S ArSTSkating with the fitness testing by physical therapy students helps young athletes hone their skills, safely By Carla Carlton FIGuRe sKATeRs seem Immune To GRAVITy As They leAP, ccarlton@bellarmine.edu spin and glide across the rink. But what seems effortless actu- ally requires great power, and when a skater’s athletic ability Photos by Tom Dekle lags behind the demands of the on-ice routine, the result can be even more dire than bad marks – it can be a serious injury. To help young skaters avoid hurting themselves, and improve their competitiveness, u.S. Figure Skating developed a pro- Brittany Smithson of gram called STArS – Standardized Testing of Athleticism to Prospect, Ky., a student in Bellarmine’s Doctor recognize Skaters. A STArS “combine” is a battery of 15 off- of Physical Therapy ice tests that measure flexibility, strength, agility and balance program, conducts the axle flexibility test at the and reveal areas where more or different training is needed. STARS combine. in June, 40 skaters ranging in age from 6 to 17 from several states converged on Bellarmine’s Sports and recre- ation Center for the first-ever STArS combine in Louisville – stretching, jumping, lunging and, almost as difficult for some, standing on one leg for 30 seconds (eyes opened, then closed). u.S. Figure Skating selected Bellarmine because of Dr. David Boyce, an associate professor of physical therapy whose company, Physical Therapy Plus, works with the Louisville 30 bellarmine magazine
Bellarmine Magazine_Fall2012
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