Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Sat, Apr 28, 2012 @ 07:37 AM
by Steve Scalzi
During the lockout summer of 2011, Nike's marketing department sported a "basketball never stops" campaign. Nike capitalized on Kobe, Durant, LeBron, D. Wade et al. barnstorming the country playing in the Goodman League, Melo League and at famed Rucker Park. They reminded fans that, despite the uncertainty of the season, the lockout couldn't possibly hold down the purity of the game and the willingness of the game's greatest to simply pick up and play.
This year, after Kentucky clinched the 2011-2012 National Championship, many basketball purists rolled their eyes to the notion that Coach Calipari, king of the "one and done," system was now a champion. Nike might want to answer to the purists and reprise their "basketball never stops" campaign to: "basketball will go on."
The NBA has their well-established and unbending age limit, and, as David Stern noted this week, it won't be changing anytime soon. With the system set up as is, essentially forcing even the most talented and physically gifted (see: Anthony Davis) through the college ranks, John Calipari has done a masterful job of annually attracting talent to Lexington and melding it together to compete for a national title. Now that he's finally won a championship, all the naysayers and traditionalists who said it couldn't be done must be mute. Is it good for the game? Good for the kids? Has Calipari created an academy churning out professional drones over well-rounded, educated college graduates? The debate of whether Calipari embodies what is flawed about modern-day college basketball can be left for another day.
Basketball will go on. It is our job as coaches, strength coaches, and athletic trainers to shape the next move.
To the readers and minds of BSMPG I have two questions that I hope to be a spring board for ideas, dialogue, and debate.
If you are, have ever been, or strive to be, at the high major level of college basketball, how would the “one and done” system impact the way in which you train your athletes?
Compare these two scenarios: you've been entrusted with Anthony Davis. An absolute monster of raw talent and potential. He's more than capable at the college level to change the entire tenor of a game with his defensive prowess. With added weight and improved agility, he may soon be amongst the best in professional basketball at protecting the rim and finishing around the basket. Knowing what we know now, that there was truth in the hype, as he swept national player of the year awards, would your focus be more on Davis’ physical development or simply keeping him healthy enough to compete? How drastically, if at all, would this change your training? Is your responsibility to your current institution only? To ensure he stays fresh and ready to give your school a chance to win a national championship?
Or is it your responsibility to get the player ready for an 82 game grind of the NBA? The calling card of the “ringless” Coach Cal was, while he had yet won the big one, he did right by the player and gave them the best chance at preparing them for the professional game. This extended his brand and combined with Kentucky’s winning tradition to create some incredible recruiting advantages.
How would this scenario compare to that of Harrison Barnes at University of North Carolina? Barnes came into his freshmen year perhaps more physically ready to compete at the professional level than Davis. Is this a prime example of a player you would take a relatively hands-off approach with? Ensure he’s healthy so that he can perform out on the court and further physical development is pushed to the backburner? From what meets the eye, Barnes appeared to come to campus with a body that was NBA-ready.
Unfortunately for Barnes, his career has shown glimpses of greatness, but is viewed by some as underwhelming compared to the hype. What if you were keeping him healthy, not taxing him physically, but then he is back on campus for his sophomore season? Did you do him a disservice? How would this change your training approach?
What about at the mid-major level? When “one and done’s” dominate the media, how do you tell a student-athlete that this career track is unrealistic and virtually impossible?
The supposed “LeBronification” of America has led to high school players loving the drama surrounding their college decision, the increased influence of advising voices, and an unrealistic approach to the college assimilation process. Many coaches refer to “de-recruiting” a player when they arrive on campus. After spending months chasing a player and begging for their services, they finally step foot in the gym where coaches often break them down before once again building them up.
Lost in the recruiting hoopla are simple facts: for a prospective student-athlete to choose their highest offer, it doesn’t mean they’ve arrived, it ensures increased competition at their position. And, for a prospective student-athlete who received high major interest to choose a mid-major school, he’s not choosing a lesser level and will thus dominate. The challenges of acclimating to the college game will exist nonetheless and become apparent in practice and in the opening weeks of competition. For coaches, athletic trainers, and strength coaches alike, what role should we play in educating them on the draft process? Players may need to be de-recruited and educated about the virtual impossibility of a “one and done” scenario. What is most glorified on television is not their likely career track.
At Northeastern University, JJ Barea arrived on campus and was immediately named to the America East all-rookie team. He finished out as a four time all-conference team member, was a CAA player of the year, and was a two-time finalist for the Bob Cousy Award (given annually to the nation’s best point guard). After graduation, Barea dominated the Portsmouth Invitational pre-draft camp and set a tournament record with 41 assists in 3 games. After his body of work, draft day came and went without him being selected. Don’t worry, things turned out alright in the end.
One thing is for certain, it’s called the NBA lottery for a reason. Having your name called by the commissioner is akin to winning the lottery. Your odds may be about the same even after an impressive career. It is our responsibility to educate our athletes about the challenges, the work involved, and to remind them, a “one and done” career is nearly unattainable and nowhere close to the norm.
Yes, the champions of college basketball are a collection of “one and done” talent. The notion of a senior-led cast waiting their turn before reaching national prominence does not rule the day. Traditionalists may balk, but basketball will go on. Us coaches and trainers get to shape the direction it’s headed, despite the perception that the trend of the nation’s elite is the vast majority.
Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Sat, Apr 14, 2012 @ 05:45 AM
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www.francescocuzzolin.com
Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Tue, Mar 20, 2012 @ 06:13 AM
by Alan Stein
“I always visualized my success. The process of seeing success before it happened put me in a positive frame of mind and prepared me to play the game.”
- Michael Jordan
“Being in the zone means a higher state of concentration. When you let your mind wander, you make mistakes. When you start thinking about bad things that have happened, or good things that could happen, your focus isn’t where it should be – on this play, right here, right now.”
- Joe Montana
Here is some wisdom from my friend and colleague, Graham Betchart (performance coach who specializes in mental skills training). For more on Graham, check out www.GBPerformanceCoaching.com.
Mindset of a Champion:
- Believe in yourself – love your talent
- Challenge limiting beliefs – unlock your true potential
- Motivate yourself from within – set personal goals
- Think like a champion – consistent mind equals consistent performance
- Visualize success – see it, feel it, believe it, be it
- Mentally prepare for competition – create a consistent pre-game routine
- Approach each game the same – consistency leads to success
- Welcome pressure – embrace all challenges and obstacles as opportunities
- Play to play great – not to avoid mistakes
- Focus on the moment at hand – stay ‘present’ when you compete
- Trust your abilities – play without worry
- Compete – every moment and every play
- Control what you can – let everything else go
- Keep it simple – focus on the next play
- Attitude, effort, and focus are in your control – discipline yourself
- Learn from loss – wisdom often lies in defeat
- Write your own story – how do you want to be remembered
- Commit to the mental game – work on your mental skills every day
- Love hard work – learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable
Commit yourself to living these ‘sound bytes’ and you will take a huge step forward in maximizing your potential on the court.
Remember to Save the Date for the BSMPG 2012 Summer Seminar - May 19-20th in Boston MA.
Registration is open but seats are limited!
Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Mon, Mar 19, 2012 @ 07:05 AM
by Adam Naylor
Dr. K. Anders Ericsson has been the leading researcher on practice and mastery of skills in all domains of performance. Many people have heard his theory that it takes 10 years and 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert at anything. It’s clear that time is a critical factor in skill development; however, time is only one aspect of the theory. What defines practice as “deliberate” is possibly even more important than the time aspect, since the 10 year / 10,000 hour clock doesn’t really start ticking without it! There seem to be three important factors that dictate the quality of one’s practice time that coaches and athletes should strive to work toward. These factors might seem obvious, but there are not many athletes who train this way 100% of the time to maximize time and energy during practice sessions.
1) Practice a task that is challenging. If the task is too easy to achieve, very little learning occurs because success is nearly automatic and eventually boredom sets in. If the task is too difficult to achieve, very little learning occurs because the individual is struggling so much that frustration typically leads to lack of effort. The designers of video games are masters at creating this first element of quality practice. They understand that if a game is too easy and the levels do not progress beyond one’s current ability, the player will get bored and quit playing the game. They also know that if they start a player at the hardest level right at the beginning without allowing them to slowly build skills and stretch their ability, the player will become extremely frustrated and quit because the challenge is too hard. In order to achieve element #1 of quality practice, practice drills and experiences should be challenging, without becoming overwhelming.
2) Have an objective for every repetition. In golf, many players go out with a bucket of balls to the driving range and “just hit” or bring some balls to the putting green and “roll some putts”. While at the range, each ball should be directed at doing something specific (i.e., trying to hit a high draw at a target or working to feel the sensation in a specific part of your body while learning a new swing technique). While on the putting green setting up a specific drill or task to achieve will improve the quality of practice. While working on technique, training aids can assist the quality of practice, as long as the training aid is used with a specific purpose. This ensures that there is total attention and engagement in the activity. Since the mind runs the body, this is a critical element of learning and trains the body to feel the motion, rather than just making strokes with no real plan or purpose. This message clearly transfers to any sport or skill.
3) Look for feedback from every repetition. Just to keep the golf example rolling – every shot hit at practice tells a story. If this information is ignored because of lack of attention, an emotional reaction, or any other distraction the learning curve is not advancing as quickly as it would from total engagement in the activity. Feedback allows for the recognition of patterns, immediate error correction from poorly executed shots, and positive reinforcement from well executed ones – all critical factors for effective learning and mastery of skills.
If an athlete follows these three principles of quality practice during sessions the individual is doing everything possible to reach their potential. Add 10 years and 10,000 hours to the equation and expert performance is likely to follow!
Remember to Save the Date for the BSMPG 2012 Summer Seminar - May 19-20th in Boston MA.
Registration is open but seats are limited!
Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Sat, Mar 10, 2012 @ 09:05 AM
Check out three of John Berardi's previous nutrition articles here:
Remember to Save the Date for the BSMPG 2012 Summer Seminar - May 19-20th in Boston MA.
Registration is open but seats are limited!
Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Sun, Feb 19, 2012 @ 04:49 PM
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Complete details are now available for the 2012 BSMPG Summer Seminar and this year looks better than ever! In addition to another world-class speaker list, BSMPG and our sponsors are offering a ridiculous number of prizes.
Prizes: Attendees are automatically registered to win prizes from a number of our sponsors including: Freelap Timing Systems, Zeo Sleep Manager and Perform Better.
Other Raffle Prizes include: Barefoot in Boston by Art Horne and Human Locomotion by Thomas Michaud
Attendees who register before April 15th will be placed in a raffle to win a Free Registration pass to the 2013 BSMPG Summer Seminar!
Click HERE for registration and complete details.
Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Sat, Feb 04, 2012 @ 09:10 AM
Social Interactions May Influence Inflammation
Research has consistently demonstrated that psychosocial factors can influence inflammation in the body (e.g., stressful events may increase inflammation). Unfortunately, it’s still unclear what kind of events may be related to inflammation; especially when we consider multiple exposures. Therefore, Chiang et al evaluated if daily social interactions among 122 healthy young adults to determine if these interactions relate to systematic concentrations of proinflammatory mediators (measured via oral collection) at rest and after acute stress.
.... keep reading this article by clicking HERE.
Effects of Limb Immobilization On The Brain
In sports medicine a large variety of injuries require a period of immobilization that reduce or eliminate external load to protect healing structures. However, there are several consequences resulting from longer periods of immobilization including increased joint stiffness, muscle atrophy, and decreased motor control or coordination. These consequences may limit the amount of time a joint is immobilized and they also dictate our goals in rehabilitation after immobilization. However, one area of the body that has not been well examined for adaptations due to joint immobilization is the brain.
..... keep reading this article by clicking HERE.
Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Sat, Jan 21, 2012 @ 08:45 AM
BSMPG is proud to announce the addition of Koichi Sato, Rehabilitation Coordinator/Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Washington Wizards to the BSMPG Everything Basketball Advisory Board.
See the experts in Basketball specific training this May 19/20th in Boston MA at the BSMPG Annual Summer Seminar! Basketball Specific Speakers include Shawn Windle from the Indiana Pacers, Andrea Hudy from the University of Kansas, Logan Schwartz from the University of Texas and many more!!
KOICHI SATO
Washington Wizards
Koichi Sato is in his fourth season as Rehabilitation Coordinator/Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Washington Wizards.
Prior to joining Wizards, Sato worked as athletic trainer/performance specialist for Levi Jones of Cincinnati Bengals in 2007-08. Sato was athletic trainer/performance specialist at Athletes’ Performance in Los Angeles from 2006-07. From 1997 to 2006, Sato provided medical cares to Sun Devil athletes at Arizona State University for nine years as a graduate assistant then assistant athletic trainer. His primary coverage were cross country, football, track & field, wrestling, women’s gymnastics and spent last four seasons with Sun Devil men’s basketball program. Sato worked for Chicago White Sox organization as a head athletic trainer for Bristol White Sox in the summer of 1999 and for Chicago Bears as an intern athletic trainer in the summer of 2002. Sato also were medical support staff for Olympic medalist such as Dwight Phillips (Long Jump World Champions and Olympic gold medalist in Athens) and Tim Harden (60m World Champion and 4x100m relay Olympic silver medalist in Atlanta).
Born in Koriyama, Japan, Sato graduated from Tokyo International University in 1993 with a B.A. in International Study/Russia & Eastern European Studies. He then graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 1997 with a B.S. in Physical Education/Athletic Training and graduated Arizona State University with a M.S. in Exercise Science/Biomechanics.
Sato is active speaking in sports medicine conferences and workshops both in Japan and the U.S. Sato has spoken in various topics while his primary interest is in movement based systematic approach to management of athletic injuries. Sato also was a faculty associate at Kinesiology Department at Arizona State University and taught advanced athletic training courses.
Sato is member of National Athletic Trainers’ Association, Japan Athletic Trainers’ Organization (JATO) and National Academy of Sports Medicine. Sato received President’s Challenge Award by JATO in 2007.
Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Sun, Jan 08, 2012 @ 05:39 PM
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Remember to Save the Date for the BSMPG 2012 Summer Seminar - May 19-20th in Boston MA.
A limited number of seats still remain for our DNS "A" course. Sign up now before the last seat is gone!
Posted by Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group on Sat, Jan 07, 2012 @ 09:46 AM
Click HERE to take a tour of the Missouri Basketball Weight Room.