How to be the best athlete!

Sport Performance requires fine tuned precision across a multitude of areas. Some athletes are blessed with an abundance of talent, but most require a great deal of hard work to be "the best". Current research shows that to reach the "expert" level in fields such as music, sports, or other specialties and professions requires over 10,000 hours of dedicated training.

In other words, being passionate is not enough!

On top of passion, dedication, commitment, focus, sacrifice, pain, grit and determination... 

It also takes several physical and mental key areas of excellence to come together:

  1. Strong understanding of the sport, in other words, to be a student of the game!
  2. A high level of fitness that must be sports specific, dynamic and adaptable to meet the demands of the sport. This can be trained, for example via sport specific training using various training devices such as isokinetic trainers to mimic muscle contraction speed.
  3. Preventative Health Screening will provide a thorough biomechanical analysis and identify faults and weaknesses specific to the sport that may lead to an increased risk of injury or a decrease in performance levels.
  4. Sports Vision & Neurocognitive Training is needed because most sports require the ability to see and perceive a multitude of messages occurring at high speeds (i.e. pitch recognition) with multiple distractions such as opponents, obstacles and the skill-demands of the sport. Being able to make decisions (eg. swing/ don’t swing), react appropriately and perceive these visual inputs in an efficient manner result in optimal performance. Batters in a hot streak often describe the ball as if it were the size of a beach ball versus as small as a marble when things are cold.  Imagine seeing the beach ball all the time at bat.
  5. Regular video analysis allow a complex sport-specific movement such as a golf swing, tennis serve, or baseball pitch to be efficiently broken down into key components. Teaming this information with defaults of the biomechanical analysis allows for a better understanding of where movement patterns break down affecting the performance or leading to an increased risk of injury. A Sports Physio or Sports Massage Therapist will want to regularly review your training or game footage to ensure your training program is effective. 
  6. Effective Footwear and correct foot alignment are essential because the feet are the foundation of the body. Sports that generate most of the power and stability through the legs require a stable foundation to optimize performance. With the right shoe-type for normal feet or corrective orthotics for feet with structural imbalances, the foundation can be "reset" to react more efficiently to the ground and provide the stability and generate the power needed for success.
  7. Motion Detectors are valuable tools to evaluate swing patterns, retrain these patterns after injury or changes in biomechanics, or evaluate the effectiveness of changes in the swing. These tools are able to detect variables in the swing that cannot be detected with video or the naked eye.
  8. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) monitoring is becoming one of the most useful tools for tracking the time course of training adaptation/maladaptation of athletes and in setting the optimal training loads leading to improved performances. Honsberger Physio+ monitors its athletes HRV regularly to ensure that training and recovery are 
  9. Collaboration between your coaches, trainers and sports therapy team. These three groups must be aligned and communicate regularly to ensure your individual program aligns with the periodization of your sport, your position but most importantly your goals and major tournaments, games or athletic events. 

Honsberger Physio+ takes an active role in athletic mangement. 

The ideal athlete combines strength, power, coordination and skills with an innate understanding of the game to become the best in their sport.

These athletes are rare, but they can be trained through the right mix of techniques, skills, body mechanics and visual processing to become high performance athletes at the top of the chosen sport.

They just need the "right" team to support all the parts of their "game".

The Honsberger Physio+ team of Sport Physios, Massage Therapists and Ahletic Therapists in Aurora and Markham have the tools and the expertise to build customized sports specific periodization programs to support your growth and goals as an athlete!

If you are serious about taking your game to the next level, email us at programs@honsbergerphysio.com!

Written by: 
Efan Gonsalves PT
efan@honbergerphysioplus.comWe provide Physiotherapy, Massge Therapy, Athletic Therapy in Markham and Aurora, Ontairo. 

Orthopedic Rehabilitation
105-675 Cochrane Drive, Markham, ON L3R 0B8 P (905) 940-2627 F (905) 940-3136 HONSBERGER@HONSBERGERPHYSIOPLUS.COM
81 Temperance Street, Aurora, ON L4G 2R1 P (905) 841-0411 F (905) 841-7311 AURORA@HONSBERGERPHYSIOPLUS.COM