Death to Google Ads! Texans Talk Tip Jar! 🍺😎👍
Thanks for your support!

Exactly how beneficial will "Sport Science" be to the Texans?

Mangler

Mangler

Toro de España
I've been reading quite a few articles about the Texans claiming Sport Science to be "new and emerging," but what I don't hear is how much it can benefit a football player. Obviously, it does nothing for skills.

Does Sport Science make football players faster and stronger? Does it significantly increase hit/tackling power, stamina, endurance and contact resistance? Are the benefits different for each player? Also, Is there concrete evidence of Sport Science's direct impact on an athlete's improved performance?

I guess I'd really like to read some testimonies, or see examples of teams that have used Sports Science, that can vouch for the claims of it being of any real benefit for athletes.
 
I guess I have to tell you the truth, that I just don't know. But anything that makes the game safer for the players without taking anything significant away from the nature of the game is a step in the right direction.
 
Mangler said:
I've been reading quite a few articles about the Texans claiming Sport Science to be "new and emerging," but what I don't hear is how much it can benefit a football player. Obviously, it does nothing for skills.

Does Sport Science make football players faster and stronger? Does it significantly increase hit/tackling power, stamina, endurance and contact resistance? Are the benefits different for each player? Also, Is there concrete evidence of Sport Science's direct impact on an athlete's improved performance?

I guess I'd really like to read some testimonies, or see examples of teams that have used Sports Science, that can vouch for the claims of it being of any real benefit for athletes.
Click to expand...

I think it is like at work they time you and score you then others doing the same to see if you do well . This way the McNairs know if they have talent that will win . Hate that by the way !:pinned:
 
pappy said:
I think it is like at work they time you and score you then others doing the same to see if you do well . This way the McNairs know if they have talent that will win . Hate that by the way !:pinned:
Click to expand...
Wow, I sure hope that's not what they're wasting all that money on! If you need to hire someone else to see if the players your "scouts" selected are any good, why in the hell do you have those scouts on the payroll? Shouldn't the coaches establish that sort of thing? I would think that setting the quotas for each player to meet is the coaches' responsibility.

(Sorry if the wording is off, I'm out drinking at the moment.)
 
I've been a sports performance coach for almost 20 years, and I've used the Omegawave system for 3 years. It's an awesome training tool that allows you to customize the training plan for each individual athlete based on how ready their body is for training that day. It looks at heart rate variability and dc potential (low level brain activity) to give the training staff an idea of how the athlete's nervous system is functioning. On days where the athlete is good to go- you can hit the workout with 100% effort and intensity. On days where there is residual fatigue from previous workouts, the volume and intensity can be adjusted to prevent pushing the athlete too hard or you can adjust what you do that day to prevent injury. For example, if the nervous system shows residual fatigue from previous workouts, the ability of the nervous system to properly control the muscular system during high speed activities would be impaired - i.e. rapidly turning the muscles on and off as needed in a sprint. Performing high work loads of sprinting or cutting activities in this state would not produce a positive training effect, and it could also increase the chance of injury. This is a concept that is being called fluid periodization, and in recent studies it has produced vastly superior results to the old school approach of "just blindly following the plan"

He did a pretty good job describing some of the other technology, looking at speed, distances run, power outputs, effort levels etc... These type of measurements are important to help determine how much quality work the athlete can produce and to help reduce the "junk volume" that occurs when you don't monitor output. For example, if an athlete is performing a power clean in the weight room to train explosiveness, the weight should be moved at a certain speed to produce the desired training effect - if the speed of movement slows then the exercise becomes less effective. If the workout plan calls for 5 sets of 3 reps, but the athletes movement speed drops below a certain speed then you would skip the 5th set as it wouldn't produce the desired training effect. By measuring speed and power outputs in a practice setting, and by monitoring the athletes state of readiness on a daily basis, the coaching staff can determine how much work the team can tolerate on a weekly basis. Work loads can be customized to prevent pushing the team into a state of over-reaching- where performance starts to decline and the chance of injury starts to increase.

Based on the information in first video, I can tell you without a doubt that the Texans will have a better physical training system than in years past. The energy system stuff he talked about was spot on. It's hugely important to train the correct energy systems for peak performance as well as injury prevention. In football, injuries are going to happen due to the violent nature of the game. By monitoring the athletes readiness to train, and developing the athlete's physical abilities and capacities in the proper manner, it's much easier to increase performance and prevent the non-contact, soft tissue type injuries that frequently occur during the season
 
otisbean said:
I've been a sports performance coach for almost 20 years, and I've used the Omegawave system for 3 years. It's an awesome training tool that allows you to customize the training plan for each individual athlete based on how ready their body is for training that day. It looks at heart rate variability and dc potential (low level brain activity) to give the training staff an idea of how the athlete's nervous system is functioning. On days where the athlete is good to go- you can hit the workout with 100% effort and intensity. On days where there is residual fatigue from previous workouts, the volume and intensity can be adjusted to prevent pushing the athlete too hard or you can adjust what you do that day to prevent injury. For example, if the nervous system shows residual fatigue from previous workouts, the ability of the nervous system to properly control the muscular system during high speed activities would be impaired - i.e. rapidly turning the muscles on and off as needed in a sprint. Performing high work loads of sprinting or cutting activities in this state would not produce a positive training effect, and it could also increase the chance of injury. This is a concept that is being called fluid periodization, and in recent studies it has produced vastly superior results to the old school approach of "just blindly following the plan"

He did a pretty good job describing some of the other technology, looking at speed, distances run, power outputs, effort levels etc... These type of measurements are important to help determine how much quality work the athlete can produce and to help reduce the "junk volume" that occurs when you don't monitor output. For example, if an athlete is performing a power clean in the weight room to train explosiveness, the weight should be moved at a certain speed to produce the desired training effect - if the speed of movement slows then the exercise becomes less effective. If the workout plan calls for 5 sets of 3 reps, but the athletes movement speed drops below a certain speed then you would skip the 5th set as it wouldn't produce the desired training effect. By measuring speed and power outputs in a practice setting, and by monitoring the athletes state of readiness on a daily basis, the coaching staff can determine how much work the team can tolerate on a weekly basis. Work loads can be customized to prevent pushing the team into a state of over-reaching- where performance starts to decline and the chance of injury starts to increase.

Based on the information in first video, I can tell you without a doubt that the Texans will have a better physical training system than in years past. The energy system stuff he talked about was spot on. It's hugely important to train the correct energy systems for peak performance as well as injury prevention. In football, injuries are going to happen due to the violent nature of the game. By monitoring the athletes readiness to train, and developing the athlete's physical abilities and capacities in the proper manner, it's much easier to increase performance and prevent the non-contact, soft tissue type injuries that frequently occur during the season
Click to expand...

Otisbean,

Are there any well-controlled studies that the you know of that demonstrate any of these "systems' " level of effectiveness?
 
Otis, I just want to know if this will keep Clowney healthy and on the field for a season! Good post by the way. :thumbup
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Otisbean,

Are there any well-controlled studies that the you know of that demonstrate any of these "systems' " level of effectiveness?
Click to expand...
I haven't searched pubmed to look up the actual studies but here's a post from Henk Kraaijenhof (considered to be one of the top sprint coaches in the world) that discusses a couple of them. The omegawave system is really starting to gain popularity in the US. I expect you'll see studies Featuring it in the very near future. I know the us Olympic training center in Chula Vista uses it and it's used with some of the special forces as well

http://helpingthebesttogetbetter.com/?p=1124

You might also enjoy Viktor Seluyanov's talk at the CVASP convention. He's a Russian sports scientist and the source of a lot of excellent information on the biological basis of sports training. You'd have to buy the talk but it is excellent if you have an interest in physical training
 
otisbean said:
I've been a sports performance coach for almost 20 years, and I've used the Omegawave system for 3 years. It's an awesome training tool that allows you to customize the training plan for each individual athlete based on how ready their body is for training that day. It looks at heart rate variability and dc potential (low level brain activity) to give the training staff an idea of how the athlete's nervous system is functioning. On days where the athlete is good to go- you can hit the workout with 100% effort and intensity. On days where there is residual fatigue from previous workouts, the volume and intensity can be adjusted to prevent pushing the athlete too hard or you can adjust what you do that day to prevent injury. For example, if the nervous system shows residual fatigue from previous workouts, the ability of the nervous system to properly control the muscular system during high speed activities would be impaired - i.e. rapidly turning the muscles on and off as needed in a sprint. Performing high work loads of sprinting or cutting activities in this state would not produce a positive training effect, and it could also increase the chance of injury. This is a concept that is being called fluid periodization, and in recent studies it has produced vastly superior results to the old school approach of "just blindly following the plan"

He did a pretty good job describing some of the other technology, looking at speed, distances run, power outputs, effort levels etc... These type of measurements are important to help determine how much quality work the athlete can produce and to help reduce the "junk volume" that occurs when you don't monitor output. For example, if an athlete is performing a power clean in the weight room to train explosiveness, the weight should be moved at a certain speed to produce the desired training effect - if the speed of movement slows then the exercise becomes less effective. If the workout plan calls for 5 sets of 3 reps, but the athletes movement speed drops below a certain speed then you would skip the 5th set as it wouldn't produce the desired training effect. By measuring speed and power outputs in a practice setting, and by monitoring the athletes state of readiness on a daily basis, the coaching staff can determine how much work the team can tolerate on a weekly basis. Work loads can be customized to prevent pushing the team into a state of over-reaching- where performance starts to decline and the chance of injury starts to increase.

Based on the information in first video, I can tell you without a doubt that the Texans will have a better physical training system than in years past. The energy system stuff he talked about was spot on. It's hugely important to train the correct energy systems for peak performance as well as injury prevention. In football, injuries are going to happen due to the violent nature of the game. By monitoring the athletes readiness to train, and developing the athlete's physical abilities and capacities in the proper manner, it's much easier to increase performance and prevent the non-contact, soft tissue type injuries that frequently occur during the season
Click to expand...
Mollywhopper said:
Our new Director of Sports Science, Erik Korem, discussing philosophies and methods ...


... and this is one of his gadgets ...

Click to expand...
This pretty much answered most of my questions. I feel a little more confident about this here thing!
 
otisbean said:
I haven't searched pubmed to look up the actual studies but here's a post from Henk Kraaijenhof (considered to be one of the top sprint coaches in the world) that discusses a couple of them. The omegawave system is really starting to gain popularity in the US. I expect you'll see studies Featuring it in the very near future. I know the us Olympic training center in Chula Vista uses it and it's used with some of the special forces as well

http://helpingthebesttogetbetter.com/?p=1124

You might also enjoy Viktor Seluyanov's talk at the CVASP convention. He's a Russian sports scientist and the source of a lot of excellent information on the biological basis of sports training. You'd have to buy the talk but it is excellent if you have an interest in physical training
Click to expand...
Thanks for your response.
 
Appreciate all info! This should also increase player confidence that team is making them better. Wonder if Wilfork will drop any weight this season?
 
JB said:
It certainly needs a poll...

and maybe a pole
Click to expand...

10549876_808046045912879_5669260069391484633_o.jpg


northpole.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: JB
badboy said:
Appreciate all info! This should also increase player confidence that team is making them better. Wonder if Wilfork will drop any weight this season?
Click to expand...
A confident Clowney along with an even more confident JJ, and Mercilus would be freakin scary!
 
Mangler said:
A confident Clowney along with an even more confident JJ, and Mercilus would be freakin scary!
Click to expand...
As a long time Texans and Oiler fan, I am super cautious but things could go really good this season. It could be really good if vets play just a bit better than last season. Guys like Newton, Su'a Fila, Strong, possibly Shorts, LT Clark (if no Brown), if defense remains just as good, our FAs are only just as good as last year's player at their position and our draft picks equal only what was expected of them their first year. This is what could happen. What is starting to jell in my brain is where could we go if Lamar Miller is top 3 RB in NFL, Osweiler is a very good QB rather than just an above average guy. What if Strong, Fuller and Hopkins are 1000 yards guys...

I cannot go on or I will be awake all night.
 
badboy said:
As a long time Texans and Oiler fan, I am super cautious but things could go really good this season. It could be really good if vets play just a bit better than last season. Guys like Newton, Su'a Fila, Strong, possibly Shorts, LT Clark (if no Brown), if defense remains just as good, our FAs are only just as good as last year's player at their position and our draft picks equal only what was expected of them their first year. This is what could happen. What is starting to jell in my brain is where could we go if Lamar Miller is top 3 RB in NFL, Osweiler is a very good QB rather than just an above average guy. What if Strong, Fuller and Hopkins are 1000 yards guys...

I cannot go on or I will be awake all night.
Click to expand...
This is where I am - cautiously optimistic, for precisely the reasons you outline. We are putting in place the players to have a very exciting team to watch and to contend for the SB. If we can stay reasonably healthy, especially to our key players, this could be a very good year.
 
Number19 said:
This is where I am - cautiously optimistic, for precisely the reasons you outline. We are putting in place the players to have a very exciting team to watch and to contend for the SB. If we can stay reasonably healthy, especially to our key players, this could be a very good year.
Click to expand...

This is precisely what the sports science department is designed to do - monitor the athletes readiness and adjust training loads based on readings. Hopefully, the coaching staff and players buy in as that is a HUGE part of it working properly. You can't prevent all injuries - some are contact related and as CND points out some are based on compensation patterns that would need to be addressed in another manner. I too am optimistic about this season and cannot wait for training camp!
 
otisbean said:
This is precisely what the sports science department is designed to do - monitor the athletes readiness and adjust training loads based on readings. Hopefully, the coaching staff and players buy in as that is a HUGE part of it working properly. You can't prevent all injuries - some are contact related and as CND points out some are based on compensation patterns that would need to be addressed in another manner. I too am optimistic about this season and cannot wait for training camp!
Click to expand...

For this "system" to truly have any chance of working as intended, it has to remain in an entirely "controlled" environment..........even when the team finds itself in "desperate" situations. The players and/or coaches can't have the "final word" as to who can play, and in which situations and for how long. Otherwise, we're back to square one seeing players that get injured and stay injured.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
For this "system" to truly have any chance of working as intended, it has to remain in an entirely "controlled" environment..........even when the team finds itself in "desperate" situations. The players and/or coaches can't have the "final word" as to who can play, and in which situations and for how long. Otherwise, we're back to square one seeing players that get injured and stay injured.
Click to expand...

Is it gonna reduce the number of injuries is what I wanna know
 
JB said:
Is it gonna reduce the number of injuries is what I wanna know
Click to expand...
Although it is purported to be able to to do so, many original injuries occur independently of the player's conditioning status........and are entirely unpredictable. I believe its greater value may be in helping already injured players from decreasing their risks of suffering setbacks, recurrent injuries, and compensatory injuries. Otisbean probably would have his own thoughts on this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JB
CloakNNNdagger said:
Although it is purported to be able to to do so, many original injuries occur independently of the player's conditioning status........and are entirely unpredictable. I believe its greater value may be in helping already injured players from decreasing their risks of suffering setbacks, recurrent injuries, and compensatory injuries. Otisbean probably would have his own thoughts on this.
Click to expand...

The Omegawave can play a role in injury reduction in several ways:

1) to function optimally in speed/power activities you need the nervous to be in an optimal state. The OW tests both the autonomic nervous system (measuring heart rate variability) and the central nervous system (measuring low level electrical output of the brain). Speed and power activities (think sprinting, agility, jumping etc) require the nervous system to turn muscles on and off very rapidly. If this system is fatigued this ability is impaired which means performance suffers and injuries can occur. By monitoring neural fatigue you can reduce the training volume or completely alter the workout. For example, if you have 2 WRs showing poor readiness scores then you could have them on a pitch count during practice - limiting the numbers of reps they'd take that day. Heres a sample screen shot from the OW coach system

Screen Shot 2016-07-04 at 5.33.17 AM.png

In this sample, this athlete is 100% ready to do any endurance or strength training activity. He can tolerate a reduced volume of speed power work (meaning he could be on a rep count in practice). He will have a difficult time with coordination and skill activities. Every athlete has had bad practices where things just didn't go right - perhaps they would have tested in a similar manner?

2) By testing the whole team, coaches will have a better idea of the total work load that practices place on the players. It should help prevent coaches from running players into the ground - which leads to excessive fatigue and a higher potential for injury. You could produce a report for coaches showing who's ready for a higher work load that day, who should be watched for signs of fatigue, and who should be given a reduced role
Screen Shot 2016-07-04 at 5.49.22 AM.png
3) The system can show athletes what effect their diet/sleep/recovery habits have on the their bodies, hopefully enforcing better lifestyle choices/habits. Not getting enough sleep will reduce CNS output, poor nutrition can negatively effect HRV scores as can living a high stress lifestyle. Alcohol will also negatively effect HRV scores.

Hopefully this give you guys a small sample of what this system can do for our team. Training is all about giving the athletes what they need to get better, in the proper amounts, and at the proper time. This system can help the coaching staff, the S&C staff and the training staff monitor the athletes to ensure the team is being trained as optimally as possible. We all know injuries can absolutely wreck a team's season. Anything that we can do to prevent injuries and optimize performance is a huge plus.
 
otisbean said:
The Omegawave can play a role in injury reduction in several ways:

1) to function optimally in speed/power activities you need the nervous to be in an optimal state. The OW tests both the autonomic nervous system (measuring heart rate variability) and the central nervous system (measuring low level electrical output of the brain). Speed and power activities (think sprinting, agility, jumping etc) require the nervous system to turn muscles on and off very rapidly. If this system is fatigued this ability is impaired which means performance suffers and injuries can occur. By monitoring neural fatigue you can reduce the training volume or completely alter the workout. For example, if you have 2 WRs showing poor readiness scores then you could have them on a pitch count during practice - limiting the numbers of reps they'd take that day. Heres a sample screen shot from the OW coach system

View attachment 930

In this sample, this athlete is 100% ready to do any endurance or strength training activity. He can tolerate a reduced volume of speed power work (meaning he could be on a rep count in practice). He will have a difficult time with coordination and skill activities. Every athlete has had bad practices where things just didn't go right - perhaps they would have tested in a similar manner?

2) By testing the whole team, coaches will have a better idea of the total work load that practices place on the players. It should help prevent coaches from running players into the ground - which leads to excessive fatigue and a higher potential for injury. You could produce a report for coaches showing who's ready for a higher work load that day, who should be watched for signs of fatigue, and who should be given a reduced role
View attachment 931
3) The system can show athletes what effect their diet/sleep/recovery habits have on the their bodies, hopefully enforcing better lifestyle choices/habits. Not getting enough sleep will reduce CNS output, poor nutrition can negatively effect HRV scores as can living a high stress lifestyle. Alcohol will also negatively effect HRV scores.

Hopefully this give you guys a small sample of what this system can do for our team. Training is all about giving the athletes what they need to get better, in the proper amounts, and at the proper time. This system can help the coaching staff, the S&C staff and the training staff monitor the athletes to ensure the team is being trained as optimally as possible. We all know injuries can absolutely wreck a team's season. Anything that we can do to prevent injuries and optimize performance is a huge plus.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your informative post. The fact that still remains is that many injuries that occur when knees, ankles, hips, backs, shoulders and necks are hit or awkwardly twisted are pretty much unavoidable. Strengthening the supporting structures and monitoring conditioning can only have limited effects on these injuries occurring.
 
No question contact related injuries will always occur during FB and there's nothing you can do about that. What the OMW should help with is muscle strains/tears that non contact related, however it may not help with those that happen based on compensation patterns. Unfortunately injuries have always and will always be a part of FB, all we can do is attempt to create more robust athletes that can handle the high forces that are places on the bodies during competition.

Fatigue can play a major role in muscle pulls and strains and if used properly OMW can help with that. It should also help our team achieve a consistent level of performance on a week to week basis. Happy 4th to you guys
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Thanks for your informative post. The fact that still remains is that many injuries that occur when knees, ankles, hips, backs, shoulders and necks are hit or awkwardly twisted are pretty much unavoidable. Strengthening the supporting structures and monitoring conditioning can only have limited effects on these injuries occurring.
Click to expand...

It's not like not using sports science would prevent these kinds of things. They would happen with or without the sports science analysis, so knocking it for that seems unfair.
 
Brandon420tx said:
It's not like not using sports science would prevent these kinds of things. They would happen with or without the sports science analysis, so knocking it for that seems unfair.
Click to expand...
Not knocking it.......just pointing out the significant limitations to its effects on the injury numbers.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Not knocking it.......just pointing out the significant limitations to its effects on the injury numbers.
Click to expand...

Who touted it as being technology that would prevent a blown ACL from a chop block? Or a separated shoulder from being driven into the ground? You're arguing a point that no one is making.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top