Having survived another week navigating the roads and Vancouver drivers’ idiosyncratic interpretation of traffic laws to successfully remain on two wheels, we are back with a further instalment on the Prepared ATH project.
The past week was a bit of a transition week on the coaching front, so I decided to use this week’s offering to outline for readers the first step in the process when I start to work with a new client. The initial assessment is the universal starting point for all clients, regardless of the stream (Develop | Prepare | Return).
THIS IS NOT A TEST…
The term assessment is a bit misleading. The purpose of the exercise is for me to get a picture of what hardware we are dealing with, and then to get a look at how the athlete moves in something close to their natural habitat. On that basis, we generally begin in the clinic for the musculoskeletal part of the evaluation, prior to moving out onto the track, turf, or court, as appropriate the sport. Over the summer on occasion we were able to do both parts outside with the aid of my trusty portable table, but I fear that will have to be packed up for the winter.
A central part of the musculoskeletal evaluation simply involves getting a look at the individual’s posture in standing. Aside from getting an insight on their habitual posture, simply observing the body in standing allows me to see how things stack up and hang together.
HARDWARE AND STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY…
Every body is built differently, and over time soft tissues and even bony structures adapt in response to both activity and injury. For instance, from your hips to your head you are essentially a self-supporting structure comprised of rods and guide wires (akin to tensegrity structures in architecture). Aside from your skeletal anatomy, the tensioning of the respective guide wires that support the bony components determines the shape of the overall structure. With exposure to different loading conditions and movements, the component parts of the structure that take the strain respond by altering their tension accordingly. This in turn affects how everything aligns in three dimensions, as well as how the whole structure responds under external loads.
Part of the initial information gathering is to capture injury history (and any current issues), so there is a forensic part to the process. Together with their sporting history, we can cross reference this information with any alterations in shape and alignment that we see, and also observe if there are any movement compensations that are apparent which might be secondary to a pre-existing injury.
Beyond simply observing how the body hangs together, the musculoskeletal portion of the assessment also involves evaluating function at the major joints, including ranges of motion. This allows us to determine any areas of restriction or altered function. Once again, pre-existing injuries will tend to be a factor, so we keep that information in mind during this clinical assessments.
MOVING ON TO THE ACTIVE PART…
Following a couple of preliminary movement assessments performed in the clinic, we move the show onto the track, turf, or court to continue the dynamic portion of the evaluation.
Having established how the athlete is put together, the dynamic assessment serves to examine how they bounce, and to evaluate motor patterns. Aside from coordination between limbs, these activities allow us to examine the coordination and coupling between each respective link of the kinetic chain, from bottom (i.e. the supporting foot) to top (the head). Practically this involves variations of marching and running gait drills, as well as low amplitude plyometric and jump activities.
The activities we employ for these purposes also encompass movements in different directions. Clearly this makes sense for sports that involve movement in different planes and axes. However, even for ‘linear’ sports such as track or distance running, lateral and backwards variations also provide additional information on dynamic stability, function at respective parts of the kinetic chain, and coordination patterns.
FEEDBACK AND FOLLOW-UP…
My objective at the culmination of the assessment on the day is to provide some initial feedback and practical recommendations that the prospective client is able to take away and implement straight away. Following the assessment I then provide a more comprehensive summary of findings, with interpretation and suggestions for practical steps moving forwards.
At this stage the individual remains a prospective client. I make it explicit throughout the process that there is no obligation whatsoever beyond the initial assessment. To that end, I endeavour to ensure the experience, feedback, and follow up provides the individual with sufficient value as a standalone offering. The process also allows the athlete to meet me and to make a determination on whether it might be a good fit on a personal level, which is an important consideration.
In the event that the athlete does choose to pursue further follow up and instigate regular coaching provision we then have a follow up discussion to establish what that might look like, and how we might best integrate those sessions with their other training and commitments beyond sport.
A BRIEF COACHING UPDATE…
For those readers who are seeking an update on Mackenzie, I can report that she departed this week to return to Calgary and the national squad, where she will most likely remain for the winter months and the duration of the bobsled season.
Sadly, Mackenzie did not get the results she was looking for last weekend. I could not fault her execution on the day, and it is a difficult fact of athlete life that sometimes you don’t get the outcome that your efforts might seem to merit.
Upon arriving at the testing venue I was surprised to find that what had been described as an indoor track was in fact simply a sports hall floor with some lines painted on it. As a newcomer to BC, I remain naïve in my expectations. It turns out that there is in fact no indoor track facility in the whole of metro Vancouver. Indeed in the whole of British Columbia, Canada’s third largest province covering a vast area approaching 100-thousand square kilometres, to my knowledge there is just the one multi-purpose indoor track in Kamloops (some four and a half hours’ drive away).
We invested a lot in Mackenzie’s mental preparation in the build up, and particularly given the circumstances Mackenzie performed well on the day. After the sprint I was proud of how she responded to the disappointment and backed up with a strong showing in the tests that followed. Unsurprisingly the surface impacted the 30m sprint in particular, and whilst her numbers were respectable and certainly superior to her peers who tested on the day, it was nevertheless short of what she needed for selection to the World Cup squad. And so for now Mackenzie returns to Calgary as a national development squad athlete, albeit she remains the youngest and one of the brightest prospects in the bunch.
I wish Mackenzie every success this season; as an athlete she is a pleasure to work with, and she is also one of my favourite humans. I will be watching her progress with a great deal of interest and look forward welcoming Mackenzie back when she returns in the spring.
Until next week…
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Readers who are local to Vancouver can also enquire to find out more about the coaching provision on offer, and how to arrange an initial assessment via the ‘Enquire’ link at the top of the page, or email us direct at PreparedATH@gmail.com.
