Better timing
It's that time of the season again, and the sick bug has struck. It never seems to fail that about now is when everyone on the team, from coaches, to athletes, comes down with something. So far I've been fortunate to dodge the bug - I think I had my bit earlier in the year - but it's starting to hit the team.
Dorms are notorious for assisting in the spread of illness as not everyone who inhabits one understands the famous line that, "cleanliness is close to godliness." Today I had four novice athletes beg out sick, so I'm giving them the next 48 hours off - off tomorrow, rest day Wednesdays - in hopes that they rebound quickly.
There are few things that I dislike more as a coach than "isms" that are more damaging than good, or at least, inaccurate in my opinion. I have an issue with, "mileage makes champions" - nails to the chalkboard when I hear it, and currently, "1 day off is 3 days to get back."
I'm not a physiologist, nor do I fully understand how the body works, and reacts to time off vs. time off for illness, but I do believe this: The more fit you are when you start getting sick, the faster you will rebound. I believe that the more fit you are, the quicker your body will get back to a similar training level once you're sick. The same goes when you're less fit because the body will come back to the previous state, though perhaps a bit slower. Or not. Again, I don't claim to be well versed in the exact minutia of how illness or viruses work within the body.
Still, I believe that if we jump the bug earlier, if we know when you've gotten it, and give you the necessary time off, you'll rebound and get back into the swing of things relatively quickly. I estimate that for someone on the novice team, 10-15 days will be the total number of days required to catch a cold, work it through, and get back on track, meaning by the 15th day, if the athlete and coach have worked diligently to shorten the time off, the athlete will be close to the fitness level that they were prior to getting sick.
Furthermore, I believe that the worst thing that can be done, or expected of the athlete is to, "train to tolerance." First, I have no idea what that actually means, train to tolerance. The body can tolerate a great deal. Many things can tolerate a great deal of stress. It doesn't mean that the body or other item in question actually should. Your car engine can tolerate you not changing the oil for months passed due. That doesn't mean that it should. The same goes with the athletes. I am fairly certain that an athlete with a head cold can tolerate a moderate level of physical activity. However, they're going to be miserable doing so, and there is a chance that they spread what they have to other athletes, or that what they have decides to turn into something a little more, "interesting."
I'm getting a little bogged down here. My bottom line is this: Yes, getting sick will set back your training. That's simply how it is. There's no reason to dwell on it, nor is there are reason to get upset about it. It's a part of life, especially in the school setting. So we deal with it the best way we can, and in my thinking, the best way to deal with an illness is to get over it as quickly as possible. I will trade 3-5 down days for the athlete to rebound fully, rather than having the athlete train at 60 percent for weeks on end as they stress their body - making it easier for the virus to hang on - and remain miserable.
What are we training for? Are we training for now? Are we training for races in the future? Would you rather have an athlete at 60 percent for the next 5 or 6 weeks, yes weeks, or lose the athlete for 3-5 days and have them back into training in 10-15 days?
Dorms are notorious for assisting in the spread of illness as not everyone who inhabits one understands the famous line that, "cleanliness is close to godliness." Today I had four novice athletes beg out sick, so I'm giving them the next 48 hours off - off tomorrow, rest day Wednesdays - in hopes that they rebound quickly.
There are few things that I dislike more as a coach than "isms" that are more damaging than good, or at least, inaccurate in my opinion. I have an issue with, "mileage makes champions" - nails to the chalkboard when I hear it, and currently, "1 day off is 3 days to get back."
I'm not a physiologist, nor do I fully understand how the body works, and reacts to time off vs. time off for illness, but I do believe this: The more fit you are when you start getting sick, the faster you will rebound. I believe that the more fit you are, the quicker your body will get back to a similar training level once you're sick. The same goes when you're less fit because the body will come back to the previous state, though perhaps a bit slower. Or not. Again, I don't claim to be well versed in the exact minutia of how illness or viruses work within the body.
Still, I believe that if we jump the bug earlier, if we know when you've gotten it, and give you the necessary time off, you'll rebound and get back into the swing of things relatively quickly. I estimate that for someone on the novice team, 10-15 days will be the total number of days required to catch a cold, work it through, and get back on track, meaning by the 15th day, if the athlete and coach have worked diligently to shorten the time off, the athlete will be close to the fitness level that they were prior to getting sick.
Furthermore, I believe that the worst thing that can be done, or expected of the athlete is to, "train to tolerance." First, I have no idea what that actually means, train to tolerance. The body can tolerate a great deal. Many things can tolerate a great deal of stress. It doesn't mean that the body or other item in question actually should. Your car engine can tolerate you not changing the oil for months passed due. That doesn't mean that it should. The same goes with the athletes. I am fairly certain that an athlete with a head cold can tolerate a moderate level of physical activity. However, they're going to be miserable doing so, and there is a chance that they spread what they have to other athletes, or that what they have decides to turn into something a little more, "interesting."
I'm getting a little bogged down here. My bottom line is this: Yes, getting sick will set back your training. That's simply how it is. There's no reason to dwell on it, nor is there are reason to get upset about it. It's a part of life, especially in the school setting. So we deal with it the best way we can, and in my thinking, the best way to deal with an illness is to get over it as quickly as possible. I will trade 3-5 down days for the athlete to rebound fully, rather than having the athlete train at 60 percent for weeks on end as they stress their body - making it easier for the virus to hang on - and remain miserable.
What are we training for? Are we training for now? Are we training for races in the future? Would you rather have an athlete at 60 percent for the next 5 or 6 weeks, yes weeks, or lose the athlete for 3-5 days and have them back into training in 10-15 days?
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