FEATURE ARTICLE
DEVELOPING THE POTENTIAL OF THE UNDERSERVED CLUB
ATHLETE: A PROJECT WITH THE DUKE CLUB HOCKEY TEAM
performance levels from novice to elite in any given sport. These
teams often face a particular challenge in that their club status
within their institution necessitates that they are student-run and
managed with little outside support. This is especially concerning
considering the possible lack of safe and effective training, as well
as the variation of on-site medical coverage for the athletes at
practices and games. Given the gaps in training support for club
athletes, a project was initiated to explore how physical therapy
students could engage with club athletes at Duke University in
Durham, NC.
The university has 38 club teams, with over 500 undergraduate
and graduate students participating as members (as of mid-2013).
Over the past year, two physical therapy students initiated a
project with Duke University’s club hockey team (an Atlantic Coast
Collegiate Hockey League team with a 25-man roster) under the
mentorship of three faculty members. The intention of this project
was to support the team throughout their 6-month, 28-game
2012-2013 season by providing dynamic warm-up routines, holding
biweekly off-ice training sessions, and otherwise contributing
training and medical knowledge to the players. In this article, the
project will be outlined including training protocols, and describe
some of the facilitators and barriers that were encountered during
the season. It is our hope that sharing this experience might
motivate others to view the often-untapped performance potential
of club athletes, while providing meaningful clinical experience
and opportunities for physical therapy students. Overall, we have
deemed this program mutually beneficial in that the club athletes
received training that they would not have otherwise gotten, and
the students were able to explore and develop their skills.
PRE-SEASON
Before this project, the club hockey team practiced twice a week
for an hour and a half at a local ice rink, with little to no warmup and no other scheduled off-ice training sessions or practices.
They had the support of a devoted fan base, excellent coaching
staff, and a loyal team physician, who volunteered medical support
at games and practices whenever possible. Although all these
individuals together provided substantial backing for the team,
the project identified an opportunity for increased assistance in
conditioning the team to help prevent injuries. An initial barrier
to training the hockey team, as with many other club sports, was
that most teams work with a very small-to-nonexistent budget.
The club hockey team was fortunate to be supported financially
somewhat, but being that uniforms, traveling, and ice time are
expensive, warm-ups and workouts were created that required
little equipment (e.g., stadium stairs, circuit workouts with very
basic equipment, track workouts, and bodyweight exercises).
However, with an open mind, creative ideas, and understanding
of aerobic and resistance training foundations, a warm-up and
training program were successfully implemented for the team for
this project.
The first interaction with the team was a pre-season testing
session including height, weight, grip strength, vertical jump (later
changed to broad jump to be more sport-specific), push-up plank,
side plank, and wall sit (3). Pre-testing is important as it allows
proper design of the training programs (1). This session required
minimal personnel, equipment, space, and time, while providing a
baseline in terms of ability and conditioning of the athletes Y?Z[????X? ???\\?H H ???[HY??X?X?K???S?T?PT????T?KUT\? ?][ ?? ?] ?\?[\?[?[?]X[ H ?[\[Y[?B? [?[ZX? ?\?K]\ ???[H[?? H???^H X[x?&\? ?YZ? H ??][?K???][??\?Y\? ?X?\???[? [ ?[?X??Z[??]?X?[\?
P?H X\??Y?Z[?? H X[HX\? H?[\ ??[???????? ?]\??\????[??[????[? ? ??Y? Z\??[ ?[??H?[?[?[? ???[??XX?]]x?&\?[???? ?? ?\?[\? ?\??X?X[ ? H ?\???]?\?H ?X?X?H ?\??[??] ?\?[\?[? ?[ ?????Y\? ?X?Y?X?] B??[?XZ?[?? [?[ZX? ?\?K]\ ??? H X[K ?? \?H]]\?]] H??X[??][?[????[ [?\??[??? \?H ?X?Y?X?[?[Y[? ?ZY? ?[?Y?] [H? HX?K?\?YX[? ] B? ??X????\?Y?\ ?[??Y\?\? \?H??[? ?[?H ??Y??H?[ ?[??H?[?[? ?[H ??][???][ ?? H ??[\??[????\ [\? ?X?[^?\??\? ^H ??[?H ??Y?H ?YH ?[??H ?[B??X??[?[??????^H ?\]Z\?\??X]Y?[] H\? H]]x?&\??? H\????[? B??[??[??\?X?[??[?[??[?X\? H
?????\?[??X???\?
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
?Y?\?H JK???YH^\?Y\?? ?\?H[ ??YY??Y?[] B? ?Z[?[??Y? ^H ?\?H?? \?? H ?X??\]Y[??\??Z] ??[??B?X\? H^]\?[? ?\?H \?X?[\? ??[H?? \? X[K H?\???^H ?[??X\?H [YH ??]Y?YH ?\????\?[?[?\??[ ?Z[?[?] ?[][]Y H8?'??[???'HX?]?] H?H \X?[ ^Y\??&\? ?Y??????x?&T?T???PS??H?RS?S????T??S T??QH L??B?????