2008 Woodie Awards
Northeastern Athletics: Improving health
Lisa Newman
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: Sports
The field was almost empty. The sky had recently turned black and the giant overhead lights beamed onto the faces of the few athletes still behind. When the wind blew it felt bitter and when it was still, the temperature was just above freezing.
Dianna Mastromauro stood about 20 yards from the end line. She shook her legs in an attempt to keep warm. In one hand she held a stopwatch and in the other, a clipboard.
"Ball!" she shouted as a girl in a red penny sprinted in a zigzag pattern toward her. The girl ran about five yards diagonally, turned and ran five yards in the other direction.
Mastromauro hit the stop button when the girl reached her and recorded the time. The girl repeated the same drill again.
Meanwhile, another group of students watched a girl grapevine along the edge of the field. A few yards away from them, a group recorded how long a girl could stand on one leg.
The students held clipboards that contained sheets of information on each player ranging from what they had for breakfast that morning, to prior injuries, to how much sleep they were getting each night. This process was a screening, which was the start to a much more in-depth program.
"We asked them questions about what they are already good at so we know we don't have to work on those things," Mastromauro said. "Then we asked, 'If we could give you a magic pill what would you want it to do for you?' In a sense at the end of the program we hope to give that to them. If a girl said she couldn't turn as fast as she'd like, we'd watch her turn. We want each individual to fulfill their goals."
The program may sound like its aim is to produce better athletes. But it reaches further than that. The goal is to prevent serious injuries, which plagued the women's soccer team last season so much so that coach Ed Matz said his team might be "cursed," while also helping the team improve on their weaknesses.
While the program is currently used by the women's soccer team and is just in its initial testing phase, Mastromauro hopes to eventually expand it to cover all Northeastern athletics.
Dianna Mastromauro stood about 20 yards from the end line. She shook her legs in an attempt to keep warm. In one hand she held a stopwatch and in the other, a clipboard.
"Ball!" she shouted as a girl in a red penny sprinted in a zigzag pattern toward her. The girl ran about five yards diagonally, turned and ran five yards in the other direction.
Mastromauro hit the stop button when the girl reached her and recorded the time. The girl repeated the same drill again.
Meanwhile, another group of students watched a girl grapevine along the edge of the field. A few yards away from them, a group recorded how long a girl could stand on one leg.
The students held clipboards that contained sheets of information on each player ranging from what they had for breakfast that morning, to prior injuries, to how much sleep they were getting each night. This process was a screening, which was the start to a much more in-depth program.
"We asked them questions about what they are already good at so we know we don't have to work on those things," Mastromauro said. "Then we asked, 'If we could give you a magic pill what would you want it to do for you?' In a sense at the end of the program we hope to give that to them. If a girl said she couldn't turn as fast as she'd like, we'd watch her turn. We want each individual to fulfill their goals."
The program may sound like its aim is to produce better athletes. But it reaches further than that. The goal is to prevent serious injuries, which plagued the women's soccer team last season so much so that coach Ed Matz said his team might be "cursed," while also helping the team improve on their weaknesses.
While the program is currently used by the women's soccer team and is just in its initial testing phase, Mastromauro hopes to eventually expand it to cover all Northeastern athletics.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
megan
posted 4/01/08 @ 1:40 PM EST
This article is so interesting and well written. What a fantastic piece. :)
Post a Comment