When
we watch a live game, the presenter will often say we will be going live to the
England or Wales camp along with any other home nations who may have qualified
to see what they have been up to, either before the game, half-time or at the
end of a game.
Being
a member of the FA Medical Society and attended many post World Cup or Euros`
talk by either former physios Gary Lewin, Alan Smith, Fred Street and team
doctors Vernon Edwards and John Crane, I thought I`d give some insight on life
of the medical staff at a major tournament.
FIT
FOR KICK OFF
Broad
preparation and planning would have been going on since qualifying matches
started two years ago. That planning coupled with experience and knowledge
gained from participation from previous tournaments is aimed at providing a
backcloth against which the players can perform to the best of their ability.
THE
MEDICAL TEAM
The
Football Association, via its many departments, provides and organises the
facilities that would have been required, and left nothing to chance. There are
backup and contingency plans for everything that might or might not be needed.
The
fine-tuning of the day to day detail is of course in the hands of the manager
in order for him to plan efficiently, he needs feedback from his coaching,
training and medical staff.
The
team doctor, physios and fitness coaches are responsible for the daily
availability of as many fit players as possible to train, and for reporting
back on the general health of players, and observing any other points that may
be relevant to the well-being of the group.
Those
are in fact the terms and reference under would operate for all national team
matches. The difference in a tournament is that they are together for a few
weeks instead of a few days, with the problems that travel, foreign food
and unaccustomed climate can superimpose
on the usual caseload of ‘running repair’
injuries and the ever-present of serious injury.
To
minimise the hazards of food, travel, climate, etc., the doctor takes all the
usual sensible prophylactic measures and advises the players long before they
arrive, on the part they can play in keeping fit and healthy.
They
will carry every possible medication to facilitate this situation and feedback
from all members of staff (and players’ observations) is used to monitor the
most important factor.
TEAM
SPIRIT
The
treatment of injury is in many ways no different from the training and playing
of any other international match. The main difference is that they are together
for a series of matches and can only use 22 named players for the whole
tournament, so a national team party takes on a club like attitude to the
injured player.
`One-off`
national team games have players selected from a fit squad. Any serious
injuries are returned to the club and a replacement is bought in. This means
that in practice only injuries under treatment are `running repairs`.
This
is not possible in a tournament and rehabilitation of players becomes part of
the scene. Players can be left out of training and games as part of treatment
regimes and bought back in for later games or to cover injured players.
As
I have said, it becomes like a club where you are trying to have as many fit
players available for the manager to choose from for training and playing. This
involves much discussion on a daily basis with the manager about the
advisability of players training too hard or too long or if at all, and even
late fitness tests which again are more of a club feature than a routine
international.
SETTING
UP CAMP
In
order to provide this sort of backup service to the manager and players the
doctor and physios set up a base at the hotel and at the training camp (often a
facility of a local professional side with the equipment needed).
They
take all their own machines, ultrasound, pulsed shortwave, interferential and
all the usual strappings and dressings that are familiar in any injury unit.
The
room they convert in hotels tends to be the engine room of the party, where
everyone gathers. It is crossroads of gossip, information, supplies of kit,
medication, a chat with the doc, usually with a recreation room and TV/DVD room
next door.
You
will have gathered that they are ‘on the road’ a familiar scene to any club
footballer and anyone who has worked in football as a trainer/physiotherapist
with a club.
The
job is a tracksuit job, with as much time spent on the pitch and track as in
the treatment room. As well as maintaining some fitness with injured players
there are other players who may not have played in the last game and need to do
some work, when those who have played would be involved in a recovery session
which may include some non-contact work in the swimming pool followed by
massages. The injured players would obviously receive treatment whilst those
that did not play would train.
There
is also morale and boredom to deal with ‘killing time’ the name of the game
although it is a little bit different for players nowadays with internet mobile
phones laptops etc maintains a wi-fi connection would be a priority for staff.
Things like tennis, golf and cycling can be used to ring the changes,
especially during the two-three weeks acclimatisation period in the run-up to
the finals.
ALL
HANDS ON DECK
A
major tournament is not all about treatment and academics but is all about
joining in. A former England doctor been seen cooking breakfast with a chef`s
hat on and apron taking a lot of leg-pulling from the players as he served them
baked beans an hour later he would be taking blood tests for altitude and
acclimatisation tests. All without any loss of professional dignity or
integrity. A neat balancing act that not everyone is equipped to perform.
The
aim of all this is to field a team on match days with players who are as fit
and healthy both physically and psychologically as possible. The analysis of
who or what makes the most contribution to this end is both unrewarding and
undesirable. What is important though is everyone is pulling on the same rope
in one direction. For medical staff, a tournament can sometimes be defined
not so much by results as injuries. Like Gordon Banks 1970, Kevin Keegan and
Trevor Brooking in 1982 and Brian Robson in 1986 and 1990, Wayne Rooney 2004
and Michael Owen 2006.
(Gavin
Blackwell has been involved in the game for over 30 years and has shown great
dedication during that time as the physio for a handful of local non-League
clubs, most notably Halesowen Town, but also Oldbury United, Tividale,
Stourbridge and Hednesford Town, as well as assisting the Wolves academy and
WBA reserves.) |