Strength in Numbers #28
Are you part of a team that says they are collaborative but still work in siloes?
An easy way to tell is how data is communicated across people on staff. Is pitching data only reviewed by pitching coaches? Hitting data only evaluated by hitting coaches? Anything physical fall on the plate of the sports medicine staff and strength coaches?
If the data is not being shared across departments, if you are not knowledgeable about data in other departments, you are working in siloes. To break down barriers, look for technologies that get multiple stakeholders to the table, and even better, have them revolve around improving availability, such as our platform.
I am not in favor of siloes because I have come to realize that communication and collaboration are the recipes for success.
The extent of performance arising from these facets is far stronger than any technological advancement or piece of equipment. People need to gather around the athlete, making them the center of conversation and communicate about needs interchangeably.
For every mechanical change, there’s a tissue effect, a force effect, a range of motion effect, and a psychological effect. That means multiple people must be involved in the conversation to advance performance and maintain the athlete at the center while everyone works hard in their area of specialization to enhance his or her performance.
Many of the people who are using the ArmCare platform are managing a lot of athletes and work with other members of the coaching staff including multiple strength coaches and sports medicine officials.
The dynamometer and athlete management system generate discussion that enhances player development. For example, an athlete may have poor arm timing. The pitching coach may want to integrate drills to shorten the arm stroke but may not be informed that the throwing arm is weak and may expose the athlete to additional risk by teaching the athlete to do something that is unaccustomed when the muscles have reduced force production.
With strength and range of motion testing, the pitching coach can suggest what they think is needed, and now other members of the staff can explore what’s going on with arm function and start to build in a programming process to bolster strength and ensure there’s the right amount of elasticity for the athlete’s throwing arm to transition the arm path in making the desired mechanical change.
The connected group of people is all focused on one hinging metric – INNINGS PITCHED.
A process like this is focused on availability. If instead, the mechanical change was designed to improve performance and the athlete sustained an injury due to arm weakness because of it, ultimately the athlete would not see improvement for the mechanical change and shift the communication from player development to rehabilitation. This is a drastic turn of events that could be prevented through better communication.
Teamwork in Action
We recently had AJ VanValkenburgh, the Director of Sports Medicine at Stephen F. Austin, and Kaylee Shores, Assistant Athletic Trainer who covers the Division I Baseball Team on the More Than Velocity Podcast.
They have owned their process with ArmCare.com and created a solid foundation of communication with the entire coaching staff as those on-field are informed about how the athletes are functioning on a day-to-day basis and how they are responding to throwing workloads.
They have a strong checks and balances approach that supports each other in decision-making and work hard to advance both performance and availability.
They go into detail about how they integrate the ArmCare platform in the podcast below.
(If you watch it on Youtube, they even show how they built their own customized reports, which is fantastic.)
This is what our company is all about. We want to inspire those who are using the product to advance its reach and identify new ways of communicating with coaches, staff, and players to optimize programs.
If you are part of a team or have a business with multiple staff members and players, listen in to how they interact and how they manage their team.
If you are running an anti-siloed approach integrating the ArmCare platform and building off of our data platform, we want to hear from you and get you and your staff on our podcast.
Keep breaking down siloes!
Related Content
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How this Small College is Changing the Game Using ArmCare (More Than Velocity #21)
Stephen F. Austin is making huge gains with the ArmCare App.
