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Let me start by saying this is a serious question and involves high school athletes. I have been searching for answers and thought this might be a place where I could get some knowledgable answers.
Is it common practice for coaches and/or athletic trainers to conduct supervised naked stretching in the shower? I have yet to find anyone to say that this is common practice or a new breakthrough that is becoming acceptable.
Your curiosity is probably peeked so let me provide more details as to why I ask. A high school football coach was making 4 members of his team do naked shower stretches while he supervised. In the meantime, more than 40 other players were in another locker room. The 4 who were made to shower stretch often did it 3 times a day, sometimes alone with the coach. One stretch they had to do was a backbend, all with the coach standing literally 2 feet away.
The coach has claimed that shower stretching is a new trend that is promoted by athletic trainers and that he has attended clinics on the topic.
Hm. I dunno... That sounds a little suspicious to me. I personally will stretch my hammies sometimes in a hot shower.... BY MYSELF! None of my coaches ever did anything like this, and I've never heard of it either. Maybe some of the other coaches in here will chime in and say something different, but I doubt it.
Thanks for your reply. That's been the response I've gotten from every person I have asked. Funny that he would only have 4 players doing it, don't you think?
I think this is absolutely disgusting. I can assure you that this is not a "normal" practice and I don't expect to see naked group shower stretching at the next NSCA symposium. I would recommend contacting the Athletic Director and make him aware of the situation.
Why only 4 athletes though? If this type of stretching was that beneficial to improving flexibility wouldn't you think the whole team would be doing it.
This all occured last school year and the coach was put on administrative leave. The school has filed charges with the state dept of education to have his license removed. His defense is that it is an accepted practice. I am trying to find as much information as possible to see if there is a realistic chance he may be right and will be reinstated. As I figured, no one has heard of this before.
This type of thing has been going on for years with this guy, but he has gotten away with it for one reason or another. I am just hoping it doesn't happen this time. He is a threat to the students.
Will, that is the first thing I asked to...why didn't the whole team do it if it is so beneficial?
I can help shed some light on the situation in regards to actually flexibility if that helps.
Stretching in a hot shower is a temporary modality that can loosen up a tight or overactive muscle.
Actual flexibility is based on the actually range of motion of a particular joint. So if the boys are reaching down and touching their toes in a hot shower, it's not particularly useful.
Utilizing static flexibility activities has to be very specific. Pending on the athlete, certain muscles may need to be lengthened while others need to be strengthened. Doing an overall group stretching routine focusing on multiple muscle groups, naked in a shower with a coach watching, isn't very beneficial and could hypothetically lead to injury if done incorrectly.
Legally, I would also recommend that the parents of these athletes file charges against this coach. It is obvious that a crime has been committed to some capacity. It's not just wrong from a coaching standpoint. It is against the law and disgusting.
Perhaps the 40 other players should sue the coach for being discriminated against. That would be a double whammy that would bury the guy!
That whole situation is pretty messed up. I dread the day when I start worrying about this kind of stuff (no kids, yet).
On a similar topic, my high school football coach was caught with young, male prostitutes (yes there were more than 1), a couple years after I graduated. He never tried anything on any of us (that I know of), but the real scary thing is that he had been coaching/teaching in the school district for over 30 years. YIKES! Nobody's come out with any accusations, but it wouldn't surprise me if someone had secrets.
There are a lot of details that I have left out that would further disgust you. Thanks for the input...I know this is not right, but I just wanted to hear it from others who have knowledge in the field. I don't want there to be any way this guy is back working with kids.
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