| With great interest I read your
magazine "NSA". I'm student of Physical Education at the University of Assiud,
Egypt and in Germany for three years for further studies. My special field is Athletics
and therefore I appreciate the contents of NSA. Especially the scientific results are
presented clearly and precisely and even if English is not my mother tongue I can read all
articles with great interest. Hassan Esuru El-Din
Germany/Egypt
I wish to comment upon the accessibility of NSA studies as
they pertain to practical coaching.
Two respected colleagues of mine have a difference of
opinion. On one side stands Marco Luque of Bolivia, who wrote to NSA suggesting that the
journal should include more articles that are directly applicable to coaching. On the
other side stands Lyle Sanderson of Canada, who countered Mr. Luque’s argument by
endorsing an uncompromising (albeit, more understandable) theoretical approach.
May I suggest that the two concepts need not be mutually
exclusive? Surely it must be possible for even the most theoretical of scientific
investigations to include a sub-section offering potential practical application of
results to the every day training (or competition) context.
Indeed, there are occasionally great examples of highly
technical NSA reports attempting to extend the theoretical to the practical. In the area
of factors associated with improvement of jumping capacity one recent study comes to mind:
"New trends in training science: The use of vibrations for enhancing
performance" (Bosco, et. Al., NSA 14:4; 55-62, 1999). This fascinating study, while
seemingly quite theoretical in nature, included helpful commentary on implications for
training and competition.
This study might have been ever more helpful to coaches,
however, had one more element been added to the report: an example/suggestion regarding
how to simulate the laboratory treatment in a ‘real’ training situation. For
example, HOW do I (as a coach) impose a vibration of the correct dosage on my athletes in
order to achieve results similar to the study? Are there portable machines available by
which this can be done? How long does the training effect last?
Or perhaps the simplest solution is self-evident: Include
in the publication at least one contact address (e-mail or otherwise) by which the reader
might readily make such inquiries of the principle author(s).
Linda (Spenst) Blade, Ph. D. Kinesiology
Coach and Level I IAAF Lecturer
Canada |
