High Performance Services: Local and International Visiting Sports Teams

The Institute offers a range of services to visiting teams and their coaches. The Institute offers a multi disciplinary team of health professionals including physiotherapists, orthopaedic surgeons, sports medicine doctors, dieticians, biokineticists, high performance specialists, sports vision trainers and psychologists, who work together to provide a variety of services that are interlinked to offer a comprehensive service to the athlete and coach.

The Institute is able to offer indoor testing fot teams and groups of up to 40 people. The High Performance Centre has a variety of venues including lecture rooms, workshop rooms, various testing rooms and equipment for a variety of physiological tests. The Institute also has a 200 seater auditorium for seminars and workshops. Full catering and bar facilities are also available. This makes the Institute a perfect venue for training camps and group testing, with performance tests, medical and injury screening, meals and workshops all facilitated under one roof. Accommodation and field training is within walking distance of the Institute.

Visiting teams can select a range of services to suit their pre-season, in season and off-season training requirements:

A team may select from the following menu of services. One or all the services may be selected.

Biokinetics Consultation

Each player has the opportunity to undergo an Individual consultation with a qualified biokineticist to establish:

• past & current training volume
• injury history
• weekly training schedule

Physiological assessment and profile (report)

• Each player will be assessed
• The scores achieved by the player act as base line values by which a player’s progress is evaluated.
• The physical assessment allows one to identify a players strengths and weaknesses.
• The physiological profile created after testing will allow the trainer to develop the most appropriate programme for the player or team.

A complete fitness programme

• The physiological testing and consultations enable one to work out training programmes that are specific to the needs and positions of individual players
• Player education regarding execution of training exercises.
• Individual feedback of results to players.

Lectures and modular training

Lectures on aspects of physical performance including the physiology of various sports, the principles of strength training, periodisation can be included. A special emphasis is placed on strength training education. A player who has been through the program should understand why he trains the way he or she does in each specific period of the season.

Lectures or workshops can also be designed to cover specific areas identified as requiring further education, from Lifeskills to technical knowledge.

Team fitness training on the field

A team may request the services of one of our qualified biokineticists to facilitate practical training sessions. All staff are trained in various sports at a high performance level and have experience in the fitness training of national level athletes.

Team conditioning in the gymnasium

A team may request the services of one of our qualified biokineticists, to supervise and help the players as they complete their training in the gymnasium. Visiting teams have the option of spending time in our fully equipped gymnasium or High Performance strength (Olympic lifts area) and conditioning training area, specially designed for training sessions of high performance athletes.

• The Multistage Fitness Test (Bleep test)
  The maximal aerobic power of athletes can be assessed by a progressive multistage shuttle run according to the protocol of Leger et al. (1988). This test has excellent reliability (r=0.97) and validity (r=0.84) (Leger and Lambert 1982), and can be used to test a large number of athletes simultaneously.
  
  
• Repeated Sprint Ability (RSA)
  A sport specific RSA test is performed to evaluate the ability of the athletes to recover from repeated sprint bouts typical of those encountered during match play.
  
  
• 10m Acceleration and 40m Maximum Running Speed (electronically timed)
  The purpose of these tests is to determine the athlete’s maximum sprint speed and ability to accelerate from a stationary and flying start.
  
  
• Illinois Agility Test
  Measures the athlete’s ability to change direction at pace.
  
  
• Reaction Time
  The Newtest timing system measures the athlete’s reaction time and speed off the mark.
  
  
• Muscular Endurance
  Sit-ups, pull-ups and push-ups are used to assess muscular endurance.
  
  
• Muscular Strength
  Strength testing for bench, leg press and Squats are performed.
  
  

• Flexibility
  Modified Thomas test
  Determines the range of motion and flexibility of the muscles around the hip and quadriceps.
  
  Straight leg hamstring test
  Measures the athlete’s hamstring flexibility in both limbs.
  
  
• Anthropometric Evaluation
  Skinfolds, girth, height and weight measurements are taken to estimate and monitor body composition (muscle mass, sum of skinfolds, lean body mass, fat mass). It is important for athletes to keep their fat mass at a level conducive to optimal performance in a specific sport.
  
  
• Other tests provided for at the Discovery High Performance Centre
  
  • Isokinetic testing
  • Sit-and-reach, Modified Thomas test, Straight leg hamstring test (cm)
  • Agility T-Test (sec)
  • Forearm Grip strength – Left and right – (W.kg)
  • Sit-ups (max number completed in 120 sec)
  • Explosive jump power (fitrodyne) (watts)
  • Counter-movement jump (cm difference)
  • Broad jump (max distance - cm)
  • Overhead throw (velocity)
  • Chest put (max distance – m)
  • Wingate cycle ergometer test (Peak watts)
  • Wingate cycle ergometer test (Watts/kg)
  • HIMS (Heart rate interval monitoring system) – Individual rate of recovery
  • Vo2max testing for cyclists and runners
  • Peak power output for cyclists
  • Lactate testing for cyclists

On completion of a selected test battery both individual and team results are presented in a comprehensive report that can be used as a base measurement for future testing.