Author: Vernon Gambetta
Long Term Athlete Development – A Process
Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) is not a framework or a model it is a process. It is very neat and convenient to attach labels to various stages of athlete development but that sends the wrong message. It is a process that is fluid and dynamic. It is a process that is highly influenced by growth and development in the early stages. It all starts with developing a physically literate child well versed in the ABC’s of movement. It is so easy to forget that. Without the basis in fundamental movement skills all the development plans and subsequent stages are for not. Without physical literacy high-level sport skill can never be developed to its fullest capabilities. It is imperative to take advantage of the window of opportunity offered by the so called “skill hungry” years, ages seven to eleven, not to teach specific sport skill but to teach fundamental movement skills – Run, Jump & Throw and its very permutations in a playful informal environment. This will start the process in a sound fundamental manner. It will give the youngster confidence and control of their bodies. It will enhance their ability to learn specific sport skill. It will make them less prone to injury later on. That does not mean that sport skill is not taught rather it means that that fundamental movement skills lead and sport skills follow. My rule of thumb is to keep the fundamental movement skill development ahead of the sport skill development by about two months (no science here, just observation and experience). Sport skill at this level should be very basic and fundamental guided by discover rather that strict formal teaching progressions. Don’t be in a hurry, get them started on the right foot, let physical maturation, cognitive and emotional development be the guide. Remember it is a process. The 2020 Olympians are now approximately 12 years old – are they physically literate?
The Human Element
Sometimes when I hear coaches talk and I read training articles I get the feeling that they are mechanics working on a machine. I am left with the impression that you can change a body part or just fix it and everything will be OK. Nothing could be further from reality. The body is highly adaptive and self-organizing, we guide and direct it, and we do not program it. The body is not a machine with interchangeable parts. The brain that guides and controls the system is not a computer. The body is a living organism that is continually adapting and changing in order to maintain a state of homeostasis. The brain is constantly rewiring reconnecting synapses to guide and control the system. As coaches we are not technicians, we are conductors of the orchestra that plays a symphony of movement. Our job is to get all the sections playing in harmony to produce smooth efficient movement. We do not do this by focusing on parts. We direct the movement symphony by enhancing connections between the parts. Eventually with practice, with trial and error we achieve a harmony in movement that is measured by performance in the competitive arena. As a coach resist the temptation to micromanage the process, to take a reductionist approach and focus on parts, instead focus on the big picture to get all the parts playing together in harmony. Enjoy the creative process, it is both challenging and rewarding.
Slow Down
What’s the hurry? Take your time. Easy does it. Allow the adaptation process to run its course. The goal is to be ready at the appointed time, not before or after. No quick fixes, stopgap measures or secret workouts. Just allow the wisdom of the body to take effect. Different physical properties and capacities adapt at different rates. Learn what each individual needs and train accordingly. It is a process that is highly individual, somewhat event and sport specific and highly training age dependent. Anytime you think you need to try speed up the process just heed the words of Simon and Garfunkel in the 59th Street Bridge Song: Slow down, you move too fast. You got to make the morning last. Just kicking down the cobble stones. Looking for fun and feelin' groovy. Hello lamppost, What cha knowing? I've come to watch your flowers growing. Ain't cha got no rhymes for me? Doot-in' doo-doo, Feelin' groovy.
Coaching & Design Thinking
Design thinking is about creating better things, while traditional analytic thinking is about choosing between things. In coaching we need both.
The Question
Before you can find the answer you need to know how to ask the question. Sometimes the answer to a problem is right in front of you but you are asking the wrong question or looking for something else. It can be as simple as what, where, how, who and when? I find the most difficult thing is to formulate the question so that it does not lead to an answer that confirms my bias. We are all products of our experiences, but to formulate the right questions sometimes we need to let go of our experiences and see the world with new eyes. Adopt the innocence of a child seeing something for the first time. In my case I know that when I listen more than I talk then I can ask good questions that lead to solutions. In my younger days I thought it was all about saying smart things and giving smart answers now I know it is listening more, reflecting on what was said and asking incisive questions.
Coaching Art & Science
One key to being an effective coach is maintaining a balance between art and science. In today’s world where we can measure so much more than ever before in terms of competition and training monitoring it is tempting to tip the scale toward the science. I keep reminding myself that just because you can measure something does not mean that is meaningful. Science can only get us so far, it is how it is applied and interpreted that matters. Australian swim coach Bill Sweetenham put it quite well: “Science is only useful if it makes the coach a better artist.” The challenge for coaches then is have science serve us to make the athlete better; we should never be a slave to science. Know the science but more important know yourself and your athletes. There is no doubt in my mind based on what I have seen over the years that ultimately it comes down to who is the best artist but without the science the colors in the picture may not blend as well. Winston Churchill said it best: “Science should be on tap not on top.”
All In
Striving for and achieving excellence as a coach or an athlete in not part time commitment, it requires a total commitment. You must be all in. A partial commitment is no commitment at all. Excellence and the drive necessary to achieve it is not a comfortable proposition. You must be a coach or an athlete twenty-four hours a day not just the three or four hours you are training. A wise old coach told early in my coaching career that you couldn’t be a chump off the track and a champ on the track. Truer words have never been spoken. Being a coach or an athlete is not something you, it is something you are. Nothing more, nothing less!
Make em don’t break em
Are you really a good coach when only one or two survivors of your program run fast and the rest are hurt or cast by the wayside? Development is not a war of attrition, but a systematic process of gradual adaptation to training stress. It takes talent, time, patience, dedication, planning and focus on the process. No quick fixes. Honor and respect for the individual is important. No two individuals are the same. Before we lionize these guys as great coaches take a closer look at their methods. How many did they break along the way to produce one or two medals? It does not have to be like that.