The Culture shift is here!

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London United continues to make changes to their team and program to help develop them into contenders for years to comes. A few weeks ago, we saw the steps that management and the team took to help improve the fan experience at the arena by having Stormzy as an official ambassador of the team. Today they have made further steps by hiring an entire sports science team to aid in the training for their players and prospects. Not only will there be a focus on getting better, there will be some major changes made to make sure the team can remain healthy each and every season. This will become especially important as the team comes out of their rebuild next season and beyond. 

 

The first change that had been implemented involves the team pre-game and pre-practice stretching routine. The team now has a structured ballistic stretching routine to be done before, opposed to the standard static stretching. What ballistic stretching is, is movement incorporated stretching rather than holding stretching for prolonged periods which is static stretching. It has been found that this form of stretching, which tends to be the more traditional method, are more likely to create injuries during game play when done prior to strenuous activity. 

 

The second change that has been made is the teams nutrition. A higher protein diet has been applied to all players, allowing them to train hard but not lose as much muscle mass. The inclusion protein in a diet has been linked to help with the reduction of muscle mass in sedentary individuals and individuals that have a consistent caloric deficiency. Not only will it help preserve mass, it’ll help players that are trying to lose fat as their body will default to use fat as it’s primary source of energy. Meal plans are now a standard and each player has been assigned a person chef to help monitor and create meals that fit the standard laid out by the team. 

 

Lastly, London United’s newly hired sports science team has added an additional training session which focuses on plyometrics. Plyometric training has been associated with higher power production in a sport specific setting which in turn has been linked with better sport performance measures by individualized statistical goals. This implementation will allow players to perform movements, faster and stronger, thus leveling up their game play to a new level. With this recommendation, the training facility has had to make many purchases and upgrades to the space to make sure that the athletes are able to train to the standards of the sports medicine team. Boxes, a turf field, parachutes, and force platforms have been spread apart across the facility so athletes can have access to the latest technology and equipment. 

 

These changes will surely enhance not only the player experience but also the fan experience as well as the game play quality will increase tremendously. All of these steps will help London United become a force in this league. It has been seen time and time again in professional sports that the little things can really impact the outcome not only game by game, but an entire season.