I wish it was that easy

Designing and implementing a comprehensive training for an
athlete in any sport is a complicated task on one level and a very straight
forward undertaking on the other. First recognize that you must understand the
demands of the sport, the event or position in the sport, the qualities of the
individual athlete and you must address prevention in terms of common injuries
that occur within the sport. Once this is accomplished you must devise a long term
plan to systematically develop all qualities of athletic development in a
manner that give the athlete the chance to compete efficiently in the competitive
arena. The program must train all components of training all the time in a
proportion dictated by the athlete’s stage of development and the competitive
schedule. One component i.e. speed or strength is not emphasized to the
exclusion of another. They are proportionally distributed to allow continued
adaptation throughout the training year and throughout the athlete’s career.
Within each component I like to think of training in a spectrum of development,
just like there are visible and invisible bands in the spectrum of light the same
occurs across the training spectrum. Even though you may not see the adaptive process
at the time of the training it is occurring. Look at the spectrum aspects of
strength for example; depending on all the variables I mentioned above the
athlete could be training foundation strength, max strength, starting strength and
ballistic reactive strength if those components fit with what is happening in
the speed spectrum, the endurance spectrum, the skill spectrum and the
flexibility spectrum. We cannot afford to look at components in isolation; all components
are contextual and synergistic. This is the philosophical and methodological
basis for my argument against centering all training in the hands of a “strength
coach” in the weight room. I wish it were that easy.