I was going to talk about Day 1 of the BSMPG conference but I frankly was not there the whole time and much better writers exist and I am burnt out of blogging I wanted to finish strong without compromise. Since every conference has VIP and pre pre conference work I simply ran out of juice before the conference began and Friday evening dinner was perhaps the most interesting. Everyone talks about how great the bar banter is or how power lunches are filled with secrets making the conference in the shadow of all of the conversation. If that was the case we would all skype and airports would be ghost towns. I will go over Saturday as I attended the entire day later.
After years of wanting a serious injection of Sport Science into the BSMPG, Art Horne pulled off another blockbuster move and got Marco Cardinale. I would argue that the Genesis of my interest in Marco was the 2004 Regeneration in Sport CD that was filmed in Stockholm. That information included very progressive information at the time and if you were to survey the average coach in strength and conditioning who any of the names were you would get a glazed look. Yet still major teams and organizations are not using the best practices from the CD, and the USA is finally bringing such great speakers over thanks to Jason DeMayo and Art Horne. Nine years later we are starting to get calibrated with reality and BSMPG is leading the way. I predict a huge spike in small conferences in the future, all battling for the best line-ups and the best way to handle this is to know who can deliver. I contacted all my favorites over the last few weeks and had either NDA contracts or if they are friends a verbal yes to ensuring the best talent stays on the East Coast and in Spain.
With a Malbec and unlimited steak, I sat down and discussed reality of what is going on with professional sports with a few people that are working with some starts in the NHL, MLB, NFL, and NBA. The most interesting talk I had in months included the basic fact nobody wants to talk about. Athletes are not training with their strength coach on the team. There, I said it. Anyone bring this up in conferences lately? The big boys have their own teams and network of medical professionals keeping them going. So let’s talk about this. Who is working with who? That’s a phone call and very off the record but a whole legion of guys are making their money working with one or more athletes and many pro athletes include their private coach in their contracts with teams. The NBA is a primary example of this. Since my main market of equipment sales is the underground private consultant wanting tools ahead of the public stuff, I wanted to share what they are doing that makes the Apollo look like Atari and how pro sports are not what people think it is.
Technology and Services- One consultant has roughly a quarter million dollars of equipment and services to keep his athlete in the league. After hearing horror stories of college training, I had to validate it with some investigation. The origins of freelance defectors begins with college when an athlete is injured doing training that is risky without a clear purpose. Any exercise can be made dangerous if not coached properly, and after seeing a youtube montage it is clear that athletes are wising up early and understand that they are mortal. Let’s be honest here, we know athletes want the latest and greatest stuff to ensure they have an edge, and equipment and tech is the easiest sell. One can get results with a rusty barbell but selling it’s hard when everyone is using neurotopia and other services to get the last %. Unfortunately the first 99% is never done, but that is another story.
Information- Experts are finding themselves needing to get the best and most impactful techniques and methods. The cream are supported by a network of researchers and professionals in specialties to get the most useful and effective approaches with regeneration. Training in elite sport is about keeping guys healthy during long runs and recovery. Recovery after the season must be rapid, or the offseason gains are minimal. Lot’s of athletes are supported by guys to get them feeling better, and many have therapists living with them like James Harrison. The experts are no longer going to conferences but hosting their own private parties. Some invite other private coaches. I attended one session of how to evaluate adductor tears with professional football and was amazed with how so many smart people exist that never seem to known by the community.
Lifestyle- Private consultants live on the road more than the athletes, since they sometimes have to fly between cities if they have athletes on different teams. Many of them are hyper fliers like the dot com era, and fedex clothes in order to keep going. I would hate to live in hotels every evening and many of them are divorced and under the ages of 35. Only one I know that is keeping this lifestyle up is above 35 and he is talking about retirement. The life is not glamorous but if you can do it for 10 years you are set for life. Be warned though, other Vampires exist and it’s like the highlander, there can only be one and it’s very competitive. Most are more knowledgeable than the speakers in their fields and last year I got a very rude awaking of what people are doing with electro muscle stimulation and therapy. The bar is very high but not visible, just like their reflections!
I don’t blog to create mystery as we all know the underworld exists in pro sports and there are guys behind guys that are behind guys. Where this leads I don’t know. Perhaps a team will simply outsource private coaches completely.