Author: Vernon Gambetta
The Carmel Swim Club Experience
Just like at Starbucks at Carmel Swim Club it is about the experience. I is not about the pool or the water every swim team has that. There is so much more here, so much more than what meets the eye. I have been privileged to work with Carmel Swim club since August 2009. My task was to help them develop a long-term development program on the dry land side that would emphasize the development of the movement skills necessary to enhance their development as swimmers. In essence move from age eight to eighteen in a progressive manner that reflected the growth and development epochs of both the growing boy and girl swimmer to develop their physical literacy. This past week was my fifth visit over the past two years. As I was flying home on Saturday I reflected on what I had seen happening at Carmel. Certainly every swim club works, in fact many put “work” above all else. At Carmel I see purposeful directed work that is mindful directed to make the swimmer better not just tired. Everything in dryland is connected to what happens in the pool. There are no wasted movements. They warm-up to swim to swim, they don’t swim to warm-up. Not many work like this. The past two years they been named a Gold Medal team by US Swimming, an accolade only awarded to 16 teams throughout the country. It is an honor well deserved, but more importantly it is an honor earned. The coaching staff headed by Chris Plumb, assisted by head age group coach Ian Murray, and assitants Maggie Moss and Roch King is outstanding. They are innovative and willing to learn. All are terrific communicators who pay attention to detail. My passion is coaching. When I visit Carmel that passion is really ignited. Coaching is teaching and these coaches coach and teach. Whether it is a pool session or a dryland session you see high quality teaching. Instead of repetition of errors as I see in many swim programs, the emphasis here is on getting it right. Getting it right for that individual swimmer. The coaches walk the walk and put the athlete’s number one and work to guide and develop their athlete’s growth in and out of the pool. The age group coaches are also to be commended. They are the foundation of the whole system. They do a super job of getting the little ones going, of teaching crawling, skipping and good stroke mechanics. They start the swimmers on their development pathway by teaching good habits and routine. It is as fun to watch them coach, as it has been fun to watch the growth of the swimmers over the two years that I have been there. Fast times and championships are a results of the process, here at Carmel the process is amazing to watch. Special things are going on here because the emphasis is squarely on the human element.
Learning to Coach – Part Six Family
It seems that when there is a major holiday I think more about my family and what family has meant to me in my life and my career. This probably should have been part one in this narrative of learning to coach because without my family, first my parents and my brother, now my wife and children coaching would be meaningless. My parents, how they raised me and where I was raised definitely molded me. They shaped my values and my life view. I am a first generation American my parents were immigrants from Ticino the Italian canton of Switzerland. I now realize how much that their experience as new comers to this country in the 1920’s, with no idea of the language and culture shaped the lessons they passed on to me. Neither had much education to speak of, but they put tremendous stock in education as a means to a better life. Even more valued than education was work. Their work ethic was off the chart. Their attitude was that you worked until the job was done and you did it to perfection. My dad was a gardener, although he never said so the lawns, the shrubs and flowers were his studio. It was where he produced his art. My mother was a gift wrapper in a china shop. Each package that she wrapped was a work of art. She took tremendous pride in what she did. I learned from them that you worked to be the best that you could be regardless of what you were doing and who was watching. I realize now what an impact their example had on my philosophy of life and coaching. A day does not go by without me thinking about the lessons I learned from my parents and the sacrifices they made for me. My wife and my children are amazing. To be a coach’s wife and the son and daughter of a coach is not easy. Without their support, sacrifices and understanding nothing I have done in coaching would be possible. Thanks you guys for putting up with me. Next – Part Seven – Graduate School at Stanford Univerity
Key Performance Indicators
Key Performance Indicators are those essential factors that determine success in you sport. It goes beyond sport demands and drills deeper into the actual physical performance parameters that must be trained to insure success in the competitive arena. Of course you must start with a through analysis of sport demands and subsequent analysis of position or event demands. Then what? You need to turn that analysis into action, which is where the KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) come into play. For example if you look at speed demands that is one layer but you need to get deeper that that to get results. You need to look at the elements of speed that are crucial for success, define it and make it a KPI. I think of the KPI’s as a guide to help me determine why I am going to do what I do. From there the KPI”s help me to determine the training means – the what of training – the actual drills and exercises that comprise the program. From there I go to the training methods – the how the training methods are performed. Spend some time working through the KPI’s for the sport you are working with, it will be a good guide to direct you training. Certainly in today’s high tech world we now have information and data at our fingertips that we never had before. To effectively use the data and turn it into action you need the KPI’s to provide context to the number and information.
Coach Development Pathway
Frank Dick developed this coaching development pathway that he presented at the Scottish Athletics coaching conference this past weekend. It is a clear pathway, but more importantly it is a growth process. There is no set timeline, it occurs step by step. The coach must earn their way through the pathway. (Please note: the titles are from Frank Dick, the descriptors are my own) Embryonic Coach – This is a coach just starting out, in many respects without even a remote idea of what is going on beyond the workout of the day. They are an open book, with very little or no knowledge, just enthusiasm and a desire to coach. Apprentice Coach – This coach works under and with an established coach to learn the trade so to speak. Much of the learning at this stage is from others and their experiences. This is paying your dues. The apprentice coach is starting to have an idea of what they should know and how to go about learning it. Emergent Coach – Now the coach is totally on their own, their fate is entirely in their hands. They now must be self-sufficient. They know what they know; their knowledge and experience are growing. Breakthrough Coach – This coach is coaching some athletes to performances that are outstanding at the level they are coaching on. Now they not only know what they know, they are acutely aware of what they don’t know and they work to close that gap. Peak Performance Coach – They achieve consistent results at the top of the level they are coaching on. It is not necessary to coach world class or professional athletes to be a peak performance coach. At this level you start to become aware of what you know you don’t know, because it is limiting you and your athletes effectiveness. Consultant Coach – In the later stages of a career the coach will serve as a consultant to other coaches. The coach is now good enough and secure enough in their knowledge that others seek them out. Clearly this is a veteran coach who has been there before and can set the standard. Sage Mentor Coach – This is the culmination of a coaching career. The coach at this stage has earned the right to guide and mentor other coach’s to help them along their career path. Others seek you out for guidance and advice. The picture is entirely clear. They are willing and able share experiences and knowledge Where are you on the coach development pathway? What are you goals as a coach? Where do you want to be? What is your plan move on the coaching development pathway? I sincerely hope that this post and this blog in general can be of help to you in the journey. I can’t think of anything more worthwhile and gratifying than guiding people to reach and exceed their limits. Coaching is special.
Coach Development
For thee days last Friday, Saturday and Sunday I was totally immersed in coaching development. What an expereince! Spending three days with Frank Dick, an icon in coaching brought coaching right back to the center of the athlete development process. Conversations with Frank and the presentations on the weekend at the Scottish Athletics coaching conference were a powerful and timely reaffirmation of the role of the coach. It has become almost trite to say athlete centered, coach driven and administratively supported to describe the process of athlete development. The athlete development pathway is clear. Everyone can recite the stages of long term athlete development, but what about the stages of coaching development. If the process is coach driven then who develops the coach? What is the coach development pathway and process? How do you become a coach? Even more important what is coaching and what is a coach? Mind you I am not talking about going to a course and getting a certificate as a level one, two or three coach or going online and getting a certification. That does not make you a coach. Completing that task may clear you in terms of liability; it may even "qualify" you to get a job. But that is actually is a small part of it. There is so much more to coaching and becoming a coach. To have the title of coach or be called a coach is one thing, but it is a whole other thing to be a coach. Coaching is not something you do, it is something that your are with every fiber of your being. You coach people, not the sport. Technical details, exercises, drills, sets and reps are the easy part. It is the thought that goes into the selection of the drills, the technique, how they are delivered and communicated that really counts. As coaches we really don’t develop talent, we bring out potential. We help and guide the athlete to develop their potential. Tomorrow I will share with you the steps in the coaching development process that Frank Dick outlined. The process is a journey of discovery and learning. It is a journey that is not easy with a direct path to the destination. Sometimes the road is narrow and winding, at times there are detours, but the process is clear and the satisfaction great if you will stay the course.
Scottish Athletics
Leaving this morning for Scotland. Just a short trip to present to a conference of athletics coaches for Scottish Athletics. Really psyched for this for two reasons 1) Presenting to and hanging around track coaches brings me back to my roots. It really ignites my passion. 2) I was invited by one of my mentors Frank Dick. Looking forward to some stimulating discussions with Frank, a real pioneer and leader in coaching. My main theme is going to revolve around applying Design Thinking to coaching. Using the D. (Design) Mindset to take a fresh look at the what, why, how, when and who of preparing athlete's for competition.
“Game Speed”
Here are some of my thoughts on "game speed." What it is and what it is not. I would be interested in your comments and ideas.
Priorities and Choices
Designing and implementing an effective training program is always about setting priorities and making wise and prudent choices. It starts with what you are going to do. Then you need to know why you are doing it? Then how are you going to do it. And last but not least when you are going to do it – the timing of the application of the training stimulus. It comes down to a hierarchy of choices between what you want to do, what is nice to do and what is absolutely need to do. To get consistent positive results the need to do must be the choice. Want to do and nice to do are distractions from the task at hand. To focus on the need to do demands a very thorough understanding of the immediate, short term and long-term goals of the training program. Everything must be in pursuit of those objectives. The focus has to be clear and the process well defined. Setting priorities and making intelligent informed choices insures progress toward the goal of success in the competitive arena.