Heading a football can cause similar damage to concussion

Following our earlier blogs on head injuries, "Rugby players needing their heads examined" (15/11/11) Rugby Players Need Their Heads Examined, and "Concussion in American Sport" (23/8/11) More Concussion Controversy in Top American Sport, & " Ex-Players Sue NFL over Concussion-Related Injuries" (19/8/11) Ex-Players Sue NFL over Concussion-Related Injuries the BBC ran this interesting and timely article looking at the potential impact of heading footballs on brain injury. 


BBC Article - Too many headers can cause brain damage


The article raises again the issue of the premature and high profile death of former West Bromwich Albion and England Footballer Jeff Astle in 2002, who some readers may remember fondly as the guy who sang Karaoke at the end of the BBC's Fantasy Football League show, presented by David Baddiel and Frank Skinner in the 1990's. The article is based around a recent research paper by Dr Michael Lipton of the Montefiore Medical Center, University Hospital for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. 

Read Fibertrak-lipton article


The article suggests that heading a football 1000+ a year can cause patterns of damage (using a brain scan known as diffusion tensor imaging) similar to that seen in patients with concussion. 
The suggestion is that whilst heading a football as a one off event is unlikely to cause significant brain/neurological damage, the cumulative effect of repeated minor traumas causes, "...a cascade of responses that can lead to degeneration of brain cells." 


This was evident in study volunteers who headed the football frequently performing worse on cognitive, verbal memory and reaction time tests to those who headed footballs less frequently. 


The results of this study are interesting given the potential financial, training and playing ramifications to football, with Jeff Astle's family having already sought legal compensation for the neurological problems and premature death of their relative. 


1000 headers a year whilst initially sounding a lot, in fact equates to only 2.75 headers per day. 


Clearly the potential risks identified in the current paper need to be clarified and recommendations made to those who play/train frequently.

Before recreational footballers panic however, there is currently ongoing debate on this area with the results of numerous studies being equivocal. The article identifies an expert in the field of football related head injury, Dr Andrew Rutherford from the School of Psychology at Keele University who has been researching the possible damage caused by heading for several years. Dr Rutherford is reportedly unconvinced by the current research so far.

A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics' Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness Executive Committee was reported in the February 2010 issue of the journal Pediatrics. The results of the study in Pediatrics is consistent with anecdotal evidence reported by William P. Meehan III, MD,  Director of the Sport Concussion Clinic in the Division of Sports Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston, and author of the book, Kids, Sports, and Concussion.

"Since opening the Sports Concussion Clinic in November 2008, we have cared for nearly a thousand patients with concussions," Dr. Meehan writes.  "Only a few have reported sustaining their concussions from purposeful heading of the ball.  All of them were children." 

Preventing head injuries

While concluding that "the contribution of purposeful 'heading' of the soccer ball to both acute and potential long-term concussive effects, such as cognitive disfunction, seems less controversial today than previously," the authors of the Pediatrics  study nevertheless felt that  efforts to reduce potential injury from heading the soccer ball were still warranted. 

These were the recommendations of the Panel:

• Delayed teaching of heading. The panel recommended that heading of the ball only be taught when the child is  old enough to learn proper technique and has developed coordinated use of his or her head, neck, and trunk to properly contract the neck muscles and contact the ball with the forehead.   In doing so, it noted that the American Youth Soccer Organization  (AYSO), with 650,000 participants, does not teach purposeful heading to players under age 10.  
• Use of age-appropriate balls.  "Although proper technique is foremost in reducing the risk of concussion from heading the ball," the study says, "it is also imperative that soccer balls be water-resistant, sized appropriately for age, and not hyperinflated; and
• Strict rules enforcement.  Citing statistics that foul play has been associated with a significant number of contact-related injuries, with girls' (11.9%) and boys' (11.4%) soccer just behind girls' basketball (14%) as the sports with the highest rates of such injuries, most of which were concussions or other head/facial injuries, the panel joined in the consensus recommendation of experts that proper rules enforcement and limitation of violent contact, with officials controlling the physicality of the game and emphasizing safe play with respect for one's opponents, could play a significant role in reducing contact injuries in soccer.

There are also many potentially influencing factors to be considered. Weights of footballs whilst having reduced dramatically since the 1960/70's playing days of Jeff Astle, still differ between the amateur and professional game, as do ball speeds, which average 34mph in the amateur game and more than double that at professional level. The current article does not identify the level of ability or balls used in the study. 

Additionally the study was far from extensive with only 32 subjects used and a risk of too much power being attributed to the results of one study does exist. What the article succeeds in doing however is raising again the issue of brain injury in sport, and the very real requirement for further research in this area.

Voodoo Sport Science? Just because it's measurable doesn't mean it's meaningful!

The United Kingdom Sports & Exercise Medicine (UKSEM) Conference for 2011 was on at the ExCel Conference & Exhibition Centre in London in the last week of November. 

This blog will continue to bring some of the edited highlights of the four days of lectures, discussions & workshops with some of the key personnel involved in various aspects of sport and physical exercise for the physically active populations worldwide.

Vern Gambetta at UKSEM, November 2011

One such expert was the acclaimed coach, Vern Gambetta, who speaks from decades of personal experience, as well as from sports science theory. 

For more information and background on Vern read this blog post from a month ago, or his own blogging which we continue to feature in the right column of this blog.     

Vern Gambetta in Glasgow OCT 2011 SpaceClinics Blog

Vern continues to preach that Functional Training should develop athleticism: that is the ability to perform the athletic movements of running, jumping, throwing & lifting with sound technique. These should, he continues, be performed at optimum speed with precision, style & grace. 

His aim for UKSEM was to establish whether modern coaching was an art or a science.

His coaching eye is important, and he urges coaches to develop this whilst avoiding the 'confirmation bias' that can be present in physios or doctors who see what they expect to see, not what actually occurs in front of them. 

Sports' science can aid and assist a good coach who needs to know how to communicate with athletes and grow with them. As the art of coaching is learned the technology becomes even more useful. The support team are also to be encouraged to check their egos in before giving potentially key feedback independent of the coach-but must ensure and respect that just because it's measurable doesn't mean it's meaningful. Testing & monitoring has to be systematic but also for good reason. Food for thought?

And a view of stats.

"Statistics " Vern states, "are like a ladies in bikinis:

what they reveal is appealing, but what they hides is vital"

Vern went on to offer practical advice, and stated Four Key Points in making information presentable and useful to the coach:

1. Keep information simple
2. Make it understandable
3. Ensure it's reliable
4. Make the results available

There are areas of contemporary sporting practice which Vern struggles to hide his contempt for, and these are what he ranks as voodoo sport science as this piece has been titled:

These are, in no particular order of scorn:

• Cryotherapy - chambers or baths
• Pitchside Vibration Machines
• Bananas for matchday anti-cramping

However, all told, Vern figures that in coaching, art & science can make The Difference!

Just as long as the scientists are on tap, not on top! 

WINNING - what is more important : skill or character? Hard wiring the brain for success

What makes winners? Are they born, or made?
What are the important traits that characterise winners?
With the Olympic Games in London in 2012 this is focussing minds in British sport.
The UK Sports & Exercise Medicine Conference in London last week threw up many themes, one of which was based around skills & talent.


But another thread was that of character, and whether that was key to producing not only champions in sport, but also in life itself.


As the Rugby Football Union washes the dirtiest of linen in public and the passing of someone almost universally liked within the highly strung, highly competitive world of English Professional football, this past week has seen sport hold a mirror up to itself and society too with the term 'character' reflecting both negatively and positively.


One of the greatest of the presentations last week at the ExCel London was one by John Neal, on 'More important than winning'. A pyscho-physiologist with over 2 decades of experience in the military & elite sport he now consults to UK Sport and pro rugby union, and his key expertise lies in personal performance & motivation.
In summary, he suggested that those with character but less skill will win more often than more highly skilled individuals. Brain physiology demonstrates that those with character to cope when under pressure, and those who cope with pressure win more often. Thus if individuals with characteristics that offered up the likelihood of coping with pressure, but with application could develop skill, then there is more chance of individual and therefore team success. 


John has turned to applying these principles to youth selection in cricket with one of England's leading cricket academies. These demonstrate a conversion rate of 5% in traditional clubs from academy to professional contract. Since the change in emphasis to character from skill there has been a 70% conversion, which is significant. This is not dissimilar to the selection criteria employed by the most successful Super Rugby team, the Crusaders & echoes Melbourne Storm, similarly a successful rugby league club.


Contrary to the trend for learning more from failure, John also focusses on the positive experiences of success, and suggests we can learn much from winning as the brain processes positive images more swiftly & efficiently than negative ones from the focus on failure or losing. 


Winning experiences develop positive emotions from perceptions, beliefs and thoughts which hard-wire the brain building characterful experiences establishing a set of cognitive values. 


As John concludes, these traits are beneficial both on and off the field for our young people. Isn't that important? Thinking beyond winning is a process that could be creating better people for life.

Bwani Junction - Album out this week!

SPACE patients come in all guises, and Bwani Junction singer and guitarist Rory Fairweatheris is just one of many that has passed through the Dalry Road doors seeking comfort from pain.

He was a patient whilst still at school, but although the band was already frequently practising at the expense of his exercise programme (the group's been around in some guise for around 8 years already) it was 2011 that the group played in Maida Vale and on the BBC Introducing Stage at T in the Park (remember this link in the summertime? T in the Park 2011 ). 

The band's exotic name comes from a bastardisation of the 1956 Ava Gardner political film, Bhowani Juntion. Suggestions were offered by SPACE at the time-and rejected...Edinburgh listings magazine 'The Skinny', which encompasses all things music, arts, & culture in the capital, speaks of the group in the following enthused way:

"with their ‘playful’ artwork and fresh Afro-Caribbean sounds, Edinburgh quartet Bwani Junction have been brightening up the musical underbelly of Auld Reekie and beyond for some time."

The album is, regrettably for their parents, called 'Fully Cocked' and is released via Aksatak Records on 14 Nov. 

They can be seen playing Avalanche Records, Edinburgh on 14 Nov (5pm); LAID at Bloc, Glasgow on 23 Nov; support to The Pigeon Detectives at The Liquid Room, Edinburgh on 25 Nov, and are spending the end of this remarkable year by headlining the legendary King Tut's, Glasgow on 30 Dec.

Go check 'em out on www.facebook.com/Bwanijunction 

Just don't expect any exercise advice from Rory, that's all...

Tendon Pain? Is it your achilles heel with your running? Get the latest HERE!

Achilles Painful?

Tendon feeling stiff & inflexible? 

Crippled for the first few steps of the day?

If your tendon does not move freely in relation to the surrounding soft tissue including fascia, the growth of vessels & nerves locally can lead to significant pain on running or walking. 

Fascial sequence & function as identified
 by Carla & Antonio Stecco

But how best to deal with the problem, & whom should you visit : SPACE physios & podiatrists and/or docs?


Henning Langberg is an associate professor from Copenhagen with an interest in in tendinopathy injury (now referenced as such rather than 'achilles tendonitis' as there is no actual inflammatory component) as evidenced by these publications:


Doctoral thesis: "Response of tendon - associated connective tissue to mechanical loading in humans" 2007
PhD thesis: "the human achilles tendon - circulatory & metabolic changes with exercise" 2000

His blog (as can be linked with at the right side of this posting) has much to commend it, particularly with reference to tendon pain & problems. Much of this posting has references to his work & experiences.


Firstly, with the fact that there is no inflammatory component then it appears that evidence heavily weighs against the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen or brufen, and these should be resisted: exercise often sets up a reaction that is helpful but can be slowed down or harmed by these drugs.

illustrations from www.achillestendon.com
the 'Encyclopaedia for people with achilles injury'

Biomechanics of the foot and especially when running or walking are important, and a visit to a well qualified podiatrist such as Andy Paul whom is available at SPACE can be useful. Other forms of intervention that you may be aware of include Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections, which have gained some noteriety within medical circles ( PRP Explained ) but have demonstrated very little efficacy, or the practise of high volume injections, which have yielded results swiftly, but are also under-researched, but available at venues such as the clinic run by Dr Otto Chan in London ( High Volume Injection Explained).

His clinic has had physio input from the well-researched & published Dr Pete Malliaras (check Malliaris Author ).


In the meantime, for a view of protocols now being advised from the Danish research team that your physio might decide are required then you can check them out here by following the links on the page to the exercises & videos.

Exercise Programmes

Video of Heavy Slow Weight Training & Eccentric Exercise

7 Billion & Counting - interactive page so you can know your own number & where you fit in!

Think population of the world-ever wondered where you fit in?

All this recent media chatter about 7 billion people in the world this month is not wholly accurate: the window of uncertainty actually ranges from 6 months before the much-hyped 31st October date and for 6 months after.

However when even the United Nation's population expert (one Gerhard Heilig) suggests that the UN figures come with a 1-2% margin of error, the stats on this 7 billion figure can be taken with a grain or two of salt. The Vienna Institute of Demography suggests with a 95% probability that the figure will actually be reached between January & July 2012. This has not stopped the charity plan International from anointing a girl born predictably enough in india as the 7 bilionth! The varied form of birth data collection as well as accurate census information increases the uncertainty rather than offer any confirmation.

However, the hype has been sufficient for the BBC to have put out this interesting post with a calculation of anyone's own spuriously unique position in the story of human existance! As they state, the number of people on Planet Earth has more than doubled in the past 50 years, so be prepared to be surprised!

So click on, input your date of birth & accept your insignificant part in the human story!

What's your number? Calculate here using this link!

Rugby Players need their heads examined

A Scottish newspaper ran a story at the weekend that has echoes of the SPACE blog from mid-August:
http://theedinburghphysiospace.blogspot.com/2011/08/ex-players-sue-nfl-over-concussion.html

Here's the newspaper piece by journalist Tom English:
Scotland on Sunday newspaper article: Tom English 13/11/11

One of the key interviewees about this piece on rugby players whom had suffered concussion donating their brains post-mortem happens to be Dr Robert Cantu, whom sat with SPACE's own Stephen Mutch at a dinner in Banff in May. Interestingly this topic area was discussed, and this again discussed with the same journalist Tom English in Auckland in October when the story was mooted, & a promise to get in touch made by the journalist. 


Needless to say there has been zero effort on contact!  Yet the piece has run in the paper with a number of associated pieces. It is greatly positive that this area has been highlighted, which was part of the brief in the New Zealand discussions. 


Seems sensible that we have this brain bank offer made to sports other than American Football. 
What a pity the piece of journalism highlighting this issue is tainted a little-perhaps that's how it works with good ideas?

CONGRATULATIONS! Gold Coast bid wins Commonwealth Games 2018 & London wins 2017 Champs!

2 major sporting events had future events inked in over the past 24 hours, with Australia's Gold Coast winning the right to host the Commonwealth Games in 2018 after Glasgow's 2014 event rather than Hambantota in Sri Lanka. This followed the IAAF London seeing off Doha for the rights to host the World Championships in 2017 at the 60000 Olympic Stadium

 (See our blog London Legacy - prep the key ).

Gold Coast is a coastal city, and a major tourist destination with its subtropical climate, surf beaches & waterways. It sits just 94km south of Brisbane on Queensland's capital, Brisbane, and with a population of just over half a million is Australia's most populous non-State capital city. For 2018, there will be major infrastructure changes, with an increase to the Metricon Stadium to 40000 seats, new badminton & mountain bike facilities to look forward to, and a wrold class squash centre in addition to existing arenas & stadia as witnessed by the Scottish Rugby team during their visit to the Gold Coast ahead of the World Cup this year: it can certainly be stated that the locals will back sport!

Photo from www.goldcoast.com.au 

Gold Coast media release on winning bid

Commonwealth Games decision - UK Guardian report

London & The Legacy? Preparation the key for events: ask the Sports Scientists!

Doha v London 2017 World Athletics bid: London has much to lose. The UK Government has much to lose. By taking the 60,000 stadium back into public ownership & terminating the agreement with West Ham United, UK Ministers & the bid team played the legacy card strongly in addition to arguing that a Western Europe event for the first time since Berlin in 2009 was necessary for the health of the sport for sponsors & supporters to be held.

With a home-based Games around the corner, and the Team GB ticket announcement for football suggesting sell-out crowds throughout the UK 2012 could herald a Golden Period for events with Commonwealth games, Rugby World Cup in the years following the Olympics. No doubt an Athletics World Championships would be seen as another jewel in the sporting crown, but London has much to look forward to.


In the build up to an event there is much occuring behind the scenes.
The Journal of Sports Sciences back in November 2009 demonstrates an eclectic mix of papers. The editorial by Richard Davison & Michael Williams included here demonstrates how far sports' science has come to generate the conditions for sporting success over the past quarter century. They talk about the planning that can take place in advance of Olympic competition, in areas such as psychology, skill acquisition & physiology. 

The use of sports science in preparation for Olympic competition: Davison & Williams

In preparation terms the 27 IAAF Council delegates will expect a similar level by the bid teams in Doha & London, but like the Games themselves there can only be one winner.

Exciting Physio Opportunity in Edinburgh's West End

SPACE Clinics in Edinburgh is thrilled to announce an opportunity for a dynamic & motivated physiotherapist to join our team!

Check out this link
SPACE Physio Job Advert
for information or contact SPACE on 01313133999 or email info@spaceclinics.com for details!

We look forward to hearing from you!

CAN KNUCKLE CRACKING CAUSE ARTHRITIS?

A common enough question. 
The mystery over joints that crack and what causes the sounds that often annoy partners and family is easy enough explained. A separation of the join tissues can change the pressure within the joint lubricating fluid called synovial fluid: this can result from a negative pressure pulling nitrogen gas temporarily into the joint. This process is called 'cavitation'.


The distinctive sounds are often heard in the hands with knuckles 'cracking' or 'popping', but if there is no pain associated with the cracking, then this is not harmful and does not cause arthritis. If the cracking is accompanied by pain however it is worth checking with your physio as there could be underlying abnormalities of the structures of the joint such as the cartilage or ligaments. Health professionals can assess for inflammation of joints (usually painful) and irregular, swollen tissues.




A study by Raymond Brodeur published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics with a study population of 300 revealed no visible correlation involving joint cracking and arthritis. However some of those who demonstrated consistent cavitation sounds or 'knuckle cracking' did show signs of other form of soft tissue changes to the joint capsule and a diminish in clasp potency: possibly an upshot of the speedy, continual ligament stretching bordering the joint.


You may also hear a form of "cracking" sound across the front of the hip, and this is often experienced when tendons glide over one another generating a form of 'snap' between the tissues. This is often referred to as snapping hip syndrome or coxa saltans in medical terms.  Sometimes this can occur with ageing as muscle mass and action change.


So if you are sore when your joints 'crack' then make sure you speak to your physio, but in our experience, your only worry might be how much it irritates your nearest & dearest!

RUNNING AS FAST AS THEY CAN FOR A FUTURE - RIFT VALLEY RUNNING

The Rift Valley is famous in sport for its rich history of endurance running. With daily incomes of around 2$US per day the running that provides a means of getting to and from school in these areas can also provide a change of life for those with ability, desire, and the aggression to win competitive races. 

Jimmy Simba Beauttah
speaking at IFAC, Glasgow OCT 2011

An historic 1-2-3 clean podium sweep of the womens' marathon in Daegu at 2011 World Championships, and with Kenyans winning 28 of the last 30 marathons of significance, it seemed appropriate to listen to one of their High Performance coaches speak of desire & training last week at the International Festival of Athletics Coaching in Glasgow. Jimmy 'Simba' Beauttah was a keynote taking the audience on a journey of recent times, with medallist tales right up to the last Olympic Games in Beijing.


It rang bells as there was a lecture given some years ago in Dundee based on a research article on genetics in runners from the East African Rift Valley area, and the paper was published in Sports Medicine in 2007 (Genotypes and distance running : clues from Africa. Scott RA, Pitsiladis YP.) Their findings were fascinating: despite the speculation that African athletes have a genetic advantage for physical performance and the biomechanics of running, there is no genetic evidence to suggest that this is the case.  Another text worth viewing would be found in 2009 Sports Medicine (East African runners: their genetics, lifestyle and athletic prowess. Onywera VO.) which explores the foundations of running excellence, talent identification, diet and injury management methods used by East African runners.


For a view of the training camp at Iten I commend the recent blogposts at recent SPACE physiotherapist Oliver Finlay. Read the this entry and the few before to get a flavour of conditions in Kenya at the altitude training camp as experienced by Olli as physio to UK Athletics and the endurance squad for a training camp. 
Click here to read : Olli Finlay blog from Iten

Finally a newspaper article caught the eye discussing points about desire & the drivers for Kenyan runners, and it is where the title for this piece came from. I include it here from the  paper that reproduced it in NZ. 

Independent / NZ Herald article: Newspaper article, OCT 2011

This follows on the excellent series in the Gaurdian newspaper in UK where a journalist and keen runner experienced life in Iten to generate a feel for the conditions this amazing group of athletes come from, and how their fiercely competitive natures keep some runners ahead of the others in a bid to become the next leader in the future generation of endurance winners.

"Keeping Up With The Kenyans" series

Vern Gambetta & Functional Training

Vern Gambetta, coaching legend, was in Scotland this past week, and Australia earlier that month. You will see a link to his blog on the right of this posting, and he has been an influence to many more skilled & thoughtful practitioners than us at SPACE over the years, but to hear him is a rare privilege.




We plan to implement some of his functional training ideas into rehab sessions for patients and sportspeople attending Space Clinics here in Edinburgh.






His focus is on function, and on functional training: he describes these below (from his website www.gambetta.com)

What is Function? Full spectrum work, in multiple planes, using multiple joints, incorporating full range of motion that is proprioceptively demanding.
What is Functional Training? Training that incorporates a full spectrum of training methods, designed to elicit optimum adaptive response appropriate for the sport or activity being trained for.

• No one system of the body is emphasized to the exclusion of another.
• No one training method or physical quality becomes an end unto itself.
• Each athlete is a case study of one–
  respect the individual.
• Be real – Avoid artificial restraints and positions.

The goal of Functional Training is to develop Athleticism, the ability to perform athletic movements (Run, Jump, Throw, & Lift) with sound technique at optimum speed, with precision, style and grace within the context of your sport. 

Now you can see why these principles seem attractive to SPACE physios, and their long-held interests in total body movement and fascial fitness.

Mission Statement: 
To follow the functional path to "Building the Complete Athlete" or if the athlete is injured by "Rebuilding the Complete Athlete."

The Gambetta Method is based on the following functional path principles:

• Dynamic Postural alignment and balance are the foundation for all training.
• Train movements not muscles.
• Train fundamental movement skills before sport specific skills.
• Train core strength before extremity strength.
• Train with body weight before external resistance.
• Train joint integrity before joint mobility.
• Train synergistic muscles before prime movers.
• Train strength before strength endurance.
• Train speed before speed endurance.

So why do we rate him so highly?


He's a personable and engaging speaker. His knowledge is impressive. He still reads widely, and he meets specialists in the academic & applied worlds of science in sport & medicine. Often whah he says or writes or describes just makes good sense.


He has a wealth of experience: just clock this incredible CV:

Track & Field:
Specializes in Coaching Multi-Events, Decathlon and Heptathlon. Consultant coach for Nike Oregon Project. Edited Track Technique, the technical journal of USA Track & Field. Associate editor of the IAAF technical journal, New Studies in Athletic. Co-founder of USA Track & Field coaching education program.
Baseball:
Director of Athletic Development, New York Mets. As Director of Conditioning pioneered conditioning for baseball with model program for Chicago White Sox. Consultant to Cincinnati Reds. University of Texas.
Basketball:
Assistant conditioning coach for Chicago Bulls. Conditioning coach for Canadian National men’s team and the Canadian women’s team.
Soccer:
Conditioning coach for Tampa Bay Mutiny. Conditioning Coach for US Men’s World Cup team. Conditioning coach for New England Revolution. Consultant to Chicago Fire. Consultant, University of Virginia Women’s Soccer. Consultant, University of North Carolina Women’s Soccer.
Hockey: 
Consulted with San Jose Sharks.
Tennis:
Conditioning coach for Monica Seles. Consultant Billy Stearns Tennis Academy, Sarasota, FL.
Softball:
Consultant to Australian women’s softball, bronze medalists Olympics.
Swimming:
Consultant to the Carmel Swim Club, Harvard University Women's Swimmimg. Consultant to University of Michigan women’s swimming, Consultant, Kenyon College Swimming. Consultant to Mission Viejo Natadores.
Football:
Consultant to San Francisco Forty Niners. Kansas City Chiefs.

Teaching: 

First Director of USA Track & Field coaching education program. Developed successful seminar series “Building and Rebuilding the Athlete” which is directed to physical therapists, athletic trainers, conditioning coaches, personal trainers and sport coaches. Served on Faculty of the National Coaching Institute in Canada.

Books:
Editor TAC Coaching Manual Authored of seven books "Hurdling and Steeplechasing", "How Women Runners Train", "The Complete Guide to Medicine Ball Training", "The Gambetta Method", "The 3S System – Soccer Speed", "Sport Specific Speed - The 3S System", and "Athletic Development".
Education & Certification:
Master of Arts in Education with an emphasis in Physical Education, Stanford University, Calif. Standard Secondary Teaching Credential, History and Physical Education, UC Santa Barbara. Coaching Minor, University of California, Santa Barbara, Bachelor of Arts, Fresno State University, Social Science major, Physical Education minor, USAT&F Level II Sprint & Hurdle Coach and Jumps Coach USA Weightlifting Club Coach.

For further information on The Gambetta Method which represents a unique and innovative approach to training and rehabilitating athletes based on thirty+ years of experience working with a multitude of sports at all levels of competition, then check out his website or blog.