Testing your athletes: Part III – When

Starting a new journey with your athlete can be both challenging and thrilling at the same time. Knowing where to begin the process of building a solid foundation to enhance performance in every aspect of their sport is invaluable. Depending on the nature of the sport (individual vs. team sports; power vs. endurance-based) or the specific discipline (short-distance vs. long-distance running), athlete testing should be meticulously planned in advance. So, if you're wondering when the best time is to assess your athletes and discover their capabilities, get ready for an insightful exploration of the seasons of athletic performance testing!

Most often, athlete testing is planned based on mesocycles, including Pre-Season, Mid-Season, Post-Season, Off-Season, and Rehabilitation (something we aim to avoid, but it's part of the sports landscape). The good news is that some injuries can be prevented by incorporating injury prevention programs into our training routines😊[1–3].

Let's explore why testing during these periods is important for both you as a coach(making your jobs easier to follow and understand cause and effect) and your athletes.

Pre-Season Pump-up: Picture this: it's the dawn of a new season, and excitement's in the air. That's the perfect time to kick off with some baseline assessments. Think of it as setting the stage for greatness! These tests give us a sneak peek into our athletes' starting point and help us tailor training plans that'll have them hitting the ground running.

Mid-Season Marvels: Fast forward a bit, and we're in the thick of it! Mid-season is like our halftime show – a chance to check the scoreboard and make some game-changing adjustments. By testing now, we can keep our finger on the pulse of progress, making sure our athletes are firing on all cylinders and ready to bring their A-game.

Post-Season Victory Lap: The confetti's falling, and the crowd's going wild – it's post-season time! As we bask in the glory of another successful season, it's also a chance to reflect and celebrate our wins. Post-season testing helps us measure how far our athletes have come and pinpoint areas where they've truly knocked it out of the park.

Off-Season Adventure: Ah, the off-season – a time for relaxation and recovery, right? Well, not exactly! Even when the game's on pause, there's still work to be done. Off-season testing keeps our athletes on their toes, ensuring they stay in tip-top shape and ready to hit the ground running when the next season rolls around.

Rehabilitation Rally: Sometimes, our athletes face setbacks—injuries that temporarily take them out of the game. But fear not, because testing during rehabilitation is like a beacon of hope. It helps us track their progress, gauge when they're ready to jump back into action and ensure they're stronger than ever before hitting the field again safely. Although interventions that increase the rate of return to sport after musculoskeletal injuries, safe return to sport timing, and testing are still subjects of debate, here are some great articles to look for more information and make your own decisions [4][5][6–8].  

Nowadays, with the advent of new, more sophisticated, and affordable technology such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS), heart rate monitors, force plates, etc., you can test your athletes without adding extra stress from additional sessions [9].

It's good to remember that by timing our physical performance testing just right throughout the ups and downs of the season, we're not just measuring progress—we're fuelling the fire of athletic greatness! So, strap in and get ready for an exhilarating journey of testing, training, and triumphs!

References used:

1         Van Der Horst N, Smits DW, Petersen J, et al. The Preventive Effect of the Nordic Hamstring Exercise on Hamstring Injuries in Amateur Soccer Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Am J Sports Med 2015;43:1316–23. doi:10.1177/0363546515574057

2         Myklebust G, Skjolberg A, Bahr R. ACL injury incidence in female handball 10 years after the Norwegian ACL prevention study: important lessons learned. Br J Sports Med 2013;47:476–9. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2012-091862

3         Lindblom H, Sonesson S, Torvaldsson K, et al. Extended Knee Control programme lowers weekly hamstring, knee and ankle injury prevalence compared with an adductor strength programme or self-selected injury prevention exercises in adolescent and adult amateur football players: A two-armed cluster-rando. Br J Sports Med 2022;57:83–90. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2022-105890

4         Meredith SJ, Rauer T, Chmielewski TL, et al. Return to sport after anterior cruciate ligament injury : Panther Symposium ACL Injury Return to Sport Consensus Group. Knee Surgery, Sport Traumatol Arthrosc Published Online First: 2020. doi:10.1007/s00167-020-06009-1

5         Drole K, Paravlic AH. Interventions for increasing return to sport rates after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery: A systematic review. Front Psychol 2022;:5098.

6         Lavrenčič A, Salobir BG, Keber I, et al. Exercise training in patients with chronic heart failure improves endothelial function predominantly in the trained extremities. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2023;12:1–6. doi:10.1089/jicm.2022.0778

7         Kotsifaki R, Korakakis V, King E, et al. Aspetar clinical practice guideline on rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Br J Sports Med 2023;:1–15. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2022-106158

8         Culvenor AG, Girdwood MA, Juhl CB, et al. Rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament and meniscal injuries: a best-evidence synthesis of systematic reviews for the OPTIKNEE consensus. Br J Sports Med 2022;:1445–53. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2022-105495

9         Ravé G, Granacher U, Boullosa D, et al. How to Use Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Data to Monitor Training Load in the “Real World” of Elite Soccer. Front Physiol 2020;11. doi:10.3389/fphys.2020.00944

Author: Assist. Prof. Armin Paravlić,  PhD