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Bridge Athletic: Post 1

5/18/2022

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​Training in sport, as defined by German sport scientist Dietrich Harre, is “the physical, technical, intellectual, psychological and moral preparation of an athlete by means of physical exercises, i.e., by applying workloads.” (Harre, 1982).  Managing these workloads, or training stressors is of principal importance to the sport preparatory coach or scientist for effectively designing, implementing, and/or monitoring a training program (Haff, 2010).  In the sporting context, this is primarily done through the systematic manipulation of volume and intensity across the yearly training plan. Practitioners may then retroactively analyze how the current training stressors correspond with the previously performed loads or loads that were planned.  Whichever method one chooses to quantify the training load, it is objectively important to the performance coach and sport scientist to accurately track this data to optimize athlete preparedness.  However, the importance of quantifying an athlete’s workload extends beyond just the optimal implementation of training.  Accurately recording and reporting the training load is equally important for researchers within the field of sport science (Haff, 2010). Such research is continuously published by the Exercise and Sport Science Laboratory here at ETSU, an internationally recognized leader in the field.  Graduate students working in this lab have the unique experience of conducting extremely ecologically valid research on high-level athletes while simultaneously undertaking the preparatory training for these athletes.
Serving as the strength coach, sport scientist, and researcher, graduate students within our program are responsible for designing, delivering, and monitoring the training of our athletes under the supervision of the lab director and director of the Center of Excellence for Sport Science and Coach Education (CESSCE) Dr. Michael Stone and Meg Stone, respectively.  Additionally, these students are tasked with using this data to conduct transformational research in the field of sport science.  Using the knowledge gained from our studies, my peers and I are expected to take a research-based approach to design training for our athletes.  However, like most performance coaches, this is where the fulfilling work of designing training ends and the tedious work of visualizing and monitoring these training programs begins.  In the past, concerning designing and monitoring training, this has been done using software such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.  Most within this field are extremely familiar with these programs and would agree that the flexibility they offer in designing, delivering, and monitoring training is most excellent.  Unfortunately, most would also likely agree that this process can be extremely time-consuming, tedious, and often a substandard approach to visualizing large datasets associated with athlete monitoring and research.  Once these training programs are executed, we are then tasked with inspecting and recording all training loads and intensities for monitoring and research purposes.   While extremely important to the work that we do, again, this is an extremely time-consuming and tedious process.  Fortunately, due to our new partnership with BridgeAthletic, this will no longer be the case. 
BridgeAthletic (BA) offers cutting-edge strength and conditioning software geared towards the most effective and efficient planning, delivery, and tracking of training programs with seamless integration of data into our research repository.  Their platform makes for systematic collection of data on external training load, internal training load, performance testing, subjective wellness, etc. more efficient than ever.  Furthermore, due to their easily accessible mobile application, BridgeTracker, our graduate students can effortlessly plan and prescribe training to their athletes.  The first step towards integrating BA into our was learning the ins and outs of the software.  Senior Customer Success Manager at BridgeAthletic, Megan Watson, saw to this by conducting a detailed onboarding demonstration with select graduate students that was later disseminated to all our coaches.  Our scientific approach to training meant we needed to ensure the software would work for what we do, and this session was extremely valuable in navigating the way toward actualizing that.  Since then, we have set up automated data transfer from their platform to our data management system, smartabase.  BA quickly set up the API between the two platforms in the background allowing for hands-free delivery of data to our research repository for future research and data visualization.  Additionally, we began the process of acquiring tablets for the weight room so coaches can easily deliver and monitor training on the floor by taking full advantage of BA’s mobile application for coaches and athletes.  Finally, while BA is preprogrammed with thousands of training templates and exercises, we needed to begin creating an exercise library specific to ETSU.  This is extremely relevant to our research-based approach to training as it ensures our coaches are all speaking the same language and allows for improved continuity when conducting research within our field.
There is much to come from our implementation of BridgeAthletic.  As it stands, BA will become fully integrated by all our coaches come Fall of 2022.  Stay tuned for updates on how we're using BA to improve our performance coaching and sport science research.  For more information on the partnership opportunities and possible research conducted by our laboratory using BridgeAthletic please contact me at nelsonda1@etsu.edu. 
 
Andrew Nelson, MS, CSCS
ETSU Olympic Sports Performance Coach and Weight Room Supervisor
Doctoral Student, Sport Physiology and Performance
East Tennessee State University
 
 
Haff, Guy. (2010). Quantifying Workloads in Resistance Training: A Brief Review. Prof. Strength and Cond.. 10. 31-40.
Harre, D. (1982). Principles of sports training: Introduction to the theory and methods of training.
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Weightlifting Talent Identification Project

10/19/2018

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Picture
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These data were collected from the 2018 Youth National Championships in Michigan and permission for sharing results was granted by USAW. The file below contains data from countermovement jumps (CMJ) performed on a jump mat. 

Study Description: The CMJ testing was conducted with a jump mat (Probotics Inc., Huntsville, AL USA). Each weightlifter provided two trials with maximum effort while holding a PVC pipe on the back of the shoulders. Countermovement jump heights (CMJH) from the two trials were then averaged as a performance score for each weightlifter.

*Addendum: 8/12/2019*

ICC (two-way mixed with absolute agreement for single measurement) = 0.983
Standard error of measurement = 1.36cm
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How My College Football Experience Helped Prepare Me to Be a Coach

4/5/2017

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by Alex Wetmore, CSCS

Learning to coach is a difficult process with many twists and turns along the way. It’s hard to gain the knowledge and skill necessary to be a great coach and the most difficult piece of the puzzle is gaining the trust of your team. There is no set right and wrong way to gain their trust and every team is different. However, my experiences as a student-athlete have helped me to build that relationship and grow as a coach.

Being a college athlete is something that not everyone gets to experience. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to play college football and to experience a great level of success. During my time as a student-athlete I earned a spot as a three-year starter and competed in 3 football national championships during my four years. Because of my experiences as a student-athlete, I was driven to learn how I could help other athletes reach their full potential as my coaches did for me. I wanted to learn from the best coaches in the country so I could someday become a great coach myself, and that is exactly what ETSU offers its students.

On the outside, being a student-athlete may seem simple: you play a sport and get your school paid for. Great deal, right? Yes, it is an amazing opportunity but there is so much more to it than just playing games. Student-athletes undergo countless hours of training, conditioning sessions, travel time to and from games, and must dedicate time to the training room just to stay healthy. On top of all the time required for their sport, student-athletes are still expected to excel in the classroom just as any other student in order to graduate. The stresses that student athletes go through on a daily basis are hard to understand unless you’ve been in their shoes.

I know what it feels like to go through two-a-days in the summer heat. I know what it feels like to wake up before sunrise to go train. I know how it feels to have a coach on you all practice and then have to pull it together to go hit the books. When my athletes come into training and seem sluggish, I can talk to them and understand what they are going through. Because they know that I’ve been through it too, they trust that I mean it when I tell them I care and will do my best to help them through it.

However, there is more to it than just the tough times. As a former athlete, I know what it takes to form a championship team. I know the culture that must be formed to reach the goals set forth by the team, and I can see when an athlete steps up as a leader. It’s my job to encourage an environment that allows my athletes to grow together as a team and inspire that championship attitude. But, teams aren’t homogenous. Teams are made up of individuals from many different areas and cultures and must learn to function as one unit. My own team in college had players from 10 miles out of campus and some from 2,000 miles away. I had to take the time to get to know my teammates – how they think, what motivates them, what their goals are etc.- before we could be a team. As a coach, I do the same. My current team has players from across the united states and multiple countries. They don’t all respond to the same coaching cues, praises, or even like the same music in the weight room. Learning to understand each of them has helped me to build the trust necessary to get the most out of my athletes.

ETSU has allowed me to blend these experiences together with knowledge base to keep my athletes on the field and performing at their best. Not only have I had the opportunity to learn in the classroom from the best in the world, but I also get to use what I’ve learned every day with my team.  Our program is unique because from day one on campus, students are working hands-on with their teams and growing as coaches and sport scientists, not simply downloading information as students. Specifically, my time at ETSU has given me the tools to think critically and make evidence based-decisions concerning training theory, load management, recovery-adaptation, and athlete monitoring, to name a few. These tools allow me to build upon my understanding of the student-athlete experience to point my team in a direction that leads to success. This includes designing effective annual plans, implementing testing sessions in the lab, leading strength and conditioning sessions, planning on-field practice loads and durations, and leading recovery sessions. Lastly, combining my experiences as an athlete with what I’ve learned at ETSU has allowed me to help athletes and coaches understand why they should trust the process, which may be the most important link in the chain.

Coach Meg Stone frequently talks about the tough transition from athlete to coach as you must learn to shift the focus from helping yourself to helping others. You must understand that it is no longer about you, but about what you can do for the team. However, I’ve always felt that it was never really about me. Just like my teammates knew I’d do anything to help the team succeed, my athletes know that I still put all of myself into the team as a coach. That’s what builds trust – showing your team that you will work as hard for them as they will work for you. I’m just beginning my growth as a coach, but I’m sure I will continue to rely on my experiences as an athlete to guide me along the way. 

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Internship Report: Oakland Raiders

10/28/2015

 
By Mike McCullough BS, USAW-1, ACSM-CPT

​​This past summer I experienced a taste of my dream job working in the NFL as a temporary employee in the strength and conditioning department for the Oakland Raiders. I had several roles for the staff and the team, as the Raiders strength and conditioning staff are fully committed to facilitating a high performance environment. My roles were emphasized and deemphasized according to the changing training periods. We were in organized team activities in the early summer, which was the height of off-season training. I started off with the typical intern duties; setting up the weight room for lifting sessions and cleaning after, but quickly picked up on the expectations for all of our responsibilities. Early I was in charge of the performance nutrition program, making sure every player had access to our performance snacks at optimal nutrient timing windows.

As soon as I learned the names of all 90 players, I progressed to getting real NFL coaching experience in the weight room. I helped improve their technique in weightlifting derivatives, warm-ups, and movement sessions, and explained their importance whenever possible. The middle of the summer was somewhat slower. During this time I had several small research projects that looked into the potential effectiveness of different training and monitoring devices.

Towards the end of the internship we were in training camp, where the intensity of the whole organization picked up as the season drew closer. I balanced the responsibilities I had been gaining over the internship, while adding new ones. I started to run several of the team’s athlete monitoring programs, including GPS tracking, body composition trends, and hydration status. Running a GPS system for 90 men during 2-a-day practices, 5-6 days a week, with 2 lifting days on top proved to be an exciting challenge. It was all worth it, because as a team we built a database combining all of our training load data and physiological markers into one file that will allow the Raiders to track trends, and get a better idea how each player’s stress affects their ability to perform. The staff can track and analyze this data in a clear and timely manner, so they can share it with the football coaches and change how the team conducts practices and training to truly maximize effectiveness.

I felt very prepared to excel in the internship thanks to what I had learned in only two short semesters at ETSU. I understood that we needed to promote an atmosphere that allows every player every chance of being the most successful. Whether it was lifting instruction, or education on proper sleep and nutrition habits, we were there to do anything possible to help the athlete reach their peak. What I learned most was how to apply my skills among a group of outspoken, big, and strong, grown men. I learned to sell how our training and monitoring, and how it would help each individual perform their best on the field. My tactics varied with each individual, but it was a fun challenge building relationships with the team and trying to individualize my communication to be most effective with each of them.

​When I graduate, I want to work in a very similar setting with a highly competitive college or professional football team. Working with such a large group in my favorite sport, with all the pressure as well as all the support, was an amazing experience and really brought the best out of me. 

Internship Report: EVERT Tennis Academy

10/21/2015

 
By Mark Swartz, BS, CSCS

I completed my 
internship at the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, FL this past summer. I assisted in leading dynamic warm-ups and fitness sessions. The full-time tennis students trained in the weightroom, including plyometric exercises, lower/upper body lifts during the time when the camp students completed basic strength and movement training on court. I learned not only how to structure workouts to include mobility and injury prevention exercises, but also how to train younger students that are pre-pubescent. For those athletes, we did basic movement patterns to improve mobility and range of motion to set them up in proper hitting positions, and prepare them for loading when they are older. Overall it was a wonderful experience and I look forward to applying what I learned to my work back at ETSU
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​Center of Excellence for Sport Science and Coach Education 2022
  • Home
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