Brook T. Smith Clemson Applied Science Lab (CASL)

THE BROOK T. SMITH CASL

In 2018, Clemson enclosed what was previously an outdoor patio area to create Clemson Applied Science Lab (or CASL, pronounced “castle”) to expand the capabilities of the measurement and recovery teams. The area served a two-fold mission. It served as the hub of Clemson’s data and performance analysis as well as a space for “prehab” and recovery. As Clemson student-athletes bought in, the space became one of Allen N. Reeves Football Complex’s most heavily trafficked areas.

With demand quickly outgrowing the footprint, Clemson embarked upon the renovation and expansion immediately after the team’s final practice of the spring in 2022. Whereas walls previously divided the athletic training room from the recovery space, the new open-concept area features Clemson’s medical diagnostic and treatment area to the north and the recovery space to the south, bisected by a nutrition bar.

Visitors are often surprised to find an almost club-like atmosphere with upbeat music and moving colored lights creating a welcoming environment rather than a stale, clinical one. The center has created additional collaboration between the athletic training staff, led by Head Athletic Trainer Pat Richards, and Clemson’s applied science group, pioneered by Dr. Alex Bina.

Brook T. Smith Clemson Applied Science Lab (“The CASL”) has a very simple mission…

“Carry out the vision of the head football coach by providing confidence to student-athletes that their physical and technical development is constantly advancing.”

Director of Applied Science Dr. Alex Bina has done everything in his power to ensure that those words ring true and Tiger student-athletes are given every possible opportunity to both improve performance and physically recover, using any and all modern technologies available.

The two key focuses of “The CASL” are maximizing performance and expediting recovery.

The ultimate goal is quantifying human performance. Once the body and its abilities are put into numerical terms, it becomes considerably easier to determine what needs to be improved and the best possible route to enhance it.

Throughout the yearly training cycle, athletes are evaluated using technologies that leverage motion capture, force plates, sensory station, augmented reality, force transducers and GPS sensors in order to quantify athletic development.

Through this process, an athlete’s body composition, movement efficiency, vertical jump performance, cognitive reasoning skills, specific muscle strength, joint range of motion and on-field speed become clear to coach and athlete alike. By building a database of the “Clemson Effect” on athlete development and performance, the Clemson football staff can continue to build championship squads for future generations of Tiger players.

Not only does “The CASL” provide coaches and student-athletes with quantitative data with which they can analyze performance, it also is a key resource for student-athletes to use during the recovery process and injury risk mitigation protocols. Bina stressed that quick and healthy recovery is the priority of the staff at “The CASL.”

The path to success in recovery is a two-step process. The first is communication and collaboration between the student-athlete and his strength & conditioning coach, nutrition and sports medicine experts and his sports psychologist. The second is using the established baseline scores of the student- athlete as targets for return-to-play protocols and as a foundation for injuryprevention training.

In 2022, through a collaborative effort with the sports medicine staff, “The CASL” launched an injury-risk-mitigation protocol that leverages data analysis to inform athlete-specific interventions. After each training cycle (winter, spring, summer), the entire roster is evaluated for strength and mobility deficiencies or imbalances. These deficiencies inspire tune-up exercises carried out by the sports medicine staff to attack issues before they become long-term injuries.

The injury-risk-mitigation program carried out in “The CASL” was made possible through a cornerstone gift donated by Clemson alum and former Student Athletic Trainer Brook T. Smith (‘89) to ensure that Clemson student-athletes can benefit from leading innovations occurring in human performance development.

Bina has always been interested in bioengineering, which is the degree he earned from Penn State. Bina, who received his Ph.D. from Clemson, is implementing a simple plan, which is to “learn how the body works as a machine and put students in a position to manipulate that machine to improve recovery and performance.”

As far as long-term and overarching goals and aspirations for “The CASL,” Bina offered the following. “When we talk about, ‘Best is the Standard,’ that means in all ways possible. This is just another piece of that puzzle.”

WHAT IS THE CASL?

Like the video team provides data for the coaching staff to make informed decisions on appropriate schemes and personnel, the data collected in the Brook T. Smith Clemson Applied Science Lab (The “CASL”) informs the decisions made by the strength and conditioning, sports medicine, nutrition, and behavioral health staffs.

Each year, all student-athletes will experience the full CASL scan three times. The CASL scan is a series of five evaluations that will establish baselines and track progress of student-athlete physical and technical development.

In addition to the three testing months during the year, student athletes experiencing both long and short term injury rehab will have access to each of the available testing services to track progress towards the student athlete’s pre-injury ability.

THE SCANS

Each year, all student athletes will experience the full CASL scan three times. The CASL scan is a series of five evaluations that will establish baselines and track progress of student athlete physical and technical development.

RECOVERY

One goal of the Clemson Applied Science Lab is to quantify the physical demand placed on student athletes in order to inform the student athlete on the benefits different recovery modalities can have on their performance. The CASL Recovery Center will feature cutting edge technology to support athlete physical and mental recovery.

PATH TO SUCCESS

1. Communication: constant collaboration between sports medicine, strength and conditioning, nutrition, and sport psychologist
2. Establish baseline scores for athlete mobility, force generation, body composition and vision
   a. Use baselines as targets for return to play protocols
   b. Use baselines as foundation for injury prevention (“prehab”) training