November 12, 2000, 3 PM, New Garden, internal medical rehabilitation room.
Hill, wearing shorts, sat on the examination table. Dr. Lasset was recording data beside her.
The door opened, and Lin Qi walked in with Verstegen.
" Grant, you've met Mark," Lin Qi said.
"Hello, Mark." Hill stood up.
"You're welcome, Grant." Verstegen immediately got to work. "Take off your shoes and socks, stand barefoot. We'll do a quick Functional Motion Screening (FMS)."
Over the next fifteen minutes, Verstegen had Hill perform several seemingly simple movements: standing on one leg with eyes closed, bodyweight squats, and side lunges.
Verstegen one knee, his gaze level with Hill's joints, occasionally exchanging a few words of medical terminology with Dr. Lasset.
The evaluation is complete.
"Dr. Lasset's orthopedic healing is perfect," Verstegen said, standing up. "But Grant, your nervous system is deceiving you. To protect your injured left ankle, your pelvis instinctively twists to the right when you exert force. This causes double the stress on your right lumbar spine and knee."
"Then how should I correct it?" Hill asked earnestly.
"The next two months will focus on adjusting your compensatory habits. Lots of unilateral stability training and anti-rotation core training," Verstegen said. "This will be very tedious, more tiring than lifting weights."
"I'll train no matter how boring it is, as long as I can get back to 100%." Hill nodded.
"I will leave a detailed plan with Dr. Lasset. I will fly to Boston every two weeks to monitor your data."
Lin Qi stood in the corner, watching Verstegen take control of the situation, and nodded in satisfaction. The professional task had finally been entrusted to the most professional person.
At 7:30 PM, the Celtics will face the Knicks.
The New Garden was bustling with noise. Lin Qi and Verstegen sat side by side in the VIP seats behind the scorer's table.
On the court, the Celtics' offense flowed extremely smoothly, making it difficult for the Knicks to cope.
But in Verstegen's eyes, it was a completely different picture. His brain was like a high-speed X-ray machine, observing the players' kinetic chain.
Halfway through the first quarter, Verstegen close to Lin Qi's ear, his voice low but carrying a hint of seriousness.
" Lin Qi, your team has good talent," Verstegen, watching the field, "But from a biomechanical standpoint, at least five of them are 'time bombs'."
Lin Qi turned his head. "Which five?"
"Let's talk about Gary Payton first." Verstegen pointed to the number 20 on the field. "His lateral movement is quick, but do you notice the moment he lands after a sudden stop... there's a slight inward buckling of his left knee. This is a typical sign of insufficient gluteus medius strength. In the long run, a lateral meniscus tear is only a matter of time."
Lin Qi frowned slightly.
"Look at Pierce again." Verstegen's gaze followed number 34. "His change-of-direction rhythm is excellent, but he relies excessively on ankle twisting to create space. You see, every time he changes direction, the angle of his ankle twists exceeds 30 degrees. If he doesn't incorporate strengthening training to improve plantar fascia and ankle isometric contraction, he'll suffer a serious sprain sooner or later."
On the court, Garnett received the ball, turned, and jumped to shoot. The ball swished through the net, and the whole arena erupted in cheers.
" Garnett is a biomechanically gifted specimen." Verstegen's eyes revealed a hint of amazement. "So tall, and he can still do so many jump shots. But do you know how much strain his patellar tendon has to withstand with each jump and landing? At least three times his body weight, and in some movements, even five times. His posterior chain... hamstrings and glutes must be extremely strong to distribute the pressure on his knees, otherwise, his knees will have problems sooner or later."
Lin Qi didn't speak, he just stared at the field.
"And then there's Big Ben Verstegen said, pointing to number 13, who was boxing out in the low post. "He's too short compared to other big men. Look at how much impact his shoulders take every time he goes up against other big men. His shoulder joint and rotator cuff muscles are constantly overloaded; a shoulder injury is inevitable."
"Where is Rasheed?" Lin Qi asked.
" Rasheed's problem is his lumbar spine," Verstegen said. "When he shoots threes, his lumbar spine overextends. This pattern of force will eventually cause problems with his intervertebral discs."
As the game entered the second quarter, Lin Qi looked at the players on the court and suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of urgency.
"Can you quantify the risk?" Lin Qi asked.
"Okay." Verstegen nodded. "I'll go back and create a 'risk matrix,' categorizing the 15 players into 'red zone (high risk), yellow zone (medium risk), and green zone (low risk).' Then, I'll design personalized prevention plans for the players in the red zone."
"This is what I wanted," Lin Qi said.
On the court, Billups made a layup. Verstegen's eyes lit up.
" Billups has great explosiveness, but his hamstring flexibility is lacking. This muscle imbalance makes him prone to hamstring strains."
"Where's Doug Christie?" Lin Qi asked.
" Doug Christie is very physical on defense, but his core rotation relies on lumbar spine compensation," Verstegen said. "With this style of play, he'll inevitably develop lumbar problems sooner or later."
Where's Artest?
" Artest's defense is too aggressive, but his deceleration technique is very rough," Verstegen said. "The impact on his knees when he stops suddenly is five to seven times his body weight, which is a very risky play."
Where's Miller?
" Miller is tall, but his ankles are too thin," Verstegen said. "His landings lack cushioning, and his ankles bear too much impact. Ankle stability needs to be strengthened."
The game ended with the Celtics winning by a margin of 15 points.
Looking at the jubilant players, Verstegen turned to look at Lin Qi.
" Lin Qi, if we don't intervene early," Verstegen said, "At least two or three players will be on the injury list this season."
Lin Qi stood up and patted Verstegen on the shoulder.
"Then let's not let it happen."
11 p. m., The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Executive Suite.
The Boston night breeze rattled against the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Verstegen took a hot shower and sat down at his desk. The laptop screen was lit up, and next to him was an untouched cup of black coffee.
Half of his mind was occupied with the potential problems he'd observed with the players' actions that evening, while the other half was with the grand business plan Lin Qi had drawn on the whiteboard.
$6.3 million, 21 teams, more than 300 players.
He typed a title heavily on the keyboard.
Boston Celtics: Athletic Performance and Injury Prevention System (Phase One Program)
My fingers flew across the keyboard.
Step 1: Team-wide FMS screening. Establishing digital biomechanical profiles for 15 players.
Step 2: Risk assessment. Identify players who are in the "red zone (high risk)".
Step 3: Implanting the essential neural activation warm-up module performed 15 minutes before the competition...
Verstegen knocked for a while, then suddenly stopped.
He reopened a new document and wrote a title.
[ Boston Celtics Injury Risk Matrix]
He began to record his observations from that evening, one by one.
After finishing his work, Verstegen stared at the risk matrix list.
The red zone has 4 players ( Gary Payton, Chris Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ben Wallace ), the yellow zone has 4 players ( Doc Doug Christie, Rasheed Wallace, Ron Artest, Brad Miller ), and the rest are in the green zone.
This means that more than half of the Celtics' 15-man roster have significant injury risks.
He typed a message at the end of the document.
"The core value of this system is that it reduces player injuries."
"Less injuries are the greatest competitive advantage."
"The season-ending injury of an All-Star player means a loss of tens of millions of dollars."
"If we can reduce the Celtics ' injury rate by more than 30%, the commercial value of this system will be immeasurable."
Verstegen reopened the first document and continued typing.
Step 4: Establish an "Injury and Illness Early Warning System".
FMS rapid screening once a week (5 minutes/person).
In-depth evaluations (for players in the red zone) are conducted every two weeks.
Establish digital profiles to track changes in each player's movement patterns.
Intervene immediately upon detecting abnormal risk indicators.
Step 5: Personalized training plan.
Players in the red zone: 30 minutes of targeted preventative training daily.
Players in the yellow zone: 15 minutes of targeted preventative training daily.
Green Zone Players: Routine maintenance.
Step 6: Coaching team training.
The Celtics ' existing strength and conditioning coach will undergo a two-week intensive training program.
Establish a standard operating procedure (SOP).
A monthly debriefing meeting is held to adjust the plan.
After typing the last word, Verstegen saved the document.
He checked the time: 12:47 AM.
Outside the window, the Boston night was deep and dark.
Verstegen picked up the now-cold coffee and drank it all in one gulp.
He knew that starting tonight, the trajectory of his life would be completely changed.
He is no longer just a trainer serving a small number of elite athletes.
He will become a pioneer who changes the entire sports training industry.
And it all started with this Boston Celtics.