Basketball: Contact or Collision
Jason Spray, MS, CSCS, SCCC
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Basketball: Contact or Collision Jason Spray, MS, CSCS, SCCC |
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The next sub category of sports is contact sports. Contact sports have a high intensity and a high static demand. In contact sports athletes routinely make contact with another athlete or inanimate object but with less force than in a collision sport. Baseball is probably your best know and most popular contact sport.
The final sub
category is collision sports. In collision sports athletes purposely hit
or collide with another athlete or inanimate object, including the ground
with great force! Now the most common and widely known collision sport is
football. I can attest to this having been a Division I fullback who
suffered a career ending knee injury that nearly took my leg (that is a
story for another time).
I believe basketball should be in the list of collision sports. I know what you are saying, basketball? Just hear me out. Let’s take a closer look at the definition of a collision sport according to the Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness, American Academy of Pediatrics, a collision sport is “A sport where athletes purposely hit or collide with another athlete or inanimate object, including the ground.” When an athlete reaches top sprinting speed their own bodyweight can increase anywhere from four to six times its original weight. Now let’s look at jumping. When an athlete lands with bent knees, forces can increase three to four times one’s original bodyweight, and six to eight times ones original bodyweight when they land with stiff or straight legs. Something else to consider is that 80% of the time all of this is happening on one leg. All while occurring on a hardwood floor.
Do you believe that your body can tell the difference between which sport it is playing. No, all it knows is that there is a constant collision with a hard surface at a high velocity that the hips, knees, and ankles must account for. Now let’s look at the other portion of the definition that says athletes purposely hit or collide with another athlete. With off season strength and conditioning programs becoming a more intricate part of collegiate and professional sports, especially basketball, athletes are training day in and day out and having their nutrition closely monitored it is no surprise that athletes are becoming bigger, stronger, and faster everyday.
When you look at today’s basketball game, on any given night, 6’10” 250lb plus big, strong, and very athletic men will bang it out in the paint and would rather clothesline you to the hardwood than give up a measly two points. Again, a 200lb guard is attacking the rim for a high flying dunk and is met in mid air by one of the big guys just mentioned and the next thing that hits the floor is the back of his head. Remember as mentioned earlier when an athlete is at top speed and height their bodyweight can increase four to eight times its original weight. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJz6Op1cBTQ&mode=related&search= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH9gnyosh_w Again, do you think his body knows what sport it is playing? No! The point I am trying to make is basketball is not a soft sport and is much more physical than most give it credit. These men travel and play multiple games a week which places a tremendous amount of mental and physical stress on the body. As I finish this first section of my monthly installments. I hope I was able to get my point across that basketball is a collision sport. These athletes are engaged in highly advanced positions and postures that involve awkwardly landing with extreme amounts of force on one leg. If that wasn’t physically challenging enough. Try him on for size.
Please, any questions or comments are always appreciated.
Coach Jason Spray is a graduate of Middle Tennessee, where he was a three-year starter for the Blue Raider football team. He was named the 2000 Lifter of the Year, as voted on by his teammates. Spray played on the first Division I-A football team at Middle Tennessee in 1999 and was the starting fullback in 2001 when the Blue Raiders posted an 8-3 record winning the Sun Belt Conference championship – also a first in the university’s Division I-A era. The durable and hard-working Spray played in 32 career games at Middle Tennessee. He was named co-Captain of the 2001 Sun Belt Championship team. Spray earned his Bachelor of Science in May, 2002 and earned his Master of Science in 2005. Spray holds several professional certifications including being certified (CSCS) through the National Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association and certified (SCCC) through the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association. He is also a (USAW) certified Club Coach Jason Spray has climbed the ladder of success rapidly since his collegiate playing career at Middle Tennessee and he continues to exemplify the tremendous work ethic that made him a decorated gridiron standout for the Blue Raiders. Spray enters his third season as the Men’s Basketball Head Speed, Strength & Conditioning Coach at Middle Tennessee and already is turning in impressive results. Additionally, he works directly with the Blue Raider football team in his capacity as the sole first assistant. Spray is responsible for preparing and executing in-season and off-season strength and conditioning programs for both teams. In addition to these responsibilities, Spray acts as the Director of Nutrition for all 15 varsity sports. In this capacity, he is responsible for education the student-athletes on their dietary and supplementation needs while maintaining compliance with NCAA regulations.
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