With the 2014-15 NBA season claiming a plethora of stars to injury, the NBA Player’s Association has decided it is time to take action. While individual teams have been quietly investing in injury prevention technology, now we will see consistent programs and workouts throughout the entire league that aim to minimize injury.
The union hired former Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets athletics trainer and strength and conditioning coach, Joe Rogowski, as the director of sports medicine and research. This is a brand new position within the NBA and one that has minimal boundaries.
“It was a very intriguing opportunity in the sense that they’ve never had this position before.” Rogowski said in his interview with The Associated Press. “It’s sort of an open canvas for me. I can develop ideas.”
Rogowski studied at Central Florida and completed a master’s degree in exercise physiology and has over 10 years experience working in the NBA. Throughout the interview, he explains what it is going to take in order to transition from working with 15 to 20 athletes at a franchise into doing the same thing for an entire league.
“…one of the real positives about myself in this position is the fact that I have good relationships with the teams because of my 10 years of experience in the NBA. The communication factor, which is a huge component of sports medicine and the strength and conditioning side.”
It is critical that the individual chosen for this position was a well-respected figure that is able to communicate effectively with all 30 NBA teams, and Rogowski’s resume reflects those requirements.
In the past, some teams had been playing 4 games in 5 nights or 6 in 9 nights, which definitely does not to the body any favors in terms of recovery. The new NBA schedule for the 2015-16 season sees much less of these occurrences in another way of minimizing injury.
“As far as if it will make a big impact, I’m in a wait-and-see mode. I definitely think it’s a step in the right direction. I definitely am in favor of it. But we’ll see. Time will tell. Do we still need to keep going in that direction? Yes. Are there other avenues we need to address and look into? Absolutely.”
Rogowski’s appointment sees yet another leap forward in the field of injury management. While we have seen teams like Golden State make use of injury prevention technology in recent seasons, Rogowski and the Player’s Association will now be able to provide all 30 teams with similar benefits. It will also come at a cheaper cost, as the association will be providing the programs across the league
Last season was one of the worst in recent memory when it came to injury. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Derrick Rose and Paul George are some of the biggest names in world basketball, and were all sidelined for significant time. Even young rookies, Joel Embiid and Jabari Parker received season ending injuries, as well as Nerlens Noel the year before.
The new director of sports medicine and research could surely only mean good things for the NBA. Companies all around the world are currently being trialed for this exact purpose, but if and when the NBA sees some success from Rogowski, we will see a similar strategy implemented in the NFL, MLB and leagues elsewhere.