The R.I.C.E. principle is one of the first things you learn in the athletic training room. Limit your down time with these principles and aggressively treat your injury, and get back in the game sooner. I recently rolled an ankle and got to put this into practice once again. Within an hour, I was able to get the ankle iced, wrapped, and elevated. I was able to reduce my down time, embarrassment, and pain.
The severity of injury and your commitment to following these principles w/ heavy emphasis on rest and ice will determine the success of the healing process. Treatment is the first step and rehab is next. This treatment strategy will be the first step in the healing process, followed by rehab that will get you back to full speed sooner.
Rest- sleep and staying off injured bodypart
Ice- Reduces swelling and pain by constricting blood vessels and helps the healing begin by pushing damaged blood out of the injured area.
Compression- bandage or compression sleeve helps reduce swelling.
Elevation- when possible keep the injured body part above the heart to reduce swelling and pain.
Regular exercise boosts your ability to fight illness through reduced stress and improved immune system. Stress reduction improves sleeping patterns and mental health keeping your nervous system and immune system in top shape to fight off infection. Additionally, regular exercise increases your body’s circulation of macrophages that kill bacteria, protozoa, and other foreign cells.
Good stuff from a 50 year old that can still go. God bless Herschel. Unfortunately, I don’t think a few jumping jacks, push ups, jump rope, and some high knees are going to render the same results for the rest of us non- genetic wonders.
It’s never too late to work on your throwing motion. Well in Charlie Crist’s case, it may be. Throwing mechanics is a skill that should be taught early in order to avoid bad habits and embarrassing situations. You never know when you are going to be called up.
1. Grip on the Ball: Remember that the child’s hand will be small when in Tee-Ball. So all we can do with the grip is to make sure the fingers are on top and the hand is behind the ball. Also, watch to make sure that when the ball is released, the hand and fingers stay behind the ball.
We will discuss this further in the “Release” section below.
2. Front Shoulder & Elbow: Make sure the front shoulder closes down and points directly at the intended target. As this is done, the front arm comes up and points the elbow directly at the target also. If the player does not do this step correctly, there is ZERO power or accuracy on the throw.
3. Make the Circle: The actual throwing motion should be a circle. The throwing hand should be brought down by the hip (we actually teach players to brush the hip as they start the circle) and travel to the power position, which is at the top of the circle. (see photo below) As the hand is traveling towards the top of the circle, the ball and palm should be pointed AWAY from your body as seen in photo. The circle is completed by bringing the ball forward while keeping the arm at 90 degrees. Make sure the elbow is above the shoulder during the actual throwing motion. This will help avoid elbow and shoulder injury in years to come.
4. Step & Throw: Make sure that the player steps directly at the target. This step is just a comfortable step. Nothing big that will make a player become off-balance. Just a smooth comfortable step towards the target.
5. Release: The release of the ball should be out in front and the hand and fingers should be on top and behind the ball as mentioned in the “Grip” section above. Make sure the throw has backspin on it. As players get older, that backspin should get tighter and tighter. If the throw has sidespin of some sort on it, the player does not have their hand behind the ball upon release.
Also, make sure that upon release, the players arm is fully extended out front. A “long arm” circle with good extension is ESSENTIAL to proper throwing mechanics.
6. Follow Through: As I mentioned, make sure the arm is fully extended at the release point. As you release the ball, let the back leg and back side come through to create a good follow through. The back leg and foot should end up in front of the stride foot when the whole throwing motion is complete. Without a good follow through, there will be no power on the throw.
Seems like Albert Haynesworth is catching a lot of flack for not passing the conditioning test required by most NFL teams. If you are one of the brave souls who wants to attempt the conditioning test for yourself, you need to keep in mind that the requirements are determined by position: “skill guys” (running backs, receivers, def. backs) have less time to complete the test. The other factor is some coaches require you touch the line with your hand on the turn.
From my own experience in passing the 300 yard shuttle in college, I’ll pass on a few coaching points that helped me. Our test was 3X 300 yard shuttles (6X 50 yard sprints) in under 60 seconds (lineman time). I was so slow that coaches used to time me with a sun dial, so I had to pretty much sprint the whole thing. Some guys are just good athletes and could strap up and go, but I on the other hand had to train in order to pass. Here are some tips:
• Run in a straight line. No wasted motion- pick a spot on each end and stick to it.
• Sprint into and out of the turn. The turns are where you lose the most time. I found that if I exploded into the touch and turn and jumped out of it, I could save some valuable time.
• Train for the test. Practice will improve conditioning and will build your confidence going into the test. A confident competitor is a less anxious one. Being well prepared for this or any test is always a great idea.
• Don’t eat like an idiot before your test. As a returning sophomore in college I ate 6 chocolate doughnuts a couple of hours before the conditioning test. I was so hungry and needed my strength. I passed the test but lost the doughnuts…all over the field. Not a good idea. So Albert, if you need some training I know somebody that can help.
Could you pass an NFL conditioning test? A D.C. reporter comes close to passing the Redskin’s conditioning test that Albert Haynesworth failed twice. Pretty embarrassing if you ask me, that a professional athlete can’t show up to camp in proper condition.
The test:6 X 60 yard sprints in under 70 seconds. Rest 3.5 minutes, and another 6x 60′s at 73 seconds or less. The reporter missed the second round by 8 seconds.
This is pretty close to the last test we had in college. Ours was 3 rounds of 6 x 50′s in 60 seconds or under for lineman with a 3.5 minute rest in between. It was brutal at 100 plus degrees in the August Texas heat, at 300 lbs. Easily one of the most miserable experiences of my life. But I passed the test and crossed the finish line at just under the mandatory time, needing about 30 minutes to recover and see straight. I remember landing in a pile of my teammates whi had finished the test and saying to them, “I can’t see! My eyes are open but I can’t see anything!” My teammate responded, “Me either!”
So Albert, I feel your pain. Nobody had more anxiety about Fall camp or conditioning tests than me, but I didn’t have millions of dollars to soften my landing after I collapsed across the finish line.
If you are looking for a challenge, or just need a quick conditioning workout give one of these a try. Hopefully you won’t lose your vision like I did. Send us your times and see if you can beat this reporter and Albert Haynesworth. Who knows, maybe the ‘Skins will sign you instead.
Differences in torso lengths of black and white athletes or belly button position could hold key to athletic performance. Biological differences in origins of athletes was studied to see if athletes of African origin hold a physiological advantage in sprinting. The study also states that longer torsos that includes athletes of European origin gives them an advantage in swimming. The study was conducted by Duke University professor Andre Bejan and Howard University professor Edward Jones.
Texas State Head Athletic Trainer David Gish, was recently honored by the National Athletic Trainer’s Association with the 2010 Athletic Trainer Service Award. Congrats to David and the Texas State athletic training staff. I have had the opportunity to work with David and be under his care as college athlete and know first hand that he is the best.
Calipers and hand held instruments have always frustrated me, and have never been a very accurate measure of bodyfat or BMI. Hydrostatic testing (underwater immersion), and other expensive forms of bodyfat composition testing are much more accurate methods and account for bone density and muscle mass, but can be expensive.
Enter the neck measure test, which claims to be a more accurate way to measure BMI. Maybe this test will not require me to be 7 feet tall or 185 lbs. to not be classified as “obese”. Here’s to hoping.
Congrats to Coach Babe Kwasniak and the VASJ Viking basketball team. Former Villa Angela- St. Joseph and West Point star Babe Kwasniak was named the Cleveland, OH prep’s new head basketball coach.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Coach Kwasniak and have experienced first hand his leadership skills and the tremendous enthusiasm he brings to work every day. The young men wearing Columbia blue and red on the hardwood are fortunate to have this talented young coach as their new leader.
Kyle has coached at the high school and university level in Texas and has worked with athletes of all ages for over 15 years. Kyle spent 5 years in Houston-area High Schools, and later was named Strength and Conditioning Coach at Texas State, heading up the Football, Baseball, and Women's Basketball programs.
