PARS originally had a comment box as the last step in the assessment module.  During assessments I told myself that I would remember some detail… but didn’t.  Or between assessments the boxer told me about a fall or their last doctor appointment or some travel they were going to do.  There was no place to make a quick note.  I was carrying around at least 1 bit of information on every boxer… but struggling to remember which bit went with which boxer.

Introducing Coach Notes… Add a quick note anytime anywhere from the Boxer profile header by clicking on the blue conversation bubble in the top right.  A side panel opens up with the curser already in the new note box and it even opens your ......

We find that some boxers, mostly men, get very competitive when being assessed.  They want to beat their previous TUG or S2S or standing jump scores.  The FaST assessment has 10 tests averaging 30 seconds each which is a net 5 minutes.  Many of your boxers can be Superman for 30 seconds or even 5 minutes.  However, they can’t keep it up all day, they would be exhausted. 

The key for you is that they give you the same effort every assessment so the assessments are relevant to each other.  But the assessments do not reflect what you see from them out on the floor.   So, they might score a FaST score that seems to say they are Stage 1 or Stage 2 and you place them in Stage 3.  The Superman&......

A great use of assessments is a 60- or 90-day check up for new boxers.  With RSB, so much can change very quickly for a new boxer.  We are a PARS gymso we have detailed analysis for assessments.  Here is one case.

John (not his real name but permission given to use his information), 69,  joined us 2 months ago.  He was diagnosed 8 years ago, is overweight at 250 pounds, a Stage 3 boxer.  He has been attending RSB 2-3 times a week and he comes early to socialize and do his laps. 

We did John’s new boxer reassessment at 60 days. He has lost 10 pounds.  From the PDQ, his mobility and daily living score improved from 64 to 69 and his social and emotional score improved from 75 to 80. His balance ......

Boxers with Parkinson's recommends that every Rock Steady gym find a PARS Coordinator... a PC. The common issue for RSB gyms in maintaining an effective assessment program is time and coach ownership of the assessment process.

• Moving assessments from paper to tablet does not relieve the lack of time problem.  If you can't get them done on paper, you won't get them done on the tablet.
• To get more time, you need a new resource, a new person, to give your program more time.
• And if you are adding a new person, that means coaches have to be willing to let go of the assessment strings.  Assessments are important... but they are not that complicated.  Relax.

Here are just a few thoughts from Lee Ann Gooseman, ......

There are several ways to utilize your PARS Coordinator from just simple administrative tasks to full assessment responsibility... and ANY stage in between... the hybrid model.

BwP's recommendation is for you to let go of assessments, delegating them to a PARS Coordinator.  For you to never do another assessment.  But if you need time to build confidence and trust your PARS Coordinator... if you want to go slow... here are some hybrid suggestions for you to do that.

The first column is delegating the administrative tasks only.  The middle column is allowing your PC to do assessments for Stage 1 & 2 fighters.  And the third column is for delegating complete assessment responsibilities for everyone.  The ......

Now that you have found a PARS Coordinator, a PC, your responsibility is to train them well. 

If they are new to Parkinson's, take time to train them on PD symptoms, safety and the stages/levels of the disease.  This is not an ideal situation but is very manageable.  Have them come and observe several of your workouts.  They should get out on the floor and work with the boxers observing the difference between stages,

Your part of the training will need to be outside of regular workout times so you are available to supervise.  To keep your workload from holding them back, here is our recommended PARS training plan:

1.  Have them play with PARS to have some familiarity with the app.  ......
...

An assessment coordinator is important to a successful and effective assessment program.  How do you find a PARS Coordinator?

First, let's talk about the ideal background.  You are looking for a take-charge person.  Not timid and who can manage the assessment process, the boxer and their family members effectively to keep the assessments on track for time purposes but also to not get distracted. Most important, they need a "Parkinson's eye":  The ability to recognize subtle signs of PD symptoms such as tremors, posture, festination or shuffling feet, slow thought processes, balance issues, etc.  

Your PARSs Coordinator is likely to be retired but don't rule anyone out.  Ideal ......

RSB Hq tells us that the purpose of assessments is to place boxers in their proper workout level… 1/2 or 3/4.  A large portion of RSB affiliates hold combined level workouts… not enough 3/4s to justify a sperate workout.  Most RSB coaches can watch a boxer walk in the door and know where they belong.  Certainly after 10 minutes with them and their family.  

In our Covington gym with 45 active boxers (average 18 per workout) we administered 87 assessments in 2023   That number includes 12 intake assessments and 8 boxers who had more than 2 assessments during the year.  ALL 87 assessments were administered by our PARS Coordinator!  A PC.

Although the PC wants to manage the ......

Coaches, get to know your boxers better and improve your
boxer relationships by not doing any more assessments! 

Delegate assessments to an assistant coach or a volunteer assessment coordinator and your boxers will receive on-time assessments,
a personal coach/boxer consultation and their own comprehensive boxer assessment report.  Without you!

Many RSB gyms are solo coach gyms where the coach does everything.  Set up, lead the workout, post-workout clean up, and assessments.  In very lucky gyms, there might be multiple coaches and volunteers. In most RSB gyms, the demands of the program get in the way of assessments.  The reason your gym is behind on assessments is probably lack of time, not lack of ......

Duh!!  PARS can do more reporting and analysis when PARS has more member gyms, trained coaches & active boxers with multiple PARS assessments...  Bottom line: reliable data.

Pre-PARS data is assessment information input from the traditional paper forms.  There are reliability problems including inconsistent time between assessments, inconsistent commitment to doing assessments between gyms and even coaches, Some gyms did not use the PDQ and some coaches used the BERG or Mini-BEST instead of the Fullerton.  There are problems with legibility, missing data, unknown abbreviations and information written in the margins.  In many cases, this data is all there is to work with and usually some data is better than none......