Pop Goes the Shoulder – and all our training plan too :'(

Dear Roy

Having a teammate that blends in and who everyone feels good with, is just priceless

We had a great 4-way team going, 2013 was our second year together with the same line-up, we moved into AA category and scored an 11 average at Nationals. We made a very full training plan for this year (to move into AAA), involving lots of winter tunnel, and 2 training camps plus several weekends in the summer ☺ Then, in the tunnel last week, one of our guys dislocated his shoulder ☹.

What do we do now?

He’s going to physio and working hard on recovering. He’s very determined and I feel with his strong motivation to get better then he will work hard and make it happen. BUT he can’t do any tunnel for at least 3 months. It will be touch and go whether he will be fit for the World Challenge at Bodyflight in April. Then we hope he’s going to be okay to jump in May but there are no guarantees.

What do we do? We could replace him now, he’s even suggested that would be the best option for the team, there is an up and coming flyer who might fill the void. But we really like the team line-up just the way it is; the vibe has been perfect. We would much rather wait for him to get better than risk bringing someone new in who doesn’t fit. But what do we do if he doesn’t recover? And what do we do meantime? We can jump and fly with our coach in the mean time but we can’t enter Nationals with our coach as he’s the wrong nationality.

I guess you don’t have a magic wand to heal his shoulder, so can you tell us how best for the team to work around his injury?

Best regards
Thomas

Hi Thomas,

Wouldn’t that give you even more motivation to kick ass?!

Like in every sport, injuries happen and when it occurs we have to deal with it in the best way possible. The goal should always be to avoid it. Little things like warming-up, physical training and safety can already make a big difference.

From what you mentioned yourself, I wouldn’t even consider replacing him at all, if he fits so well into the team dynamics. Having a teammate that blends in and who everyone feels good with, is just priceless. It is more than worth waiting the time for him to be fit again and to come back full steam. Imagine if it would be you that is injured, how much would you appreciate it if the team waits for you? Wouldn’t that give you even more motivation to kick ass?!

Meanwhile you can try to find someone else who can fill in the slot for as long as he is out and recovering. I would go for the best personality and best flyer possible, even if he has a different nationality. In this way the team will learn the most and get the highest efficiency out of the training. Unless you go for the selection for the World Meet, then it is a different story.

I have seen too many times people who had a dislocated shoulder, that start jumping again before their shoulder was fit enough to do the job. With exits and while flying we use a lot of strength in the shoulders and they get stretched and put into strange positions. Of course I am not a doctor, but I would recommend taking really good care of it and having the shoulder 100% before jumping again. Probably it is wise to ‘test’ it first in the tunnel for safety reasons.

Take care,
Roy