Today I corresponded with Paul Schmidt of BAM Testing - Basic Athletic Measurement - a team of strength and conditioning coaches and researchers that use precise tools to evaluate athletic skills and provide a plan for physical development. BAM evaluates and isolates specific performance areas enabling an athlete’s strengths and weaknesses to be improved. Though BAM Testing works with a variety of athletes, they have recently made some noise during the NBA Combines.
We live in a world that is bottom line-oriented, where metrics and performance speak louder than words. Tell us about BAM Testing and how you fit into the basketball landscape. What purpose does testing fulfill?
BAM Testing is a unique testing protocol used by elite athletes around the world that helps define strengths and weaknesses as part of a goal-setting process. We offer an unbiased, comparable and comprehensive system of athletic measurement using precise tools to evaluate athletic skills such as Agility, Speed, Strength, and Power, and help provide a framework for a physical development plan.
BAM technology measures performance and provides:
We live in a world that is bottom line-oriented, where metrics and performance speak louder than words. Tell us about BAM Testing and how you fit into the basketball landscape. What purpose does testing fulfill?
BAM Testing is a unique testing protocol used by elite athletes around the world that helps define strengths and weaknesses as part of a goal-setting process. We offer an unbiased, comparable and comprehensive system of athletic measurement using precise tools to evaluate athletic skills such as Agility, Speed, Strength, and Power, and help provide a framework for a physical development plan.
BAM technology measures performance and provides:
- Reliability - Consistent and repeatable measurements, eliminating human error and judgment.
- Validity - Credible testing proven through years of test implementation.
Basketball is an explosive sport and in my opinion requires the greatest mix of all the athletic skills previously listed. Quantifying these skills into scores is crucial not only for players and coaches, but for decision-makers such as a scout or GM as well.
For instance, lower-body power is traditionally measured using the vertical jump test. BAM goes much deeper by recording not only vertical jump height, but also how quickly a player's second and third jumps are by capturing ground contact time between jumps, a critical component in rebounding. Agility is traditionally measured using the lane agility drill and given a total start-to-finish time score. BAM records the total time score, but also captures split times which a scout might look at to evaluate movement in all directions and their comparability ratios.
Which college and/or NBA players have you worked with so far; how have the responses been from the players?
Most recently BAM traveled to Chicago to help test the 50 invitees (players like Blake Griffin, James Harden, Tyler Hansbrough etc...) at the 2009 NBA pre-draft combine. In general the players relish the chance to test themselves against their peers. These are highly competitive athletes and I can tell you that when a player's score from their first trial was lower than their teammate's or the player before him, he was chomping at the bit to run his second trial and post a better score. These guys love to show off their skills and see the results of hours of training and effort in a quantifiable score. Sometimes it's all about bragging rights!
you had the chance to test each and every NBA player in the League, which athletes do you think would come out on top for explosiveness and speed? How about power?
There are so many elite athlete's in the NBA, all with varying skill sets, it's hard to say. The player who comes to mind for pure athleticism who would surely post high scores in all those categories is Nate Robinson.
what's included in a BAM Score and what the number/s mean? How does one improve their score over time?
For basketball, your overall BAM Score is comprised of sub-scores in the Agility, Speed, Strength, Core, and Power tests. As mentioned, tests such as MOD (multi orientation drill) lane agility, vertical jump, 20 meter sprint, and so on. Over time, your BAM Score can be improved by improving any one or a combination of the sub-scores. Usually, an athlete will use their baseline score to determine their weakness, and then tailor their training to address that area.
What does the future of BAM Testing look like? How do you see your company integrating in all levels of basketball?
You hit the nail on the head by saying that we live in a world where metrics and performance speak louder than words. By providing reliable and valid data, we feel BAM Testing is uniquely positioned to play a large part in every athlete's life, for basketball or any other sport. We've all heard the quote, "To know where you are going, you must know where you have been." For an athlete, the goal-setting process begins with their BAM Score by telling them where they stand and what their strengths and weaknesses are. While providing a BAM Score for someone at the professional level is important, we feel our greatest impact can be made at the high school level. This is where most athletes have not only the drive, but available resources to become better. For these young athletes, knowing their BAM Score will be like knowing their height or weight.
In your opinion, how does one makeup for their lack of natural athletic ability?
Drive. Passion. Dedication. Everyone is born with a different level of athleticism. What many people don't realize is that skills such as speed or agility can be "taught", or improved through training.
Furthermore, it's not always the best athlete who makes the last roster spot. It's who is willing to put the work in and lead by example, make the other players around him or her better. Use their BAM Scores and lead teammates through training protocols – motivate – help to set goals. A team that improves as a whole is a tough act to compete with. An individual's willingness to sacrifice for the team is not talked about enough, but coaches love this quality. Anyone, regardless of athletic ability, can be that person.
For instance, lower-body power is traditionally measured using the vertical jump test. BAM goes much deeper by recording not only vertical jump height, but also how quickly a player's second and third jumps are by capturing ground contact time between jumps, a critical component in rebounding. Agility is traditionally measured using the lane agility drill and given a total start-to-finish time score. BAM records the total time score, but also captures split times which a scout might look at to evaluate movement in all directions and their comparability ratios.
Which college and/or NBA players have you worked with so far; how have the responses been from the players?
Most recently BAM traveled to Chicago to help test the 50 invitees (players like Blake Griffin, James Harden, Tyler Hansbrough etc...) at the 2009 NBA pre-draft combine. In general the players relish the chance to test themselves against their peers. These are highly competitive athletes and I can tell you that when a player's score from their first trial was lower than their teammate's or the player before him, he was chomping at the bit to run his second trial and post a better score. These guys love to show off their skills and see the results of hours of training and effort in a quantifiable score. Sometimes it's all about bragging rights!
you had the chance to test each and every NBA player in the League, which athletes do you think would come out on top for explosiveness and speed? How about power?
There are so many elite athlete's in the NBA, all with varying skill sets, it's hard to say. The player who comes to mind for pure athleticism who would surely post high scores in all those categories is Nate Robinson.
what's included in a BAM Score and what the number/s mean? How does one improve their score over time?
For basketball, your overall BAM Score is comprised of sub-scores in the Agility, Speed, Strength, Core, and Power tests. As mentioned, tests such as MOD (multi orientation drill) lane agility, vertical jump, 20 meter sprint, and so on. Over time, your BAM Score can be improved by improving any one or a combination of the sub-scores. Usually, an athlete will use their baseline score to determine their weakness, and then tailor their training to address that area.
What does the future of BAM Testing look like? How do you see your company integrating in all levels of basketball?
You hit the nail on the head by saying that we live in a world where metrics and performance speak louder than words. By providing reliable and valid data, we feel BAM Testing is uniquely positioned to play a large part in every athlete's life, for basketball or any other sport. We've all heard the quote, "To know where you are going, you must know where you have been." For an athlete, the goal-setting process begins with their BAM Score by telling them where they stand and what their strengths and weaknesses are. While providing a BAM Score for someone at the professional level is important, we feel our greatest impact can be made at the high school level. This is where most athletes have not only the drive, but available resources to become better. For these young athletes, knowing their BAM Score will be like knowing their height or weight.
In your opinion, how does one makeup for their lack of natural athletic ability?
Drive. Passion. Dedication. Everyone is born with a different level of athleticism. What many people don't realize is that skills such as speed or agility can be "taught", or improved through training.
Furthermore, it's not always the best athlete who makes the last roster spot. It's who is willing to put the work in and lead by example, make the other players around him or her better. Use their BAM Scores and lead teammates through training protocols – motivate – help to set goals. A team that improves as a whole is a tough act to compete with. An individual's willingness to sacrifice for the team is not talked about enough, but coaches love this quality. Anyone, regardless of athletic ability, can be that person.
