Randy Celebrini
Physiotherapist
Sport Science Consultant/Educator
My Focus:
Being athlete-centred has been a guiding light for me throughout my career. Putting the athlete first makes difficult problems much easier to navigate and when we focus on the long game of athlete development the goals become clearer.
I find I am always innovating to add the piece that was previously missing.
About Randy
Randy Celebrini is a physiotherapist that has worked specifically with athletes for the past 30 years.
He is the developer of the Onfieldclinic Sport Specific Rehabilitation (est. 2002) and has worked as a therapist , performance conditioning coach and sport science consultant with numerous national and professional sport teams and organizations.
As a clinician, Randy has had a career focus on the rehabilitation of complex, recurrent and recalcitrant injuries in athletes and the development and implementation of injury prevention or Prehab programs and strategies for both individual athletes as well as clubs and organizations
He has conditioned countless athletes to perform at the top level of their sport and has developed innovative training strategies that incorporate athletic movement development and sport and position specific conditioning . He has coached each level of athlete from youth to professional and is an active innovator, mentor and educator in the realm of health and sport science .
Randy is also a professional artist, fine art painter and illustrator.
The Onfieldclinic
Developed in 2002, the OFC was developed to provide an onfield controlled transitional rehab environment to bridge the gap between the rehab venue and return to sport. The first of its kind, the OFC has helped countless athletes return to play and has become a key resource for athletes looking to optimize performance through athletic movement development and Sport Specific Prehab Conditioning programs.
"The OFC was always intended to be a place for athletes to come to work hard and restore their confidence and conditioning, and find their way back on track. It is very important that it is positive and fun but also a disciplined place to learn, slow down and reset and get things right. It’s a dojo as much as a clinical environment.
Athletic Movement Development is the focus, along with developing an awareness of the impact of better training habits because these are the things that end up making a difference for athletes in the long game."
Sport Science Consultant
The essence of sport science is the inextricable relationship between injury prevention and performance optimization. Athletes perform best when they are fit, healthy and playing with joy. This is a challenging synergy but is possible when both the athlete and the environment prioritize these goals.
I have had the opportunity to work in such a tremendous diversity of environments in my career developing specific programs but also to varying extents contributing to the development of the sport science teams , their philosophy and approach as well as infrastructure . Each unique project involving different people , with different backgrounds , levels of experience and professional skillsets facing vastly different challenges . Within each situation I have found an inherent drive amongst the people involved to want to become better , to win and become the best. As well there is usually an awareness of key issues that need to be identified and addressed in order to achieve organizational goals .
HOW DOES SPORT SCIENCE IMPACT PLAYER DEVELOPMENT ?
Keeping athletes healthy and performing their best is always the common goal that unites . It is the How that becomes the challenge .
To this end I have had a career focus on the effective innovation and implementation of injury prevention and performance optimization strategies into the sport science culture . This has been at the essence of my contribution to the cause. Regardless of the specific nature of the environment this process involves introducing simple tools that can be effective and create an immediate impact with athletes and help strengthen the health care and sport science approach including encouraging subtle cultural change . Being athlete centred does not just mean servicing the athlete but developing a progressively collaborative approach in which the athlete takes an active and ultimately proactive role and is encouraged to take ownership and accountability for their bodies , training habits and performance . These may seem to be obvious things that make a difference in a sport culture but they require considerable skill , adaptability , communication and creativity to achieve and implement fluidly .
HOW CAN SPORT SCIENCE BE USED TO HELP ACTIVATE AND OPTIMIZE A CLUB OR ORGANIZATIONS POTENTIAL
Introducing effective and purposeful athlete assessment and screening , educating principles of athletic movement development and utilizing a language that educates and prioritizes an athletes ongoing development , playing the long game and highlights achieving both short and long term performance goals resonates with most athletes if the message is authentic.. Effective coaches and practitioners of all disciplines will reinforce a similar message in all successful environments.
When the athletes change , grow , take ownership and raise the ceilings of their goals we have accomplished our objective
I have always marvelled at the simplicity, effectiveness and powerful impact of focused sport-science strategies as well as the tremendous challenges involved in implementation and cultural integration. There always seem to be so many powerful forces swirling around the athletes in so many directions that confuse the essential message.
Consultation always begins with conversations about what is needed to improve an environment or culture and how to enhance athletic performance or development. The creativity is in how to integrate a philosophy that prioritizes athlete health and wellness along with high performance goals and impact the environment for the athletes and sport science team in a meaningful way.This is truly a Kaizen.
Being athlete centred has been a guiding light for me . There are always impactful decisions to be made and by putting the athlete and their development first helps guide these decisions as well as providing clear direction for professional development in the elite sport environment. Collaboration amongst the various people and disciplines is essential to building a culture of success.
"Developing a sport science program is both science and art. Innovation has always been an important aspect of what I do. It has always been a focus for me to create where I have seen the gaps. I never liked seeing a void. If something was missing for athletes to develop I have enjoyed creating it."
Complex Athletic Injuries
The process that always reengages my interest in this profession and process is the human element of being asked to help someone that has been injured or has lost confidence to get back on track . This in many ways guides all process.
A chronic athletic injury is essentially an orthopaedic issue that is poorly understood either by the athlete or those managing the issue , or both . It is a specific presentation of a problem that often lacks accurate diagnosis. For the clinician the goal becomes to narrow down the scope of the problem and to begin to identify the other relevant issues that may be contributing to the problem . There may be associated injuries or dysfunction impacting movement and performance. There may be biomechanic issues and there is often compromised physiology, the deconditioned athlete.
All of this is encompassed in an athlete development paradigm, in which key pieces to the development puzzle may be missing, or have not properly developed. Specific rehabilitation and conditioning approaches and addressing training errors become fundamental to restoring health, confidence and conditioning. Working with the athlete that has sustained complex injuries is a challenging, creative and collaborative process that takes time, energy and willpower. Resources are often limited and decisions must be made on where to prioritize.
Climb the Mountain One Step at a Time
My clinical work has always been a focus on getting the athlete that has fallen off the rails back on track. For an athlete that still has the drive but has sustained injury and perhaps fallen into the injury cycle, has lost confidence and to some extent has become de-conditioned, it becomes a mountain to climb.
Restoring athletic function must be process-oriented and comprehensive.
A thorough assessment, taking the time to listen, to understand the issues the athlete is facing, collaborating with other disciplines - all of this contributes to achieve the necessary knowledge and clarity about what is going on and help to develop the right plan.
The Rehabilitation process is not a cookie-cutter approach, it may require many things :
- Addressing the orthopaedic issue effectively, through exercise and other therapeutic intervention.
-Addressing biomechanic issues, physiologic development and (sport specific) conditioning, athletic movement development
- Addressing the mental and emotional components and building awareness and understanding of better training habits
These aspects can all play a part.
It is a collaborative task with the athlete and the other members of the athlete's health care and sport science team or support system. What I enjoy is the process of learning and innovation. No two athletes are the same but the direction is always constant, building towards excellence. This is a 'kaizen.'