Basketball
is a team sport that uses a combination of walking, jogging, running, sprinting-striding and shuffling
accounting for 38, 8, 7, 4 and 17% of game time respectively (Abdelkrim, 2010). A vast majority of movements
during the game are executed in a small space (Abdelkrim, 2010) (blocking,
shooting, pivoting, jumping and rebounding). Sideways/lateral movement counts
for 22% of total distance covered during the game (Abdelkrim, 2010), which has been reported to be metabolically demanding
(Ziv & Lidor, 2009). Most game time is spent in high
intensity activity involving more anaerobic power and less anaerobic capacity (Delextrat & Cohen, 2008), with agility also linking to
success. The position of shooting guard requires excellent shooting skills and the
ability to move quickly with the ball along with great ball-handling skills to
create a shot from the dribble.
Ankle sprains and knee internal
derangement are common injuries in basketball players, ankle ligament sprains
account for more than a quarter of all injuries in basketball (Hertel, Grossman,
& Marshall, 2007). The likelihood of an ankle sprain reoccurring has been
reported to exceed 75% among basketball players (Hertel et al., 2007). Ankle
sprains are most commonly caused by player contact and during specific movements
such as rebounding (33.1%) and jumping/ landing (29.4%). Other movements causing
ankle sprains include; shooting, defending, general play and pivoting
(Borowski, Yard, Fields & Comstock, 2008).
Evaluation of the Athlete
The athlete is a male National Basketball player, playing in the position of shooting guard. They have history of 3 grade one lateral ankle sprains (classified as stretching of the ligament without macroscopic tearing, mild swelling or tenderness and no mechanical instability of the joint (Nielsen, Jepersen, Neumann & Wester, 1996)), to the right ankle sustained in the last 18 months, however, the athlete is currently free from injury. When performing the functional screen, the athlete performed well on basic strength tests, however, had poor balance mechanics on various drills. They struggled to perform changes in direction at speed which was linked with poor ability on agility drills, particularly those that required landing from a jump. Due to two years’ experience, they demonstrated excellent exercise technique during to resistance training and can be described as an advanced trainer (Baechle & Earle, 2008). It has been suggested by the coach that the athlete would perform better in defensive skills if his upper body was stronger. It is currently the start of the off season therefore the primary goal is to increase upper body strength and increase lean mass, while maintaining endurance. The secondary goal is to increase ankle stability increasing the athlete’s performance on agility drills.
Evaluation of the Athlete
The athlete is a male National Basketball player, playing in the position of shooting guard. They have history of 3 grade one lateral ankle sprains (classified as stretching of the ligament without macroscopic tearing, mild swelling or tenderness and no mechanical instability of the joint (Nielsen, Jepersen, Neumann & Wester, 1996)), to the right ankle sustained in the last 18 months, however, the athlete is currently free from injury. When performing the functional screen, the athlete performed well on basic strength tests, however, had poor balance mechanics on various drills. They struggled to perform changes in direction at speed which was linked with poor ability on agility drills, particularly those that required landing from a jump. Due to two years’ experience, they demonstrated excellent exercise technique during to resistance training and can be described as an advanced trainer (Baechle & Earle, 2008). It has been suggested by the coach that the athlete would perform better in defensive skills if his upper body was stronger. It is currently the start of the off season therefore the primary goal is to increase upper body strength and increase lean mass, while maintaining endurance. The secondary goal is to increase ankle stability increasing the athlete’s performance on agility drills.
