Functional Path Training

Physical Competency Assessment – A Rational Approach

 

Over the course of my career I have used various forms of assessment to determine the athletes readiness to train and  compete. Sometimes they looked more like something you would see in physical therapy clinic and other times it was just pure end range jumping, throwing and running tests. I kept searching for an assessment tool that would give then information I was looking for. A few years ago someone suggested I look at The Functional Movement Screen, that did fit the bill for me. Too one size fits all and based on some questionable assumptions’ about the body and how it moves. I knew Kelvin Giles had started work on a Physical Competency Assessment when he was head of S&C at the Queensland Academy of Sport. It seemed to make sense, but I was missing the overview and explanation that I needed to begin to implement it. Then I met Kelvin a few years ago when we were both presenting to the English Institute of Sport S&C coaches. It was like a light went on. His physical competency approach to assessment was brilliant in its simplicity and the myriad of applications possible. It does not seek to predict potential injury, instead based on the level of the athlete’s physical competencies they are placed on an exercise continuum. It is adaptable to a wide range of sports and physical education. It is now used extensive in England and Australia. The point is that all the athletes have to reach the same destination but they will have different rates and means of progressing to that destination.

I will let Kelvin explain it from here.

“ I put the PCA stuff together not to be any kind of 'predictor' at all. I started to look closely at movement efficiency in squat, lunge, push, pull, brace, rotate and range plus other exercise modalities - landing, jumping etc to simply allow me and my colleagues to prescribe a more accurate program for the athletes we were coaching. My choices were confirmed by some of the great sports medical practitioners in Australia as being appropriate. There was a nice link back to the typical muscular-skeletal screening they were doing in the clinic environment as a back up.

The assessment was also put together for another 'strategic' reason - I needed some evidence that the 'basics' that were supposed to be being carried out at the earlier stages of the athlete's development simply weren't being done. Training at these early stages was mostly skill and tactical specific with a little bit of Olympic Weightlifting or 'madhouse' circuits being done. By showing the movement limitations (the radar graphs) to the coaches at the earlier stages I had some chance of getting them to change things.

'Prediction' stuff is daft - you can have all the evidence you like about an athlete and then tomorrow it all changes. I have some evidence that the more competent you are the less likelihood of suffering a 'controllable' injury you have. The assessment is used to 'ring warning bells' - e.g. can't squat - WATCH OUT!......can't land a Hop & Stick - WATCH OUT! It makes us more aware of exercise selection and program construction once we know some limitations. The assessment is there to make us stop and think.

For some sports it has allowed some decision makers to track the athletic development of squad members nationwide which assists in the fight against sole tactical / technical development with the developing athlete so I guess there is another little use for it.

So...nothing clever at all in all this - certainly never created to be a panacea or another spell potion or gadget,  just a simple  tool for a teacher / coach to make a smarter decision. Some people got interested so I wrote as much down as I could and took some pictures and made a manual for them. Got fed up with difficulties in measuring so worked out the Gauges on my kitchen table with by brother-in-law.

Don't overestimate it's role - you've got to be able to coach / teach in the first place! I use it to get the basics right first - not as a 'new' approach. I just want to know 'where are they now?' before making training decisions - nothing flash at all.”

You can purchase the Physical Competency Assessment manual and gauge on my website www.gambetta.com The teaching of this methodology of assessment is an integral part of the GAIN Apprentorship program. In addition we will be doing workshops on the Physical Competency Assessment later in 2010. Keep checking the web site and blog for sites and dates.

This Warmed My Heart

I was sent this link to a story about the revolutionary changes in the Seattle Mariner's conditioning program. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/marinersblog/2011184657_mariners_completely_overhaulin.html I do not know the the guy who is implementing it, but I tip my hat to him. As I read it I could help but compare to what we were doing twenty years ago with the Chicago White Sox. We were doing all of this and more. In fact Don Wakamatsu, the manager of the Mariners was a player in that system whose career was revived and saved by what we did. The first day of spring training was devoted to testing. In the morning it was physical tests in the afternoon it was physical therapy evaluations. From the testing over the years we developed a database to physically profile each position in baseball. This enabled us to design a development plan for each player. In addition we used these profiles in the identification and drafting process of the players. We used biomechanical analysis to devise and revise our pitching conditioning program and design programs that met the needs of the individual pitchers. We biomechanically analyzed the starting position and running mechanics for baseball and came up with unified teaching methodology. Every player and pitcher in the minor leagues was required to workout. The program was periodized based on the phase of the season. This eliminated the staleness factor. The pitchers program was set-up in revolving five day cycles for starters and a revolving seven-day cycle for the relievers.  We had a pitchers and catchers mini camp in January to assess those players and make any adjustments necessary for spring training. We had a sport psychologist working with us and used the TAIS test to help identify the coaches and the players’ attentional strengths and weaknesses. We had a nutrition program, although I will say this part of the program lagged behind the rest of the program. We trained vision early on with many of the things that people are calling cutting edge today and found them not as effective as we were led to believe. Skill and physical development were developed concurrently. After the A ball level each player had a plan to allow them to develop their abilities. There are two players from this system still playing in the Major Leagues today, Maglio Ordonez and Mike Cameron. They are poster children for what a development program can accomplish.

I only had one assistant and he focused on rookie ball. That was important to get the players oriented into the “White Sox” way of physical and mental preparation for baseball. The trainers (ATC’s) were also the conditioning coaches. I was in charge of the minor league trainers and supervised the rehab. All the rehab of minor league players was done in-house in Sarasota. We set up a complete system for tracking injuries and productivity in terms of player days and pitcher days missed. Over the years were able to show significant reduction in injuries and lost days due to injuries. In nine years we only had five hamstring pulls and six groin pulls that caused players to miss days. Look at that in the context of today’s injuries and you can see we must have been doing something right.

Why did this program work? Over the years I certainly have reflected on this. It worked because the general manager Larry Himes who hired me and Al Goldis his farm and scouting director gave unconditional support to the program. They involved me in the scouting process, sending me to evaluate players along side the baseball scout. It worked because I had control of the minor league trainers and was considered equal in the organization to the uniform field coordinator.  It worked because Steve Odgers was the Major League conditioning guy, so that the major league players were on the same page, in other words there was continuity. It worked because Dewey Robinson our pitching coordinator believed in the program and made supervision of the pitchers conditioning part of each pitching coaches responsibility. Above all it worked because the players were sold on it. They worked their butts off.

Finally this all begs the question - What happened? A change in administration brought a return to a old school philosophy. They wanted me to cut back at a time when we on the cusp of a real breakthrough, so rather than compromise I resigned the position. Sometimes I look back nostalgically on what our team of professionals was able to accomplish in a very traditional sport, in a sometimes hostile environment and I smile. I wish the Marnier program all the success in the world. I will be following their progress with great interest.

Changing Technique - Quick Fixes

It is always interesting at this time of the year at the start of spring training and with the NFL combine to read the stories of how people have changed their technique. I have been following the Tim Tebow story with great interest. Apparently he has a team of “experts’ who have completely revamped his throwing style. He is not going to unveil his new technique at the NFL CONbine, but will wait for another three weeks, choosing a more controlled environment for the great unveiling. Let's look at this with what we know of motor learning and skill acquisition. First of all he acquired his old patterns and grooved them for twenty plus years. You cannot unlearn and relearn a new technique in six weeks. You can make some style changes, but to go from a side arm slinging motion to a classic “overhead’ action will take years. The other factor is all this has been learned and practiced in a non-pressure environment. What will happen in the chaos of the game where everything is in fast forward mode? I wish I could be a fly on the wall on this one. Was there a baseline biomechanical analysis of his old throwing motion done? By that I mean 3D analysis. How much real time video analysis and feedback is he getting? To make real changes takes thousands of hours and directed practice. I maintain that the changes he is making are probably very cosmetic and he will revert to his old patterns under game pressure. For years I watched our pitching coaches when I was with the White Sox work on pitching mechanics. We had the advantage of biomechanical analysis as a baseline, but in still took time and thousands of repetitions and constant cueing. It can be done, it just can’t be done in six weeks!

Fooled By The Result

Win the game, the match or the race and everything is great. Lose the game, match or race and it is a disaster, everything is bad. In my 41 years of coaching and a few years before that as an athlete I have seen this time and again. Panic after a lose, smug satisfaction after a win, regardless of how well the players performed. For some reason coaches and teams just don’t seem to understand that you have to look beyond the score. Sometimes victories can disguise huge deficiencies and fool you into thinking things are better than they are. The 1998 US Men’s World Cup soccer team was a great example of this. Victories over Brazil and then Belgium in Europe were blown out of proportion and distorted the perspective the coaches and the media. I saw this first hand working with this team. We were not preparing for the World Cup as much as we were focusing on winning less meaningful matches that ultimately hurt the development of the team and distorted the selection process of the players. Conversely loses can be blown out of proportion unless they are thoroughly analyzed in the context of the whole season and the plan. The essential element here is to always learn from performance. The competition performance is the most essential feedback tool there is, after all that is what the goal of training is. So have a context for performance evaluation from a physical preparation, tactical and strategic perspective that is part of a systematic plan. This is what the great coach’s and athletes do, they have a perspective that allows them to objectively evaluate competitive performance and learn from it and adjust accordingly. A good sound plan lends context and perspective. Each competition result provides incremental progress toward the ultimate goal.

Functional Training - Where to Start

Functional training is training. All training is functional, it is just that some training rates higher on a continuum of function than others. If you are not sure how to make your training more functional here are a few tips that should guide you. This not rocket science, I think you will see when you analyze successful long term athletic development programs that all these elements appear in some way, shape or form. Incorporate fundamental movements and build on them. Walk, jog, run, sprint in all directions from varied starting positions and with varied rhythms. Pull and push. Bend and reach. Lift and drop. Creep and crawl. Start and stop. Hop, jump and bound. Put and throw. Roll and tumble. Do all of these movements in all planes of movement, change speed and rhythm, add or reduce resistance and systematically vary the mode of resistance. Explore all dimensions of movement in a mindful manner. Master each element. Gradually increase the complexity of the movement problems the body must solve. Combine all of this into a systematic approach that has a clear progression to a specific goal - excellence in the competitive arena.

Corrective Exercise

The latest buzzword is corrective exercise. Is corrective exercise the latest fad like “drawing in “ was a few years ago? What exactly is corrective exercise? I think I know, but it is a misleading concept. What exactly are you correcting? It sounds to me like another reductionist approach to the human body based on pseudo scientific principles and marketing. The exercises that I see labeled as corrective are remedial exercises that should be part of a training progression, not separated into a category all their own. I think we are forgetting the most important principle of training and rehab which is progression. Exercises should be set-up in a hierarchical progression from the most simple and remedial to the most difficult and complex. Not every athlete starts at the same place in the progression but they are all expected to end up the same destination – the competitive arena fully fit and ready to compete free of any physical limitations. I do not think the “corrective exercise’ approach does this. In many situations I have seen athletes with perceived deficiencies who are taken out of normal training to do “corrective exercise, “ yet they are still expected to participate in practice and yes, play the game. The end result of all this madness is the plethora of injuries we see today. The so called “corrective exercises’ need to be a transparent part of training, not separate. Each athlete can and should expect individualized programs based on their ability to perform certain movements. For example today with volleyball it is squat emphasis day. I have 24 girls’ of widely varying ability. Some are squatting with a mini band above their knee, some not, some squat full others to parallel and some will not squat yet. All of this is based on a Physical Competency Assessment. This PCA is not just a one off process, the movements are part of warm-up and I evaluate daily to assess readiness to train and progress to the next step in the progression. Once again I implore you to keep the big picture in mind and do no harm.

Reading

I have had many people ask me about my reading habits and interests. Inevitably the questions arise as to why I love to read so much? It takes a bit of explanation. My parents were immigrants who came to this country from Ticino, the Italian speaking Canton of Switzerland. My Dad went to the equivalent of the eighth grade in Switzerland and then had to work. My Mother went to school here in the states from the fourth through ninth grade and then was forced to drop out by her dad who did not think women needed to be educated, they needed to work. My mother prized education; I guess that is understatement, for her education was everything. My dad did but not to the same extent. They both did everything possible to make sure their sons got an education and succeeded. Success for them was that my brother and I got good jobs.

Some of my earliest memories are of my mother taking me to the Santa Barbara public library and helping me pick out books. At night my mother used to read to me. When I was about eight years old she started reading books from the Landmark series on US History. The first book she read from that series was the Seven Cities of Cibola, about the De Soto expeditions into what is now the southwest of the US. That ignited my interest in history and Latin American history in particular, which was my area of study in college. You are probably thinking big deal my mother used to read to me also, the difference was that my mother was severely asthmatic, for her to read orally was a real ordeal, she used to have to use this big inhaler, but she was determined and that determination rubbed off on me. In ninth grade I could not take PE so I worked in the library instead (Osgood Slaughters). That opened the world of books even wider. Think of it a huge room full of books. Instead of putting books away as I was supposed to I used the hour to read whenever I could hide from the nun who the librarian. Thankfully when she recognized my interests she starting recommending books for me.

The one who put over the top was Father Alexander, a Franciscan priest and principle of my high school, who was our English teacher in our junior and senior year in high school. Looking back he was a real cool guy, but at the time in his big brown robe, booming voice and that bald head, he was intimidating. The first week he told us that he would give us extra credit for reading. I needed all the extra credit I could get. No limits just read the book and then turn in the title, author and a two-sentence summary. That was all I needed, I took off and started reading with a vengeance. First it was Steinbeck then Hemingway, then Eugene Burdick and yes-even Catcher in The Rye (A book banned in the public schools - I guess was testing limts on that one. His comment was what did you think of Holden Caufield?). I have never looked back.

My reading now is fairly eclectic. I like biographies, modern history, science, and some fiction. Of course much of my reading in consumed by my profession so there is an emphasis on sports science and technique books. For me there is no better way to gain knowledge and insights than a book. I will probably never own a Kindle or a device like that, there is no substitute for holding a book and being able to underline and write in the margins. I am so thankful for my mom who ignited my passion for learning through reading and Father Alexander who opened an even bigger world through his encouragement.

One Size Does NOT Fit All

Here is the scenario.

I wake up log unto How2BHurt.com and get the workout of the day.

Mind you this is the same workout if you are 17 or 70, male or female, an endurance athlete or a speed/power athlete. I am amazed at the number of people that do this. Stop and think for a minute, what is wrong with this picture? Logic and best practice tells us that one size does not fit all., then when would anyone do this? That is not even taking into account the actual workouts on some of these sites. This is not training. Training must have clear progression in incremental steps toward measureable goals. If you are a coach or an individual following this madness take a long hard look at why you are doing what you are doing and when? I maintain training is a mindful process that should incorporate variability and variety with a purpose. Canned programs that assume that one size fits are a misfit. Evaluate these programs using good training principles and see if they stand up. Don’t get caught up in the hype, find a program that fits you and your specific needs. Just because it is hard is hard does not mean it is training. Frankly it is easy to design a program to bury someone, that is not training, it is abuse.

Tiger Woods – The Fall

The following quote is from Sports Justice – A Sports Blog with Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle commenting on Tiger Woods: “He's a good reminder to be careful about building up people to be more than they are. His skill was hitting a golf ball. If we made him out to be more than that, some of that blame is on us.” We anointed this guy, as we continue to do others. We gave him a free pass when his conduct on the golf course was juvenile. We continue to do this. I have had a chance to be around and sometimes coach some of the icons of sport. They are just people, people who have an exceptional skill set in a narrow range of sport skills, they are not gods. The problem is that society has not held these people accountable for their behavior inside and outside their sport. They can do no wrong. One again this is the result of anointing these people and putting them high on a pedestal out of reach of the rules of society and normal social mores. How many children does Tom Brady have to father out of wedlock before he is held accountable? How many millions does Michael Jordan have to lose gambling before he is held accountable? It goes on and on. It is a fair question.

Honestly this why I am not a fan of big time sports. I know too much. On the other hand I love watching kids play. I love to see the thrill of a great play, excitement from learning a new technique, and yes the agony of defeat. It is real, but even that is being taken away by greedy adults with early scholarship commitments, showcase camps that bankrupt the parents and start the anointing process early and often. Tiger Woods is just a symbol for all the excess we have fostered upon ourselves. We all need to look in the mirror and see what we can do differently. Part of it is recognizing big time collegiate and professional sports for what they are, entertainment pure and simple. It is the modern day Roman circus. I have not watched one minute of the Winter Olympics. I did not watch one minute of the Super Bowl. Why because I can’t handle the hype and the hypocrisy. A luger is killed on what is clearly a dangerous course. What happens, the show must go on! I appreciate the athlete’s hard training and effort, but that is getting lost in the hype and the money.

I sure wish I could be positive and optimistic but that is where we are today. We can and must do something. We must insure that sports at the youth and high school level are given back to the kids. Allow them to be kids and play. No worries about scholarships and contracts, just play! Only one team or individual can win the contest, but that does not mean everyone else is a loser!

A Snapshot or a Movie

When people post video of an exercise or a description of a workout that is just a snapshot of a feature length movie. The snapshot has no context, Where? When? How? Who? Most importantly of all – Why? I notice when I do presentations and put a workout on the screen people will frantically scramble to write it down before I go to the next screen. The same with the video clips. Everyone wants copies of the clips because that it is a cool exercise. I can’t tell you how many “cool exercises” have blown up in my face. Why because I tried to use the “cool exercise” arbitrarily without taking the time to put it in the context of the system. For example I just saw a clip of Daron Robles, World record in 110 meter hurdles, doing a series of drills over one hurdle in place. It was poetry in motion, one of the coolest series of hurdle drills I have ever seen. I took a deep breath sat back and starting thinking with whom, how and where would I use it. Certainly with no one I have ever coached. This drill was obviously something he had grown up with and mastered as part of his whole routine. Therefore I filed it under very cool exercises in my library. For all you middle distance and distance coaches the current infatuation with GS – General Strength exercises and random medicine ball  drills would fall under the same category. Why are you doing what you are doing when you are doing it? I see coaches finding another way to make to make the athlete tired rather than systematically addressing specific needs for the various distances. As I have implored you many times in this blog think, think think! It is always more than an exercise or a drill.