I have been thinking of writing this post for a long time. I
have been hesitant because of the risk of pissing off a whole bunch of people, but
so be it. I say wake up because those of you that identify yourself as strength
coaches are painting yourselves into a corner. The more you chase numbers in
the weight room, the more you create adapted athletes that are disconnected
with what they are trying to do on the field, the court, the pool and the
track. How many of you actually attend practice and see what is going on
outside the weight room? If you do not do that then you better, because if you
are not connecting the weight room to the sport then you are not doing your
job. Oh I have heard all the excuses why you can’t you, they are just that
excuses. I have been places where there were there were eight graduate
assistant strength coaches for football. They spent all their time polishing
the chrome and mixing “recovery “ drinks. It takes planning, communication and
organization.
Do you get along with the trainer, probably not? They are no
longer on your side because they see the injuries that are occurring because of
biased one sided training. They don’t get hurt in the weight room; they get
hurt because of the weight room. Trainers you are not without fault, you need
to get out of the training room understand what is going on and stop pointing fingers. Just getting your
CSCS does not make you anymore of an expert on Strength and Conditioning than
it does the strength coach. We are all part of a support team that is supposed
to help the coach put the best prepared, healthy fully adaptable athlete on the
field, court, pool and track.
We need to get back to coaching. We need to emphasize complete
athletic development, not just strength. In the immortal words of the sage social
philosopher, Rodney King “Why can’t we
all get along?” Don’t paint yourself
into the corner, take charge, and be a leader not a follower. Get out of the
weight room deal with the complete athlete and be a coach. It is easy to get strong
and achieve numbers; it is hard to apply that strength to the sport that is our
job.
Craig Duncan
Hi Vern a great post and this will only upset those that need to be upset. I think this post highlights the need for a new organisation and accrditation in athletic development to move beyond the CSCS qualification we move to move beyond what the NSCA offers otherwise athletic development wont get the focus it deserves
Joe P.
I talk about this stuff in my blog all the time- do the modalities you choose produce measureable results? In your scenario, less injuries etc. If not, don’t be afraid to throw it out & try something else. Especially on the high school level where time spent with the athlete is so precious.
Jonathan Hewitt ATC
As an athletic trainer and a graduate with a degree in exercise physiology, I don’t see the need forn me to have another certification. Am I to believe that my professors with their doctrate degrees weren’t enough to prepare me for my job? Am I to believe that when I pass the CSCS I now have some knowledge I didn’t have before when I graduated with a degree in Ex PHys? Don’t get me wrong, like Vern has said in the past it is about always learning and applying that knowledge. If universities, and other organizations were smart, they would merely hire a person with the appropriate degree and within their contract make it mandatory that they continue educating themselves via CEU opportunities and through other appropraite means. I purposely don’t have CSCS behind my name. More letters behind my name won’t make me more effective at what I do but practical experience, watching practices, networking with great minds like Vern and taking the time to educate my self will make me more effective at my job.
tim sullivan
Vern when I think of great coaches I think of a popular fictional character The Mad Scientist.
“A mad scientist need not be an evil genius”. A mad scientist is simply a scientist who has become obsessively involved with the art of their studies and has begun to develop eccentricities by normal standards. I veiw the 1980 Herbert Paul Brooks as a Mad Scientist.
Mark Feldner
I think the current attitude of many S&C coaches is one that is the result of fear. Fear that if they change or adapt because of new learning they are not an “expert” or “guru”. Fear that if their workouts look too much like a practice for the sport they are training, they are no longer needed. The fear then manifests itself into an unwillingness to change because most equate change to admitting they have been wrong in the past. I am not of the belief that we should abandon testing and tracking of numbers in the weight room, it has its place, if for no other reason than to motivate athletes. However, I think we have become too reliant on numbers, numbers that come from testing that is rarely reliable due to a variety of factors. This may be scientifically unsound, but I take stock in an athlete telling me they “feel” faster, or “feel” more powerful, or “feel” as though they are moving better in their sport. We need to let go of our egos and allow everything around us to influence our programming and coaching. Listen to the athlete, listen to the coach, they are usually a better barometer of how effective your programming is. As far as excuses go, I think there is validity to the excuse of under staffing. For those that have the staffing and facilities, they need to use them. For those who don’t, I think we need to do a better job at educating the sport coaches and athletes around us to be teachers/coaches as well. If we can get coaches to believe in what we are teaching they will become involved and pick up for us where it is needed. There is nothing better than having an entire team of athletes coaching one another. Share with everyone, it’s not a huge secret.
Fitness Blogger
Strength training has become an end in itself, rather than a means to an end.