Injury, Insight & Evolution: Why Technical Mastery Still Matters in S&C

High Performance SportInjury PreventionSports Science

30 Jun

Written By Jason Weber

As S&C professionals, our ability to **understand injury deeply** and prevent it… is only as good as our technical foundation. And that foundation needs to evolve. Constantly.

In high-performance sport, injuries come with the territory. But Achilles and hamstring injuries? They hit different.

They’re frustrating, unpredictable, and often game-changing—for the athlete and everyone around them.

One moment you’ve got momentum, the next you’re managing setbacks, disrupted team flow, and hard conversations.

Even the most seasoned staff can feel stretched when these ones land.

Achilles and Hamstring Injuries: The Technical Landscape

Achilles ruptures, especially in high-load sports like basketball and football, are still too common. Athletes like Tyrese Haliburton are recent examples of just how long and uncertain recovery can be. The underlying issue is rarely just “bad luck”—it’s a bit unfair to simply conclude poor load management and a failure to prepare the tendon is the issue, but it can be concluded simply based on the output, that something in the system has failed.

Similarly, hamstring injuries continue to plague field sport athletes, particularly during high-speed phases of play. While strength is typically addressed, tendon function specifically its resilience to supra-high, fast loading may not be addressed sufficiently. The muscle-tendon junction—where most of these issues originate—needs targeted, progressive stimulus. It needs thoughtful programming. And it needs time to adapt.

Recognising these issues and applying effective solutions isn’t just about copying protocols. It’s about truly understanding what’s happening under the hood—and that comes down to your technical ability.

Why Technical Mastery Still Matters

You can’t shortcut your way to being an effective S&C coach. As you move through your career, your technical ability must improve with age—like a good bottle of wine. Reading more papers or collecting certifications is one thing. But truly understanding why one rep range works for this athlete and not another, why certain strength protocols sequence better across time, or how to adapt when things don’t follow the script—that’s earned through experience, not theory.

We need to go beyond surface-level programming. That includes:

Deep understanding of movement patterns in your sport.
Honing your eye for technique in running, swimming, rowing—whatever domain you work in.
Being able to read an MRI, speak the language of physios and doctors, and understand what treatment choices might impact your programming.

And when we talk about working in different environments—like para sport—that technical ability gets stress-tested in entirely new ways. It’s not just about adapting mainstream exercises. It’s about deeply understanding the biomechanics, the movement constraints, and the unique demands placed on those athletes. You’re not just giving someone a leg press variation—you’re building a tailored movement solution for how they live and compete.

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Side Hustles and Staying Sharp

I’ve spoken before—on this blog and on Two Coats and a Coffee—about the rise of side hustles in our industry. And I stand by it: having a second string to your bow is smart. It future-proofs your career and builds new skills.

But here’s the reality: side hustles can also distract. Building a business is hard. It takes time, energy, and mental bandwidth. And if you let that energy drain away from your primary role—your coaching, your learning, your technical development—you’re short-changing the athletes who rely on you.

That’s why technical development must remain central, no matter what else you’re building. We’re not just in the strength and conditioning business—we’re in the movement business. As one very experienced coach put it to me recently,

“It’s not about strength and conditioning per se. It’s about getting movement right—and then loading that movement over time.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Practical Approaches That Work

So what do we do about all this? When it comes to injury prevention and technical development, a few principles stand strong:

Progressive Load Management: Don’t let ambition outpace preparation. Build the base before you chase the peak.
Eccentric Strength & Tendon Capacity: These aren’t optional—they’re essential.
Respect for Recovery: Tendons adapt slowly. High-speed work needs space to land.
Movement Before Load: Always. Understand the pattern before you apply the force.
Cross-disciplinary Communication: Learn from medical staff. Speak their language. Work as one.

Achilles and hamstring injuries aren’t just problems to solve—they’re reminders.

They remind us that if we’re serious about performance, we need to be just as serious about our technical evolution. The best S&C coaches I know are still students. They’re refining, tweaking, and learning from every session, every setback, and every athlete they work with.