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Chapter 6 |
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"Anatomy and physiology is essential. It teaches you the parts of the engine you're trying to improve, and it's the foundation on which all sports disciplines are based."
Andy Walshe is the high-performance manager for the athletic program of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. He works closely with over 150 athletes training to become Olympic champions. Andy supervises a staff of physiologists, nutritionists, dieticians, biomechanicists, and sports psychologists. For trainers at this level, there is no such thing as a typical day. "This profession is full of variety. One day you may be running training camps and the next you may be on the snow in South America shooting high-speed video for movement analysis."
Elite Training In addition to supervising the training team, Andy develops elite sports performance models-frameworks that allow a trainer to analyze athletes in relation to their sport to determine their strengths and weaknesses. His expertise is in biomechanical physiological analysis. This requires a strong background in anatomy and physiology. "You need to understand and analyze movement patterns, and you can't do that without a good understanding of muscles and bones. And you need to understand energy systems as well, so the physiology element is very important." In fact, says Andy, for all of his staff, "Anatomy and physiology is essential. It teaches you the parts of the engine you're trying to improve, and it's the foundation on which all sports disciplines are based." Andy is one of a small group of elite-level trainers working with the best athletes in the world. Elite trainers bring a combination of advanced academic work and practical experience to the job. A master's degree is required for this type of job. Andy worked first as a volunteer assistant physiologist, traveling with teams in an unpaid position, and worked his way up to his current job, which he's had for seven years. "I was always interested in sports and performance. I wanted to use my interests at the elite level. I actually started in summer sports-surfing-and then worked in snowboarding and then skiing." "To become a sports trainer, it's a good idea to have as much practical training as possible in a variety of sports, working with athletes and coaches. Volunteer your time. Do what it takes to get your foot in the door."
Career Opportunities Sports trainers can work at the junior level, college level, or elite level. There are jobs in the United States and chances to work in other countries. At the elite level, most entry-level jobs are unpaid internships, opportunities to learn while showing the trainers what you can do. Andy suggests, "Find out what organizations are associated with sports that interest you. The U.S. Olympic Committee has internship programs, and there are many organizations to investigate for each sport." Andy loves his job working in the world of elite sports, even though the pace is intense. "You live this job. You are on call all the time, doing anything and everything that involves preparing elite athletes. In a job like this, you're a jack-of-all-trades. It's important to be flexible and be willing to put parts of your life on hold. I travel over 200 days a year and I work 24/7." However, the rewards are great. "The athletes and the coaches are the best part of this job. It's great being a part of the team that helps athletes chase their dreams. Along the way, you make great friends." And there's a larger goal as well. "Our number one goal is to get more kids into the sport. Of course, we're here to get our athletes medals, but the impact of those medals is that we get more kids involved in the sport."
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