Last Week in Applied Sports Science, 11/9-11/15

Like many things, science is collaboration, and Applied Sports Science is no different. American sports science is likely to be unique from the way it is practiced in the rest of the world, mostly because athlete game schedules are so severe. The games are demanding in all of the major U.S. sports, and the schedules up the degree of difficulty even further. Athletes are implicit in their own suffering. They have collectively bargained these schedules in unionized sports. So in sports collaboration who is responsible for athletes’ well-being if they themselves cannot manage it? The answer: Who knows?

My real question: If a team takes an Applied Sports Science approach, does that mean it prioritizes and values the well-being of athletes? Put another way, do athlete performance, athlete well-being and winning all go together, or are they somehow mutually exclusive?

The San Antonio Spurs prioritize athlete well-being, and the team takes the essential step of holding out players when overworking them occurs. This is the same team that hired an expert in fatigue biomarkers of elite basketball players over the summer. If players cannot manage their own well-being while playing for a league that also fails to account for it then the only remaining collaborator that can step in is a team. The Spurs are on solid moral ground here.

That doesn’t really answer my question though. For that one team, the Spurs, winning and well-being seem to go hand in hand. Football not only has a severe schedule, the game is premised on taking beatings. The Philadelphia Eagles are the professional team doing the most (and probably the best) with sports science and that team was crushed by Green Bay today. Other teams hired sports scientists before this season (the 49ers and Seahawks) and have not see their records improve following the hires.

It seems like football players have trouble buying in to sports science. In the process of reaching the sports highest level they have become expert in their own bodies. Well-being is a rare consideration with so much punishment to absorb and so little time to recover. The Eagles turned to a former Navy SEALS trainer, Shaun Huls, and coach Chip Kelly has acknowledged that the military’s band of brothers culture is something he wants for his team. Buying in seems to be less of a problem is you do it for the team, not just for yourself.

I’m not sure the military-type team allegiance is 100% good for athletes’ well-being, but it might be if the process creates individual habits that improve player recovery and health. Athletes’ positive well-being should go with winning but there is not one path for players, teams and leagues to collaborate effectively and make it all happen.


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