BGSU Sports Performance - Bowling Green State University Athletics

Sports Performance

We aim to operate under the expanded umbrella that is sports performance to accommodate the ever-changing demands of sports performance within the athletic developmental process
- This umbrella shall include but is not limited to:
  - Strength Training
  - Power Development
  - Speed and Agility
  - Energy System Development
  - Injury Reduction
  - Use of Recovery Modalities/Sleep Optimization
  - Liaison to Sports Nutrition
  - Reinforcement of Mental Health Initiatives
- We recognize the unique power of the weight room in that every student athlete will pass through these walls at least once a week
  - We will leverage this power to act as a hub to connect with all aspects of the BGSU High Performance team (Mental Health, Sports Psychology, Nutrition, Sports Medicine)
  - The TV Displays can and shall be used to broadcast the latest initiatives and research to be communicated by the BGSU Student Athlete Wellness Team

Core Values

Simplicity: Training should be simple enough to always know the why
Agency: The student-athlete has a voice and plays an essential role in the training process. We aim to empower student-athletes to take action in health and fitness during sport and life after sport
Inquisitive Leadership: Selflessness in our pursuit of understanding and improving athletic performance

Goals and Standards to Reinforce Core Values

Simplicity
- Can an athlete answer why they are performing a given exercise?
Inquisitive Leadership
- Is there an open forum for athletes to ask questions and explore solutions?
- Are there opportunities for peer leadership within training?
Agency
- Is there an environment where student athletes’ ideas and concerns are approached by the coaching staff with an open mind towards discourse and solutions?

Training Principles

Ground Based: Exercise selection shall emphasis movements that utilize the entire kinetic chain starting with the feet on the ground to improve intermuscular coordination and biomechanical patterns within ground-based movements.
Explosive: Movements such as Olympic lifting variations, plyometrics, loaded jumps, and medicine ball throws will act as drivers behind improving rate of force development.
Three-Dimensional: Training will emphasis moving along the sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes to prepare the body for the multiplanar demands associated within movement in sport.
Objective: Training shall provide objective markers on a regular basis to track athlete progress and development while enhancing competition.

Four-Year Development Model

Year One:
- Developmental year one.
- Aim to approach conscious competence in 5 basic human movement patterns (Squat, Hinge, Push, Pull, Carry). Learn to put body through a full range of motion under load. Learn to keep a neutral spine under load. Introduction of Olympic lifts where necessary.
- Periodization is flexible but largely linear in nature.
- Focus on structure of plate regarding nutritional macronutrients. Learn basics elements of good sleep hygiene.
Year Two:
- Developmental year two. Achieve conscious competence in 5 basic human movement patterns (Squat, Hinge, Push, Pull, Carry). Achieve proficiency in moving on 3 planes of motion under load.
- Periodization remains flexible but largely linear in nature. Increased training volumes and intensities in off-season.
- Focus on improving micronutrient intake. Develop strategies to cope with environmental factors that may inhibit sleep.
Year Three:
- Begin transition towards advanced training methods. Unconscious competence in basic human movement patterns. Conscious competence in Olympic lifting variations (where applicable).
- Periodization moves towards a high degree of emphasis on concurrent training due to accommodate higher volume loads and absolute intensities.
- Focus on positive habit formation and stacking of habits around sleep and nutrition.
Year Four:
- Advanced training methods. Conscious competence in Olympic lifting variations (where applicable).
- High degree of variation in training methods with concurrent method as key driver within a flexible periodization model.
- Advocate and leader within squad for reinforcing positive sleep and nutrition habit formation