I recently interviewed Coach Matt Graves, Physical Education teacher and Basketball Coach at River Hill High School. Coach Graves has been the varsity basketball coach at River Hill for 17 years. We discussed his experience as a player and as a coach and the importance of warm- ups to prevent injuries.
As a kid, Coach Graves loved the game of basketball and played it in high school and college. After his college graduation, Mr. Graves took a job as a varsity coach in upstate New York then worked as a graduate assistant coach at Lynchburg College for five years while getting a Masters Degree in school administration. Coach Graves enjoys having players he previously coached come back and tell him about their journey, whether it includes playing basketball at a higher level or venturing out into different paths of life. Coach Graves really tries to communicate teamwork to his players; he believes everyone should know their role and do their part so that the team can reach the ultimate goal of a state championship.
In college, Coach Graves suffered a plethora of injuries such as a broken ankle, a high ankle sprain, back spasms, jammed fingers, and other minor aches and pains. To deal with these injuries, Coach Graves exclusively utilized ice. Now, technology is much better and athletes have many different means of recovery such as massage guns to heal muscles, compressed air massages to heal legs, and cryotherapy chambers to relieve pain and reduce inflammation.
Some common injuries Coach sees players suffer are rolled ankles, tendonitis in the knees, back spasms, pulled muscles and jammed fingers. Injuries like these are normally treated with ice and are allowed to heal over time. However, ice is not a cure for injuries – the coldness of the ice only reduces swelling and numbs pain.. One of the best ways to prevent these injuries is by being flexible and eating a healthy diet. Unfortunately, in the sport of basketball some injuries such as jammed fingers, rolled ankles, or ankle sprains are simply unavoidable and unpreventable.
Coach Graves believes that warm ups are essential for athletes to prevent injury. Warming up allows the body to gradually raise its temperature, blood flow, and heartbeat while preparing muscles for rigorous activities. This allows the body to adapt to rigorous activity more quickly and ultimately prevent injuries. Examples of warm ups that can be performed before a basketball game include lunges, dribbling drills, layups, and set shooting.
Comments