Supporting an athlete is not limited to the time spent in hands-on sessions. Between sessions there is training and competition, and the condition of the body changes.
In our work with athletes so far, Zeroka Seitai has combined teaching specific self-care methods developed in Zeroka Seitai with hands-on sessions that check the athlete’s condition afterwards.
What follows is a proposal for working with the athlete’s setting, based on that experience of support. By combining information sharing and practitioner training with trainers and care practitioners, we can consider a way of carrying the changes that occur while direct hands-on work is not possible into the next stage of support.
Connecting the athlete’s self-care with the roles of those who support them on site
B-4 described how the athlete carries out self-care, and how the points that are hard to change are reviewed in hands-on sessions.
Here we set out what the people involved in between can check and share.
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| Who | Information and support they can contribute while direct hands-on work is not possible |
|---|---|
| Athlete | Carry out the self-care methods they have been taught, and share how easily they move and produce force, and any situations that later become difficult. |
| Trainers and coaching staff | Share the training content and load, and changes in movement seen during training and competition. |
| Care practitioners | Continue their usual care, and share the body condition they have checked and the changes their work has brought. If they receive practitioner training, apply what they have learned according to their role. |
| Zeroka Seitai | Share the condition checked during hands-on work and the points we want to keep watching. Organise the information received afterwards, and connect it to the issues to check directly next time and to any instruction needed. |
Each role does not need to be filled by a different person. We plan according to the people who support the athlete and the forms of involvement possible in that setting.
Carrying information from hands-on sessions through to the next check
Check the muscles and movement, and provide the hands-on work and instruction needed
What changed / what remains
Which movements and situations to keep checking
The athlete’s self-care
Coaching, training and care on site
After which load, what changed and how
What response there was to care
Compare what was shared about the period in between with the muscles and movement, and update the response
Rather than comparing only the condition straight after the previous session with the condition now, we also check what happened in between.
What we share is change that helps the next decision
Rather than reporting every detail of each day, it is important to capture the changes related to the issue shared at the start.
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| What we would like shared | Examples |
|---|---|
| Changes that are lasting | A change of direction that used to be difficult is still possible in later training. |
| Situations that have become difficult again | When the load increases, stepping in towards the same direction becomes difficult. |
| New problems | Tightness or difficulty moving is felt in a different area from before. |
| Response to care | What has changed, and what remains, with self-care and usual care. |
Combining the athlete’s own sense with the movement the staff are seeing makes the next issue to check more concrete.
Separating what shared information can tell us from what needs a direct check
From the information shared, we can organise the situations in which changes occurred and how things progressed. On the other hand, some things, such as the quality of muscle stiffness, need to be checked by direct touch.
For this reason, rather than establishing the cause from information gathered while we are apart, we separate what can be organised from the information available now and what we want to check directly next time.
If a new problem appears, we pass it on for whatever assessment or care is needed in the athlete’s setting, and take how it develops into account at the next check as well.
When practitioner training is added
If care practitioners in the athlete’s setting wish, practitioner training as described in D-3 could also be combined with this.
By learning to check muscle condition, form an interpretation, use specific hands-on techniques and check movement after hands-on work, they can make their day-to-day care, and the information they share, more specific.
The scope of the training, and how consultation and checks will work while we are apart, are discussed according to the person’s experience and role and what can be put in place. The means and frequency of contact, and the scope of what we can respond to, are also defined when support begins.
Connecting the athlete’s own care, the support of staff on site, and review in the next hands-on session. We aim for support in which the changes during periods without direct hands-on work can also inform the next response.
Looking ahead | Proposal: a set-up that brings expertise together to sustain support
As a further step, we propose building an external support team in which specialists contribute their own strengths and share roles to support athletes on an ongoing basis.
We propose starting by working with the existing support staff, moving towards a set-up in which support continues during periods when I am not on site, and in future expanding step by step into a system that can support more athletes, beyond the boundaries of individual clubs and sports.