🏃‍♀️ NFL Combine is here, trauma responses, + more

What’s up y’all? Cici here.

Welcome back to More Her Speed, a weekly no-BS newsletter all about women in coaching.

NFL COMBINE HAS BEGUN

Well, to say I’ve been sleeping less would be an understatement as week 1 of combine prep has begun.

We spent majority of last week doing some baseline testing with our NFL draft prospects and adding in some new pieces compared to previous years.

Programming changes a lot during this time as we take a look into the athlete’s current numbers and their deficiencies.

We can get a better understanding of what needs to be worked on for the next 7 weeks by testing on the field, in the weight room, and getting feedback from the athletes.

As week 2 kicks off, it feels great having some insight on where the athletes are physically and technically and managing the prescription based off of these capabilities.

There is only so much we can change in 8 weeks so getting a solid baseline, building the relationships, and keeping the guys healthy is our main goal for this phase.

Real Talk...

Now I usually use this section as an educational piece and to shed some light on a good research topic or study, but this week I wanted to take it a little more personal.

I am a few chapters in to the book ”The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel Van der Kolk and man, it hit home.

It’s easy to brush the sh** we’ve been through under the rug as we get older and life gets busier, but one things for certain and two things for sure- our trauma carries into every part of our lives whether we welcome it or not.

I was fortunate enough to be raised in a great household with loving parents and a supportive family, but I was truly not prepared for the experiences life was going to throw at me.

In this book, the author explains through research how our brain adapts to stress and trauma and how these negative experiences have a direct impact on our actions as we navigate through life.

I know all too well that if you don’t address and acknowledge what you’ve been through in order to grow and move in a forward direction, that it can take you down mentally and physically.

When we are in survival mode, it's fight or flight and the last thing we think about is how some event in the past may be affecting how we deal with things in the present.

Especially as coaches and trainers in a field where almost everyone we come across has dealt with trauma in some form or another, it's been really useful for me to learn about coping mechanisms and how not every person deals with trauma the same.

Though i'm not finished with it yet, I highly recommend this book as the author provides research-backed techniques and actions we can incorporate not only with ourselves, but with those who support and look up to us.

Quote of the Week

“For real change to take place, the body needs to learn that the danger has passed and to live in the reality of the present.”

-Bessel Van der Kolk

Appreciate y’all,

Cici

See you again next week!

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