马刺中文论坛
用户名 忘了密码?
密码 注册

马刺中文论坛 » 环球刺讯 » Monroe: Can practice schedule make Spurs dream team?

 
主题工具
 2009-11-03 15:26  #1
5
 
Riverwalkman的头像
 
加入日期: 2008-04-27
帖子: 3506
现金: 315 盾
Monroe: Can practice schedule make Spurs dream team?

By Mike Monroe - Express-News

To sleep, perchance to dream; ay, there’s the rub — Hamlet

You need sleep. Sleep means recovery, mental and physical; your body rejuvenates — Popovich

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich announced to his team after its final preseason game that he was implementing a new practice schedule. Until further notice, he told his players, practices would begin at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, rather than 10 or 11 in the morning.

That very night, All-Star guard Manu Ginobili did something he hadn’t done in years: sleep for 12 hours straight, uninterrupted.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “Even the days we have off, I usually wake up at 8 or 9. That day, it just happened. That first day was great. I felt really good, and my legs were fresh.”

If sleeping in is what it takes for Ginobili to return to being the player who energizes the Spurs after a 2008-09 season in which he battled injuries and fatigue, you can be sure Popovich is going to give his new practice regimen a long chance to prove the scientific research that prompted his decision.

The study, authored by Cheri Mah, of the Stanford University Sleep Disorders Clinic, revealed that better-rested athletes, including some members of the Stanford men’s basketball team, made significant improvements in observed athletic performance.

For example, the six Stanford basketball players who participated in the study all saw their free throw shooting improve after switching to a sleep pattern that was more consistent and included more sleep than they previously had gotten.

That, in and of itself, may have been enough for Popovich to give the new practice schedule a try. But when the Stanford study was presented at the annual convention of the Association of Professional Sleep Societies, there was empirical evidence.

“This study ... showed that obtaining extra sleep was associated with improvements in indicators of athletic performance and mood among members of the (Stanford) men’s basketball team,” the report read.

With one of the NBA’s oldest rosters each of the past five seasons, Popovich has been acutely aware of the need to lighten the physical toll on his players. Two seasons ago, he scrapped the game-day morning shootaround, a practice implemented in the 1960s by Lakers coach Bill Sharman.

Other NBA coaches were envious of Popovich’s willingness to fly in the face of coaching convention.

“When I’ve got four (championship) banners hanging from the ceiling in our arena, I’ll stop having shootarounds, too,” Hornets coach Byron Scott joked.

In fact, a number of other teams have begun to skip morning shootarounds, too, including the Celtics. Their coach, Doc Rivers, added his first championship banner to the Celtics’ collection in 2007.

Now, Popovich is taking another step in the direction of rest and recovery.

“We’ve been thinking for several years now: How can we maximize their rest and recovery?” Popovich said. “The shootarounds were the beginning. The next step was actually giving them more time to get more sleep.

“You need sleep. Sleep means recovery, mental and physical. Your body rejuvenates. So we felt getting out of the morning practices was important.”

Popovich was thrilled when Ginobili revealed his long night’s journey into the next day.

“He couldn’t remember the last time he did that, and that recovery for the body, with the job they have, is more important than a shootaround that is not going to make them a better team,” Popovich said.

Adjusting to the new schedule hasn’t been easy for all Spurs players.

“That’s my rest time,” new Spurs forward Antonio McDyess said. “My body seems to shut down about 4 in the afternoon.”

McDyess said he was confident he could adjust to the schedule, particularly since he has no choice.

“I’m sure there are some guys who love it and some who don’t,” Popovich said. “It’s different for all of us. You change when you do things. You have to change what’s going on at home, and what’s going on in the office, but if it will benefit the basketball team without causing misery to people and their families, then that’s what will be done.”

For Ginobili and Tony Parker, who played professionally in Europe before joining the Spurs, the change is a return to routine.

“In Europe, that’s what we do — practice in the afternoons. So for me, that’s not a change,” Parker said. “In the morning, it’s nice to sleep. Sometimes you come in after a game, and you’re stiff and sore, so you sleep in the next morning, and your body gets warm.”

Ginobili said he had forgotten how much he had enjoyed late practices when he played overseas.

“For me, it’s good, because I’m not a great sleeper. Sometimes, I go to bed late, especially after our games, so it’s good to have a couple more hours.”

Team captain Tim Duncan, who has two young children, understands both the scientific underpinnings of the change and its potential to help the Spurs win. For now, he has given the new schedule a thumbs-up.

“It’s great to get your rest,” he said. “It’s a little different. I understand what Pop is trying to do, trying to get a little closer to game time where our bodies are reacting the same way they would on a game day. It makes sense.

“It’s obviously a big change, and we’ll have to get used to it. But so far, so good.”

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Can_practice_schedule_make_Spurs_dream_team.html
Riverwalkman离线中   引用
 


主题工具

发帖规则
不可以发表新主题
不可以回复主题
不可以上传附件
不可以编辑您的帖子

vB 代码开启
[IMG]代码开启
HTML代码开启
论坛跳转



马刺中文网 - 始于2004年 - 网站地图 - Go Spurs Go!