The Symphony of Movement

This past week, after months of virtual recruiting, I finally had the chance to attend a tournament and watch basketball in person.

I couldn’t help but admire the symphony-like production that is required to successfully run one of these tournaments. The players, coaches, parents, college coaches, referees, tournament directors, and everyone behind the scenes had to be in coordination to keep the almost 200 teams and countless games running smoothly.

Within that, the game itself is an even more (in my biased opinion) beautiful symphony of movement; five players weaving and timing their way around the court to achieve a common goal.

One missing piece or dysfunctional part, however, could throw everything out of sync.

What would happen if:

A referee doesn’t show up…the game times are miscommunicated…the courts are not swept and ready to play on…

A player isn’t in the correct spot…a coach makes an incorrect play call…no one runs back on defense….

It made me think of a recent analogy I heard. Similar to the way a band or orchestra has to be in sync while performing a piece of music, all 206 bones and 600 muscles need to be in harmony to create locomotion and move the body efficiently.

What would happen if:The guitarist plays in a different key…the singer doesn’t hit their note…the drummer comes in at the wrong time…

The hips aren’t able to rotate…the shoulders are stuck in a rounded position…the foot isn’t able to efficiently transfer force upwards…

Some things can be hidden, but not all. Eventually, if left unchecked, these dysfunctions can begin to become more noticeable.

This is where postural alignment and movement come into play. The idea is to restore the body to its original design and then strengthen the body within alignment.

This approach to movement continues to demand my attention. If this resonates with you in any way, stay tuned for more!

Stephanie Spoto, CSCS