Do you have a bias in training? Do you have a bias when you are evaluating an athlete? Come on, admit it, you do and I do, we all do. It may be a concious or sub consciuos. I am clearly biased toward speed. When I evaluate an athlete the first thing I look for is speed, speed of movement and speed of thought and action. When I design training everything is subservient to my bias toward speed. That has served me well at times, but as with any bias, it has haunted me. The longer I coach the more I realize that I must guard against my bias. I must account for it and in some cases compensate for it. I must insure that training is balanced and meets the needs of the individual athlete. It is a simple proposition, admit your bias and be sure to account for it to insure optimum return from the training investment.
3 Comments
Paul A. Davis
Vern-
I don’t think having a bias toward speed is a bad thing in any way – after all, speed wins in nearly (every?) sport. Speed is the epitome of athleticism (using your definition, which I really like and use) isn’t it?
Hamish Ferguson
In cycling we have the ability to measure wattage on the bike which proves a very good measure of the actual work that is being done. In a sport where athletes can draft off others or in individual events where pacing is very important and weather conditions or terrain can influence speed the ability to measure power accurately is a luxury.
ferrari mobile
I can’t imagine!^