Summary of a survey with basketball coaches on warm-up practices and coaches’ beliefs around injury prevention.
Who
50 basketball (mostly high school) coaches (19 females, 29 males) aged 37.8 ±10.5 years.
Design
Survey.
Outcome measures
- specifics of basketball warm-up
- warm-up length
- coaches attitudes and beliefs around injury prevention
Main results
- 96% of coaches used warm-ups in practice and 72% in games
- warm-up components used by coaches:
- aerobic (e.g., running) 100%
- agility (e.g., hops) 80%
- strength (e.g., lunges) 70%
- balance (e.g., wobble board) 27%
- 18% of coaches used all four components in their warm-ups
- 28% included additional components like stretching, plyometrics, tabatas, speed work and sport-specific drills
- warm-up length: 48% spend 10 minutes or less for warm-up
- why doing a warm-up
- for injury prevention 89%
- for fitness 40%
- for skill development 36%
- sources of knowledge on warm-ups
- from other coaches 38%
- education (e.g., course) 28%
- own training experience 28%
- attitudes, beliefs, knowledge on injury prevention:
- within last 12 months half of the coaches learned about sports injury prevnetion:
- 68% from other coaches
- 32% from the internet
- 23% from health care professional
- 45.5% also learned from the second source (e.g., coach or university courses)
- injury prevention believes:
- 100% of coaches thought that injury prevention is important
- 92% agreed that neuromuscular training can reduce the risk of injury
- 67% disagreed with the statement that none of their athletes will be injured in the next basketball season
- within last 12 months half of the coaches learned about sports injury prevnetion:
Take home message
For a clinician & coach
Most basketball coaches use warm-up for injury prevention. These warm-ups are usually under 20 minutes and are based on aerobic and agility activities. Coaches learn about warm-ups and injury prevention from other coaches and/or from the internet. All coaches think that injury prevention is important.
For a parent
Most basketball coaches use warm-up for injury prevention. These warm-ups are usually under 20 minutes and are based on aerobic and agility activities. All coaches think that injury prevention is important.
For an athlete
Most basketball coaches use warm-up for injury prevention. These warm-ups are usually under 20 minutes and are based on aerobic and agility activities. All coaches think that injury prevention is important.
Original article
Räisänen AM, Owoeye OB, Befus K, Van Den Berg C, Pasanen K, Emery CA. Warm-Ups and Coaches’ Perceptions: Searching for Clues to Improve Injury Prevention in Youth Basketball. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. 2021;3.