Author: Vernon Gambetta
What is Your Filter?
What is your filter for differentiating “Sports Science Fiction” from valid & valuable sports science research & content? What is your filter for differentiating “Training Porn” from valid & valuable content on training athletes?
Just Thinking – Some Random Thoughts on Training and Life
The higher you progress in sport the faster everything happens. When they talk about the speed of the game it is true. You have significantly less time to make decisions and act of react. Forget barriers, they are artificial, mental contracts that hold you back. Instead think of frontiers to conquer. Keep pushing into the unknown, unexplored territory. Stay essential – Focus on what will make you better. Getting tired is not training. In sprinting forget segmenting the sprint stride into front side and back side instead focus on the reciprocal cyclic scissor action of both legs. Can’t separate front side and back side. “Attitude is a choice” Ron Adams Assistant Coach, Golden State Warriors Don’t think less of yourself, think of yourself less. Don’t let school interfere with your education. Unlearning may be just as important as learning “The note next to the one you think is bad corrects the one in front.” Miles Davis Also write your training plan in pencil.
Three Great Books!
I have been doing an unusual amount of reading lately. As many of you know I am a voracious reader but of late it has bordered on the ridiculous. Since April 28 when I went to California through to today, I have read fifteen books. The books pictured stand out. Each of the authors is among my favorite authors. All three books are meticulously researched and very timely. One dealing with the pandemic, one with gene editing and one with America’s place in the world. All three read like novels. I would go so far as to say of the couple of hundred boos I have read in the last two years these are all in the top ten.
Creativity & Coaching
We must recognize that coaching is a creative process. What differentiates the good from the great coach is the ability to see the same athlete, the same skill, the same movement and see what others cannot or have not seen yet. Coaching is constant iteration, prototyping, tinkering to get it right for the athlete. The coaching process is not a reductionist paint by numbers algorithm. A creative coaching process recognizes that the body is smart. Creative coaching begins with instilling a foundation of basics in the athlete that are then built upon. Once foundations are established in an athlete, the coaching process continues with progressively more difficult and challenging movement problems for the athlete to solve. The creative coaching process trusts that the athlete will be able to “figure it out” building their personal answers to movement puzzles on the foundation of basics. The final solution that the athlete comes to may not meet the criteria of “perfect technique” or ideal training, but it works for that athlete. Getting it to work is the measure of good coaching. Use all your senses, follow your instincts to put the athlete in a position to be able succeed in the competitive arena.
Beginners Mind
Regardless of how many years you have been coaching always approach what you do with a beginner’s mind (Shoshin in Japanese). Never lose it because it is full of possibilities. It helps to see with child’s eyes. It is seeing what is actually there as opposed to seeing what we think is there. Erase confirmation bias. Expect nothing and you will be surprised with what you see.
Just Coach!
Some practical actionable advice to help get instantly better as a coach: Leave your iPhone and iPad in the office. Put the Go Pro away. STOP! LOOK! LISTEN! Heighten and sharpen your observational skills Don’t worry about bar speed. Watch the lift Turn off the GPS and watch the athlete move – See how they generate those numbers you have been gathering Throw away the wellness questionnaire – Talk to the athlete. Get to know them as people. Forget the triphasic workout – all movement involves coordinated eccentric, isometric and concentric muscle action. JUST COACH!!!!! You will be surprised at what you have been missing. Use technology to complement what you do, not to replace it. Know yourself and never forget you are coaching people.
Reflections and Recollections
If you are interested in the genesis and evolution of my ideas and concepts over the last 53 years, please take the opportunity to access my keynote address for the Annual Sports Biometrics Conference https://sports-biometrics-conference.com/ from this winter. The title of the presentation is: Chalkboard to Virtual Reality: Reflections & Recollections. https://vimeo.com/517852147 In many ways that says it all. I am so thankful for having been able to coach spanning the decades that I have to enable to see what has changed and what has not changed. It is a reflection on what I have had to change and what is meaningful. It would be great to get from feedback from those of you who watch. If you are interested in digging deeper into the concepts and ideas, I presented look into the GAIN Professional Development Network https://thegainnetwork.com/ and listen to the biweekly GAINcast http://www.hmmrmedia.com/gaincast/
FOMO
I think of late I am suffering from a severe case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). I am seeing all this stuff that looks really cool. I read and listen to the claims and I am in awe. Then I take a step back and let my experiences give me a perspective. The bottom line is will this make me a better coach and consequently make my athletes better? I keep thinking I should embrace technology without reservation and let it take me where it may, but there is this little voice that keeps reminding me – What got you to this point? Have my athletes done well and continue to do well in spite of or could they have been better? I have always been an earlier adapter as evidenced by all the timing devices, jump mats, monitoring devices and computer programs in my closet. I found what enhanced my coaching and the athletes understanding of the process and went with it. If it didn’t do that, I discarded it. I pride myself on being on the front edge of innovation and change. As I write this my FOMO is declining, I am going to stay an informed skeptic and see how all this works out. So far, I am not highly impressed. I see a decline of good coaching. No understanding of sound pedagogy. I see great technologists who can’t teach and communicate in an effective manner what they are measuring to the athlete. I see smoke and mirrors standing in the way of substance. This will sort and we will move forward. I just feel for the athletes that are not getting the best they should get.