A More Physical Camp Can Lead to Success |
I don't typically like to divulge a lot of personal information (which is why my name isn't really attached to anything that I do on the internet), but in this case I felt it was appropriate to share something about myself. Most of you know, if you've followed my writing for a while, that I am a Physical Education teacher, but I am also a certified personal trainer. I have trained numerous athletes in the past. Football players, baseball players, swimmers, golfers, basketball players, lacrosse player...you essentially name the sport and I have trained the athlete. Everything from rehab assignments to strengthening. The one thing that no one came in and requested in regards to their training, but got for free without questioning was one thing: INJURY PREVENTION. An athlete that doesn't train hard, and doesn't have themselves in peak physical condition is leaving themselves susceptible to injury.
The title of this article was chosen for a reason. You have read several articles this season about how some key players for the Steelers (Woodley, Dwyer, Redman, Roethlisberger, and others) have shown up to camp in the best shape of their careers. The fact that NONE of these players are rookies who didn't understand the level of competition that accompanies the NFL is a sign that Mike Tomlin has failed. As the head coach, he is in charge of over seeing the conditioning program, approving the regiment the players will be going through, and keeping tabs on his "boys" in the offseason. Watching the Steelers last year you could see players walking around a lot heavier than they typically have been, and the training camps haven't been as intense as they were when Tomlin took over the team and, as he said it, "wore his team down to a stump."
This year it seems to be a lot different in Latrobe. Longer practices by 30 minutes, more 11 on 11, and more contact in practice. This is a two fold positive in terms of conditioning. The players are going to be more acclimated to the contact and will suffer less of the "wear and tear" injuries that can hamper a player all season, and it will also have them in "game ready" shape by Week 1 of the NFL season. Will conditioning keep a player from planting his foot and tearing his ACL? No. Will conditioning help if a player collapses on his knee causing the ankle to break? No, but what conditioning will do is prevent the ailing hamstring injury, the twisted ankle, the shoulder injury, and other small yet nagging injuries that dwell throughout the entire season.
To see Tomlin holding a camp such as this is a positive sign for all of SteelerNation. The "no nonsense" practices is something that this team needs. No longer can they rest on the Super Bowl victories of years past. No, this team needs to forge its own identity, and Tomlin is succeeding at that to this point. When practice is all you can do to prove your self worth and getting your team prepared...Tomlin gets an A+ in my book. Time will tell if the Steelers will be successful this season, but Tomlin at least has them on the right track as they head into the preseason.
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