Column - "The New P.E. & Sports Dimension" - # June 2002 |
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Use heart rate monitors to keep youth safe" Dr. Debby Mitchell, Dr. Michael Kehoe, and Mr. Thomas Fisher, Jr., Physical Education & Sports and Fitness, USA. To start with the discussion and how to: click here
Numerous reports indicate that our youth are shamefully out of shape. We are discovering from health organizations that obesity, diabetes, and health related diseases are increasing at alarming rates among school age populations. "The epidemics of diabetes and obesity are clearly escalating in the United States. If we continue on this course for the next decade, the public health implications in terms of both disease and health care costs will be staggering." Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, Centers Disease Control Director, September 2001. In contrast, we have an era of “super” elite youth athletes with training regiments that sound more like brutal torture with intense workouts that leave the athlete dizzy, over-heated, and nauseated. The emphasis is to make the young athlete faster, stronger, and more agile – but at what cost? Due to an emphasis on youth competition, camps for conditioning and training adolescents are found all over the world. How many of the teachers, coaches, or so-called “experts” at these camps have the appropriate education to monitor and provide safe training for our youth? From a psychological perspective, it is often difficult to accurately predict appropriate levels of intensity for young athletes of varying abilities. Their lack of experience does not afford them the “benchmarks” necessary to make accurate assessments of their own abilities, never mind about the intensity of the activity! Coaches driven by the desire to “win” may be at odds with athletes driven by the desire “not to lose. ”Both of these philosophies are mediated by the desire for safety in sport. Additional confusion may lie in the subjective appraisal of the intensity of the task at hand. How hard should a coach or an athlete push? Going “all-out” in an event may be admirable, but may be neither realistic nor productive. It may even be counterproductive to engage with too much intensity. Consider that many sports such as golf, bowling, and baseball do not respond favorable to hitting or throwing the ball with great intensity ALL the time. We see new reports about young athletes with major sports injuries or
in extreme situations dying due to practices or activities that may push
them too far. In fact, in the past several years heat stroke has
been as high as the third leading cause of death among athletes followed
by heart failure and spinal cord injuries (Total Health, 1999). In
the sport of football alone, there have been 18 related football deaths
since 1995. The 2001 data show three cases of heat stroke death.
The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research (2001) in the
most recent report even states: “There is no excuse for any number of heat
stroke deaths since they are all preventable with the proper precautions.”
School Board
News, a national affiliate of the National School Board Association
in the US indicate more precautions need to be taken to prevent youth deaths
due to athletics. This report was in 2001 after the deaths of a Northwestern
University football player and Minnesota Viking Korey Stringer earlier
in August following practice sessions on intensely hot days and three high
school players who also died in August during or after practice.
How can we monitor and give appropriate feedback about training intensities which will encourage our youth and elite athletes to exercise and train safely? We have many of the answers and the technologies, we
should be using them!!
Reconciling subjective impressions and objective data is the art and science of coaching. Ideally, a coaches impressions, formed over a period of behavioral observation of the players, are a viable place to begin the assessment process. Several elements immediately compete for dominance, as the subjective appraisal is dependent upon the coaches experience, mood, needs, expectations, patience, and background. Basically, it is a series of cues used to make a subjective opinion, the value of which is a direct reflection of the viability of the elements used in its composition. However, if a coach were to use an objective instrument in the assessment, it could provide justification for any decisions made. In short, it could provide more validity and reliability to the assessment. Heart-rate monitors provide an excellent tool for coaches to support program development involving varied intensity, duration and frequency. There are many benefits to using heart rate monitors and other assessment technologies in physical education and sports at all levels. Using a heart rate monitor allows the individual to input information concerning their own target heart rate zone. At any time during the exercise activity, the individual can quickly look at the “watch” on their wrist and see the number of beats per minute for their heart. A signal can be set for the watch to “beep” if they work above or below their heart rate zone. This allows the individual to receive personalized information about their workout. Polar states, “We recognize the critical need to create individualized exercise activity levels for all children. It is not good enough to simply get kids moving. We must, as professionals, develop and prescribe proper exercise, and in doing so, be able to monitor and measure the response of our lessons in those children.” This statement should be true for all adults who work with our youth whether they are a parent, teacher, coach, or trainer. According to Beth Kirkpatrick, a physical education teacher and a recognized proponent of heart rate monitors, ``It has been proven that the way to objectively quantify student PE performance is through a program of technology and reporting, which can be provided by heart rate monitors and fitness evaluation systems.'' Every person who wears a heart rate monitor is given the continuous feedback permitting them to monitor their heart rate, thus achieve success in every fitness related activity. From an abstract from an article in USA Today, "The new PE 'Life' sports are emphasized instead of the team concept so that no child is left out," It was stated that, "Heart Monitors Make Kid's Play Safe." The discussion in the article is concerning the "New PE" and one of the tool's that gets the most mention from supporters is the heart-rate monitor. "We have to get the whole population to understand that this is a tachometer," says Tom McCoy, senior vice president for Polar Electro heart monitors. "A lot of people try to exercise and quickly become discouraged either because of discomfort or because they can't compete with the guy next to them. The first thing the heart monitor does is to teach individuals how to monitor their own intensity which means often slowing down. We can readily see the application in a physical education program but what about your elite athlete? It may be even more vital to the athlete who is pushing themselves at each training period to monitor their heart rate intensity as indicated by many professional and olympian athletes. Greater assessment may be achieved by using a “high end” heart rate monitor. This device records the heart rates of the athlete during the training episode. The recorded information is then down loaded into a computer. The data is analyzed to determine if the athlete’s heart rate reached the optimum heart rate levels during activity. The monitors aid in the evaluation of the athletes aerobic, anaerobic, or below aerobic level qualities. The heart rate monitor provides feedback during a work out for the purpose of increasing or decreasing the work out intensity. This is potent information to the athlete and coach for adjusting training or in planning future training's for the athlete. We Have the Technology – Just Use It!!
The most important rationale for using the heart rate monitor is for safety reasons. Although monitors are not sold as a diagnostic tool, their usage in schools has led to early detection of heart problems. In heat exhaustion and heat stroke, in addition to a high temperature, the heart rate elevates to a dangerously high level. In recommendations from a recent study in New Zealand, Moran (2001) states “the lack of a friendly, small and simple device for environmental stress assessment is probably the main reason why stress indices are not commonly used. We believe that developing a new portable heat and cold stress monitor
in wristwatch format for use by those exposed to environmental stress could
help in the decision making process of expected hazards caused by exercising
and working in hostile environments, and might help prevent heat and cold
illnesses.” Therefore, the heart rate monitor and other monitoring
devices – just might save someone’s life by recording any unusual activity,
by signaling that the heart rate is reaching above the athlete’s maximum
heart rate, or the body temperature is getting too low or high.
Education, Training, and Certifications: First and foremost, teachers and coaches must be properly trained by professionals from organizations and institutions that provide current information from individuals who are knowledgeable, competent and can provide credentials. On-going training and education should be required of all individuals who work with our youth in any type of sports or fitness activity. Coaches should maintain a current nationally recognized certification. Use Current Technologies: Heart rate monitors (especially with high risk activities) should be routinely used. In addition, assessment programs should be used to monitor, provide feedback, and help individual reach personal fitness goals. Monitor Conditions and Athletes: Check heart rates, monitor heat and humidity conditions, take the temperature of athletes training in the heat, provide water, etc. Research: Institutes and research facilities are currently
testing, assessing, and providing information about safely training adolescents.
Teachers and coaches must stay informed about new information and take
advantage or research that is available.
Dr. Debby Mitchell is the coordinator of the new Sports & Fitness undergraduate degree offered at University of Central Florida beginning January, 2003. The UCF Physical Education program also offers a masters degree with an emphasis on coaching or health and fitness. She is also forming the National Sports and Fitness Institute in partnership with the National Training Center, Disney Wide World of Sports, ORMC Hospital, and other partners in the Clermont area in central Florida. Mitchell@mail.ucf.edu http://reach.ucf.edu/~nsfi Dr. Michael Kehoe is a faculty member at the University of Central Florida. His background is in Sports Administration and he is assisting in the implementation of the new degrees and institute at University of Central Florida. mkehoe@mail.ucf.edu Mr. Thomas Fisher is a faculty member completing his dissertation at
the University of Central Florida and coordinator of the Coaching minor
in the Physical Education undergraduate program. His background is
in Motivation, Sport Psychology and Applied Exercise Science, teaching
at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
tfisher@mail.ucf.edu.
“Annual Survey of Football Injury Research, 1931-2001”. The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research: Chapel Hill, N.C. Available: http://www.unc.edu/depts/nccsi/ Ballester, J. M. and Harchelroad, F. P. (1999). “Hyperthermia: How to recognize and prevent heat-related illnesses.” Geriatrics, 54,7. Beth's View. (2002). "The New P.E. In Action." http://www.pepgrant.info/newpe_bethsview.htm CDC Press Release (2001). (Twin Epidemics of Diabetes and Obesity Continue to Threaten the Health of Americans CDC Says” http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r010911.htm Colgan, C. (2001). "High schools take precautions following football deaths." School Board News. http://www.nsba.org/sbn/01-sep/090401-4.htm Eichner, E. R. (2001). “Beyond fluids: heatstroke in football.” Sports Medicine Digest, 23, 9. Hagerstown, Md., pp. 105-106. HealthFirst. (2001) "The new PE 'Life' sports are emphasized
instead of the team concept so that no child is left out." USA Today
- Abstract
Moran, D. S. (2001). “Potential applications of heat and cold stress indices to sporting events.” Sports Medicine, 31,13. Auckland, N.Z., pp. 909-917. Polar (2002) "Funding help for physical education programs now on line." http://www.polarusa.com/press/press_room.asp?sid=253 Polar (2002). "Products." http://www.polarusa.com/polar_products/products_home.htm Pellman, H. (2000). “Children, summer heat, and exercise.” Pediatrics for Parents, 10, 4.
What is the teachers and/ or coaches responsibility
to be up-to-date, certified, and knowledgeable about how to monitor intensity
levels of youth during exercise?
Could many of the heat or heart-related deaths of athletes during or immediately after practice have been prevented if the athlete had been wearing a heart rate monitor? Should athletic trainers monitor athlete’s body temperatures during training conditions with high heat and humidity? In this article, flexibility, muscular strength and endurance, and speed training activities were not discussed. They are also major areas that must be monitored to ensure youth safety. What does the research indicate for these areas?
How to participate with the discussion ? - just drop your thoughts to Guy Van Damme: guy.vandamme@skynet.be - he collects your replies and will submit these to Dr. Debby Mitchell, Dr. Michael Kehoe, and Mr. Fisher. - The author reads your ideas/reactions and if needed will add his feedback. - This all - your reactions and feedback - will be submitted to Guy
and he will post it again onto the list.
Have a good discussion, co-ordinator Guy Van Damme
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