Facility naming rights

When it comes to attracting naming rights for your facility, there are a lot of factors influence the final price. The most obvious is the size of the sports team or franchise. The larger the team and the organizing body the greater the potential audience, and by extension, potential customers. So, larger, professional teams and franchises will get the top dollar for their naming rights. Some other factors are the market size, facility, and timing.

 

The market size is another one that makes a lot of sense. A larger market will potentially attract more fans and more people will see the signage and the supplemental activating advertisements than a smaller market. A newer facility is worth more than an older one in terms of naming rights. The newer the facility the more amenities and focus on technology that can be used to improve activation of marketing promotions. The market timing is interesting. Depending on when you solicit bids for naming rights has an effect on what you can get. When the business or the economy is doing well they are more willing to invest in naming rights and competition may be higher which increases the final contract.

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2015/06/21/8204/?utm_source=followingweekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20150622

Consensus in youth athletic development

The IOC released a position statement on youth athletic development that can be found by visitinghttp://bjsm.bmj.com/content/49/13/843.full. This comprehensive statement has a lot of recommendations for youth sports and practitioners and can help serve as a foundation for those involved with youth sports.

 

While prepubescent males and females show similarities in movement, strength and fitness there is a vast difference post puberty. The implementation of a neuromuscular and strength training program is vital to improve balance, proprioception and strength as athletes go through puberty. The committee acknowledges the importance incorporating strength and conditioning into the development of youth athletes.

 

Some of the other recommendations regarding youth development is a lack of awareness and understanding of adequate nutrition by athletes and coaches. Educational material should be developed and disseminated to those that work with young athletes in an effort to educate them on what a proper diet looks like and how to get the necessary nutrients. Coaches are also encouraged to adopt a 4 C approach to coaching consisting of competence, confidence, connection and character. This should serve as the framework for coaches to develop relationships with their athletes and the adoption and implementation of long term, realistic outcomes. Coaches following this can decrease the chance of psychological overload, or burnout, by making sure that they keep the long term health (physical and mental) and wellbeing of the athlete in mind.

 

As discussed in previous blog posts, there is a concern for overuse injury in single sport, specialized athletes that should be taken in to consideration when working with young athletes. The decision to choose to play one sport is a personal one and efforts should be made to discuss the pros and cons of that decision. Athletes, parents and coaches should understand that playing a single sport is not a guarantee for future success, since so few athletes hit the elite level, and that other sports allow for the development of new motor patterns and tissue adaptation. They can still participate in their main sport with skill acquisition while playing other sports or completing a strength and conditioning program.

 

Athletic development is a complex process with intrinsic and extrinsic factors that interact with each other and the athlete. The goal for the IOC is to “develop healthy, capable and resilient young athletes, while attaining widespread, inclusive, sustainable, and enjoyable participation and success for all levels of individual athletic achievement.” As athletic trainers we are in the perfect position to assist young athletes in making good decisions regarding participation by practicing evidence based medicine. We can develop educational materials for athletes, coaches, parents and administrators, discuss the benefits of strength and neuromuscular training programs and how to appropriately overload and recover for success. Our understanding of youth sports helps to ensure that they are able to engage in safe, long term participation in the sport they love.

 

Starting a fitness business

If you are interest in being an owner of a fitness facility, or other business for that matter, take the time to work out the costs. This owner spent 3 years researching his plan and spent $145,000 before construction!

 

Owning a gym costs a lot of money to get up and running, partly because the equipment is so expensive. There are deals out there and financing is available, but it will still not be cheap.

 

I wrote a proposal recently for a small fitness studio with few amenities and my estimate is $140,000, and that does not include construction costs. The point is that owning a gym will take a lot of start up money and in order to be successful you need to do thorough research.

 

http://www.iclubs.com/featured-writer-blogs/wanna-open-a-fitness-club-here-s-what-it-takes.html

 

Concussion policy

With a lot of States adopting a mandatory concussion policy, schools are putting policies in place, which is great, unless you don’t actually follow them.

 

Writing down policies and procedures is essential to think through handling injuries and action plans, but they are not useful, or legally defensible, if they are not used. When you take the time to craft a policy and educate everyone in how to implement it, it needs to be acted upon. This can sometimes be easier said than done.

 

During the season, especially late, when tensions and stakes are high, it can be easy to ignore hits to the head so that good players are not being taken out of play. Some players even resist medical check-up during the game and immediately afterwards so that they can continue on the field. Only after the season is over do they then decide that they should have followed up. Make sure that when there is a suspected injury, especially a concussion, that it is assessed and the care plan is followed. You don’t want to be in a position like this one.

 

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/athlete-safety/former-college-athlete-sues-school-over-concussion-protocol.html?topic=2,100&eid=277204494&bid=1092191

 

Right now, concussions are very popular in the media, so any suspected head injury needs to be assessed by a physician before letting a player return. While this can make it hard on coaches, it is a lot easier than getting a lawsuit later. Unfortunately, coaching  has to take legal protection decisions into consideration these days. If you coach, make sure that you understand what you get into: protect your players, yourself and your institution by making sure that you educate all involved and don’t get more involved in wins and losses than player safety. Take the time to assess any injury and listen to medical recommendations regarding your athletes.

Setting up a waiver

Owning or operating a fitness club means crafting appropriate inherent risk and assumption of risk waivers for members and participants. The purpose of these waivers is to protect the club from lawsuits in the event that someone gets injured during the course of their workout. While a well written waiver can be an effective defense, it is narrow; it will not protect the club against gross negligence or from a trainer acting outside their scope of education.

 

Lawsuits are one of the unpleasant sides of owning a business and no one wants to be on the receiving end of a lawsuit, but understanding how to protect your club is important. Have your waivers reviewed to make sure that they are in line with common practices and educate your staff members of what is acceptable when working with clients.

 

Hopefully, this will save you from any litigation of an injury that occurs at your site.

 

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/civil-actions/kickboxing-class-lawsuit-focuses-on-gross-negligence.html?topic=3,100&eid=277204494&bid=1088505

 

SLAP injuries in baseball

Overhead athletes place a lot of stress on their shoulders that can lead to tissue injury over time. One of the injuries that occurs is a SLAP lesion or a tear of the cartilage (labrum) in the shoulder. This injury can be painful and debilitating. For athletes that require their shoulder to perform their sport it is important to know how to treat these injuries.

 

Treatment for a SLAP lesion is either conservative physical therapy to reduce inflammation and improve shoulder movement and stability or surgery to clean the labrum up and potentially involve more in depth anchoring. Either method can lead to a return to play, but the question remains which is more effective and which leads athletes to return to their prior performance? Athletes don’t want to return, they need to return at or above their pre injured state. Using performance markers to gauge success sheds light on the best treatment options.

 

As with most things in medicine and injuries, the answer is not straight forward. Pitchers who sustain SLAP tears do not return to the prior performance as well as position players do. The extra strain on the shoulder every pitch may be too much to handle regardless of the treatment tried. Athletes that have a rotator cuff tear in addition to a SLAP lesion have even worse outcomes; they tend not to return at all. Debriding the labrum is less invasive so athletes tolerate this procedure better than more in depth surgical intervention when returning to their sport. The good news is that athletes who underwent more physical therapy had similar return to play and return to prior performance as their surgical counterparts.

 

When treating overhead athletes efforts can be made to rehab them as long as possible in hopes of prolonging their playing days. Surgery is not a guarantee of continued play, so rushing into surgery hoping to improve your sport may not be an accurate recommendation.  Like other conservative therapy of the shoulder, the goal is to reduce pain and improve movement and stability. Focusing on that when treating baseball players with SLAP lesions is the best be to keep them playing.

Basement Fit Project

One of the things that I really enjoy about working out at home is the fact that I don’t have all the fluff from the commercial gym. With so many options of machines and equipment to choose from, it is really easy to lose focus and avoid doing the exercises that we know are effective.

 

I am starting a Basement Fit Project where I will explore the gains that can be made by exercising with the basics. Your yearly start up expense for the equipment is much cheaper than the cost to the club, and you only pay once, instead of ongoing. The hours are better, too. You can lift when you want in the convenience of your home.

 

True, it does take planning and dedication to do your workouts by yourself, but if you have the commitment, it is worth pursuing.

 

The genius of the home based workout is the fact that it forces you to stick with basic movements: squats, deadlifts, lunges, chest pressing, bent over or one arm rows, shoulder presses, skull crushers and curls.

 

For my home gym I bought an adjustable bench, half rack, 300# weight set, curl bar, 2 additional 45# plates, adjustable dumbbells with extra weights (8 40#, 4 25#) and a TRX. I would love to have a weight vest and a complete dumbbell set in the future.

 

My workouts are very simple and streamlined. I do a 2 day split (legs, back, bi and chest, shoulders, tris). I also periodize my workouts so every workout has a different rep scheme. I do about 5-6 exercises for 4-6 sets per workout and I have seen more gains at home in the past year that in the previous 3 years at the club.

 

The key to your workout is progressive overload. You need to systematically make your workouts harder. Your body is easily adaptable and once it adapts, gains cease. It is very challenging to continue to progress and this is where working with a coach comes in handy. Find someone you trust to write and oversee your program. This accountability is fantastic to keep you on track. Barring that, find a workout partner with similar goals. You can motivate each other.

 

Don’t think that the only way to make gains is to spend a lot of money on a gym membership. Setting up the right atmosphere at home can be just as (and even more) effective.

 

Good luck and happy lifting!

Management tips

If you are a manager, or aspire to be one, then you need to invest in yourself. Constantly learning and seeking to improve will help you reach your full potential. Entrepreneur put together a list of tips for managers. It is a quick read and worth the time.

 

Some themes emerged throughout the 32 pieces of advice from small business owners and can help you lead your own team:

1.       Hire good people, communicate clearly and empower them to perform at the highest level. When you have great people on staff who are encouraged to be their best, they will be. Just make sure that they know what they are aiming for.

2.       Watch your dollars. Business is about making money and controlling expenses. Make sure you understand where your business stands.

3.       Respect. In order to get respect, you need to give respect; to your employees, customers, suppliers, etc. When you respect others, they will return it.

 

While these are the themes, there are many other pearls and nuggets of wisdom that can aid you in achieving greatness.

 

Take a minute and read the article. Be prepared to be inspired!

 

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234199