Education: Trends in Athletic Training

Newer trends in athletic training revolve around advancements in science and the ethics of the business. No longer are the days where it is acceptable for a coach to yell at their team to make them better. New methods of athletic training are allowing coaches to build on the work of scientists and other coaches to create more competitive teams and better overall athletes.

Evidence-Based Practice

Coaches learning from science and other coaches experience is called evidence-based practice. As parents demand that coaches do better for their children and fans continue to cheer for their favorite teams; coaches are looking to up their game by looking to other professionals in the industry.

The best evidence-based practices are most commonly found by reading peer-reviewed industry journals, as well as reading about the experiences other coaches have. Taking advantage of professional strength and workout equipment dealers can be of service as well.

Companies that offer consulting services can get your training program up to par by exposing you to new uses of equipment you already have, or helping you to choose appropriate new equipment. If you are already in the process of looking for additional equipment, plan to extract the knowledge your sales representative will have on new training trends for athletes.

Specialized Training

Specialized training means that coaches need to focus on each individual being coached. Each athlete needs to be guided to perform corrective and preventative exercises that fit them, their position on the team, and any injuries they may have endured.

Specialized training can be associated with building the strengths of each warrior on your Final Fantasy squad. This is also applied to athletes in solo sports like running or swimming. These exercises are meant to enhance a players strengths and to help them overcome anything that may be getting in the way of further developing those strengths.

Injury Management

Coaches are more proactive about injuries. More and more coaches are instructing athletes to get massages, do yoga, see chiropractors, or engage in physical therapy. This is a big change from sending children home and telling them to “ice it; we’ll see when we can get you back on the field.”

Having coaches more engaged in the injury healing process generally ensures that children will get the best care, and have the best season they can. Evidence has shown, that doing so is better than leaving it to the parents.

Active Concussion treatment

This one falls under injury management, but deserves a category to its own. Concussions, especially in school children are being taken much more seriously. Coaches, pediatricians, and parents are becoming aware that a full protocol really needs to be followed when it comes to handling concussion injuries. Concussions can be dangerous for anyone, especially children with developing brains.

There are many online protocols for cases where a child has sustained a concussion injury. The most important piece to injury management is understanding where you may be lacking knowledge and looking to reputable resources to fill those gaps.

Conclusion

The major developing trends in athletic training are to use evidence-based practices, specialized training, and to learn injury management techniques. Networking with other coaches is a great way to learn how better follow these trends. Look for meetup groups in your area, or talk with other coaches online.

A professional equipment retailer can help you to set up your gym to emulate some of the best training gyms around the world. You may not even need new equipment, just realize a new way to use it. Contact Opti-Fit today for a free consultation about the gym you are using to train your athletes. The more knowledgeable we are about new trends, the more competitive and healthy our teams and kids will be.