The state-of-the-art Saint Barnabas Athlete Training Center was created to help athletes of all ages improve their game with advanced training and conditioning. |
 Located at the Saint Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center, the Center’s certified strength and conditioning specialists, exercise physiologists and athletic trainers provide players from pre-high school through professional status with a solid foundation for accomplishing individual goals. Whether the sport of choice is golf, tennis, wrestling, football, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, track and field or any other competitive game, the Center staff works to help athletes reach and exceed personal goals.
One area of particular interest for any athlete is injury prevention. The Center, which places special emphasis on the high school athlete, offers the following information for parents, coaches and young players.
Focus on Injury Prevention
A boy is driven to soccer practice. All day he has sat in class, then sat some more on the drive to the field. After the players arrive, the team begins a full-fledged practice without any warm-up activities. An hour later, the boy feels a sharp pain in his leg muscle. He suffers a hamstring injury and is sidelined for the following game.
According to sports medicine studies, the majority of sports injuries occur during practice rather than in the heat of a game. As more and more young people participate in organized sports — an estimated 28 million American children ages 6 to 16 — parents may be searching for ways to help prevent sport-related injuries in their children.
Staff members at the Athlete Training Center work to improve the performance of young athletes while reducing the potential for injury. The focus on injury prevention includes an emphasis on warm-ups, staying hydrated and conditioning the strength of the body.
Pre and Post Practice Warm-Ups
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, up to one-half of the injuries that are sustained in organized sports are preventable. The preparation phase before any strenuous exercise should be comprehensive.
“Warm ups before and after a practice make muscles more elastic, flexible and less prone to injury,” says John Gallucci, Jr., Sports Medicine Specialist at the Athlete Training Center. “The worst thing an athlete can do is to take a relaxed muscle and overexert it. This can result in knee and ankle sprains, common injuries in youth sports. Players should perform a warm-up of the entire body, including the cardiovascular system and all the muscles.”
Mr. Gallucci brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the subject. He is an athletic trainer for the NY/NJ MetroStars soccer team; head athletic trainer for the NJ Pride outdoor lacrosse team and the NJ Storm indoor wrestling coach for Msgr. Farrell High School wrestling team; and a member of the Major League Soccer (MLS) All-Star Staff and National Lacrosse League (NLL) All-Star Staff.
Under Mr. Gallucci’s leadership, athletes who attend sessions at the Athlete Training Center are given warm-up plans that include the
following:
- An exercise, such as jogging, to raise the heart rate.
- A series of light stretches, such asleg squats or jumping jacks, to be held for 10 second holds.
- Stretches to be held for 15-20 seconds that are performed AFTER
a practice.
 The Importance of Staying Hydrated
In the past few years, several deaths of young athletes have been reported as a result of dehydration on the practice field. This is especially an issue for players participating in warm weather.
Mr. Gallucci, a consultant for 15 New Jersey athletic camps, recommends to coaches that players drink plenty of water before competition. Often, Mr. Gallucci notes, a player will experience cramping and not realize that this is one of the ways that the body signals dehydration.
Strength Training vs. Weight Lifting
Strength training is a conditioning technique that focuses on the repetitive exertion of muscle force against resisting objects. Unlike weight lifting, which emphasizes the lifting of a maximum amount of weight, strength training focuses on overall conditioning for maximum functionality in the sport of choice.
Too often, says Mr. Gallucci, a young person will head to the gym hoping to “become stronger,” and receive little guidance on how to properly increase strength. Damage to growth plates can occur from overemphasis on weight lifting, Instead, Mr. Gallucci recommends that young athletes focus on strength, conditioning, speed and agility drills in a year-round effort to enhance their performance.
Know Who is Coaching Your Child
In the old days, it was common for coaches to train their athletes by having them run to the point of exhaustion or nausea, or both. Today, coaches are expected to train young athletes with an updated knowledge of appropriate conditioning and an understanding of the developmental needs of children.
Mr. Gallucci says that parents should feel comfortable speaking with the director of an athletic program to learn more about the credentials of those coaching.
“You want your child to be instructed by someone who understands the development of a child, not just someone who has played the sport,” he recommends. “Youth sports are about the game but also about the psychology of a child and the social issues that can emerge. Children often drop out of organized sports after they experience negative comments from a coach or other players.” l |
Some questions for parents to ask:
- Has the coach participated in any coaching clinics or any other training related to working with children? (The Saint Barnabas Health Care System offers Rediscovering Youth Sportsmanship 1-888-724-7123, a statewide initiative that provides training and guides for coaches and parents.)
- Is the coach or assistant certified in C.P.R. and first aid? What happens if a player is injured?
- How are disciplinary issues handled?
- Does the coach place a greater emphasis on positive or negative reinforcement for his or her players?
- For directors of athletic camps: Is the camp certified by the Board of Health? Is there a certified athletic trainer on staff? What is the ratio of coaches or trainers to students?
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