After a week’s hiatus for some rest and recuperation, coinciding with a trip to Europe, we return with our regular update from the Prepared Athlete Training and Health project. Following recent events, a post on the theme of injury management and return to performance seemed apt. It is also always helpful to articulate what role and functions I fulfill in this space. As a sports medicine physician I met up with this week remarked, ‘it must be a confusing for some people, as you are not a (medical) doctor or a physio’. Indeed my wife also asked this week what I call what I do in this space, as she was having a hard time explaining it to a friend of hers. So in this week’s offering I will attempt to clarify those questions as we outline the process and rationale for working with injured athletes and preparing them to return to performing.
Weekly Reflections: Building Relationships and Collaboration
The response to last week’s first instalment has been positive, so that seemed to merit sharing another update. As I rode in the rain on my way back from coaching this morning I pondered what I should share this week, in between marvelling at how many drivers in Vancouver apparently have no grasp of how roundabouts work. The chosen theme this week is relationships and collaboration.
Prologue: The What and the Why...
As we embark on this fledgling venture, it seems a good time to articulate the ‘why’ behind Prepared Athlete Training & Health, and equally importantly the ‘what’. Why have we chosen this path (pun intended), and why now? We will also share the purpose of this initiative, and elucidate practically what it is we aim offer to the different types of clientele we are seeking to serve. Finally, whilst the Origin Story outlines the journey that has taken us to this point, given this is an endeavour for humans by humans, this post also aims to capture some of that story from a more personal perspective.
The parallels between coaching and parenting are striking and both of these elements naturally come together with youth sports. The concept of free-range kids popularised by author (and parent) Lenore Skenazy thus readily applies to how we coach young athletes (as well as sport parenting). In each case, free play and participating in unsupervised games are essential parts of how children and young athletes develop. Engaging in play is central to how we learn to navigate the world and engage with others. Voluntarily participating in games with others (without intervention from the grown ups) teaches kids how to conduct themselves and develops the capability to interact with peers in a competitive context and a cooperative manner. A less structured environment where the kids themselves decide the playing area and the rules of the game affords the opportunity to apply what they have learned, explore different tactics and engage in trial and error. As such, free play and unsupervised games are particularly rich in opportunities to acquire and adapt sport skills and develop game sense. Given the myriad benefits and the essential role that these opportunities play in developing adept athletes and capable humans, it seems baffling that they are systematically being eliminated with today’s youth. So here we will make the case for applying the free-range perspective to rethink youth sports participation and talent development in a way that fosters engagement and creates self-reliant athletes.