An athlete may want to achieve the movement they picture and make full use of their abilities, including speed and endurance. Coaching staff may want the results of coaching and training to carry over into actual play. Care practitioners may be looking for a new way to approach problems that remain despite repeated care.
Zeroka Seitai supports each of these efforts from the perspective of checking the condition of the muscles and the response in actual movement and under load.
Making the movement and performance the athlete is aiming for a shared goal
What athletes want to achieve differs from athlete to athlete.
Changing direction exactly as intended, producing force in an instant, keeping the necessary movement under sustained load. We agree on goals like these in concrete terms and check how the condition of the muscles is involved.
Together with the athlete and their staff, we work out what may change through work on the muscles and what needs to be developed through practice.
How we can help with the concerns of each role
| Who | Their concerns | What Zeroka Seitai can offer |
|---|---|---|
| Athletes | Cannot move as they want. Find it hard to produce force. Cannot maintain performance under sustained load. Problems return despite care. | Check the muscles and movement and provide the hands-on work needed. Combine this with ongoing review and with specific self-care methods taught by Zeroka Seitai for use between sessions, to support work towards the performance the athlete is aiming for. |
| Trainers and coaching staff | Want to identify why a coached movement is not happening. Want training for speed and endurance to carry over into actual play. | Share what changed after work on the muscles, what remains, and how the body responded after training, as input for thinking about coaching content, load and recovery. |
| Care practitioners | Some problems do not fully change despite repeated hands-on work or care. Want to deepen their options for interpretation and response. | Share what we look for in the quality and response of stiffness, and how we choose area, method and sequence. Specific hands-on techniques and ways of checking are also taught. |
One person may be responsible for both coaching and care. We consider how to be involved according to the current support set-up and concerns.
Combining each person’s information to define the next step
The athlete feels how easily they move and how easily they produce force. The athlete’s staff know the purpose of training, the movements and how the athlete performs in competition. Care practitioners see the day-to-day condition of the body and the changes their work brings.
We add Zeroka Seitai’s checks and hands-on work to this, and share what has changed and what remains.
For example, if changing direction is difficult, we check the muscles involved in that movement. If producing force in an instant is difficult, we compare the attempt to produce force with the condition of the muscles. If movement or output is hard to maintain under sustained load, we check the changes before and after.
We choose what to check according to the goal and connect it not only to hands-on work but also to coaching, training and daily care.
Training for care practitioners, alongside direct hands-on work
Alongside hands-on work with athletes, Zeroka Seitai has also provided training for practitioners. This covers not only how to perform hands-on techniques but also what to look at, how to interpret the cause, and how to check the result of a response.
The specific content is set out in D-3. We discuss what is needed in each setting, taking into account each person’s experience and role.
While continuing to provide day-to-day care myself, I hope to contribute by working with the trainers, practitioners and medical staff who already support athletes, adding expertise particularly where a case is difficult.
Fitting our involvement to the support already in place
Direct hands-on work with athletes, ongoing checks of condition, teaching self-care, sharing information with the athlete’s staff, and training for care practitioners. We combine these according to the athlete’s issues and the current support set-up.
Specific arrangements and conditions are decided in discussion with the people involved.
Making the whole of performance, including the movement, speed and endurance the athlete is aiming for, a shared goal. Zeroka Seitai brings the cues available from the muscles, and the responses it has built up, into collaboration with the people who support the athlete.