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By Phil Brozynski
Two matches, three ankle injuries. And that was just week one.
Four years ago, I wrote an article about the risk student-athletes run by participating in sports year-round. I spoke to Craig E. Broeder, Ph.D., director of the Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology program at Benedictine University and a trainer of world-class athletes.
Broeder said that athletes who participate in continuous long-term training inevitably break down, and the commitment made to sports such as volleyball may be putting some athletes at greater risk of injury.
“In exercise physiology and sports science literature, it’s very clear that numerous injuries related to sports are the consequence of improper training or overtraining,” Broeder said. “Athletes must follow a training program that allows for adequate rest.”
One week into the season, it’s apparent that few athletes are listening to either the experts or their bodies.
One coach I spoke to this week, looking down the bench and seeing her star hobbled indefinitely by a serious ankle injury, questioned the length of the club season. Another coach admitted that, after just two weeks of practice, her players were “tired.”
According to “Podiatry Today,” most volleyball injuries are related to blocking or spiking, both of which involve vertical jumps. The most common acute injuries in volleyball are ankle sprains.
The most common overuse injury is “jumper’s knee,” or patellar tendinitis. “Podiatry Today” recommends that the best way to decrease the risk of patellar tendinitis is to decrease jump training.
Athletes must learn to take time off from their sport or they will continue to risk spending an inordinate part of their high school seasons holding a clipboard.
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This would be great if someone would help regulate club season. Most of the top performers may have only the few weeks from end of Nationals to the start of school season. Volleyball has become a 12 month season.