In April of 2024, @ThriveKelowna, a premier performance and rehabilitation gym, teamed up with a local basketball club, Goodwin Hoops, to host a preseason combine event for their athletes. Co-founders Sam Spinelli and Nathan Obrigewitsch spearheaded the event, where they tested over 120 athletes in just a few hours.
After the combine, we had the opportunity to sit down with Sam, Nathan and VALD's Ryan McLaughlin to discuss the elements that contribute to a successful testing event like this.
The combine featured a range of tests, including:
- CMJ (ForceDecks): support.vald.com/hc/en-au/articles/4999886017817-ForceDecks-Test-Countermovement-Jump-Protocol
- 10-5 Hop Test (ForceDecks): support.vald.com/hc/en-au/articles/4999906960153-ForceDecks-Test-Hop-Test-Protocol
- Broad Jump
- 75ft (¾ Court) Sprint w/ 10m acceleration interval (SmartSpeed): support.vald.com/hc/en-au/articles/4997545365913-SmartSpeed-Drill-One-Way-Timing
- Push Up AMRAP
- Maximum Approach Jump
- 5-10-5 (SmartSpeed): support.vald.com/hc/en-au/articles/4997398652825-SmartSpeed-Drill-Pro-Agility
For those looking to organize their own athlete testing combine, we recommend VALD's Athlete Testing Combine Checklist. This comprehensive guide covers essential steps for planning, preparing, executing the event and managing post-event activities such as data analysis: valdperformance.com/news/athlete-testing-combine-checklist
🔗CONNECT
Thrive Kelowna: thrivekelowna
Goodwin Hoops: gwhoops
Sam Spinelli: dr.samspinelli
Nathan Obrigewitsch: nathanobrigewitsch
Ryan McLaughlin: ryan.vald