Sports Science and Athletics
We have seen a huge growth industry in sports science in Australia. Recently an article by Ralph Doubell (1:44.40/15-Oct-68/Mexico Olympic Gold Medallist) spoke about the fact his record still stands even though there is this industry in OZ. I dont think there would have been more than a handful of people then working in sports science in Australia.
Can sports science help track and field? Certainly in AFL it provides a lot of useful information with heat prevention strategies and tools to measure game demands and training loads for example. These measuring tools are often invaluable to justify training interventions with coaches for example. On the other hand some aspects of sports science sometimes often only creates work and data for researchers.
I find physiological testing in the lab to be very useful for example. Simply doing this lets one link fitness tests and performance trends to the athlete profiles and positional needs. Add to this genetic profiling and one can have a pervasive argument available to a coach to play someone at full forward or as a midfielder.
I have databased every player on an AFL list using ultra sound for TA control. Very important despite the hoo ha on this stuff. The explosion in information on rehabilitation has been critical to my work .
So back to athletics? Steffenson has to go overseas to improve. Ron Clarkes name is still in the books. Charlene Rendina (Aust National 800m record holder 1:59.0 on 28-Feb-76) was one athlete I watched train at Preston year in and year out and saw her methods. My brother in law trains many champion throwers at Ringwood and in fairness to Gus Puopolo he would not pass Exercise Physiology at University today. My best man at my wedding Ken Lorroway jumped 17 46 30 years ago!
How can the famed sports science industry help OZ track? Can it? Of course in cycling and rowing and swimming things are easily measured and then fed back to training. A number of obstacles exist I believe. I have heard criticisms from both sides about this. Coaches saying Institute conditioning programs are not relevant, soft and too focused on core and not strength and power and that staff at ground level are not good enough. Institute people saying that athletics people simply don’t access them enough and have closed minds. Both arguments have merit. But maybe it is the systems that dont allow sports science to filter through.
Added to this is a problem with Little Athletics where kids do Aths so early when I believe they should play football and basketball for instance. Multilateral development.Average age of sprinters is almost 26! It takes so long from little aths to produce champions. Another argument for another day but senior numbers are down? Why?. Probably the lure of money in other sports. Little Aths is good for health and fitness but track and field ?
I believe that Athletics is a sport that requires coaches who have enormous knowledge and experience but at the end of the day simply a track and some weights. The key is to get highly qualified and highly experienced coaches at ground level out there in the suburbs. And more importantly pay them! These people need to be hardcore athletics people who ideally have sports science backgrounds and UNI qualified if possible. But first they must live the sport. World Champions can be produced anywhere in athletics. But is the expertise and are the professional coaching structures out there?
The world has changed as it always does and married professional people cant go the track and coach for nothing anymore from 4 to 8pm. Work hours have exploded. One goes to clubs and their rooms are often locked. True business like structures don’t exist because there is no money! At the end of the day Franz Stampfl made a living out of athletics and he certainly produced a few!
The biggest mistake I made was leaving Preston to go to the AIS in 1981 on Day 1 of the Institute. I had gone to Europe and studied my sport inside out with all the gurus, had a video camera then and created a venue at Preston and was on the way. Went to Canberra and simply it was far too early in its history. What I needed was video technology and biomechanics and sports medicine back up and moreso a coach willing to watch every throw but not a new venue.
It is a tough call but I think we have some great venues in Melbourne stacked with non paid well meaning coaches. If these venues had qualified paid coaches who had to clock in and out and be accountable ( and were qualified) with back up provided then kids I believe would come through. The kids dont need money. That is a fallacy. Parents will pay if this is available.
Thus the Sports Science explosion could filter through to the practical and varied environments that exist. It is very sad that highly paid strength and conditioning gurus abound in OZ but many wouldn’t have a clue how to program elite athletes in their conditioning programme and are not the solution for track and field. So yes sports science can help Athletics but it is a unique sport and requires unique solutions.
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loris bertolacci 
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