Aidhan’s Senior Project

 

Essential Question: How can an athlete achieve and sustain peak performance?

 

I’ve juggled academics and athletics all my life. These unique six weeks of Senior Project will give me the opportunity to focus on my mind and body. Through a strict daily regimen with the input of a sports physiologist, nutritionist, massage therapist, acupuncturist, chiropractor, physical therapist, and a trainer, I will strive to obtain peak performance as I prepare to compete in college. I will be recording my progress daily and will post a weekly vlog on a YouTube Channel that I will create. The vlogs will include my daily routine, along with the recording of my interviews with these professionals (should they allow it.)  

 

As I interview these different professionals, I would ask them questions based on their experience working with athletes, and what the main differences are between athletes and nonathletes. I would also want to ask them what their life is like, what their daily routine is because their jobs are possibly something that I would want to do in my future.

 

Some questions I would ask:

Nutritionist: 

• How many calories should a D3 college athlete have per day? 
• Are there any nutrition myths that exist in the media that aren’t true for athletes?
• Why did you decide to become a nutritionist? (If they are a sports nutritionist, why specifically a sports nutritionist?)

Physical Therapist:

• How important is the recovery period for athletes and how does physical therapy come into play during that recovery time?
• Have you ever had a patient that you thought would never be able to play their sport again, but surprised you and beat your expectations? 
• What is a dairy routine for you and how many patients do you see per day? 
• Have you ever worked with an athlete that has gone pro?
• If so, what are some things that made them different from other athletes you have worked with? 
• Why did you want to become a physical therapist? At what point did you choose to become one? Did you sustain a bad injury?

Trainer: 

• What are some specific workouts for soccer players? 
• Are there specific muscles that soccer players need to build up that are often misunderstood?
• What is the biggest piece of advice you could give to a kid trying to compete at the D3-D2-D1 athletic level?  

 

The 3 main components of your project:

Nutrition, Documentation, & Fitness

 

Resources I Need:

• I will be getting a list of different workouts and exercises from my college coach within the next two weeks
• There are certain thresholds that I need to meet in order to be ready for pre-season by August: Be able to run a 2 mile run in under 12 minutes 
• I am also getting in contact with an old coach of mine who can get me in contact with some of these professionals 

 

Specific Goals I want to achieve during this time: 

• Run a 2 mile run in 11 minutes 
• Build my upper body, such as shoulders, core, chest, and arms up to a standard that meets the college requirements.
• Improve my agility and mobility
• Improve my acceleration and explosion with and without the ball