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The Training-Conditioning.com blog is a weekly update of sports medicine and strength training stories from around the country. We welcome readers to submit thoughts and comments by clicking on the feedback button.
WEEKLY BLOG ARCHIVE
Analyzing ACLs Beyond Gender
By Mike Phelps It is widely accepted that females are more prone to ACL tears than males, but the specific reasons behind the increased risk are not yet fully understood. A recent consensus statement from the NATA says the association hopes to help future researchers answer these questions, while also stating a need for fewer gender studies, which look simply at sex differences.
Athletes Donating Brains To Science
By Mario Nishihara Former New England Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson, along with 15 other athletes from the NFL, NHL, and past Olympic swimming and soccer teams, has agreed to—upon his death—donate his brain to research at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, a joint venture between the Boston University School of Medicine and Sports Legacy Institute. Johnson and the other donors hope to contribute to productive research on the long-term effects concussions have on the human brain.
Athletic Trainers in the News
By R.J. Anderson Spending most of their time working behind the scenes, athletic trainers rarely receive the kind of recognition their work deserves. When they do make headlines, we like to spread the word with a selection of links to articles featuring athletic trainers in action.
Lightning Safety
By Dennis Read While spring may be the time of the year most often associated with thunderstorms, there’s plenty of action—and danger—in the skies during the fall. Numerous college football games were delayed by lightning last weekend while some high school games have ended early for the same reason. So now is as good as any to time to review the basics of lightning safety and some of the new technology that can help keep your athletes safe.
High School Heat Tips
By Dawn Comstock The Center for Injury Research and Policy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati examines simple tactics high schools can use to prevent dehydration and heat illness during the fall season's very warm early-season practices.
Happy New Year!
By Ryan Johnson Refreshed and recharged by a strong summer, Ryan Johnson, CSCS, Coach Practitioner and Strength and Conditioning Coach at Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minn., is amped up about the upcoming school year. With much anticipation surrounding the kickoff of high school and college sports seasons across the country, the buzz is electric.
Spanning the Sports Medicine Globe
By Dave Ellis From preventing anemia to MRSA to sleep deficit effects, a number of hot-button stories and recent studies caught the eye of contributor Dave Ellis, RD, CSCS, a sports nutrition and recovery professional who works with a variety of professional and collegiate athletic teams.
International Support
By Mike Phelps There won't be any athletic trainers on the medal stand during the Beijing Olympics, but odds are they'll play a significant role in helping the athletes who do get there. A handful of athletic trainers from high schools and colleges across the country will be working in Beijing, while a pharmacist from Washington is also making the trip.
Sickle Cell Precautions
By Kenny Berkowitz At an off-season football workout earlier this year, sickle cell trait proved fatal for University of Central Florida wide receiver Ereck Plancher. But with proper precautions, the sickle cell doesn't have to be a barrier to safe athletic participation.
Athletic Trainers Making News
By Kenny Berkowitz Spending most of their time working behind the scenes, athletic trainers rarely receive the kind of recognition their work deserves. When they do make headlines, we like to spread the word with a selection of links to articles featuring athletic trainers in action.
Jumping for Joy
By Ryan Johnson At Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minn., Jordan Helgren, a two-time Minnesota girls’ state champion triple jumper, dislocated her patella three weeks before the 2008 state meet. Ryan Johnson, CSCS, Coach Practitioner and Strength and Conditioning Coach at Wayzata, blogs about the team effort that got Helgren back on track and able to successfully defend her title.
Rugby Injury Breakdown
By R. Dawn Comstock Dawn Comstock, PhD, Principle Investigator at The Center for Injury Research and Policy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, analyzes injury rates and trends for rugby while sharing the results from two new studies.
Supplement and Nutrition Notes
By Dave Ellis Contributor Dave Ellis, RD, CSCS, a sports nutrition and recovery professional, provides a list of recent links to important health and nutrition news and studies from across the country.
Views From the Floor
T&C Assistant Editor Greg Scholand blogged from the 59th annual NATA Meeting and Clinical Symposia in St. Louis. Read his take on convention happenings as well as interesting tidbits he saw on the floor, during seminars, and while attending different events.
Sweet Taste of Recovery
By Ryan Johnson Ryan Johnson, CSCS, Coach Practitioner and Strength and Conditioning Coach at Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minn., has been seeing great results with a low-cost post-workout recovery drink that is readily available at his school's cafeteria. Chocolate milk is now an essential part of his strength development program.
Injury Rates for Practice Vs. Competition
By Dawn Comstock Contributor Dawn Comstock, PhD, Principle Investigator at The Center for Injury Research and Policy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, compares rates and trends for injuries sustained during competition versus those that occur at practice.
Skipping Specialization
By Nate Dougherty In many places, the three-sport high school athlete is an endangered species. Whether it's fall baseball, indoor soccer in the winter, or summer volleyball leagues, more young athletes are being pressured into choosing one sport to play year round. This becomes especially important when college scholarships are on the line and student-athletes are more or less forced to pick one sport just to keep up with competitors.
Strong Days of Summer
By Ryan Johnson Ryan Johnson, CSCS, Coach Practitioner and Strength and Conditioning Coach at Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minn., shares his thoughts on running an eight-week summer strength training program for his student-athletes.
Banishing Blisters
By Stan Reents Blisters occur commonly and they can occur anywhere. Here, contributor Stan Reents shares tips for blister treatment and prevention.
Serving Up Support
By Abigail Funk Last April, the the Brigham Young University women’s volleyball team found out that its long-time Athletic Trainer and BYU’s Director of Sports Medicine, Gaye Merrill, MS, ATC, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. They wanted to show their support and came up with the idea to wear pink bracelets, signifying breast cancer awareness.
Nutrition Case Study
By Michelle Rockwell Contributor Michelle Rockwell shares the case study of a track and field athlete who used creatine to make lean muscle gains and performance improvements.
Youth Lacrosse Injury Breakdown
By Dawn Comstock Contributor Dawn Comstock, PhD, Principle Investigator at The Center for Injury Research and Policy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, takes a look at injury rates and trends for youth lacrosse players.
World Wide Workouts
By Ryan Johnson Contributor Ryan Johnson, CSCS, is Coach Practitioner and Strength and Conditioning Coach at Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minn. This week, Johnson shares his experience with developing a strength and conditioning-specific Web page on his school's site.
Athletic Trainers In The News
By Abigail Funk Though they operate behind the scenes and do work that goes largely unnoticed by the general public, occasionally athletic trainers have their efforts recognized in the mainstream news. When these key contributors do make headlines, we want to share them with you. So from time to time, T&C will present a collection of links to newspaper articles from around the country featuring high school and college athletic trainers in action.
Baseball and Softball Injury Analysis
By Dawn Comstock Contributor Dawn Comstock, PhD, from The Center for Injury Research and Policy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital again gives T&C readers an inside look at her recent studies of high school athletics injuries. In this blog, Comstock takes a look at injury rates and trends for high school baseball and softball players.
Living the Dream
By Ryan Johnson New contributor Ryan Johnson, CSCS, is a Coach Practitioner and Strength and Conditioning Coach at Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minn. From time to time, Johnson will share his take on the challenges facing high school strength and conditioning professionals. In this blog, Johnson introduces himself and describes his role at Wayzata High School.
Cause for Celebration
Kelli Brewer Sabiston, MA, ATC, LAT, Owner/Consultant at Atlantic Athletic Training Services in Shallotte, N.C., shares what National Athletic Training Month means to her and the importance the profession plays in today's athletic culture.
Sharing the Functional Path
Vern Gambetta, a frequent contributor to T&C, recently announced a special educational opportunity called the Gambetta Athletic Improvement Network (GAIN) Apprentorship. The program was developed based on Gambetta’s career experiences following and leading the functional training path.
Ex-QB Develops New Football Helmet
By R.J. Anderson Being a good quarterback is as much mental as it is physical. So it makes sense that former Harvard University signal-caller Vin Ferrara, MD, is helping to make sure quarterbacks—and all other players—can keep using their heads after violent collisions by developing a new type of helmet.
Knees to Know
By Dr. Dawn Comstock Each month, The Center for Injury Research and Policy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital provides T&C with an inside look at their studies of high school athletics injuries. In this installment, Dawn Comstock, PhD, takes a look at knee injuries, examining gender-specific trends and breaking down each sport's most common mechanisms of injury.
Performance Enhancement Awareness
By Dave Ellis, RD, CSCS We caught up with contributor Dave Ellis on his way to Major League Baseball Spring Training to get his thoughts on the recent headlines involving performance-enhancing drugs (PED).
NATA Suing APTA
By Kenny Berkowitz T&C examines the recent lawsuit filed by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) against the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).
Analyzing Intervals
By Stan Reents Contributor Stan Reents analyzes recent interval training studies conducted by Canadian researchers.
Grappling with Wrestling Injuries
By Dr. Dawn Comstock Each month, The Center for Injury Research and Policy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital provides T&C with an inside look at their studies of high school athletics injuries. In this blog, Dawn Comstock, PhD, takes a look at injury rates and trends for wrestlers.
Practice What You Preach
By Gregory White Gregory “Graig” White, Strength & Conditioning Specialist at Rutgers University-Camden, shares his philosophy for working with sport coaches. This final installment in our two-part series examines how he shares his vision with the coaches he works with.
Working it Out
By Gregory White Gregory “Graig” White, Strength & Conditioning Specialist at Rutgers University-Camden, shares his philosophy for working with sport coaches. This is the first installment in a two-part series.
Peer Publicity
By R.J. Anderson Though they operate behind the scenes and do work that goes largely unnoticed by the general public, occasionally athletic trainers have their efforts recognized in the mainstream news. When these key contributors do make headlines, we want to share them with you. So from time to time, Training-Conditioning.com will present a collection of links to newspaper articles from around the country featuring high school and college athletic trainers in action.
Where it Hurts in Hoops
By Dawn Comstock, PhD Each month, The Center for Injury Research and Policy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital provides T&C with an inside look at their studies of high school athletics injuries. In this blog, Dawn Comstock, PhD takes a look at injury rates and trends for both boys and girls basketball players.
Back On Track in ‘08
By Christopher Holder Christopher Holder, MS, RKC, CSCS, Director of Strength and Conditioning at San Jose State University, shares lessons he learned from a trying football season that saw the team finish 5-7. After plenty of reflection and self-evaluation, Holder talks about how he and his staff have regrouped and are preparing to attack 2008.
Cyber Structure
By Chad Kinart, MS, ATC Chad Kinart, MS, ATC, Athletic Trainer for ESPN Sports Medicine in Omaha, Neb., provides his perspective on progressing toward a Web-based injury tracking application within a collegiate athletic training room setting. Kinart served as an Assistant Athletic Trainer at the University of Nebraska-Omaha from 2000 to 2006.
Analyzing Easy Energy
By Stan Reents, PharmD In the beginning, athletes had sports drinks like Gatorade. Then, energy bars such as PowerBar were what serious endurance athletes used. Several years ago, energy gels arrived on the scene. Today, athletes who want a burst of energy during exercise have an even wider variety of sports nutrition products to choose from. In this article, frequent contributor Stan Reents reviews carbohydrate-containing gels and chewable products.
More Than MRSA
By Dawn Comstock Recent media attention has athletes, coaches, and parents on edge about methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, more commonly known as MRSA. However, despite a growing awareness of this potentially life-threatening condition, many student-athletes and parents may be unaware that MRSA is just the tip of the iceberg.
Helping Hands Make Headlines
By R.J. Anderson Though they operate behind the scenes and do work that goes largely unnoticed by the general public, occasionally athletic trainers have their efforts recognized in the mainstream news. When these key contributors do make headlines, we want to share them with you. So from time to time, T&C will present a collection of links to newspaper articles from around the country featuring high school and college athletic trainers in action.
Handling Hamstring Injuries
By James A. Onate, PhD, ATC; Zahra Ismaeli, MS, ATC; and Bonnie Van Lunen, PhD, ATC Muscle strains are one of the most common injuries in sports, and one of the most frequent strains occurs in the hamstring group. Incidence of hamstring injuries ranges from 6 percent to 36 percent of all injuries in sport activities. Hamstring injuries often result in prolonged convalescence and time away from activity. Especially frustrating for athletes and the clinicians treating them is the high rate of recurrence. One-third of athletes who sustain an initial hamstring injury will reinjure their hamstring within a year of returning to play. This high prevalence has challenged clinicians and researchers to recognize and identify factors to prevent initial injury and recognizing those susceptible for reinjury.
Analyzing Sports Creams
By Stan Reents Stan Reents, PharmD, is a former healthcare professional. He holds Personal Trainer and Lifestyle Counselor certifications from the American Council on Exercise and has been certified as a tennis coach by the United States Tennis Association. He is the author of Sport and Exercise Pharmacology, published by Human Kinetics. A collection of Reents's articles is available at www.AthleteInMe.com and he can be reached at: Editor@athleteinme.com. On April 3, 2007, Arielle Newman, a 17-year-old track and cross-country standout for Notre Dame Academy on Staten Island, NY, died in her sleep. Following a two-month investigation by the New York City medical examiner, a spokeswoman for that office stated that Newman died of salicylate toxicity. It was determined that, for relief from the typical aches and pains that result from a grueling training regimen, she applied large amounts of sports creams to her legs. She died from an accidental overdose of methyl salicylate, the wintergreen-scented ingredient found in topical products like BenGay, Icy Hot, and Tiger Balm because her body absorbed a toxic amount. How could this happen? After all, Newman was a healthy high school athlete.
Examining Soccer Injuries
By Dawn Comstock Dawn Comstock, PhD, is a principal investigator at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She is also an assistant professor at Ohio State University in the College of Medicine and the College of Public Health. Her research interests include the epidemiology of sports, recreation, and leisure activity-related injuries among children and adolescents as well as the life-long health benefits associated with an active childhood. She can be reached at Dawn.Comstock@NationwideChildrens.org. Every fall, hundreds of millions of fans worldwide tune in to watch their countries battle in soccer's World Cup. Although soccer has not always been as popular in the United States as it is in many other countries, this tide is quickly changing. In the past 30 years, U.S. high school soccer participation has increased almost five-fold among boys and almost 50-fold among girls. Soccer is a great sport to help keep children in shape while teaching important life lessons such as teamwork and goal setting. However, soccer players can be injured. Understanding how and why soccer injuries occur can help coaches and athletic trainers work with athletes to prevent injuries from occurring.
Albohm Elected NATA President
By R.J. Anderson On Oct. 5, the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) general membership elected Marjorie Albohm, MS, ATC, LAT, to be its next president. After being sworn in at the NATA Annual Meeting held June 2008 in St. Louis, Albohm will lead the association’s 30,000-plus members for a four-year term.
Females Face Concussion Risks
By Nate Dougherty Concussions among high school athletes are generally thought by most to be a boy's injury, suffered by football players crashing into one another at top speed or hockey players slamming into the boards. Girls, whose sports often have rules against hitting, aren’t always at the front of people’s minds when thinking about head injuries. But a new study shows it’s female athletes who may actually be at a higher risk for concussions.
Conquering Cramping
By Dave Ellis, RD, CSCS Sports dietitian and strength coach Dave Ellis, RD, CSCS, has been refining and field testing his three-step Fueling Tactics sports nutrition system for over 26 years. He recently released his nutrition system on DVD at his Web site: www.fuelingtactics.com. Dave has experience at all levels of sport, which has made him a valuable asset for some of the most demanding sport coaches and a valuable sounding board for our readers. Recently Dave's work at the Olympic level was recognized when he was named a finalist for the 2007 USOC "Doc" Counsilman Science Award. There are a lot of ways to cramp, so you can bet the information on this topic is going to be confusing. The debate over the best way to prevent or resolve Exercise Associated Muscle Cramps (EAMCs) has historically sparked lively discussions in scientific settings like annual American College of Sports Medicine meetings.
Concussion Calculations
By Dawn Comstock Dawn Comstock, PhD, is a principle investigator at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Columbus Children’s Research Institute, Columbus Children’s Hospital. She is also an assistant professor at The Ohio State University in the College of Medicine and the College of Public Health. Her research interests include the epidemiology of sports, recreation, and leisure activity-related injuries among children and adolescents as well as the life-long health benefits associated with an active childhood. She can be reached at ComstocD@ccri.net. Concussions, although often downplayed through the use of terms such as "having your bell rung,” “seeing stars,” or being “dinged,” are serious and relatively common injuries. Sustaining repeated concussions throughout an athletic career can result in lasting physical and mental impairment. In extreme situations, receiving multiple concussions in a short period of time can even lead to second impact syndrome, a serious and potentially fatal condition. In recent years, concussions have been brought to the national spotlight by former NFL stars such as Mike Webster and Larry Morris suffering from post concussion syndrome and dementia.
A Cool Breakthrough
By Abigail Funk As Buffalo Bills backup tight end and special teamer Kevin Everett lay on the turf after colliding with a Denver Broncos kick returner last weekend in Buffalo, a worried silence went over the crowd. Everett lay motionless, while spectators, TV viewers, coaches, and players held their collective breath hoping to see any sort of movement. And, as it turns out, the worst of nearly everyone's fears was realized: Everett had suffered a severe spinal cord injury and was fighting for his life. However, thanks to a groundbreaking experimental medical procedure, there is hope that he will regain use of his extremities and may even walk out of the hospital. The following is a description of the innovative approach that has given Everett and his family hope for recovery. It's a method that athletic trainers across the country may need to familiarize themselves with in the near future.
Sizing Up Hamstring Injuries
By Vern Gambetta Vern Gambetta, MA, is President of Gambetta Sports Training Systems in Sarasota, Fla. The former Director of Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox, he has also worked extensively with basketball, soccer, and track and field athletes. He is a frequent contributor to Training & Conditioning. Vern also maintains his own blog at www.functionalpathtraining.blogspot.com I am amazed and astounded at the number of hamstring pulls and oblique pulls in Major League Baseball. I also find it appalling and alarming that players miss months with a hamstring pull. I do not have any first hand knowledge of specific injury situations, but I base my opinions on the many years I spent immersed in the training culture of the sport.
Heart of the Issue
By Greg Scholand This week's tragic death of 22-year-old Spanish soccer player Antonio Puerta, who collapsed during a match and died in a hospital three days later, provides the latest grim reminder of athletes' susceptibility to heart failure. As fall high school and college sports get underway and the NFL, NHL, and NBA seasons are just around the corner, it's something sports medicine professionals at all levels should be thinking about.
One More Year
By Abigail Funk At age 59, most strength coaches are training student-athletes and just trying to keep their physical conditioning at a functional level. Not Mike Flynt, a former strength and conditioning coach at the Universities of Nebraska and Oregon and Texas A&M Univeristy, who recently made the roster of an NCAA Division III football team.
Shaping a Philosophy
By Chris Carlisle I’ve been coaching for 23 years. During that time I’ve coached at the high school level, the junior college level, and the NCAA Division I level. I’ve been fortunate to be associated with teams that have won 14 national championships in seven different sports. I’ve worked with Olympic gold medalists, Heisman trophy winners, and numerous All-Americans. Yet, after all of this time I have found that I am just scratching the surface of finding the best way to train young men and women to be at the top of their athletic ability.
Chris Carlisle, BSE, MA, CSCC, is beginning his seventh season as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Southern California. Questions for Carlisle can be directed to USCRipsIt.com Online Media Director Ben Malcolmson at: Ben@USCRipsIt.com.
Ice Baths Get Chilly Review
By Nate Dougherty On the surface, it sounds like medieval torture. Filling up a tub with ice and jumping in following a workout can bring moments of incredible pain to an athlete, but those who dare to take the dip say the feeling afterward makes the discomfort well worth it. But as the steamy summer days continue and outdoor practices and competitions pick up, new research shows that athletic trainers may want to think twice about having athletes submerge into ice water to relieve cramping muscles.
Medicine Ball For All
By Dr. Avery D. Faigenbaum and Patrick Mediate Due to the poor performance of Greenwich High School students on standardized physical fitness testing, we developed a progressive, challenging, and inexpensive physical activity intervention. Our goal was to develop a physical activity program that would enhance physical fitness abilities and provide school-age students with a meaningful learning experience consistent with their developmental needs. We call our program “Medicine Ball for All” because it utilizes medicine balls and is appropriate for all school-age children regardless of body size or fitness level.
Avery Faigenbaum, EdD, CSCS, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at The College of New Jersey. He recently served as Vice President of the National Strength & Conditioning Association. Faigenbaum has published over 100 articles on fitness and conditioning and is the author of five books, including "Progressive Plyometrics for Kids" and "Strength and Power for Young Adults." Patrick Mediate, CSCS, is a former member of the NSCA Board of Directors and Regional Coordinator and State Director of the NSCA. He currently teaches physical education, coordinates the strength and conditioning program, and coaches track and field at Greenwich (Conn.) High School. Mediate and Faigenbaum co-authored the training handbooks, "Medicine Ball for All" and "Medicine Ball for All Kids."
Debate on Young Arms Continues
By Nate Dougherty This season, Little League Baseball instituted pitch counts that limit young players to a certain number of pitches per game based on their age, and also required set rest periods between appearances depending on the pitch count of the previous outing. The changes, which have been well-received, are part of an effort to curb overuse injuries to young pitching arms in hopes of avoiding surgery down the road. However, there is also new research from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) that says not all young pitchers who log a large number of innings are headed for the surgeon’s table.
A Strong Showing
By Jeffrey A. Segal Jeffrey A. Segal, CPTS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, CPR/AED, is President of Balanced Personal Training, Inc., based in Boca Raton, Fla. He filed this report after attending the 2007 National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) National Conference and Exhibition. The 2007 National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) National Conference and Exhibition was a true success and firmly supported the organization’s mission statement. As the worldwide authority on strength and conditioning, we support and disseminate research-based knowledge and its practical application to improve athletic performance and fitness. One of many important topics covered at the conference was youth fitness. Some of the most highly regarded minds in the field, such as Juan Carlos Santana, Avery Faigenbaum, Patrick Mediate, N. Travis Triplett, and Clive Brewer gave great lectures on this topic with evidence and literature that backed up their claims. Other interesting presentations focused on injury prevention, Olympic lifting movements, and power specificity. There were also a number of different lectures on undulating periodization, which provided the audience with a variety of perspectives on a much-discussed topic. The last lecture, Speed, Power and Agility Training for Athletic Performance by John Graham, may have been one of the best. Many of the speakers referred to research studies conducted by well-known attendees, including Steven Fleck and William Kraemer.
R.I.P. Periodization?
By Vern Gambetta Vern Gambetta, MA, is President of Gambetta Sports Training Systems in Sarasota, Fla. The former Director of Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox, he has also worked extensively with basketball, soccer, and track and field athletes. He is a frequent contributor to Training & Conditioning. Vern also maintains his own blog at www.functionalpathtraining.blogspot.com Is Periodization Dead? This was one of the questions asked at a presentation I did for athletics and swim coaches at the University of Queensland during my recent trip to Australia. It is an important question, and one that certainly should not be taken lightly. That said, periodization as it has been commonly taught by Bompa et al. is dead! To me, that neat, defined world of general preparation, special preparation, competition, and transition does not exist anymore.
NCAA’s Word on the Street
By Laura Ulrich Colleges and universities are doing a fine job of monitoring their athletes for recreational drug use, and the NCAA doesn’t need to get involved in the effort. That was the decision made by an NCAA committee in June, when it shot down a proposal that would have had the association begin testing athletes for street drugs, including marijuana and cocaine.
The Beta on Asthma Meds
By Stan Reents Stan Reents, PharmD, is a former healthcare professional. He holds Personal Trainer and Lifestyle Counselor certifications from the American Council on Exercise. He has also been certified as a tennis coach by the United States Tennis Association. He can be reached at: Editor@athleteinme.com Asthma makes training and competing difficult... but not impossible. Athletes with asthma can, and do, achieve a high level of cardiorespiratory fitness (Freeman W. 1990). Elite athletes such as heptathlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee and swimmers Tom Dolan and Amy Van Dyken have won Olympic medals despite having asthma.
Is Experience the Same as Wisdom?
By John Platero John Platero is the Director of Education for the National Council for Certified Personal Trainers. His work has been published in a variety of books and magazines. When I’m at conferences and workshops, or conversing with and observing other strength and conditioning professionals, I often hear them say “I’ve been training people for 20 years" or "I’ve got 20 years of experience.” When I ask them questions or observe them during training, it seems obvious to me that they don’t have a clue as to what they're doing. In fact, they probably have one year of experience and repeated that same year 20 times.
A Look at Sickle Cell Disease
By Abigail Funk In 2001, Florida State University football player Devaughn Darling collapsed and died shortly after an off-season workout during which he complained of dizziness and chest pains. In an eerily similar situation in 2005, University of Missouri football player Aaron O’Neal died suddenly after a preseason practice. There was no definitive cause of death in Darling’s case, and O’Neal’s death was caused by viral meningitis. But during autopsies, both players were found to have had the sickle cell trait, which many medical officials say was a contributing factor in the players’ deaths.
Speakers with T&C Ties at NATA
By R.J. Anderson From June 26-30, certified athletic trainers will descend upon Anaheim, Calif., for the 58th NATA Annual Meeting & Clinical Symposia. The event will feature many great presenters, including three with close ties to Training & Conditioning. Below is a list of speakers who have either appeared in T&C, or who serve on the magazine's Editorial Board. Their presentations promise to be chock full of cutting-edge information, so if you're at the meeting, make a note to stop by and check them out.
Setting Summer’s Stage
By Christopher Holder, MS, RKC, CSCS Any football strength coach who has been in the profession longer than a week knows that the programs you have your team on in the winter, during spring ball, and in the weeks prior to school letting out for the summer, are as important as the summer itself. We prove our worth in the summer, but the three or four months leading up to it set the stage for dramatic improvements that take place during June and July.
NCAA Injuries Breakdown
By Randall W. Dick, MS, FACSM The NCAA was created more than 100 years ago over safety concerns associated with the new sport of football and its dangerous formation, the “flying wedge.” Consistent with its health and safety foundation, the NCAA created the Injury Surveillance System (ISS) in 1982 to identify “flying wedges” (injury risks) in a variety of college sports. Certified athletic trainers at participating institutions provided injury information that allowed appropriate NCAA committees to develop health and safety policies and rules applicable to student-athlete welfare. This 25-year collaboration between the NCAA and the NATA has created the largest ongoing collegiate sport injury database in the world. In a special spring issue of the Journal of Athletic Training, the quarterly scientific publication of the NATA, a group of lead authors summarize 16 years (1988-89 through 2003-04) of critical NCAA ISS information from 15 college sports.
Probing Pregnancy Participation Policies
By Laura Ulrich Throughout the 2006-07 season, Fantasia Goodwin started every game for the Syracuse University women’s basketball team. However, during the team’s final game on Feb. 25, the six-foot guard watched from the bench. The reason: The night before, Goodwin had told Head Coach Quentin Hillsman that she was pregnant—and that she had been playing that way for many months. Goodwin sat out the last game, gave birth to a daughter eight weeks later, and then announced she intends to return to classes and to the team this fall.
Gone in a New York Minute
By R.J. Anderson It used to be that when the New York Yankees had a losing streak, Owner George Steinbrenner's first instinct was to fire his manager, and then eventually fire that manager's replacement. But in a sign that these aren't your father's Yankees, after this season's 14-16 record in the month of April, and an unusually high number of hamstring injuries, Steinbrenner and General Manager Brian Cashman reached way down the Yankee corporate ladder, axing the team's recently hired Director of Performance Enhancement. It was the second time in less than six months that the Yankees had fired their top strength coach.
HGH Hogging the Headlines
By Dave Ellis, RD, CSCS Articles about the prevalence of steroids and Human Growth Hormone (HGH) in sports are breaking with the regularity of game scores and player transactions. The latest story—one that has Major League Baseball on edge—involves a former New York Mets clubhouse attendant who has informed authorities that he dealt steroids and HGH for years.
Cooler Heads Will Prevail
By R.J. Anderson With the warmer temperatures of summer just around the corner, it's never too early to start thinking about strategies to avoid heat illness and dehydration. It's also a good time to re-examine heat illness and hydration policies, and the data that help you form those policies.
Nutrition Takes the Field
By Abigail Funk You may have noticed a few new initials after some nutritionists’ names lately—specifically CSSD. Offered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), the credentialing agency for the American Dietetic Association, CSSD recognizes a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics.
Striking Out Conventional Theories
By R.J. Anderson When Daisuke Matsuzaka joined the Boston Red Sox this spring, the Japanese pitcher brought with him eight different pitches and a training regimen the likes of which many American baseball coaches had never seen. With little regard for in-game pitch counts and post-game icing, Matsuzaka also has a much more aggressive between-start throwing routine than his American counterparts. These training tactics seemingly fly in the face of traditional western philosophies that call for bringing a young pitcher along slowly and limiting how much and how often they throw. Critics, however, wonder just how long the 26-year-old Matsuzaka can keep up his prolific workload before he eventually breaks down.
Counting Calorie Costs
By Dave Ellis The NCAA Division I rulebook seems to expand annually, and each year some of those changes involve training table or nutrition supplementation issues for student-athletes. In 2004, I asked a compliance officer at a major university to summarize all the food and nutritional supplement topics covered in the NCAA rule book. That synopsis turned into a 39 page report! Everything from how much, when, what, and how often student-athletes can be fed or supplemented is tightly regulated. And yet something as fundamental as what constitutes a “meal” is very poorly defined.
From Neutral to Drive
By Vern Gambetta In the fall of 1992, when Training & Conditioning was a new publication, finding its niche and its voice, we hooked up with Vern Gambetta, then the Director of Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox. He wrote an article for T&C titled “A Tailored Program.” Then, he wrote another article for us. And another. And another ... He has since penned dozens of articles for the magazine, on everything from training pitchers to periodization. Now 15 years later, we are pleased to offer a different side of Vern Gambetta—as a blogger. Here, he offers thoughts on a current buzz question: How important is a neutral spine? Read More »
'Roids Roundup
By R.J. Anderson Performance enhancing substances continue to gather more and more negative publicity at every level of athletics. With news of new steroid investigations and indictments virtually every week, states and academic institutions across the country are stepping forward to find solutions to what some view as an epidemic. As a result, in the coming months, many high school student-athletes, as well as student-athletes at NCAA Division III schools, may find themselves having to prove that they're competing drug-free.
