too much basketball = more injuries Geno's take

[CTrefugee]

Overuse,earlysport specialization leading to more injuries according to WNBA trainer

 

[EricLA]

I get it, but if that's the case, then IMHO the UCONN staff and coaches need to do a better job of monitoring how much the kids are playing.

"Ines - you just spent 2 weeks playing and practicing and traveling with team Portugal. Now that you are back, no basketball for the next week (or 2) as you recover and rest and recuperate. Only light weight training"... or whatever the appropriate thing is for her to do.

No offense to Geno, but most of these kids are not getting injured their first month at UCONN (meaning their problems likely occurred while in high school, playing AAU, or for some National Team). Since the injuries are occurring well into their UCONN careers, the coaches should be way more involved in their practice and workout regimes.

IMHO time for the staff to get more involved in how much time the kids spend on the court while enrolled at UCONN.

As a side note, I know there are instances where the kids DO come to UCONN with nagging injuries and it takes some time to figure out what and why, and then take the appropriate action (scraping a knee that was a chronic condition before coming to UCONN, etc.). So obviously I'm not talking about those situations.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I get it, but if that's the case, then IMHO the UCONN staff and coaches need to do a better job of monitoring how much the kids are playing.

"Ines - you just spent 2 weeks playing and practicing and traveling with team Portugal. Now that you are back, no basketball for the next week (or 2) as you recover and rest and recuperate. Only light weight training"... or whatever the appropriate thing is for her to do.

No offense to Geno, but most of these kids are not getting injured their first month at UCONN (meaning their problems likely occurred while in high school, playing AAU, or for some National Team). Since the injuries are occurring well into their UCONN careers, the coaches should be way more involved in their practice and workout regimes.

IMHO time for the staff to get more involved in how much time the kids spend on the court while enrolled at UCONN.

As a side note, I know there are instances where the kids DO come to UCONN with nagging injuries and it takes some time to figure out what and why, and then take the appropriate action (scraping a knee that was a chronic condition before coming to UCONN, etc.). So obviously I'm not talking about those situations.

At some point last season Geno said quite clearly that his players are arriving injured, so they are to a degree time bombs. I believe he was intimating that UConn was unaware of these conditions.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

It is an ultimately un-solvable problem, probably, but the article does suggest athletes participate in diverse sports to work different muscles and get appropriate rest. The problem is that the demands - from teams and just the desire to be the best - makes players push on when perhaps they need a rest day. And the situation in the "W" really requires a re-thinking.

I think the other aspect to what @EricLA is saying is that you really don't know what injuries would have happened regardless and wshat injuries occur or are worse because the athlete is "beat up" from excessive play.

Ultimately not a lot the coach can do about it - other than appropriate scheduling of team commitments, which I'm sure Geno and most better college coaches already do. But can a coach really say to a player - you can't go shoot around today because you need a break? I mean, they can say it, but at some point (again, other than not overscheduling required training, etc.) I'm not sure the coach can demand that sort of thing. Look at players like Jackie Styles, that shot all those attempts and ultimately IIRC affected her career.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Here that Geno talk I mentioned:

 

[wingsfan055]

re: "Without proper rest, an athlete is more at risk for injury as they don't have time to prepare their bodies for their upcoming season."

So, highly recruited freshmen come to Storrs in the summer. Enjoy relatively light workouts/practices as Geno eases them in for much tougher competition ahead. Then, many of them fly-off and are playing big minutes in competitive games (often every day or every other day for a few weeks!) in these national tournaments. Without UConn supervision or trainers involved no less. Seems like a recipe for disaster for all involved. Policy changes needed.

 

[JellyBean]

Thanks for sharing the article with us. The topic of injuries, overuse, and early sport specialization is always interesting and a great topic of discussion, because for every player that sustains an injury, in this case basketball, there are players that have logged the same number of practice and game hours and have never suffered a serious injury. It is just a wild situation, and I would never blame playing one sport or from playing too much. Injuries happen. I had a soccer player (high school level) who switched over to playing basketball. The young lady practiced two days with us and tore her acl during our fall 4 player workouts. Was it the soccer, two days of basketball practice, or just a freak accident? I think about and talk about that situation every time we have our fall conference coaches meeting.

 

[uconnfan68]

Maybe it’s too much money being dangled in front of the athletes for them to slow down? Or even just free schooling like it used to be.

 

[Amashutcha]

This rings true in men's bball as well. Playing basketball exclusively at an early age plus AAU during high school seems to be a bad recipe for the health of these young athletes.

 

[LarryLegend]

Adults trying to profit in one way or another are at the root of it.

 

[Blond D.]

Most of the injuries that happened to our players were freak accidents like Azzie having Aaliyah pushed into her knees, concussions, stepping on someones foot and twisting an ankle, dislocated patella for Ice, a misstep and Paige tears her knee up. Some like Lou was too many players from the other team banging on her. Things happen.

 

[Cuango]

Adults trying to profit in one way or another are at the root of it.

I’m sure there are a lot of adults looking for profit but there are also lots who are simply trying to help kids follow their dream!

 

[veryolddog]

I concur with Eric's post. For a long time now and in year's past on this forum, I have stated arguments against recruits or any of the UConn players playing outside the confines of UConn and the managing personnel of Uconn. The injuries incurred and received like Jana come frequently from outside playing. The outsiders will play these kids without the care that they are given at Storrs.

 

[Skeets]

Most of the injuries that happened to our players were freak accidents like Azzie having Aaliyah pushed into her knees, concussions, stepping on someones foot and twisting an ankle, dislocated patella for Ice, a misstep and Paige tears her knee up. Some like Lou was too many players from the other team banging on her. Things happen.

You are 99% correct, but Paige's first leg injury came when she was completely, 100% gassed. It's my opinion that exhaustion had a lot to do with the injury. She should never have been in the game at that point. Can you break a leg stepping off a curb? Yes, but stepping off a curb in a state of complete exhaustion increases the odds of bad things happening.

 

[Beemer]

Adults trying to profit in one way or another are at the root of it.

I think this is definitely part of it. Parents see their kids getting a scholarship & maybe going all the way to the pros. Coaches see an opportunity to advance their own careers by having a superstar in the making on their teams. As usual the kids pay for it in the form of injuries & burn out- many kids drop out of sports altogether because of the constant pressure.

I also agree that part of the problem is playing one sport 12 months of the year. Their bodies are still developing & although many would argue that they don't need it the truth is they do need a proper amount of rest, going full tilt all the time wears both the body & the mind down. I'd like to see them play different sports as well, using different muscles etc is probably more beneficial to them in the long run.

So maybe UConn should institute some kind of monitoring system to track just how much basketball these girls are playing & how much rest time is available to them, training time, etc. It might help & I'm sure it can't hurt.

 

[cancontent]

Maybe it’s too much money being dangled in front of the athletes for them to slow down? Or even just free schooling like it used to be.

Who specifically? The large dollars in NIL are going to the high profile players in most cases. And in UConn's case, currently, several of their players are international. The allure of NIL money isn't as large a factor in their decisions to play outside of the UConn program.

It also doesn't take into consideration the amount of time they've spent playing prior to entering university, as most have been playing almost year-round since before high school. There used to be a significant amount of down time after the AAU season ended in July. Now it's extended into August with the start of school right around the corner. Add in all these Top 100/150 camps where these kids get invited to. Some of these players don't need to attend as they're highly ranked or already committed to a program. The allure of the money that can be made by AAU programs, tournaments, media, etc., is too large and unfortunately, as someone else noted, adults are looking at their interests over the long term health of players.

The international play conundrum is something that won't be resolved unless FIBA cares to make changes. The FIBA calendar doesn't work for North American sports. FIBA hasn't shown any interest in adjusting their calendar to accommodate the NCAA, WNBA, NBA, etc.

And unlike the US, a lot of these countries do not have the luxury of the depth that USA Basketball does. Plus, Coach Auriemma hasn't stopped any of his players from competing internationally during the off-season. I get that this gets a lot of the ire from UConn fans, but it's not the sole reason why these things happen.

 

[JellyBean]

I’m sure there are a lot of adults looking for profit but there are also lots who are simply trying to help kids follow their dream!

Well said. I know for me; I am only coaching high school basketball at the girl's level because 1). I love the game of basketball. 2). I want to see the continued growth of girls' basketball/women's basketball by sharing my love & knowledge of basketball. 3). Helping the girls develop their skills which will help the continued growth of women's basketball.

 

[Inthepaint]

Sarcasm Alert
Maybe if they didn’t have classes to go to, and all this other academic stuff, there would be time to rest and participate in other sports.
After all, aside from walk-ons these ladies are all being paid ( indirectly via scholarships) to play basketball.
This whole education rigamarole is just a distraction.

 

[cancontent]

Well said. I know for me; I am only coaching high school basketball at the girl's level because 1). I love the game of basketball. 2). I want to see the continued growth of girls' basketball/women's basketball by sharing my love & knowledge of basketball. 3). Helping the girls develop their skills which will help the continued growth of women's basketball.

The problem is that people like you are becoming the minority now. The other issue is that it's becoming more and more expensive for kids to even get an opportunity to be seen for a scholarship, regardless of level. This is partly why I stepped away from coaching (for now), because it's hard to watch. Had my daughter been playing HS ball now, there's no way I could afford the costs of AAU.

Had the mother of a parent tell me yesterday that they're tapped out financially and trying to scramble to come up with the funds to cover their daughter's fees for a prep program. Almost cried when I read her message.

In Ontario, the OSBA league was originally created to offer the option of higher competition while attending a school within a school board to make it affordable. As of this year, I don't think there will be such a program competing. They're all going to be prep programs associated with private schools, with high tuition fees.

 

[uconnfan68]

Who specifically? The large dollars in NIL are going to the high profile players in most cases. And in UConn's case, currently, several of their players are international. The allure of NIL money isn't as large a factor in their decisions to play outside of the UConn program.

It also doesn't take into consideration the amount of time they've spent playing prior to entering university, as most have been playing almost year-round since before high school. There used to be a significant amount of down time after the AAU season ended in July. Now it's extended into August with the start of school right around the corner. Add in all these Top 100/150 camps where these kids get invited to. Some of these players don't need to attend as they're highly ranked or already committed to a program. The allure of the money that can be made by AAU programs, tournaments, media, etc., is too large and unfortunately, as someone else noted, adults are looking at their interests over the long term health of players.

The international play conundrum is something that won't be resolved unless FIBA cares to make changes. The FIBA calendar doesn't work for North American sports. FIBA hasn't shown any interest in adjusting their calendar to accommodate the NCAA, WNBA, NBA, etc.

And unlike the US, a lot of these countries do not have the luxury of the depth that USA Basketball does. Plus, Coach Auriemma hasn't stopped any of his players from competing internationally during the off-season. I get that this gets a lot of the ire from UConn fans, but it's not the sole reason why these things happen.

NIL is technically new, but it's been going on for decades. As kids realize they can make money, or get things for free, they throw themselves into it, for their own sake, or for their family. Playing a game isn't work to them. And all of them dream of being that high-profile player.

 

[TCC Kid]

I get it, but if that's the case, then IMHO the UCONN staff and coaches need to do a better job of monitoring how much the kids are playing.

"Ines - you just spent 2 weeks playing and practicing and traveling with team Portugal. Now that you are back, no basketball for the next week (or 2) as you recover and rest and recuperate. Only light weight training"... or whatever the appropriate thing is for her to do.

No offense to Geno, but most of these kids are not getting injured their first month at UCONN (meaning their problems likely occurred while in high school, playing AAU, or for some National Team). Since the injuries are occurring well into their UCONN careers, the coaches should be way more involved in their practice and workout regimes.

IMHO time for the staff to get more involved in how much time the kids spend on the court while enrolled at UCONN.

As a side note, I know there are instances where the kids DO come to UCONN with nagging injuries and it takes some time to figure out what and why, and then take the appropriate action (scraping a knee that was a chronic condition before coming to UCONN, etc.). So obviously I'm not talking about those situations.

San Diego Eric--
Anything done to excess can harm some Humans, some can skate by the injuries. Each human is different, each has a cancellation date, too much number--we only know what it is as we near that number, that date.
Personally, I'm for limiting the "off season" activities. The negative side of that is many but the positive is less injuries. The negative is: Experience against top players. Then too as I have often stated---You learn the game in many competitions, and good coaching.

 

[TCC Kid]

NIL is technically new, but it's been going on for decades. As kids realize they can make money, or get things for free, they throw themselves into it, for their own sake, or for their family. Playing a game isn't work to them. And all of them dream of being that high-profile player.

You are correct for the young typically a game is a game--Shea and Sevet played anyone anytime--apparently, it caught up with both of them.

 

[cancontent]

NIL is technically new, but it's been going on for decades. As kids realize they can make money, or get things for free, they throw themselves into it, for their own sake, or for their family. Playing a game isn't work to them. And all of them dream of being that high-profile player.

Get that, but my reply was in response to someone asking if NIL provides the allure to play outside of the UCon season schedule. It's challenging for international players to coordinate such things due to the fact they can't do anything while in the US. Unless there are changes to the student visa status, which isn't a NCAA or state matter, the allure for international players isn't as significant.

 

[Rowdy831]

I simply don't buy what Geno is selling on this one. His players have had more than their share lately and to brush it off as too much competition to me might miss the mark. Many other schools who are just as competitive as UCONN are having a fraction of the issues and for UCONN a few of them are almost non contact injuries. I would like them to do a complete review of their workouts and nutrition just to a make sure they aren't doing something inadvertently that might be contributing to their struggles.

 

[HuskyNan]

I simply don't buy what Geno is selling on this one. His players have had more than their share lately and to brush it off as too much competition to me might miss the mark. Many other schools who are just as competitive as UCONN are having a fraction of the issues and for UCONN a few of them are almost non contact injuries. I would like them to do a complete review of their workouts and nutrition just to a make sure they aren't doing something inadvertently that might be contributing to their struggles.

Other schools have had problems - take a look at DePaul last season.

Maybe the high school kids are pushing themselves to get into a high Div I school. They know the coaches are looking for high motor, high energy players