Special Olympics provides a range of fantastic fitness resources that coaches and athletes can use to educate themselves on best practice around physical activity, nutrition and hydration.
There are many health-related and performance-related benefits of fitness for Special Olympics athletes.
Benefits of Fitness for Athletes
Enhanced sport performance through improved
It is vital that Special Olympics sports programs are not the only source of physical activity and exercise for athletes. As a coach, you should be encouraging your athletes to exercise every day and educate them on ways to stay active outside of organized sport practice.
There are numerous ways that athletes can exercise to stay healthy when they are at home. Walking, running, and biking are simple ways an athlete can exercise on their own and work on their cardiovascular fitness. Fitness classes like yoga, core strength, HIIT and many others are great ways for athlete to work on their fitness and physical health outside of organized sports practice.
Special Olympics offers the Fit 5 Guide for athletes and coaches to use. As a coach it is a great resource to use when educating your athletes on the benefits of physical activity to their overall health and to their sports performance.
The Fit 5 Guide is a plan for physical activity, nutrition and hydration that can help to improve athletes’ health and fitness and make them the best athlete they can be. The Fit 5 Guide and accompanying Fitness Cards provide a fantastic collection of exercises that athletes should do to assist them to improve the skills needed for their sport. The exercises included focus on Endurance, Strength, Flexibility and Balance. In addition to these resources, there are a number of videos available here for athletes and coaches to view and use when performing these exercises as part of their training plans.
In addition to these resources, there are a number of videos available here for athletes and coaches to view and use when performing these exercises as part of their training plans.
Eating right is important to your health and your sports performance. Nutrition and Hydration are key points of athlete preparation and recovery for all forms of exercise. However, most athletes don’t understand the connection between nutrition/hydration and sports performance. As a coach, it is important that you emphasize this connection and educate your athletes on correct habits. This is especially important for Special Olympics athletes, as they are at a higher risk for obesity.
It is vital to educate basketball athletes about the importance of timing their meals or snacks prior to training or competition. Inform your athletes of the risk of eating too close to the time they are to train/ play a match and educate them on the best times to eat and the best foods to ensure they are efficiently fuelled to perform.
Before training/competition: Basketball is a high-intensity sport that requires significant focus and concentration. In the one to two hours prior to training/competition, basketball players need to consume a light meal or sustainable snack that is easy digest to avoid gastrointestinal upset during fast movements. It should be rich in carbohydrates, moderate in protein, and low in fiber and fat. Examples include a bagel with peanut butter, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, yogurt with fruit and granola, cheese and crackers, and a turkey and cheese sandwich.
During training/competition: In moderate-to-high intensity training/competition, players may need to refuel to keep their energy levels high and maintain focus. Only carbohydrates should be consumed, for fats and fiber digest too slowly. Example snacks include a sports drink, banana, applesauce, or energy chews/gels. Athletes should refuel during time-outs or between quarters and halftime.
After training/competition: Refueling after trainings/competitions is essential to support the rebuilding of muscle tissue. It is important to have a carbohydrate and protein rich snack or meal within 30 minutes of completing training/competition. Examples include a meat and veggie stir fry with rice or noodles, yogurt with fruit and granola, a peanut butter and honey sandwich, and a chicken salad sandwich.
You can utilize the nutrition and hydration section in the Fit 5 Guide to educate your athletes on basic principles. The nutrition, hydration and exercise tracker can help your athletes to pay more attention to these elements at home.
Water is another important fuel for sports and for life. Drinking the right amount of water is important for your health and can also help your athletic performance. Coaches should be educating their athletes about the benefits of drinking enough water every day.
The Fit 5 Guide has a hydration section which provides information for coaches about quantities of water that athletes should be consuming, signs of dehydration in athletes, and the best choice athletes can make when looking for a drink.
Coaches should encourage athletes to take responsibility for their own hydration before arriving at training, and after leaving training. Follow this simple guide below on how you and your athletes can keep hydrated before, during and after training sessions.
As a basketball coach it is so important to help you athletes keep on track with their hydration. Encourage athletes to drink one bottle of water (16-20oz/500-600ml) an hour or two before practice so they show up fully hydrated. Remember to pause for drinks breaks during a training session. It’s recommended that coaches pause every 15-20 minutes to give your athletes the chance to rehydrate as they are losing water while exercising.
Encourage your athletes to drink one bottle of water (16-20oz/500-600ml) during a training session to make sure they avoid cramps and dehydration.
When drinking, athletes should take many small sips of water instead of gulping it down as this can sit in their stomachs and cause discomfort when exercising! Encourage athletes to drink water after practice to help them recover from their workout.
Warm-Up
Before beginning any form of physical activity you should always carry out a warm-up. A warm-up should be designed to prepare the body and mind for physical activity and reduces the risk of injuries occurring.
Purpose of a warm-up
Athletes should warm-up with light movement such as walking in place, slow jog or exercise bike before beginning to lift to reduce the possibility of muscle injury.
As you can see, warm-ups are extremely important for athletes’ preparation for physical activity. Increasing body temperature and blood flow to working muscles is key for athletes to prevent them sustaining injuries while exercising.
A gradual increase in body temperature reduces the chance of an athlete sustaining muscle and tendon injuries while an increase in blood flow to working muscles ensures a delivery of import fuels that are required for energy production. In addition to this, warming up helps athletes increase the range of motion they have in their muscles. This adequately prepares athletes’ working muscles for the movements they will be performing (stretching, generating power, stabilizing the body, etc.).
Finally, an adequate warm-up will mentally prepare the athlete for exercise, this includes increased focus at practice or in competition, positive self-talk, or improved motivation knowing they are physically prepared to exercise.
It is recommended to carry out a comprehensive, sport specific warm-up for at-least 15 minutes prior to starting training activities or competition.
Warm-ups should include three specific components:
1. Aerobic activity to raise heart rate
2. Dynamic Stretching
Dynamic stretching can be done following the Fit 5 Dynamic Stretching Guide
3. Sport Specific Movements
See our Warm-Up and Cool-Down Supplement to learn more information on the components of a warm-up. The Dynamic Stretches Guide also provides a collection of exercises can be included in your warm-up.
Please reference our Basketball Dynamic Warm-Up Guide and Warm-Up Videos for more information.
Competition Warm-Ups:
Before any athletic competition, an effective warm-up needs to be completed. Warm-ups are essential to preparing the athletes’ bodies and minds for physical activity, which will improve their performance and reduce the risk of injury. Here are some tips for competition warm-ups:
When your training, practice or sport session is complete, you should always cool-down. It is just as important to have a good cool-down as it is to have a good warm-up. A good cool-down allows the body to gradually return to a state of rest.
If space is available, it is a smart approach to bring the cool-down indoors. This will amplify your efforts to start the recovery process.
Purpose of a cool-down:
A typical cool-down includes light aerobic activity followed by stretching. The aerobic activity should gradually decrease in intensity/difficulty. It could be a short jog/walk at 50% intensity with some stretches, led by the athletes, at the end.
Cool-downs are perfect opportunities for coaches to carry-out a debrief session with their athletes and review the session they have just had. Ask your athletes some open, informative questions that will make them think about the session and what they would have learned. In addition to the athletes reinforcing the coaching points you have given them, it also gives you, as a coach, the opportunity to see what works for each athlete as an individual.
Coaches should also use this time at the end of practice to encourage healthy habits. Educate athletes on the importance of staying active and eating healthy outside of practice.
Please reference our Basketball Cool-Down Guide and Cool-Down Videos for more information
Injuries are problems for athletes in all sports, at all levels. It is beneficial for coaches to be aware of possible injuries that athletes could experience in their sport.
The graphic above highlights five of the most common injury sites for basketball. Of these injury sites, the ankle and foot account for most. Any injuries that athletes happen to obtain during SO training should be immediately tended to by a healthcare professional (doctor, nurse, and physiotherapist). If an athlete reports to you with signs or symptoms of any form of injury it is recommended to send them to a healthcare professional.
Appropriate warm-ups and cool-downs can help to reduce the risk of both acute and overuse injuries specific to basketball. Additionally, whole body strength and flexibility training either in practice or at home can further prevent injuries and improve performance. There should also be a focus on endurance and agility.
Physical conditioning is the improvement of physical health through programmed exercises. Basketball specific conditioning is the use of exercises specifically related to the movements used by players to develop basketball specific fitness. The main components of physical conditioning are cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, balance, flexibility, and skill development. A successful conditioning program can be accomplished with very little equipment through bodyweight exercises, jumping drills, etc. Some teams may also like to incorporate equipment like resistance bands, weights, stretching straps
In basketball, these components can be developed through various exercises, activities and drills. Basketball conditioning involves building up strength, endurance, balance and flexibility in the muscles that will be used the most while playing basketball. This can be done through a variety of methods using bodyweight exercises, those with added resistance, or agility movements. Examples of conditioning are:
Core strength exercise
Bodyweight strength exercises
Sport-specific actions
Fitness for coaches link.
In addition to the Fit 5 Guide and other resources available online, Special Olympics also offers online Fitness specific courses where coaches can learn more about Fitness, SO athletes, and how the two work together!
The courses include:
Head coaches could consider bringing in a coach to work specifically on fitness relevant to their sport (fitness coach), or they could utilize their assistant coach and have them trained up on the online courses to gain a greater knowledge of fitness and take the lead on fitness training for their athletes. Either way, we would encourage head coaches to use the online learning modules as a way of improving their knowledge and understanding of fitness.
Check out learn.specialolympics.org to find these courses, along with many other available courses, and get learning today!
Head coaches can also consider adding a Fitness Captain to their team. A Fitness Captain is an athlete leadership role on a sports team to lead the team in activities related to fitness and healthy habits, such as warm-ups, cool-downs, and Health Tips. Fitness Captains have a passion for fitness, exercise, and healthy behaviors and can bring this mindset to their teammates.
More information about Fitness Captains can be found on the Fitness Captains resources webpage . Coaches can nominate their athlete(s) to complete Fitness Captain training with their Program.