Author: Vernon Gambetta
Good, Better, Best
It may be trite to say, but good is the enemy of great. After workout this morning I was reflecting on what it takes to be the best. It is easy to talk about and intellectualize about being the best, but actually taking the actions necessary to be the best is another thing. Start with talent and ability (I know I did not define them, that is a topic for another post I am working on). But I have seen many talented athletes who never took that last step to greatness; it is a big step into unknown and sometimes uncharted territory. It is a step filled with uncertainty and risk. Dedication and commitment are prime ingredients. Proper guidance in the form of coaching and support personnel will go a long way toward making dedication and commitment meaningful. Certainly ability to have a laser like focus on the task at hand is important. Along with focus the ability to maintain perspective is important – the ability to balance wins and loses, successes and failures as well as maintain some semblance of a normal life outside sport are important. Lest we forget this is a process that takes time. It is a growth process. Not very many people wake up one morning and are great. That’s make perseverance, the ability to stay the course in spite of obstacles a huge component of being great. In my experience after all that is said and done it simply comes down to choices. It is as simple as choosing to stay in bed and sleep in or go to the morning workout – the athlete makes conscious choices to be the great or merely be good, sometimes on a daily basis. The great ones make the choice to be outside their comfort zone all the time! Frankly I think this is the reason there are few truly great ones, it is rather simple, many are called but few choose. It is easier to just be good.
The Coaching Process
Coaching is a process that has a deep foundation in pedagogy (Science of teaching), supported by science, forged in experience, proven and tested in the competitive arena. At its essence coaching is teaching and the coach’s classroom is the track, the pool or the gym. To be truly effective as a coach it is important to remember it is not something you do for a couple of hours a day, it is something you are. To be a great coach demands that you be all in with a total commitment to being the best you can be. After all how can we ask the athlete for commitment if we are not? Immerse yourself in the process and the outcomes will take care of themselves.
Strength and Conditioning International Online Conference
Take advantage of this special opportunity for learning & professional development. Brendan Chaplin of Leeds Metropolitan University in England has organized an all-star line-up of leaders in the field of athletic development for a unique online seminar. It is a terrific learning opportunity and you never have to leave home. I am excited to be part of this. It is flattering to part of this lineup of great minds in the field. My topic will be 45 Years of Coaching- Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned. In my presentation I will focus on my approach as a generalist who has deep roots in Track & Field but has worked with a myriad of other sports at all levels and how I evolved the Gambetta Method. I plan on covering all areas of athletic development to share with what and why I have seen has worked and what hasn’t worked. I am looking forward to the opportunity to share my experiences. Use this referral code VG10 and you will get a 10% discount on any of the packages. (Enter this code VG10 in the box at the checkout area of the website. The price will automatically be reduced.) Checkout the conference web page to learn about all the presenters’ http://www.strengthandconditioningeducationonline.com/home/sc-conference/ You bet I will be tuning to this when I am not presenting.
The Secret
Always have to chuckle when I see a new article or a post on the unveiling of the latest secret training method. I will let you in on a little secret there are no secrets. There are no shortcuts to the podium. You can keep looking if you want but you are wasting your time. Know the basics, master the basics repeat them until they are flawless. Individualize the training to fit the athlete and adapt the technique so it fits the athlete; don’t try to fit the athlete to the event. Practice with purpose and direction and realize that it will take time. A little talent helps, but a little talent can go a long way if it is maximized.
Reflections & Expectations
These are a few reflections, lessons, random thoughts and some expectations for the New Year. 2013 was a great year of learning and sharing for me; I am looking forward to an even better year in 2014. This next year marks 50 years since graduating from high school, hardly seems like that long, it certainly has been an adventurous journey. It just reminds how fortunate I have been to have a loving supportive family, great mentors to learn from and special friends. Some of them are no longer with us but they are in my thoughts everyday. Every year that passes just keeps reaffirming that everything that is old is new again. Just because something did not work in the past does not mean it won’t work now – different time, different people, different place and different circumstances. Calling something “functional” does not make it functional. The better you get at learning the more you learn, the key is learning how to learn. Master the basics and never abandon the basics. Everything is built on basics. Long-term athlete development is one of the most misunderstood areas in sport today. No further comment necessary. No shades of gray regarding drugs, you cannot walk the line. You either are on the side of drugs or opposed to it. For me there is no place for performance-enhancing drugs in sport or anything that remotely resembles them. Five years of success does not a career make. It takes twenty years to be an overnight success. I want to wish all of you a very happy and healthy new year.
Coaching is Teaching
How do you teach? How you reach determines you effectiveness as a coach. It was drilled into me when I was in college and student coaching that coaching was teaching. Fortunately early in my career I was mentored by and coached with some great teacher /coaches. As I reflect on that I realize how fortunate I was to have those influences. When I look at young coaches today I don’t see the same emphasis on teaching. I see tremendous technical knowledge, which is wonderful, but can you impart to the athlete? As coaches our classroom and laboratories are the track, fields, courts or the pool. Everything we do as coaches is based on our ability to teach. Make you goal to be a better teacher and you will be a significantly better coach.
What Matters
In life and in coaching it is important to focus on what matters. What matters most is relationships – people – the human element. It seems like this has been an ongoing theme in the blog this year. In today’s world of fast information and big data it is easy to forget that the numbers, data, scientific measurements are one-dimensional – we coach people who are multidimensional. They are not machines, they respond to care and concern. Good coaching is about developing trust and working together with the athletes to guide them to grow athletically and personally. Every truly effective coach I have known knows what matters and focuses on what matters. They are astute observers and sharp listeners. A simple guideline to help focus on what matters is to remember the 3 C’s connect, convey, and convince.
2013 Books of the Year
So far in 2013 I have read 124 books (Still a week to go so I probably will end with 127). Needless to say I am a confirmed serial bibliophile. I did not include any novels in this list, no particular reason. I am a big Michael Connelly fan, saving his new book, The Gods of Guilt, for next week. Also have just started reading Lee Child, good escape reading. Next year my plan is to go back and read some Mark Twain, Hemingway and Steinbeck, get back to the American roots. These are the ten books I enjoyed the most in 2013. 1) The Sports Gene by David Epstein Key to understanding nurturing nature in many ways this is the anti Gladwell. Reads like a novel.So good I read it twice. 2) The Unwinding by George Packer Read this if you want insights into the United Sates today, the haves and the have-nots. Not always a pretty picture. 3) Practice Perfect by Doug Lemov, Erica Woolway and Katie Yezi This is a must read and needs to be a constant reference to insure quality teaching. Full of practical hints. 4) The Guns at Last Light by Rick Atkinson Tremendous detailed research on the last European campaigns of WWII; this may be the best of the trilogy. 5) The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown Sport in a whole other time and place. Very inspirational. 6) The Icarus Deception by Seth Godin This is the latest in a line of classics by the master, just full of great thoughts and ideas. 7) Classic Track & Field Tales by Larry Knuth If you are track fan you have to read this. Brings back so many memories of the halcyon days of he sport 8) Therapeutic Stretching by Eyal Lederman A must read for every coach. Lederman understands function. 9) The Story of the Human Body – Evolution Health and Disease by Daniel Lieberman Terrific and though provoking insights into today’s human body from an evolutionary biology perspective. 10) Mastermind – How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova Many great insights in thinking differently and looking for solutions.