The Functional Path is a path that had been traveled many times before but had fallen out of use in favor of smoother paved roads that promised faster and easier results. Seeking to follow and better define the functional path is a continuing journey, fortunately it is a journey that many have traveled before. Functional Path training is getting back to the basics of movement. It is learning to tune into the body and it’s inherent wisdom to produce rhythmic flowing movement.
I always hesitate to comment on injuries or training of athletes that I have not worked with personally or have first hand knowledge of, but the case of Eric Gagne, start relief pitcher for the Dodgers is too good to pass up. The latest in a series of injuries is two ruptured disks in his back. The following statement is a classic: “The 30-year-old right-hander was admitted to
posted by Vern Gambetta @ 7/07/2006 06:41:00 AM
2 comments
Vern is currently is the Director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems. He has been the a conditioning coach for several teams in Major League Soccer as well as the conditioning consultant to the US Men’s World Cup Soccer team. Vern is the former Director of Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox and Director of Athletic Development for the New York Mets. Vern is recognized internationally as an expert in training and conditioning for sport having worked with world class athletes and teams in a wide variety of sports. He is a popular speaker and writer on conditioning topics having lectured and conducted clinics in Canada, Japan, Australia and Europe. Vern's coaching experience spans 36 years at all levels of competition. Vern has authored six books and over one hundred articles related to coaching and sport performance in a variety of sports. He received his BA from Fresno State University and his teaching credential with a coaching minor from University of California Santa Barbara. Vern obtained his MA in Education with an emphasis in physical education from Stanford University.
2 Comments:
From this pic and others of Eric you can see a mechanical problem. His torso has already begun to rotate toward the plate. But if you look at his right knee, it's just about used up all of it's extension. The torso will have to flex & the elbow will have to drop to catch up with the rest of the body (hence the back & elbow trouble).
Pitchers like this are usually hypomobile in the psoas and deep hip rotators. Rememering your anatomy, these muscles originate from the sacrum & lumbar spine.
My copy of "the complete guide to medicine ball training" by Vern & Steve is yellowed and tattered now, but I still refer back to it when I need to tweak out these little glitches.
I have to ask what comes first? Is this an example of a functional adaptation that was not a problem until the knee injury or is it all secondary to the knee injury? Why did the coaches allow it to continue if they recognized it? If your going down the stretch in a pennant race would you take a chance on a closer with these mechanic problems or better yet sign him to a hefty free agent contract? While I think many folks that read on here are against it I suspect that giving him the Functional Movement Screen may have been of help in this case if someone suspected a problem but could not pinpoint it to satisfy the coaching staff.
Mark Day D.C., CSCS, DACBSP
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