fi eld or court requires an in-depth understanding of motor learning. Often misunderstood, misinterpreted or conceptu- ally twisted for marketing purposes, the steps for acquiring, storing and utilizing the cognitive and neural indices of mo- tor skill execution transcend much of the physical training performed in the strength and conditioning setting. To be profi cient and adept in the differences and nuances of each area, course work in motor learning and the trademarks of true skill specifi city is a mandate. • Coaching And Sports Psychology: The millennium
athletes and the culture that nurtures them are, to say the least, different than they were 20 years ago. The adage that “coaches coach and players play” is still in effect, but not all of the old school mentalities for the day-in, day- out approach are still effective. Studying the “neck-up” components involved with being a productive, impacting and successful coach of today’s athlete is as important for the strength and conditioning coach as it is for any other sports coach.
Strength and conditioning coaches must be the tip of the spear in addressing preventative measures for the concussion cri- sis. The statistics vary depending upon the source, but some con- servative estimates on key sports concussion variables include the following:1
• 1.6 to 3.8 million concussions
are incurred in sports each year. • 5 to 10 percent of the athletes in any given sport experience a concus- sion during the course of a season. • Fewer than 10 percent of sports-
related concussions involve loss of consciousness.
• Football is the most common sport with a concussion risk for males (approximately 75 percent chance).
These coaches spend more time with the athletes on
a year-round basis than anyone else in the athletic pro- gram. The opportunities for mentorship and personal development are abundant. Strength and conditioning coaches should take these opportunities to heart and strive to make a daily, positive impact on the young peo- ple entrusted to them. • First Aid—Injury Prevention And Care: Having a
solid underpinning of knowledge in fi rst-aid procedures and being certifi ed in CPR and automated external defi - brillator (AED) use is mandatory for strength and condi- tioning coaches. The situations and settings for the activi- ties undertaken in this fi eld always carry some unintended risks, thus making education and continual updating in this area indispensible. • Electives: There is always room on your academic
plate for electives, and my recommendation for just a few of the courses that can prove to be invaluable over time continued on page 14
TIP FROM THE TRENCHES
Strengthening the neck is one of the most effective ways to decrease the risk of concussions.
12 May/June 2013
• Soccer is the most common sport with a concussion risk for females (ap- proximately 50 percent chance). For several decades, strength and conditioning coaches have targeted the neck musculature in training to provide as much protection for the cervical spine as possible. There is a burgeoning amount of scientifi c evi- dence today indicating that stronger neck musculature can play a role in reducing the likelihood of sustaining a concussion. To highlight this, a recent pilot study led by Dawn Comstock, an as- sociate professor of epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health, found that overall neck strength was a signifi cant predictor of the odds for incurring a concussion. Comstock’s study, High School Sport’s Related Injury: Recent Trends And Research Findings, presented this year at the National Youth Sports Safety Summit, indicated that for every one pound of increase in neck strength, the odds for concussion fell by 5 percent. Ac- cording to Comstock, “We focus so much on how to properly diagnose concussions, and that is certainly important. Preventing concussions would be a much better outcome, and the data shows that neck strengthening has strong potential as
a key concussion prevention tool.” This pilot study, which is a smaller
scale, preliminary study conducted to ascertain the feasible variables involved for a full-scale research proj- ect, will most likely result in future, comprehensive studies in the area of neck strength and concussions. In the meantime, it is the ex-
pressed duty of coaches to place a premium on strengthening the mus- culature of the head and neck.
References
1. Sports Concussion Institute,
http://www.concussionstreatment.com
Check out Mannie's article, "Don't Neglect The Neck," which appeared in a previous edition of Coach And Atheltic Director. To contact Ken Mannie about this topic or anything else you’ve read in Powerline, send him an email at
mannie@ath.msu.edu.
Neck Strengthening Demo
Learn new neck strengthening exercises that help protect your players from catastrophic injuries.
coachad.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58