MY UNFORTUNATE PREDICTION FOR FALL SPORTS

This year there is a change for fall sports. Practice starts on August 17, which is a week later than usual.

No big deal right?

Ask any athletic director if they think it’s a big deal or not. A few months ago I was speaking in front of 20 athletic directors and the topic of fall scheduling came up… you would have thought the world was ending.

You see, this is a big deal. Not only do athletic directors have to find ways to schedule manditory competitions, they have to make sure all WPIAL guidelines are followed for practices.

What about the coaches? They have the task of implementing practices, depth charts, creating game plans, and preparing athletes physically for the season. All this in a shorter amount of time.

Physical preparation is where I wave the biggest red flag. This is where my unfortunate prediction comes in:

YOU WILL SEE MORE INJURIES THIS YEAR FOR FALL SPORTS THAN EVER BEFORE.

I know – a bold statement coming from someone who works to lessen the chance of injury. But the reality is I can only take care of so many athletes.

You’re going to see more injures because coaches will either try to cram all their normal preseason conditioning into less time or worse… they’ll skip it.

Some fortunate athletes that prepare all summer won’t have any worries. Schools that take strength and conditioing seriously will take the late start for practices as extra time to get the kids ready.

Unfortunaltly, you and I both know most schools and coaches won’t. They’ll take the ‘I can’t make the kids be there’ approach and blame the athletes for not ‘running’ more on their own.

I hope I’m wrong, but I think injuries will be high this year, espically for the schools that don’t have a structured strength-speed-conditioning program established.

To go a step further, female athletes will be at a higher risk.

ACL injury prevention has been a hot topic the last several years, rightfully so. All the major medical centers in Pittsburgh offer some type of ACL prevention program. To be honest they’re pretty sad programs.

The point of training an athlete though a developmental program is addressing the athlete as a whole. ACL programs segment the athlete, concentrating on the knee itself, and sometimes surrounding areas. Programs will also throw in some exercises for ‘the core’ and ‘core training’. Barf….

Core training, as it’s portrayed to the public, is misleading and just dumb.

The problem with ACL prevention programs is how they’re designed. If incorporated into a comprehensive program, like my TOTAL FOCUS program, it makes a ton more sense.

Let me give a real world example. Last year, at a facility I was training, the resident ‘experts’ put on an ACL program. I was interested to learn some new techiniques or advancements in why this injury is so common. No such luck.

The very first workout the participants where asked to learn landing techniques off a box – landing single leg! No kidding. The worst part was the athletes didn’t have any sort of prior training- zero. So now they think jumping off a box, onto one leg, will prevent injures and constitute a workout.

As we move closer to the fall sports season make sure you’re taking the necessary steps to minimize the risk of injury. More importantly train you body and mind for athletic success. Know injury prevention is one part of the big picture and will take time.

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