Veal

A term I borrow from my pal & NJ wrestling legend Gerry Nisivaccia. This describes the high school age athlete who's physical maturation is lagging a bit behind his peers, yet must compete with them. It's a mixed bag. On one hand, this athlete learns to succeed with finesse because the testosterone isn't pumping full blast yet. Once they do fully mature & the strength kicks in, they have the complete package.

However, this does make them more prone to injury. This athlete came to me complaining of a "popping" shoulder. His GH joint is subluxing; not good if you are a wrestler. My plan is to remove him from the sport for two weeks, initiate an aggressive neuromuscular stabilization program. At the point I'm fitting him with a Sully shoulder brace & allowing him to return to the sport while he continues his daily rehab protocol. I've used it before, it is a great pro-active approach. Dislocated shoulders rarely occur as a one shot deal. They nearly all of the time give the athlete that "popping" warning.

Here's a bottom-up scooter exercise. Their body is in a pushup position, while they circumduct the lower extremity clockwise/counter clockwise. It's a cool neuromuscular challenge for the scapular stabilizers. A good rule of thumb is if they can listen to their ipod & talk to their friend while they're doing an exercise; the exercise is probably not neuromuscular.

Which means you are wasting their time.