November/December 2019 - 16

Photos courtesy of Hewitt Tomlin
settings, Santas said the FMS provides training staffs
better insight on their players across the board, helping
the team improve.
" (FMS) is a great way to run large groups of players
through a system and see where they stand on these
major, fundamental movement patterns, " Santas said.
" Then we can work with them and create programs for
them based on these numbers, and then we can re-test
again to be able to see where they stand and how they've
improved. "
And when it comes to focusing more on fundamental
movements, Santas believes the key to maximizing
a player's potential is to first focus on optimizing the
fundamentals that go into any sport, not just that player's
specific sport.
" I think we're starting to get away from everything
being so sports-specific and understanding that human
movement is human movement, " Santas said. " If we
optimize human movement, if we optimize these patterns
... We're going to get a better athlete. But we have to make
sure the fundamental movements are intact. "
Building longevity
Despite years of medical and technological advances
in equipment, the average career span for a player in
America's three most popular professional leagues is
less than a decade. The average career of an MLB player,
according to a study done by the University of Colorado,
weighs in the longest at 5.6 years. MLB is followed by the
NBA (4.8 years) and the NFL (3.3 years).
Vernon Griffith, co-owner and head strength and
conditioning coach of Virginia High Performance, has
assisted more than 40 athletes in receiving athletic
scholarships to Division I schools. When it comes to
focusing on the fundamentals of a player's movements,
Griffith believes that not only is it helping the player
get better, but it's also helping strengthen that player's
potential career longevity.
14 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
" Every philosophy is going to depend on the situation
and the circumstances, " Griffith said. " But obviously, when
it comes to the long-term goal of athletic development
and health of the athlete, and for the long-term health
and longevity of themselves as people, movement quality
should take priority. "
Griffith said that while there's a shift toward movement
over numbers, it shouldn't be mistaken as one replacing
the other - rather, treating one as the first step before
moving on to the second.
" It's the whole metaphor of putting the cart before the
horse. ... The movement of the horse dictates the cart that
it can pull, " Griffith said. " Whatever it is, the movement
should always be the first focus, because we're training
athletes that play sports, not weightlifters. Movement
being expressed appropriately should always take priority
before we try to load it. "
Taking accountability
As coaching and training staffs continue to make this
subtle shift in programs and organizations across the
country, there's one element that seems to be consistent -
accountability and collaboration.
" I think there's more of an ownership of the profession.
... There's definitely now an abundance of education and
information out there, so the excuse of 'I didn't know' or
'I couldn't find it' isn't an excuse anymore, " Griffith said
of the shift. " Coaches are more empowered now to step
up and say that movement quality is more important than
actual numbers. "
It's the collaboration between strength and conditioning
coaches and training staffs, Santas said, that she sees as
more beneficial in today's age of movement training.
" I see a lot more collaboration across the board, "
she said. " There are a lot more industry events where
you're seeing strength coaches from all different sports
collaborating and sharing information on how they
measure their athletes. "
November/December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November/December 2019
