hpsports.com
@Billknowles_HPS
Bill Knowles, ATC, CSCS
Director HPSports: Reconditioning and Athletic Development
Athletic Development
A Performance Based Strategy to Reduce Injury
My journey…thus far
26 years of experiences
Years 1-14
Years 15-26
Burke Mountain Academy, VT
Killington, Vermont
Vermont Orthopaedic Clinic
PHILADELPHIA
Reconditioning
Athletic Development
Elite / World-Class Adolescent
High School / College / Wk’end Wr
____________________________
Olympic / Professional
… ! Elite Male Adolescent
INJURY PREVENTION
ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT
RECONDITIONING
Athletic Development
Evidence Based Experience
(science)
AND…
Experience Based Evidence
(art)
Absence of proof
is not
proof of absence
PERFORMANCE = PREVENTION
PREVENTION = PERFORMANCE
What’s the Difference ?
Injury Prevention
vs
Performance Training
PREVENTION
(Medical Emphasis)
PREVENTION
(Performance Emphasis)
PREVENTION
Performance
based
and
✚
Medically
supported
Ath Development
(S & C Coach)
✚
Skills Coach
Nutrition
Sport Psy
ATC
Performance Goals ??
Performance Goals ??
•  Attitude / Mindset
•  Nutrition
•  Style of Competition / Play
•  Style of Training / Practice
•  Level of Competition
•  Number of Events / Games
Performance Goals ??
Hard to achieve with
injuries!
Performance Based Injury
Prevention
= Athletic Development
Athletic Development
…develop a better soccer playing
athlete by understanding the relationship
between physical competence and
soccer skill development.
Vern Gambetta
Kelvin Giles
Athletic Development
Athletic Development
1 - Building Physical
Sustainability
… relationship between physical competence
and sport specific skill development.
…exposure to, and comprehension of,
essential motor patterns and movement
qualities.
Athletic Development
1- Building Physical Sustainability
…robustness required for sustaining the
physical and skill specific journey through
sport.
…consistent exposure to well instructed and
properly executed fundamental movement
skills.
Athletic Development
2- Coach the Athlete to Physical
Competence
Synonyms
capability, capableness, capacity, ability, competency, faculty
Antonyms
disability, inability, incapability, incapableness, incapacity,
incompetence, incompetency, ineptitude, ineptness
Athletic Development
2- Coach the Athlete to Physical Competence
…every movement demands force production,
force reduction, and force stabilization
…educate and train the athlete to physical
competence.
Athletic Development
3- The Journey through
Physical, Technical, and Tactical
Development
…keep the athletes’ physical competence
developing ahead of the sport specific skills
being executed at each training stage.
Athletic Development
3- The Journey through Physical, Technical, and Tactical
Development
…Having quality technical experiences that
are consistently repeatable and able to
withstand the effects of speed and fatigue
Athletic Development
4 – Whose Responsibility Is It?
…limitations are often developed during
critical skill hungry years and thus have the
ability to influence how the athlete
progresses; or doesn’t progress.
Athletic Development
4 – Whose Responsibility Is It?
…The repercussions from poor development
(physical competencies) can influence the
potential for injury and poor performance.
…. Unfortunately most coaches are focused
only on technical and tactical development,
thus the lack of physical sustainability
surfaces.
Athletic Development
5 – The Cumulative Process
…If consistently addressed the opportunity
to improve an athlete’s movement
vocabulary can occur over weeks, months
and years.
….
Athletic Development
5 – The Cumulative Process
…By being proactive in the journey with the
athlete, you may influence the change
necessary to create a champion,
or equally important you may keep them
safe!
Athletic Development
4 Pillars of ADT:
Athletic Development Training
ADT - Athletic Development Training
1- Gymnastics
• 
Coordination
• 
Core Strength
• 
Mobility
• 
Confidence
• 
Focus / Control
ADT - Athletic Development Training
2- MDSA
Multi-Dimensional
Speed and Agility
• 
Running/Sprinting
technique
• 
Deceleration tech
• 
Change of Direction
• 
Coordination
• 
Strength
ADT - Athletic Development Training
3- Strength
• 
Resistance Training
• 
Body Weight & Weights
• 
Total Body Emphasis
• 
Mobility
• 
• 
Confidence
Focus / Control
ADT - Athletic Development Training
4- CCG
Competitive
Coordination Games
• 
“in the moment”
• 
Team Building
• 
Strategy, Win the game
• 
Athletic Puzzles
• 
Skill Development
• 
Faster Decision Making
THANK YOU
[email protected]
www.hpsports.com
@Billknowles_HPS