Transcription:
The Proper Way to Prepare and Train for High School Sports

Bill Klaproth(Host): It’s an exciting step for a young athlete going from junior high to high school sports but learning the proper way to prepare and train for high school sports is very important for success. And here to tell us more is Kyle Coates, a certified athletic trainer in high school sports, specializing in injury management at Schneck Medical Center. Kyle, thank you so much for being on with us today. So, what do we need to know first about preparing for high school sports?

Kyle Coats (Guest): Thanks for having me. First for preparing for high school athletics, like you said, going from middle school to high school sports is a big transition for a lot of kids. The speed of the game, the strength of the opponents that they’re playing and just the overall skill changes at the high school level. So, obviously, nutrition plays a part of that. Strengthening helps with injury prevention and preparing them for the next level, as well as other things like flexibility, balance training, and then, obviously, the skill of whatever sport they’re involved in.

Bill: So, you mentioned nutrition, strengthening, and flexibility. Let’s spend a minute on nutrition. What’s your advice for nutrition?

Kyle: Really, we see it with high school kids, a lot of kids want to go on the supplement route, which my thinking is more of, eating a well-balanced diet. A lot of these kids are involved in athletics right after school, so not only is getting a good well-balanced breakfast every morning is kind of the key. A lot of kids will skip breakfast and then a late lunch and then that really has to carry them through practice. A lot of the kids, we want them to bring a snack right after school so they have fuel for that practice or even a game afterwards. But, a lot of protein, your carbohydrates. Depending on what sport, you may need a more complex carbohydrate for like cross-country runners, track runners, things like that, more endurance sports. But, a lot of protein for those kids involved with football, basketball, and those kids of sports where it’s more of the quick twitch muscle fibers.

Bill: Skipping breakfast, you mentioned. That is not advised, correct?

Kyle: Correct. Yes. Some kids think, I wake up and I don’t feel like eating, so they’ll just kind of skip that meal or they’ll get in a hurry. What they don’t realize is getting that breakfast in them early in the morning will actually get their metabolism going throughout the day which helps carry them throughout the day so they don’t get tired in the early afternoon or before lunch. So, yes, the most important thing they can do is eat breakfast.

Bill: So, don’t skip breakfast, number one. Eat a well-balanced, nutritional meal plan. Then, you mentioned proteins, too, right? So, those are very important to pay attention to. What kind of proteins? What’s the best way for student athletes to get protein?

Kyle: The red meats. Peanut butter is a great way. Even if they can get some peanut butter crackers before practice or a peanut butter sandwich, something like that, to get that protein in them. Also, chicken and things like that. We try with a lot of teams to get our team meals, some kind of healthy protein before so they’re not just trying to go get a fast food, something real quick before they play. A lot of planning goes into it but as well-balanced as they can get.

Bill: And what about hydration? Can you speak to the importance of that, too?

Kyle: Yes, absolutely. Hydration is one of the most important things for athletes, especially, we’re in the fall right now so it varies from area to area, but in the Midwest here there’s a lot of humidity. So, they lose a lot of electrolytes. They’re sweating throughout practice so a lot of the high school kids, we tell them to stop at every water fountain they see in between classes; if they’re able to, carry a jug of water around with them; and then, definitely throughout practice, we try to provide as many water breaks as possible. In the past, we’ve tried to get a water break every 10-15 minutes but with a lot of our coaches we just allow water breaks constantly throughout practice and have water available so that they can drink it at any point throughout the competition or practice.

Bill: And, what are proper tips for strengthening?

Kyle: For strengthening, nowadays a lot of schools offer some kind of weights and conditioning classes or they call it “sports performance”. Really, strengthening is your biggest asset for you to prevent injury. The stronger you are, the more flexible you are, the less likely that muscle’s going to be injured or ligament or tendon. We want to be sport-specific. Obviously, a football player may not lift exactly like a cross-country runner or a swimmer or something like that. We want to train the muscles so that they can move well as well. So, I talked about flexibility. We want to be strong. We want to be fast and move well because if you lose any one of those steps…If you’re strong and don’t move well, it doesn’t translate to the athletic field, court, or whatever sport they’re playing.

Bill: How should a student athlete go about finding out the proper strengthening exercises for their particular sport?

Kyle: A lot of the coaches are trained in strength and conditioning. They’re certified on a national level. The national academy of sports medicine provides a lot of training on that. You want to lift properly as well. You can lift, but if you’re doing it improperly, you can be injured. So, anytime that you can be coached in the proper way or learn the correct techniques and form, especially for these younger athletes as they’re coming in to high school, really the first step is learning to lift the proper way with good technique before they get into really building mass or building muscle, we want them to lift the correct way.

Bill: How about flexibility and stretching? What are your tips for those?

Kyle: Flexibility and stretching, really, we start every kind of competition or practice with some kind of dynamic warm-up which means we’re getting the body prepared, warmed up, before we stretch a muscle. It’s really difficult to stretch a muscle that’s cold and not warmed up. Years ago, people would say you need to stretch before you do anything. Really, you want to do some kind of dynamic warm-up such as jogging, marching, skipping, shuffling, get your body really warmed up and then you can move into these more static stretches where you’re doing the stretch and hold type techniques. The more flexibility we can get out of those muscles, like I said, prevents the injury. And then, always after when you end any kind of practice or competition, a good cool-down followed by some good static stretching as well.

Bill: Kyle, many sports, you have to try out to make the team. Do you have any tips for a student athlete working at home, preparing, and getting ready for a try-out?

Kyle: Yes, sure. So, we talked about some of the things like nutrition and strengthening. I’d say being prepared for the sport as far as, what are the rigors going to be? If it’s a more endurance-based sport like soccer or cross-country and things like that, make sure you’re prepared and that you can meet the demands of that sport so that you can run. If it’s cross-country, if you’re able to run at least three or four miles, train up to that point, as well as for soccer. Make sure your fitness is there. For sports like football, obviously foot-work is important as well as that strengthening. So you really have to tailor it to whatever sport you’re going into. Obviously, the skills of that sport, so if it’s basketball, you want to be prepared to do those kinds of drills with ball-handling, shooting, and the other types of activities.

Bill: So, that’s really good advice. Make sure that you know what it takes to be a success in that sport. And, what is the best way to avoid injury?

Kyle: To avoid injury, obviously, we talked about strengthening and flexibility. Going into those sports, make sure your body’s ready. So, if I’m going into soccer or something like that, I want to make sure I’m as flexible as I can be, I’m as strong as I can be going into that. If I have any kind of injury or issue I’ve dealt with in the past, make sure I’m rehabbing that properly so I’m prepared. As far as padding, make sure for football that you have all the correct equipment that you may need. Footwear is important. Make sure you have the proper footwear. If you’re a cross-country runner and you’re wearing an old pair of shoes, obviously, that’s going to break down your body and can cause potential injury. So, those kinds of little things that people may not think about really go a long way in preventing injury.

Bill: And, do you have a few tips on how a student athlete can balance schoolwork, social life, and an athletic schedule?

Kyle: Yes. That’s definitely one of the most difficult things for high school kids, especially kids involved in multiple sports year round. They’re in some kind of practice or maybe on a travel AAU type team. Really, for those kids, academics come first and most coaches will tell you. So, it’s really time management, making sure that after practice when they get home that they’re working on their homework right away. On the weekends when they don’t have games or days when they might get out of practice early, making sure they work on that schoolwork. But, at the same time, they have to take a break from athletics at some point. So, when they have some of that free time, have a social life. Have friends and family around them that support them. That’s important as well for their mental health. It’s not just constantly being around the sport that they’re in.

Bill: Kyle, great information. Thank you so much for your time today. And, why should someone choose Schneck Medical Center for their athletic needs?

Kyle: Schneck Medical Center provides various resources to athletes and it gives us a kind of continuum of care. From athletic trainers that are there on the field at competitions and games with the athletes, to orthopedists that specialize in sports medicine and can see the athlete, as well as physical therapists that can give them rehabilitation during injuries and after surgeries and can get them back to sports. Those three resources communicate throughout that whole process to really give the athlete the best opportunity to get back to sports safely and quickly.

Bill: Kyle, thanks again so much for your time. We appreciate it. For more information visit schneckmed.org. That’s schenckmed.org. This is Schneck Radio. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.