Author: Vernon Gambetta
USATF Coaching Education Program – 30 Years Later
Yesterday when I working on two chapters for the new and revised Level One Coaching Manual to be published by Human Kinetics I realized that thirty years ago this past week was when we had out first instructor training school and curriculum development meeting. We gathered at Cal State University, Long Beach. Ron Buss was the women’s track coach there and he graciously took care of all the facilities and organization. There were around fifty of us (Somehow the records have been lost as to the exact number – another story for another time). It was an amazing week! Each aspect of the level one curriculum was presented and critiqued and revised onsite. The last two days we had essentially our first level two for those instructors, it was very high level presented by coaches like Ken Foreman from Seattle Pacific and top sport science people. The highlight of that segment was Dr Joe Vigil then of Adams State talking for three hours on the most intricate details of exercise physiology with no notes. It was vintage Joe Vigil. No one was paid a cent. They received their travel and room and board. The whole program was started with $3,000 seed money from the Men and Women’s development committees. From that $3,000 has grown arguably one of the most successful programs ever undertaken by USATF. It proves that drive, determination and dedication with heavy doses of idealism can succeed. We refused to take no for an answer. Gary Winckler, Joe Vigil and myself with the tremendous support of Berney Wagner in the national office somehow got it done. On Sunday afternoon when we finished Gary Winckler then at Florida State, Scott Brady-Smith from Acalanes High school and Kevin McGill who was at Columbia University went back to my house in Irvine and worked non-stop the next two days to get the curriculum ready for the first the Level One Schools to be held the first weekend in January 1984. Remember there were no computers, my wife had to type everything and we had to get it off to the school directors for duplication. Somehow it all worked and the schools went off without a hitch. This program is a shinning light in a sport that needs help. The answer to reviving track and field and giving it the respect it so deserves lies with improving the quality of coaching. I am proud to have played a small part in getting this started, now we need to unify our efforts and all get together and make the program even better. Just writing this has stirred so many fond memories of the dedicated people that worked so hard to get this program off the ground in the first five years. I thank all of you. My wish is that the breakaway faction in the track coach’s organization would get back together with us to improve the program and make the sport better. Track & Field needs unity not division. We need to put egos and personalities aside and do what is right for the sport, Invoke the spirit of all of those who started the program with no compensation just unlimited passion and knowledge coupled with a love of the sport. Lets get together and make the next thirty years even better.
GAIN 2014
The Gambetta Athletic Improvement Network (GAIN) is a community of professionals interested in learning and sharing to improve their abilities and enhance their professional status. GAIN 2014 will take place June 17 to 21 at Rice University in Houston, Texas. The program isopen to sport coaches, conditioning coaches, physical education teachers, athletic trainers, physical therapists, chiropractors and doctors. Go to http://www.thegainnetwork.com/joingain.htmlto download the application form, submit your application now, enrollment is limited. Professional tuition is$3,800 and scholastic tuition is $1900 (High school, junior high school, elementary school teachers and coaches are eligible for the scholastic tuition). Tuition includes breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, and room. Please call me at 941-378-1778 or email mail me at gstscoach@gmail.com if you have any questions. Be a leader and an innovator! Apply now and join a select group of professionals at GAIN. Our goal is to define the field of Athletic Development by educating professionals in foundational principles and methodology as applied to coaching, physical education and rehabilitation. This program is intense, intellectually challenging and demanding. We combine theory and practice in a five-day residential coaching school format. This is an opportunity to observe, participate, question, and explore the application of the Gambetta Method – Systematic Sport Development Model of training, teaching and injury rehabilitation. The coaching school represents just a beginning of an incredible professional development opportunity. The graduates of the program can continue to participate via the secure web site, and continue to attend the GAIN coaching school for the duration of their careers if they so choose for no additional cost. Our faculty is experienced professionals who combine their knowledge, experiences and passion for teaching to help guide you. They are leaders in their respective fields who are in the trenches working in the field of athletic development. For those who have attended it has been a career changing experience. Take a giant step forward to enhance your professional development. Apply now for GAIN 2014; don’t miss this opportunity for professional advancement. Go to http://www.thegainnetwork.com/joingain.htmlanddownload the application form and apply now. Benefits Athletic Development Handbook T-Shirts and Backpack Continuing Education Units Career long access to GAIN Forum and library Career long attendance at GAIN Coaching School
John Wooden – Master Teacher
Coaching is teaching and no one epitomizes that more than John Wooden. He was a teacher of basketball and life; his classroom was the basketball court. It is no coincidence that many of his ideas about coaching were forged in the classroom as a high school English teacher. He was not a complexifier, he kept things basic and fundamental. The emphasis was on repetition and mastery of basics. He carefully planed his practices down to the minute, spending up to two hours a day planning the training sessions. In a study done on his coaching by two psychologists, Ronald Gallimore & Roland Tharp originally done in 1975 and updated in 2004 (Read more at http://tinyurl.com/mhskpr9) they observed 2,636 acts of coaching: 6.9% were compliments, 6.6% were expressions of discipline, and most importantly 75% was pure information! The comments were short, punctuated, numerous and rarely longer that 20 seconds – no lectures! John Wooden was Twitter coach before Twitter. Coach like John Wooden coached, know your message, communicate the message and do it in 140 characters maximum.
Twitter Coaching
As you know the goal of Twitter is get you message across in 140 characters or less. Over the years as I have observed great coaches I have seen what I call Twitter coaching. Great coaches are great teachers who get their message across in a very succinct on point manner. Seldom do great coaches speak in paragraphs, they speak in sentences that are very direct and intended to elicit a specific behavior. Be a twitter coach and improve your coaching effectiveness. By the way follow me on Twitter @coachgambetta. The great John Wooden was a Twitter coach before Twitter, more on his coaching style tomorrow.
Lest We Forget
We coach people, not football players, tennis players, swimmers or jumpers! Remember athletes are not data points on a graph, Chris McCormack, Ironman Champion said it best: "We’re athletes. We’re not integers in a formula.” Coaching is something we do with the the athlete, not to the athlete. It is a collaborative process. Focus on the person and the athlete will prosper and achieve their potential.
Coaching Classics
I know I have published this list of coaching classics before but there are many new readers to the blog and followers on Twitter @coachgambetta and friends on Facebook http://tinyurl.com/lezv8tr and Google Plus who have not seen it. These are classic works that I think every coach should read. They span a range of areas from scientific and technical to sport sociology. Just as with any classic they are timeless. They are rich with knowledge. There are many works in this list that I go back and review each year, they never get old. Challenge yourself and see how many of these you can read in the year, if you do you be a more knowledgeable and well rounded coach for doing it. The Inner Athlete by Bob Nidefer Problem Athletes and How to Handle Them by Tom Tutko and Bruce Ogilvie Psychology and the Superior Athlete by Miroslav Vanek and Bryant J. Cratty Scientific Principles of Coaching by John Bunn What Research Tells The Coach About Sprinting by George Dintiman Track & Field Omnibook by Ken Doherty Modern Track & Field by Ken Doherty Modern Training For Running by Ken Doherty The Science of Swimming by James E. Counsilman The Mechanics of Athletics by Geoffrey Dyson Better Athletes Trough Weight Training by Bob Hoffman Hidden causes of injury, prevention, and correction for running athletes by John Jesse Wrestling Physical Conditioning Encyclopedia by John Jesse Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation: Patterns and Techniques by Dorothy Knotts and Margaret Voss Scientific Principles and Methods of Strength Fitness. By Patrick O’Shea Total Body Training by Richard H. Dominguez and Robert Gajda Kinesiology by Gene Logan and Wayne C. McKinney Skill In Sport by Barbara Knapp Acquiring Ball Skill – A Psychological Interpretation by H.T.A. Whiting The Thinking Body by Mabel Todd Run Run Run by Fred Wilt How They Train by Fred Wilt Mechanics Without Tears by Fred Wilt No Bugles, No Drums by Peter Snell The Unforgiving Minute by Ron Clarke with Alan Trengove Run to the Top by Arthur Lydiard Franz Stampfl on Running by Franz Stampfl The Jim Ryun Story by Cordner Nelson Another Hurdle by Dave Hemry Run To Daylight by Vince Lombardi and W.C. Heinz Track and Field Dynamics by Tom Ecker Championship Track and Filed by Tom Ecker Biomechanics of Athletic Movement by Gerhard Hochmuth Sports Physiology by Edward L. Fox Interval Training – Conditioning for Sports and General Fitness by Edward L. Fox and Donald K. Mathews Biomechanics and Energetics of Muscular Exercise by Rodolfo Margaria Biomechanics of Sports Techniques by Jim Hay Introduction to Biomechanic analysis of sport by John W. Northrip, Gene A. Logan and Wayne C. McKinney Principles of Sports Training – Introduction to the Theory and methods of Training by Dietrich Harre Fundamental of Sports Training by L. Matveyev Sports Training Principles by Frank Dick Training Theory by Frank Dick Track Speed – Hurdles, Sprints and relays by John Le Masurier Track and Field – Textbook for Coaches and Sports Teachers Edited by Gerhardt Schmolinsky Olympic Track And Field Techniques by Tom Ecker, Fred Wilt, and Jim Hay International Track and field Coaching Encyclopedia by Feed Wilt and Tom Ecker Track in Theory and Technique Edited by Thomas P. Rosandich The Hurdlers Bible by Wilbur Ross Mechanics of the Pole Vault by R.V. Ganslen The Triple Jump Encyclopedia by Ernie Bullard and Larry Knuth Tendinitis: it’s Etiology and Treatment by Sandra Curwin and William D. Stanish The Sweet Spot in Time by John Jerome Weight Training In Athletics by Jim Murray and Peter V. Karpovich Weight Training in Athletics and Physical Education by Gene Hooks Circuit Training by Manfred Scholich Circuit Training by R. E. Adamson and G.T. Morgan The Miracle Machine by Doug Gilbert The System of Physical Education in the USSR Edited by G. I Kukushkin The Soviet Road To Olympus – Theory And Practice Of Soviet Physical Culture And Sport by N. Norman Shneidman 1000 Exercises d’ Athletisme by Kurt Murer and Walter Bucher Winning Volleyball – Fundamentals, Tactics and Strategy by Allen E. Scates The Pursuit of Sporting Excellence – A Study of Sport’s Highest Achievers by David Henry The Athletic Revolution by Jack Scott Meat on the Hoof – The Hidden World of Texas Football by Gary Shaw Out of Their League by Dave Meggyesy
Practice Breaker – Lectures
Starting practice with a long lecture is a surefire way to ruin the training session. Coaches are good at talking and love to talk, but the start of practice is not the time and place. Recognize that the athletes are there to train, not to listen to a lecture. My rule of thumb is three minutes of talking that consists of very specific instructions pertaining to the training session. We know how long we can hold someone’s attention – not long – so use that knowledge. Make it short, sharp filled with action words that are directed to the desired actions during the training session. It should be information rich and positive. If you don’t know what to say then don’t say anything. Think of it this way: Know your point, make your point, stay on point and summarize with a clear call to action based on the points of emphasis. Coaches like to talk, that does mean you should. Some of the best advice I got early in my career was to remember that we have two eyes, two ears and one mouth for a reason. Watch and listen more and talk less.
Practice Breaker – Lines
Perhaps the most common practice breaker I see is lines. I was watching a soccer practice recently where 18 players were doing a shooting drill; there were two lines of nine with two balls. Do the math how many times did each player get to practice a shot in a five-minute period? Answer: not enough to be meaningful, not to mention the lack of instruction. Lets be clear lines are important for organization and efficiency, but learn to use lines to be effective. If the drill demands speed and high quality work then make it a line of five – One athlete executing the drill, the second person in line coaching the drill, third person rehearing, fourth person observing and fifth person recovering. Everyone should be actively involved in the drill to optimize practice time. If the objective of the drill is more game fitness or speed endurance oriented then divide the group into lines of three with one athlete executing the drill, one coaching and one recovering. I stress the important of peer coaching to take advantage of the Mirror Neuron Phenomenon. The brain of the athlete coaching the drill perceives that that are doing the drill, hence it is an opportunity to get better faster – in essence the athlete coaching gets another quality repetition. This also insures that everyone is fully engaged in the practice. Lines can be effective but it demands thorough practice planning to make the lines or formations fit the objectives of the practice.