Banks R.W. “Mechanotransduction in the muscle spindle.” European Journal of Physiology. 2015; 467(1): 175-190.

3. Jami, L. “Golgi Tendon Organs in Mammalian Skeletal Muscle: Functional Properties and Central Actions.” Physiological Reviews. 1992; 72: 623-666.

4. Chen C.C. and Wong C.W. “Neurosensory mechanotransduction through acid-sensing ion channels.” Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. 2013; 17: 337-349.

5. Blalock D., Miller A., Tilley M. and Wang J. “Joint Instability and Osteoarthritis.” Clinical Medical Insights into Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders. 2015; 8: 15-23.

6. McGill S.M. and Cholewicki J. “Biomechanical Basis for Stability: An Explanation to Enhance Clinical Utility.” Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. 2011; 31: 96-100.

7. Du J., Zhen G., Chen H., Zhang S., Qing L., Yang X., Lee G., Mao, H.Q. and Jia X. “Optimal electrical stimulation boosts stem cell therapy in nerve regeneration.” Biomaterials. 2018; 181: 347-359.

8. Tang M., Yan X., Tang Q., Guo R., Da P. and Li D. “Potential Application of Electrical Stimulation in Stem Cell-Based Treatment against Hearing Loss.” Neural Plasticity. 2018: 1-6.

9. Yamabata S., Shiraishi H., Munechika M., Fukushima H., Fukuoka Y., Hojo T., Shirayama T., Horii M., Matoba S. and Kubo T. “Effects of electrical stimulation therapy on the blood flow in chronic critical limb ischemia patients following regenerative therapy.” SAGE Open Medicine. 2016; 4: 1-10.

10. Paillard T., Margness E., Maitre J., Chaubet V., Francois Y., Jully J.L., Gonzalez G. and Borel L. “Electrical stimulation superimposed onto voluntary muscular contraction reduces deterioration of both postural control and quadriceps femoris muscle strength.” Neuroscience. 2010; 165: 1471-1475.

Dean Kotopski, BScPT, RMT, CAc/IMS, MCPA, is the Clinical Director of Performax Health Group in Burnaby, British Columbia. Dean is a 30-year veteran of physical rehabilitation, with certifications in physiotherapy, massage therapy, acupuncture, and IMS. Dean began his professional career as an auto mechanic at the age of 18, with a passion for movement and all things mechanical. His enjoyment of athletics and academics soon led him to pursue a career in physical rehabilitation. He has significant experience supporting numerous regenerative therapies including PRP and stem cells of all derivation, and he developed “Force Balance Techniqueä,” a process around physical rehabilitation and orthobiologic support, over the past 10 years. His clients range from general population patients to world-leading professional athletes. For more information on Dean, please visit: www.PerformaxHealthGroup.com

Throughout my years at Triton Regional High School, I have noted a huge disconnect between our track program and other sports. Unfortunately, the divide has appeared to grow larger in recent years. Like many programs, our school has not acquired as many multisport athletes as we would have liked. Filling out sprint lineups is especially hard in the short sprints when you have a small team.

We have, however, had tremendous luck with soccer athletes. Soccer players comprise a huge portion of our track and field team and some are standouts, especially in the 400m. Exception aside, we have not had perennially strong 100m runners or 4x100m relay teams. Our football team was 0-12 this year and our track team has had lineup holes for years. When you have a small team (usually around 40 boys), these holes become extremely hard to combat, especially when facing larger programs.

Some of this is the culture of our school. A lot of our athletes run two seasons of track, which comes across as “cultish.” Some of it, quite honestly, is the fact that I am an elementary school teacher and have no presence in the high school during the school day.

Attacking the Speed Drought for Your School

I have begun attacking this “need for speed” issue directly this year with Freelap timing system MPH club T-shirts. Any male athlete that runs the times below enters a different MPH club and earns a T-shirt.

20-mph club = 1.07-1.11 seconds (per meter in splits)

21-mph club = 1.02-1.06 seconds

22-mph club = 0.98-1.01 seconds

For the female athletes, we have 18- and 19-mph clubs.

18-mph club = 1.18-1.24 seconds

19-mph club = 1.12-1.17 seconds

The purpose of this is not only to celebrate our athletes’ development through quantifiable data, but also increase awareness of what our track team is about and what it can offer our athletic program. The unspoken message of the T-shirts is: “We prioritize speed development.”

All of this is great, but these numbers are still meaningless without anyone seeing them in action. We decided to brainstorm and attack these issues. In the end, we felt that we needed to host an event that started to break down this mentality. It needed to be simple and easy to run. That’s when the answer hit us.

Promoting the Combine

Early in March, before spring sports started, we held a combine. Joe Colbert, our head track coach, organized it, and it was communicated to all coaches in the building. Flyers were put out for athletes.

Our primary goal was to dispel the notion that the track athletes at our school are second-tier athletes who are incapable of playing ball sports in the spring. This goal comes off as a little self-serving at first glance, but as a whole, I feel that sometimes track is viewed solely as “running” rather than “sprinting.”

Our primary goal with the combine was to dispel the notion that our track athletes are second-tier athletes incapable of playing ball sports, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

Our user fee is also set at $350 per season. At some point, as a track team we have to advertise that we have value. We try to do everything with a high level of focus and intensity, and I am sure other teams see our “standing around” as a lack of productivity. When it comes to speed training, the illusion of hard work through constant motion is not a recipe for success.

I can’t say I am surprised by this. Think about most mainstream movies that include track and field: The characters in those movies are often portrayed as lovable rejects without any real athletic ability. For them, participation is really just a recreational thing to advance the plot.

Our second goal was to create a community-type feel that helps bring the program together in a show of solidarity. A great athletic program has sports that complement and support each other. We should encourage our athletes to play multiple sports and to be well-rounded. The combine idea was the perfect place to start and the timing was good with the coinciding NFL Combine.

Most people are familiar enough with the NFL Combine to know some of the tests, so we knew this would potentially draw some athletes in. Each year at the Combine, a few unknown athletes rise from relative obscurity and raise their draft stock. Clearly, these tests hold value when assessing an athlete’s skill set, although they don’t guarantee the intangible skills needed to play the sport are present. Regardless, I would say there is an acceptable range of numbers at each position. You won’t find many NFL running backs running over a 4.70, just like you won’t find many offensive linemen bench pressing 225 for only 10 reps.

There are extreme outliers in testing such as this who don’t support the narrative of the combine being a reliable measure. Kevin Durant famously failed to bench 185 pounds for even one rep at the NBA Combine. Tom Brady is best known for being a late-round draft pick who presented as goofy and unathletic at his combine day.

A great #athleticprogram has sports that complement and support each other, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

We must be careful not to attribute these exceptions to the athletes that we coach. Becoming stronger, faster, and more explosive should always be an attractive goal. Improvements on tests with developing athletes do translate into improvements in their sport. At the very least, we thought it would be interesting to see the talent we have in our building on display. 

Athlete Reception (Before the Test)

For the sake of this article, I will talk mostly about the experience on the second day of testing, which was for the boys. Nineteen girls did the combine; however, all 19 were track athletes. Initially, I was surprised, but then I heard rumblings of conversations along the lines of, “This is a track thing. I play softball. I don’t need to do this.”

This is problematic, but also perhaps kind of normal. No one said this would be a quick fix. Every sport can benefit from an increase in speed, strength, and athleticism. While skills in each sport may be specific, the training with plyometrics, weights, and speed does not need to be that varied.

On the boys’ side, the athletes I coach had mixed feelings heading into testing day. They felt that although they would fare well in the 40-yard dash, they would not perform well in the other areas. This concerned me because I know the athletes I coach are more than just fast. They have developed into pretty well-rounded athletes who can move very well and although they don’t look like the average gym rat, through their training they have become at least “strong enough.” Sprinters need to be confident and I hoped that this test would aid in developing some of this. 

The Tests We Used

Since this was our first year doing the combine, there were some kinks. However, the kinks were consistent, and the numbers still accurately reflected the abilities of the athletes in attendance.

We had volunteer coaches at each station who tested and recorded the athletes. There were groups of 8-9 athletes at each station. The day ended with the 40-yard dash to spotlight the speed portion (although I’ll lead the test list with its description below).

• 40-Yard Dash
• Bench Press
• Standing Broad Jump
• Vertical Jump
• 5-10-5 Shuttle

40-Yard Dash

I used two Freelap transmitters and six chips to administer this test. Going by Tony Holler’s setup guidelines, I placed one transmitter 5 feet past the start line and the other 3 feet past the finish. This allowed for dash times similar to a hand time. Even though this was not a true FAT (fully automated time), it was consistent with all athletes. This enabled a much more efficient testing of 35 athletes, as I am not always accurate with a stopwatch.

We did this testing on our gym floor in sneakers. Sure, the sneaker times are slower than if athletes wore spikes or cleats, but on this surface, it’s what we had to do. It also ensured that no one had an advantage because of footwear.

The athletes were put through the procedure by four female track athletes. They instructed the boys to put the chip on correctly, ensuring it was clipped to the belt under the belly button. Any time that was run with a chip not under the belly button would be thrown out. All times were considered valid during the testing because the chips were worn correctly.

Of the top 10 athletes by 40-yard times, nine had run at least one season of track and field and the top five have all run two seasons of track (this was during our off-season and it shows what consistency with speed work can do).

1. 4.44
2. 4.58
3. 4.62
4. 4.67
5. 4.72
6. 4.72
7. 4.72
8. 4.73
9. 4.74
10. 4.74

One observation noted in this test was the ability of the track athletes to relax at top speed compared to the other athletes. Several kids nearly fell over due to coordination erosion near the end of the dash, but no hamstrings snapped. There is nothing beyond top speed, so once they achieve it, they must own it and run free of tension. This is something that needs to be communicated often.

I think the 40-yard dash is the perfect blend of acceleration ability and max velocity mechanics. Most high school athletes are at top speed by 40 meters, but hopefully, good acceleration technique has gotten them there. Repeated reps and practice of this will pay off.

This is not to say that there was not visibly raw talent just outside of the top 10 that I would love to get a chance to work with. The fact remains that speed is the hardest biomotor ability to develop. If your athletes aren’t sprinting regularly, then this area is simply not being maximized.

If an athlete isn’t running track and field, you have to wonder where they get their speed training, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

Selfishly, it was nice to get confirmation that consistency in speed training works. If an athlete isn’t running track and field, you have to wonder where they get their speed training. At least the coaches of the other sports seemed to take notice.

Bench Press

Based on anecdotal evidence, if there is one thing high school boys love, it is the bench press. It is often perceived as easy to do, although I think ego and a lack of coaching sometimes get in the way of valuable long-term development on this exercise. There is more of a technical underpinning than people think.

We maybe bench pressed three times during the indoor season and most of it was tempo training. We do upper body assistance work like landmine presses, recline rows, and push-ups, so I knew that they would be fine. Our 300m and 400m runners might typically be lankier because of the demands of their event (SAID principle), but they are far from frail. I poked my head in and also saw our throws/weight room coach, Katelin Invernizzi, talking about the importance of a good bench setup. She highlighted hand placement on the bar, specifically discussing how to use the knurling to make sure hands are evenly placed.

The rules were that they needed to maintain the three points of contact: Upper back, glutes, and feet. The biggest errors that we typically see at the high school level are feet and/or butt coming off the bench and floor (absent leg drive or too much leg drive), wrists being bent back with knuckles facing the wall behind them, and hands haphazardly placed on the bar. We also had them set up with their eyes directly under the bar to avoid hitting the rack when pressing upwards.

We had to keep in mind that we didn’t know what these kids were capable of on the bench press. For safety reasons, we set the testing weight at 75% of their body weight. This kept it safe and made it possible for almost every athlete to get a recorded score. The athletes weighed in and then used a percentage chart to find their testing number. For example, a 200-pound athlete used 150 pounds on the bench for as many reps as possible. A 120-pound athlete used 90 pounds. If the number came to 137.5 pounds, then they simply rounded up to 140. This equalized the test based on their size.

This goes back to our philosophy that being strong enough is a good goal to have. I want my athletes to raise their numbers, but not chase numbers in the weight room, says @grahamsprints. Share on X

When I walked into the gym on testing day, there were screams of encouragement emanating from the weight room. On each rep, the bar had to touch the chest or a “no rep” was given. To the track athletes’ surprise, they fared quite well. This goes back to our philosophy that being strong enough is a good goal to have. I want my athletes to raise their numbers, but not chase numbers in the weight room. 

Standing Broad Jump

On this test, we had a section of a rubber rollout runway. The athletes had to snap down quickly, jump as far as they could horizontally off two legs, and stick the landing. We gave them three jumps and recorded their best one. This is a terrific test for lower body power.

The downside of this test was that a lot of athletes have not mastered the basics of plyometrics, so as I watched from afar, some of their landings elicited a cringe or two from me. I know that the teenage body is fairly resilient, and they would survive a couple of jumps for the sake of some fun and competition. In the future, I will advise that not sticking the jump should result in a “no measure.”

Vertical Jump

We do not have a vertical jump testing apparatus, so we had to resort to an imperfect test here. The athletes started against the wall, reached as high as they could, and made a chalk line. The coach watched for a full reach from each athlete.

The athlete then jumped as high as possible and used the chalk to mark the wall at the apex of their jump. The coach at the station then measured the difference between the two marks for their jump height. Athletes got two jumps. If their second jump was better than their first, they were given a third attempt.

Was this test an accurate reflection of their vertical jump? Probably not, due to the positioning next to the wall not allowing for a full extension of the arm overhead. The arm had to come out diagonally and was probably shortened by about 2 inches. However, the test protocol was consistent for all athletes and it served its purpose.

20-Yard Shuttle (5-10-5)

The 5-10-5 drill is set up with three cones. The cones were set up in a straight line 5 yards apart. The middle cone served as the start and finish. The athlete started at the middle cone and sprinted 5 yards to the first cone. Whatever cone they touched, they would run back in the other direction to the furthest cone and then finish by running to the middle cone. This was timed by stopwatch, but you can do it with electronic timing if you have enough time and/or equipment.

The limitation faced in this test was the absence of 5-yard lines, as on the turf of a football field. Ideally, the hand should tap the cone and the foot should also touch the line that the cone is on. The athletes from sports where change of direction is a focus did very well here. The track athletes were in the mix as well. Change of direction (COD) requires a high ceiling of speed and acceleration ability with eccentric strength.

Post Combine Analysis – Overall Scores and Rankings

After administering the five tests, our jumps coach, Tyler Colbert, came up with a method to rank each athlete’s total testing result. He is also the one responsible for logging practice data into a Google sheet for record-keeping. The winner of each event was awarded a percentile rank of 100. For example, the boy’s broad jump winner jumped 8’-11”. This is 107 inches. The second-place boy jumped 8’-8”, or 104 inches. If we divided 104 by 107, we get 97%, which was his percentile rank. This system worked well for some events and not so well for others.

In both the female and male combines, the winner of the bench press won the whole competition. This seems to be due to a huge difference between some of the rep numbers. Twenty-one reps against 35 would yield a percentile rank of 60%, No other event influenced the total score as much. To get a 60% on the long jump, an athlete would only need to jump 5’-4”, which would have been last place. Even still, it was a great way to come up with a scoring system in a short amount of time. Looking ahead to next year, we may rework this.

Benefits and Reception of the Combine

As mentioned before, the energy level and competitiveness were incredibly high all day. Numerous athletes jogged back after their 40-yard rep, proclaimed their time, and challenged the others to beat it. The broad jump and bench press areas were loud and full of encouraging words.

This combine really highlighted the track team’s speed and technique. The following Monday, our track season opened, and we had quite a few last-minute sign-ups. Both of our teams fielded the largest turnout in a decade. Our boys’ team has 60 athletes on it this spring. Were there some athletes who performed well enough on the five tests but still didn’t enroll in a spring sport? Yes, but as a whole, I feel this combine did wonders to break down misconceptions about what the sport of track and field is all about.

As a whole, the combine did wonders to break down misconceptions about what the sport of track & field is all about, and we had the largest turnout for our track teams in a decade. Share on X

Although the testing scoring and conditions may have been imperfect, it largely went unnoticed by the athletes and we didn’t hear a single complaint. We are two weeks into our outdoor season now and the morale and attitude of the track teams have been as high as ever. This could be for many reasons, but I would like to think that they stand a little taller and prouder knowing that they stack up well against athletes from other teams. We have begun setting goals and I am pleased to see that they have lofty but achievable ones.

More athletes have achieved 20-, 21-, and 22-mph status than ever before. Some of it has to do with our training evolving, but some of it has to be from feeling good. As Tony Holler always alludes to, dopamine is a wonderful thing. Our sprint sessions often have a football-practice-type feel to them, with rap music blaring and kids yelling to encourage everyone.

Below are the top speeds in mph of our male sprinters during this spring season, which are our fastest Freelap times ever attained.

1. 22.14
2. 21.93
3. 21.5
4. 21.5
5. 21.3
6. 21.15
7. 21.1
8. 21.1
9. 21.1
10. 20.9
11. 20.71
12. 20.52
13. 20.15

Wrapping Up a Successful Day

The biggest piece of evidence that this was a success comes from a football player in his first full year of track. He ran a very respectable 4.87 40-yard dash at the combine to finish 12th. He immediately made the decision to come out for outdoor track. He has slowly started to improve his sprint mechanics, he earned a spot in the 4x100m relay pool, and he has a great attitude. It doesn’t hurt that his 40-yard time will be retested 3-4 times this season. I hope he lets his teammates know about his speed gains.

His comment after the first week of track was, “I really messed up not doing this my freshman and sophomore year.” Perhaps, but he is here now, and I know his work this season with us will help our football team in the fall.

The combine was one of the best ideas our athletic department has ever had. If you are having trouble bridging the gap between different sports at your school, I think this is a great place to start. Track and field doesn’t have to be relegated to the status of a second-class citizen.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF