Boston Sports Medicine and Performance Group, LLC Blog

That’s the way I was taught so it must be right, and that’s the way I’m going to continue to do it.

Who were the professors that taught these people?

The very best professors insist that their students challenge them.  Challenge what they are teaching them.
Challenge the books, articles and resources that they come across – always continue to search for the truth.  Go beyond the classroom in search of a better way. (I call it my own personal quest for the holy grail).

I remember being taught to do 15 chest compressions and 2 breaths when performing CPR and I’m sure you were too. But we changed that because we found there was a better way to do things. Then we found out that if we get an AED hooked up faster then that’s even better.

Hey, but that’s just the way I was taught.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

Instead of bringing in a consultant to evaluate your workplace, bring an alien in and have it ask you difficult questions.  The alien knows nothing of your job. Has no emotional attachment as to how the way “things have always been done.”  The alien wasn’t taught how to apply a certain rehab technique or strengthening exercise at your alma mater. The alien simply wants to know why.

The Consultant is inherently biased – they’ve done your job, worked your hours, and sat in your desk. And of course, will tell you how to do your job more like the way they did it when they were in your shoes.

I mean, they were the very best at their job at one time – just ask them.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

Whoever says, “well, that’s just not my philosophy” didn’t read the research.

When we attach emotion, or our personal feelings to a certain way we treat patients we end up losing what’s most important – the health of the patient. Because it’s no longer about, “what’s best for them.”  We already made it our own issue.

“I feel like…”

“I think that…”

“I was taught that…”

We need to get back to why we signed up to practice sports medicine in the first place.  We need to get back to patient centered care and what’s best for them.  That’s more difficult than it sounds, because what’s best for the patient sometimes isn’t what’s best for me.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

The old way to manage people is to instill fear in them.  Let them know that you hold all the cards.  That you sign their paycheck and ultimately can have their desk cleaned out.

"Fall in line or else!"

Wouldn't it be easier to instead instill motivation and vigor instead of fear? Let them know that you are there to help them solve problems, promote their work, help them make connections to other people and provide new skills for them to succeed?

I guess the end result is the same though.

In both scenarios their desks end up cleaned out.  The first scenario after you fire them, the second because you created an environment for growth and promotion and ultimately they leave to take a better job.

The only difference is a lot more work gets done in the second scenario. And of course, usually ends in a hug and a thank you.

Video's of this year's Hockey and Basketball presentations are now available for purchase by clicking here.

Both sport tracks are available for purchase and include 6 hours of Hockey specific information and over 7.5 hours of advanced Basketball training techniques that are sure to help you and your team this coming season.

Watch Matt Nichol's (former Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs) presentation entitled, "Energy System Training for Ice Hockey" from this conference by clicking here.

Whether you're in favor of it or not, the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution allows you the right to bear arms. That is unless you're visiting the Magic Kingdom. Apparently, Mickey Mouse doesn't think it's a good idea to bring hand guns into theme parks - pistols and peppermint patties just don't mix. 

So if Walt Disney can say no to this absolute silliness (believe it or not people are actually fighting Walt on this one) we can also say no to some of the silliness that goes on in our weight rooms as well.

I know, the Second amendment allows you to bear arms.  And I know a Strength and Conditioning degree allows you to program Bench Press every Monday, and allows you to put a bar on someone's back and load it up because you have to get those numbers. But just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Thanks for the lesson in common sense Walt.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men's Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

An alien visits your athletic training room during your fall pre-participation physicals where you are performing your standard evaluations consisting of height, weight, blood pressure and pulse.

"I see you measuring everyone's height?" The alien asks. "You must have a terrible shrinking problem that you want to keep track of and monitor closely?"

"Well no, we just measure their height, record it in their chart and it's never looked at again."

The alien scratches his tentacles inquisitively, "Well surely then you must be tracking closely their body weight and have a terrible case of weight gain here which you then correlate to health and performance parameters later on?"

"Um, not exactly, once in a while the football coach wants to know how much weight a kid gained, or we use it maybe once a year to track a sudden loss in weight for athletes with eating disorders, but other than that it's usually recorded and forgotten about."

The alien stands puzzled even further.  An awkward silence sets in until the alien proudly bursts out, "I see you taking blood pressure and pulse?" His pride obvious now, "surely this population you work with has a high rate of cardiovascular disease in which you must observe, monitor, treat and watch closely yes?"

"Well actually, the athletes we see are 18-22 years old and rarely suffer from cardiovascular disease although we do manage to find some outliers that escape their home physician and we are able to help them, but this number is very small."

"Tell me then, what evaluation is taking place on those tables across the room?" the alien asks, pointing at the row of treatment tables filled with athletes covered in ice bags.

"That's not an evaluation, that's treatment for injuries the athletes have sustained from running, jumping and throwing too much."

"Do those injuries happen often?" the alien asks.

"Yes, all the time! You should see the athletic training room in the afternoons," beamed the young athletic trainer. "Some days you can hardly get enough ice bags or e-stim machines available for everyone."

"And you say this happens all the time?"

"Yes, yes - every year! It basically takes up our entire day. Some days I have to stay a couple of hours late after work just to get enough ice and e-stim on everyone"

The alien obviously troubled asks, "So what evaluations do you do for those athletes prior to becoming injured? For the athletes with the ice bags on their backs, ankles and knees?"

"We don't do any evaluations for those things," the athletic trainer responds.

The alien reaches into his solar-pack, grabs his intra-planet communication device and radios back to base, "requesting immediate pick-up! No intelligent life here."

Now, I can poke fun and joke about this "processing of data" or should I say, lack thereof because I'm an athletic trainer and have caught myself doing this.  I'm not trying to minimize the importance of cardiovascular screening in the least. I do however think that we might be missing a golden opportunity to screen and address for other problems that take up the majority of our days along with the usual screening tools?

How many kids with high blood pressure do you refer and care for compared to the number of kids you evaluate and treat with anterior knee pain?  Did you wait until the kid's heart hurt to measure his blood pressure?  Then why wait until the kid's knee is swollen to evaluate his hip strength? ROM or ankle mobility?

Let's prove the alien wrong this fall.

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men's Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

A special thanks to Matt Nichol who presented at the Second Annual Boston Hockey Summit and Basketball Symposium who challenged each attendee to look at the way we currently do business with a fresh set of eyes.

This past June 4th I travelled to the Perform Better Seminar in Providence Rhode Island with the sole purpose of attending Al Vermeil's lecture and hands-on demonstration entitled Speed: The Ultimate Weapon.  Needless to say, Al's simplistic approach to speed development forced me to look at my own programming and forced me to rethink some of the approaches I have taken in the past. 

"If you can't get into first gear, you have no chance of getting into third gear" - Al Vermeil

It's as simple as that. Strength rules. If you can't put force into the ground, you'll never be able to move forward, or for that matter in any direction quickly.  Ray Eady from the University of Wisconsin has been preaching this simple, yet overlooked concept for years now.

You want to move quicker? Get Stronger!
You want to run faster? Get Stronger!
You want to jump higher? Get Stronger!
Now, strength doesn't have to come at the expense of other athletic qualities but you must develop this quality prior to doing anything else athletically, or like coach Vermeil stated, "before you jump into third gear."

Below are a few take home notes worth reviewing:
1. Don't progress your athlete to a next phase or exercise until they have mastered the previous. You wouldn't allow a kid out of first grade before they could read at a first grade level would you? (that actually happens a lot more than you think but that's for another talk).  Some athletes NEED to work at a skill for six weeks while others only need three weeks to master the same movement. Do not progress them until they are ready.
 
2. Starting norms for male and females.  If your athlete lacks the "burst" in their initial acceleration, strength deficits should be looked at as a possible contributor.
a. Males should be able to squat 150-200% their body weight
b. Females should be able to squat 140-180% of their body weight
c. ** remember you can't get to third gear if you can't get out of first gear. Strength and starting strength are absolute prerequisites before other, more advanced training modalities.

3. Jump progression as demonstrated by Coach Vermeil
a. Box jump from a static position
b. Box jump with countermovement
c. Light med-ball between 4-6 lbs held at chin or in shooting position into box jump
d. One step box jump
e. Standing long jump
f. jumping up stairs - athlete must be proficient at box jumps prior however
g. Medicine Ball (MB) Throws emphasizing triple extension of the hip, knee and ankle.
i. MB throws under chin for horizontal distance forward
ii. Underhand throws
iii. MB throw under chin for vertical distance
iv. ** remember: progression is key: we all have to graduate from grad school before joining cool kids in high school.

4. For BIGGER athletes, have them jump up hill to reduce landing forces and avoid injury.

5. Anyone can make someone sore and tired.  Proper planning is key and if you can improve someone's speed you've also automatically improved their power, strength, elasticity, relaxation, etc.

If you get a chance to listen to coach Vermeil speak in the future do so! No one has as much coaching experience (as well as coaching mistakes - as coach so easily admitted) than Coach Vermeil.

Did I mention he has a fist full of NBA championship as well?
 

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men's Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

I've heard from a number of people in the past that in ancient China, the model doctor was the one who was able to teach a healthy lifestyle in order to prevent diseases, disability, injury and illness. Doctors got paid when they were successful (in keeping their patrons healthy) - not when the patients fell ill (which was considered a sign of failure!)

I don't know if this is actually true or not, but the concept is right up my alley.

Imagine if you were only paid when your patients/athletes were healthy?

How would this change your yearly training plans? Rehabilitation protocols? Strength programs? Pre-participation screenings and exercise prescriptions?

Would you be forced to take on a night shift at McDonalds to pay the bills?

Art Horne is the Coordinator of Care and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Men's Basketball Team at Northeastern University, Boston MA.  He can be reached at a.horne@neu.edu.

This is a guest post written by Devan McConnell on our most recent conference in May:

I recently attended the 2nd Annual Boston Hockey Summit and Basketball Symposium at Northeastern University. The information was incredible, and it was only outmatched by the impressive turnout of top notch professionals. And I’m not just talking about the speakers. Everywhere you looked there were NHL, NBA, and big time college coaches, plus lots of smart people from the private sector, progressive ATC’s, PT’s, sport coaches and even professors. Art Horne and Dan Boothby from Northeastern put on a truly impressive conference.

For most of two days, there were 2 speakers at a time all day long…one on the basketball side, and one on the hockey side. I can honestly say there was not a single presenter I would have skipped had I had the choice. That being said, I was obviously only able to see half of the presentations, and these are some of the main points I took away.

1. Matt Nichol “Not an anti-cardio guy, just a pro results guy!”
2. Over time training “train for a 90 second shift by riding a bike for 45 minutes….well then how should a tri-athlete train?”
3. Creating championship programs is all about getting your kids to compete- Amanda Kimbell
4. Team vs. Team competitions at colleges get kids to work hard without knowing it
5. There are 3 types of dysfunction…Physiological, Biomechanical, Neuromuscular. You have to know which one you are dealing with.- Bill Hartman
6. Pay attention to the foot, and pay attention to posture. If these are messed up, then good luck.
7. Recovery is still not understood well, but seems to be more or less common sense…Rest, get good Nutrition, reduce Inflammation, increase Comfort.- Bill Sands
8. The better the athlete and the higher the level of competition, the more important recovery and regeneration are…so if you’ve got good athletes, you better be taking care of this.
9. PLAN!!! If you don’t have a long term plan written out, it’s easy to overlook the amount of volume and intensity, and lack of recovery
10. Great quote- “Injury prevention is like the Weather Man” - Alan DeGennaro
11. If you have an influence over recruiting or drafting, stay away from previously injured athletes.
12. High/Low model of training based off of the work and knowledge of Charlie Francis…”Max effort is max effort. Lower body one day and upper body the next is still human body max effort.”
13. Along those same lines, “The body is an organism. It responds in whole”
14. Ideal yearly planning in the NHL means you have a short off-season due to the little problem of winning the Cup.
15. Post game lifts, with practice day core work is the model used by Sean Skahan with the Ducks.
16. In this Olympic year, the focus was on recovery vs. strength….seeing a pattern?
17. In season in the NHL is about getting done what you can…Olympic lifts after games because that’s the only time to get it done.
18. Keith D’Amieio has an interesting way of looking at sprint times….
    Height + Weight / Sprint time = Sprint index
19. Single leg Hop and stop test measures Single leg Power, Force absorption, and asymmetries all at the same time.
20. Mike Boyle’s “Death of Squatting” was not a knee jerk reaction…the guy has literally looked at over 1,000,000 squats in his career.
21. The argument that you should squat BECAUSE the low back is the weak link is completely missing the point….WE SQUAT TO TRAIN THE LEGS…DO SOMETHING ELSE FOR THE BACK.
22. Less spinal load, more leg work. Enough said.
23. Deadlifts may actually be a better exercise for people w/ Low Back Pain because the spinal forces are completely different from those in the squat.
24. The DL is ANTI FLEXION.
25. The RFE may not be a good in season lift for hockey players, in much the same way slideboard is not a great choice in season due to the stress already incurred on the ice.

These are just a fraction of what I took away from all the presenters this past weekend. The only thing I was disappointed with was that I was not able to hear everyone speak. Whether they were on the basketball or hockey side, there was so much great information being thrown around, you couldn’t help but get better!

Devan McConnell is the Sports Performance Coach for Women’s Basketball and Men’s and Women’s Volleyball at Stanford University. He can be reached at DevanM@Stanford.edu