On Saturday morning, our players will participate in a comprehensive physical performance and movement screening conducted in partnership with the East Carolina University Department of Physical Therapy.
We are fortunate to have the support of Dr. Alex Durland, PT, DPT, Clinical Professor and Director of the ECU Physical Therapy Clinic, along with faculty, staff, and students from ECU’s Physical Therapy program. Alex is also a board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and he and his team have been incredibly generous in helping us develop a screening specifically for our athletes.
The purpose is simple: we want to better understand each athlete and give them useful, objective information that can help them develop.
The screening will look at several areas that are important to athletic performance, including ankle and hip mobility, hip strength, acceleration/speed, change of direction, lower-body power and anaerobic capacity. Players will move through a series of stations including range-of-motion and strength assessments, sprint and agility testing, a countermovement jump, and a conditioning test.
But the testing itself is only part of what makes this valuable.
Afterward, the ECU team plans to organize and analyze the data so that we can better understand where each athlete falls relative to appropriate averages, where potential mobility or strength deficits may exist, and what areas could benefit from additional attention. Their goal is also to provide corrective exercises that athletes can use to address identified areas.
There are really three objectives behind adding this to our program:
- Performance — identify physical qualities that can help our athletes become stronger, faster and more explosive.
- Development — give players objective benchmarks and specific areas they can work to improve over time.
- Injury prevention and durability — identify mobility limitations, strength imbalances or other areas that may warrant attention before they become bigger problems.
One of the things we continue to think about is how we can provide our players with resources and opportunities that go beyond simply practicing and playing games. We want to help them better understand how to train, how to take care of their bodies, and what areas they can improve to become better athletes. We believe this partnership with ECU is another meaningful step in that direction.
The screening will take place during our normal Saturday morning training camp schedule, so there is nothing additional families need to schedule.
You will receive a screening waiver from ECU that must be completed for participation. There is also a separate, optional ECU photography/video release. ECU has asked whether they may document portions of the screening through their college communications/social media. Participation in the screening is not dependent upon agreeing to photography or social media use.
A huge thank you to Alex and the ECU Physical Therapy team for donating their time, expertise and resources to our players. We’re very appreciative of their willingness to work with us and excited about what this can add to the Raptors development program.
On Saturday morning of training camp, our players will participate in a comprehensive physical performance and movement screening conducted in partnership with the East Carolina University Department of Physical Therapy.
We are fortunate to have the support of Dr. Alex Durland, PT, DPT, Clinical Professor and Director of the ECU Physical Therapy Clinic, along with faculty, staff, and students from ECU’s Physical Therapy program. Alex is also a board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and he and his team have been incredibly generous in helping us develop a screening specifically for our athletes.
The purpose is simple: we want to better understand each athlete and give them useful, objective information that can help them develop.
The screening will look at several areas that are important to athletic performance, including ankle and hip mobility, hip strength, acceleration/speed, change of direction, lower-body power and anaerobic capacity. Players will move through a series of stations including range-of-motion and strength assessments, sprint and agility testing, a countermovement jump, and a conditioning test.
But the testing itself is only part of what makes this valuable.
Afterward, the ECU team plans to organize and analyze the data so that we can better understand where each athlete falls relative to appropriate averages, where potential mobility or strength deficits may exist, and what areas could benefit from additional attention. Their goal is also to provide corrective exercises that athletes can use to address identified areas.
There are really three objectives behind adding this to our program:
- Performance — identify physical qualities that can help our athletes become stronger, faster and more explosive.
- Development — give players objective benchmarks and specific areas they can work to improve over time.
- Injury prevention and durability — identify mobility limitations, strength imbalances or other areas that may warrant attention before they become bigger problems.
One of the things we continue to think about is how we can provide our players with resources and opportunities that go beyond simply practicing and playing games. We want to help them better understand how to train, how to take care of their bodies, and what areas they can improve to become better athletes. We believe this partnership with ECU is another meaningful step in that direction.
The screening will take place during our normal Saturday morning training camp schedule, so there is nothing additional families need to schedule.
You can download a screening waiver from ECU that must be completed for participation. There is also a separate, optional ECU photography/video release. ECU has asked whether they may document portions of the screening through their college communications/social media. Participation in the screening is not dependent upon agreeing to photography or social media use.
A huge thank you to Alex and the ECU Physical Therapy team for donating their time, expertise and resources to our players. We’re very appreciative of their willingness to work with us and excited about what this can add to the Raptors development program.
