Why Is Screening So Important?

Why is screening so important? Screening is information gathering, nothing else. The season is a journey and in order to get there both safely, and as quickly as possible, you are going to need a road map. The screen basically tells you where you are now, and helps plan the way to get to there. No doubt, that is a winner's medal around your neck at the end of the season. Or the Ballon d'Or if you are Lionel Messi.

When you have won it 4 times, you can wear Polka dot too.

I am a big of the functional movement screen. It works. In a matter of minutes, issues of mobility and stability (or the lack thereof) can be identified. I remember in 2008, when I was still in South Africa, my best friend and out went out to meet Platinum Stars FC. I was in my last year as a candidate for a Bachelor's degree in Human Movement Science. One of our courses was Exercise Testing and Prescription and we were going to put theory into practice. Following the directions from our instructor, we split the Stars into groups and got to work.

We took them through the 10 stations we had set up. The anthropometric measures were taken over 3 stations before going through the 7 of the FMS. It was not very difficult. Zahraa and I just held the clipboards and recorded the scores that our instructor called out. It took a while though. Not only was it very cold, but when it came to getting skinfold measures and such, the players were hesitant to hang out with their shirts off while two students made marks in their skin with pens. We didn't always get the c-grip right, so the calipers pinched. A lot. It was also preseason stuff, and it seemed some of the players had had a few too many pies during their time off. Did I mention it was cold? 

"2. Stiff ankles. Needs more mobility there...."

"Tight shoulders. Give him a 1."

"No glutes. A 1."

Zac rattled off these things all day, and every now and then I got a chance to see what he was talking about. At some point, I blurted out, "How do you know?" He just answered I'll show you tomorrow.

Tomorrow finally came, and I made sure Zac kept his promise. After setting up the light gates, the players went through them a number of times. We measured time to get through the distance, and factored that into acceleration calculations. We watched them sprint and considered how easily they turn with one foot compared to the other. The T-test for agility followed. As the day continued, Zac explained himself and I could see the correlation between the movement screen ratings and the performance scores.

The same players that had ankle mobility issue had average performances when it came to the agility tests. One guy kept rolling both his ankles. The same players who had tight shoulders were very stiff in their posture as they ran. I found out about a few players who had been struggling with groin injuries. Their Active Straight Leg Raise Scores were not very pleasing, saying nothing of the other tests that require contribution from the core. Read this article to find out How a good core can benefit your game.

The fundamentals of mobility and stability form the foundation upon which strength, speed, power, agility and all the other elements of performance we work for are built. Ignoring them is counterproductive. Screening is helpful for identifying players who are at risk for injury, and hence equip coaches and trainers to design programs to get those players out of risk. Those out of risk, programs can be designed to challenge them to the next level. After all, the 11+ players on the team are 11+ individuals. Should they not be trained as individuals?

The exceptional Hope Solo. (Image from si.com)