Learning From The Past

You can learn from the past or you can live in the past. Certainly living in the past is not productive. For some reason today there seems to be an aversion to learning from the past. Too many young coaches today have no idea of the evolution and history of training. There is so little that is new in training, what people think is new is often some method that was used before that has been repackaged under a different name. (Kettlebells, indian clubs, and so called suspension training are three that quickly come to mind.) It is imperative to learn from the past so as to not repeat the mistakes of the past. You can learn from others past mistakes, why repeat them? Conversely learn from others past successes and see it  will apply today. Study the pioneers in the field of coaching and strength training. Look across sports disciplines. The pioneers had a real clue, they were producing results with much less available to them than we have today. They got more done with less. Their ideas and concepts are still viable today and in fact they are the basis of much of what we do today in training. Here are some resources ( Biased toward Track & Field – the mother of all sports. Run, jump and throw is the fondation for a majority of what we do in training for all sports) that I suggest you look into if you want a historical perspective on training:

Scholastic Coach and Athletic Journal – Go to your local college and university library, if they had a physical education major then they will have back issues. I know in 1969 when I started coaching the PE department subscribed. The coaches used to fight over who would get to the journals fist. Great sequence photos of skills in all sports and articles written by the top coaches in all sports.

Track Technique – It began publication in 1960. A tremendous resource with articles by the top track & field coaches in the world on all events.

Modern Athlete and Coach a publication of Australian Track Coaches Association. MAC has some of the best translations of Russian training methods and ideas ever by Jess Jarver, he was a native Latvian who was a coach & spoke Russian. No KGB misinformation here.

Athletics Coach published by the British Amateur Athletic Board – Contains classic articles by pioneering British coaches.

ASCA World Clinic Notes – Published American Swim Coaches Association it is a compendium of presntations from their annual convention.

Athleticastudi – Technical journal of the Italian Athletics Federation – Some great timeless articles from the late 70”s and 80”s on youth development (LTAD) sprint, hurdles and jumps.

Die Lehre der Leichathletik – Published by the DLV – German Athletic Federation. Get the back issue from the fifties and sixties with great sequence photos by Toni Nett. Worth their price in gold!

Amicale Des Entraineurs Francais D' Athletiseme – Published by the Freench Track & Field Federation. Great technique articles and photos of exercises and technique.

New Studies in Athletics – Published by the IAAF. Started publication in 1988. Great technical articles. Back issues available online at IAAF web site.

Meadowbank Convention Notes – A yearly clinic hosted by the Scottish Athletics. The notes from the 70’s and 80’s are a treasure trove of information.

These recommendations are the just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to be a better coach, you must study the past and learn from it. Use it as a starting point to grow and learn. Go find a Yoda who has been there to help guide you. Good luck on the journey. I am off to go through some of the old Meadowbank Convention Notes in preparation for my presentations at USTFCCA in two weeks.