Interview with David Merson – Clinical Development Manager and Body Coach
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the routines, goals, and aspirations of athletes of all ages throughout the world. Keeping perspective and maintaining your physical upkeep will pay off regardless of what’s to come.
David Merson is a PT, DPT ATC (Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Athletic Trainer) who works as a Body Coach at TB12 Performance and Recovery Center in Foxboro, MA. His clientele includes amateur and professional athletes, and more recently he has been working closely with competitive figure skaters. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted his work with athletes in several ways, especially while TB12 was shut down for a number of weeks. As a result, David continued his practice by moving to personal virtual platform sessions with his clients.
Since his work with the athletes was going to be virtual, there was little ability to perform the hands-on aspects of the training. Therefore, through these virtual sessions, he highlighted two aspects of an athlete’s development: the foundational elements of movement they require and understanding what the athlete values. He also needed to get creative, involving parents or friends to help, using common household items, and focusing on redeveloping the athlete’s foundations. Building a strong foundation includes increasing stability, coordination, and muscle pliability. David emphasizes how the building, strengthening, and maintaining these fundamentals will help progress an athlete once they can return to their sport.
During this pandemic, there has been a great concern for the athlete’s physical upkeep.
David stresses the importance of understanding the mental adversity this difficult situation has forced athletes to face, and how this has truly become a time of reflection. Athletes have reflected on their commitment to their sport, their values, and various other aspects of their lives. He believes our values have been tested, especially in consideration of “where they want to go and who they want to be”. David shared how he saw many athletes question their lifestyle habits and make decisions that are setting their future now, whether that be in academics, athletics, or overall well-being. He spotlighted how “for some people, the pandemic turned out to be a time for positive reflection and real change”.
When COVID-19 began, we were taken out of our gyms and told to leave the fields, the courts, the ice, the track, etc for an undetermined amount of time. Mentally, many athletes were left with a situation that paralleled an athletic injury. David says these situations are very similar because it is taking an athlete out of “their same, everyday routine”. Additionally, the return to play must be treated the same as that of an athlete returning from injury. David stressed how an athlete must understand that they will have “to go through the process and not get discouraged, especially if week one isn’t as good as when you left”. The recovery and return to play are processes that will come with ups and downs. Keeping an overall perspective of the entire situation is vital in keeping a positive mentality. Athletes who have been injured may have an advantage as they have already experienced a return to play process and understand that it takes time and patience. Very similar to what is expected to take place for many athletes who have not been injured but removed from play due to the pandemic. There is an “opportunity to learn from others who have gone through injury and return to play, it’s a great way to become stronger from this situation they are being faced with”.
Highlighting the importance of an athlete’s mentality changing in these difficult times, David states how it is vital to understand, set, and uphold realistic goals. Athletes “need to set realistic goals from day to day, week to week. Always focusing on the small wins”. Return to play after the pandemic will require a look at quality over quantity for all athletes. David spotlighted his opinion on the most important takeaway from the COVID-19 pandemic: “Keep Perspective”. Athletes need to keep perspective on the entirety of the situation, both outside and inside their sport, and how they react to the current circumstances. His words apply to so many different aspects of life at this time, and athletes need to understand that rushing back will not serve them well and may even cause an injury. Athletes need to worry about their health and development before any results, medal, trophy, or reward.
For more information or questions, David can be reached at [email protected] or follow him on Instagram at @davidmersondrptatc.