Author: Vernon Gambetta
USATF & Coaching Education
I am not as concerned about the coaching registry (that is a fact of life in 2010) as much as others are, what I am concerned about is the lack of respect and understanding for the Coaching Education program that has been in place and working successfully since 1984. Here is Stephanie Hightower’s, USATF President and Chair, response on why a director of coaching was named: “One of the reasons for hiring a Director of Coaching was to give American coaches the voice in the organization that they often felt they lacked. With proper staffing in place, our Board of Directors issued a directive to the National Office to devise a “certification” plan for coaches.” This is very revealing. First of all it confirms that coaches have not been a priority in USATF, a fact known to us all. Apparently they did not even know they had a coaching education program in place. I won’t comment or argue about the choice of the person chosen as Director of Coaching because that gets into personalities, but I think the selection process should have been more transparent and thorough. It all smells very political to me, like lets toss the coaches a bone. What really upsets me to no end is the directive “to devise a “certification” plan for coaches.” What have we been doing the last 26 years? Many of us worked tirelessly to develop and grow this program and to have the administration and board summarily reject all the work that has been done by a group of dedicated individuals is a real travesty. What about all of you who have been certified? Where do you stand? What does your certificate mean? Don’t let these political animals’ fool you, they don’t care about coaches or coaching, just look at the history of the organization. I think is time for the USOC to look closely at USATF and see if they really represent the sport in the US.
Getting Strong – The Mode and Method
Sometimes we get too wrapped up in the mode of strength training and lose sight of what we are trying to accomplish. Select a mode of strength training that is appropriate to the sport are training for. Do not lock yourself in to one mode. For example, pulling movements can be accomplished in a variety of ways using a variety of implements. It all depends on the ultimate goal. If you accept that strength training is a means to end, not an end unto itself, a whole new vista of options becomes available. I just keep reminding myself that strength training is coordination training with appropriate resistance. The key words here are coordination training and appropriate resistance. I do not get as hung up on chasing number as I once did. I know there are certain landmarks that the athlete must achieve based on gender, training age, skill level and sport and I let those guide me. I do not try to get crazy selecting the mode, start with body weight and go to weight vests, sandbags, dumbbells Hexlite bar and Olympic bar. Kettlebells are used but I can live without them. The other rule I live by is nice to do (have) versus need to do (have). Use common sense, be basic and fundamental and you can build strength that you can use and apply in your sport.
Getting Strong – Step by Step
Getting strong is relatively easy, but preparing to get strong is hard. This is not to demean or disparage anyone's ideas, rather it is reaction to what I have seen throughout my career. It is easy to get someone on a strength training program and load them up and make very significant measurable strength gains on traditional exercises in relatively short periods of time. There is nothing wrong with traditional exercises, we need them and they have a place. What I have seen though is a lack of an investment in preparation to get strong. This previously came from traditional physical education which included a myriad of movement skills that emphasized the ability to handle body weight in many different positions and angles. To prepare to get strong demands starting with the ability to handle bodyweight exercises and building across a continuum progressing the heavy external loading appropriate for the sport or activity you are training for. It is a process, slow and methodical in most cases. With post pubertal boys who have a huge anabolic advantage the temptation is to load them quickly. Even though they respond quickly, this is a mistake. Taking a year or longer to carefully and methodically progress and learn and master correct technique will result in significantly greater strength gains in the long term. In addition it will serve to protect the athlete from injury. I like to think of it as an investment in long-term strength gain. Build structural strength, great joint integrity, and sound technique but also be sure to develop other athletic qualities in parallel to the strength development. This is not revolutionary, it is common sense give a little at the beginning and get a lot at the end. Ultimately we have to get them strong and to do that you need external resistance. If the sport demands that you move another person or propel a heavy object then those demands are different than if you are preparing to hit a golf ball. The girls on my volleyball that have gone through the progression were all able to squat 11/2 their bodyweight. Is that necessary to be a great volleyball player, I am not sure, but one thing I do know is that their ability to handle jumping loads has increased significantly. In some cases it took three years to get to that level, in another one year. It really depends on the adaptability and trainability of the athlete. In summary to get them strong invest in the preparation necessary to get them strong.
USATF – The Mushroom System
The following editorial tells it like it is. USATF is not and never will be about coaches or coaching. They epitomize the mushroom system – Keep them in the dark and shovel shit on them. I think it time the USOC take a long hard look at USATF. It is the USOC that sanctions USATF as the governing body. Editorial: Has USATF Declared War On U.S. Coaches? by James Dunaway & Larry Eder First came the appointment of a USATF "Director of Coaching." Who knew we needed one? Then came the gutting of the Coaches Education program — a program created and run entirely by coaches without any help from USATF for most of its 25 years – a program which educated more than 20,000 American high school and college coaches – a program which visibly raised the level of U.S. track and field coaching, and U.S. performances – in short, the most successful initiative in USATF's history. Earlier this year, most of the distinguished coaches who led Coaching Ed for the past decade suddenly resigned because of changes which were being made in Indianapolis. Said USATF, "We'll get new coach-instructors who will be just as good." We're still waiting to be told who they are. Now comes USATF's Coaches Registry, which more than one well-known coach has called, "Blackmail." That's not our word, but it was spoken by coaches known and respected in our sport. Blackmail, because if you don't sign up, you can't get a coach accreditation for USATF Championships. Which means you can't get into the practice and warmup areas to work with your athletes in the important days and hours before they compete. No matter how good a coach you are. One well-known coach, a former Olympic medalist and world champion, said, "I don't like it at all, but I signed up because my athletes need me and expect me to be there." There are several other important "privileges" not available to non-registered coaches, but the issue of greatest concern is the coach accreditation for the Championships. Sam Seemes, who leads the U.S. Track and Cross-Country Coaches of America, reports that most of the comments he has received about Coaches Registry were unfavorable. The day after USATF announced the program, Seemes and USTFCCCA president Curtis Frye sent a message to members which included the following: "USTFCCCA Members should know that the USTFCCCA neither supports the Coaches Registry program, nor did we develop the program. We are disappointed that USATF implied in their press release that the USTFCCCA was supportive of the Coaches Registry program they have established. Furthermore, we disagree with the statement that the USATF Coaches Registry 'will identify and acknowledge the coaches who represent the profession's highest standards.' " USATF CEO Doug Logan said, "No group is more important to the development of our athletes than coaches." He certainly has a strange way of showing it. One wonders why USTFCCA wasn't informed of Coaches Registry before it was announced, and why USTFCCA wasn't asked to participate in developing a program specifically involving its membership? Just as bad was USATF's timing. Here is a new program, affecting the professional lives and status of more than 30,000 coaches, and USATF announces it at the most important time of the year, when coaches at every level are deeply involved in championship-level competition, and USATF gives them five weeks to decide. That may be legal, but it is certainly not fair to the coaches. In politics, that's called an ultimatum. And it is usually followed by a war. James Dunaway/Executive Editor and Larry Eder/Group Publisher American Track & Field, www.american-trackandfield.com
Real Football – A Love Affair
The beautiful game, I can buy that, but there are other beautiful games, determined by the eye of the beholder. Futbol is much more than a beautiful game it is a big improvisational dance. It is modern art, Picasso on grass. It is a unique combination of the riffs of jazz and the rhythm and beat of world music, the cool of Miles Daves plus Ali Farka Toure and some Gypsy Kings thrown in. Enough of the artistic analogies I would like to share the details of my love affair with the game. I am Swiss and Italian. Every four years I think my Italian blood runs a bit thicker. Not particularly a fan of the Azzurri, but a fan of the game, I think it is in the blood. I never played soccer growing up, I played American football, but I have fond memories from my childhood going on Sundays to Dwight Murphy field in Santa Barbara and watching the matches between the various clubs. They were all ethnic, the Italians, Spanish, Mexicans, Yugoslavs and so forth. Many languages and many cultures, it was neat, all there for futbol. You could see and feel the passion. My flirtation began when my son started playing and grew as my daughter began to play and move to higher levels in the sport. The NSCAA Convention in 1994, and obviously the 94 World Cup in the US got me even more interested. The love affair began when I resigned my job as Direcrtor of Conditioning for the Chicago White and started with the Tampa Bay Mutiny of the MLS. I was the first conditioning coach in the league. That first year working with the team was like a fantasy camp. A great coach, Thomas Rongen, great players, mostly veteran players who had played all over the world, the star was Carlos Valdarrama, past his prime, but magic with the ball his feet. We won the eastern division regular season but lost in the playoffs to DC United. It was a great introduction to the game, a real learning experience especially working with Thomas Rongen who is Dutch, a product of the Ajax system. He was patient with me and helped make me a better coach and learn the game. The players were great with me, giving me constructive comments and very open to the new ideas on conditioning I brought to them. This experience intensified my love affair. In 1998 I got to work with the US men’s World Cup in preparation for France. It was an interesting experience. I found our preparation to be very naïve. In the following years I continued work with several MLS teams, consulting with UNC women’s and UVA women's soccer. I got to work with my daughter’s team when she played at Rice University. In 2005 I got to work briefly with Chivas in the Mexican league. My love affair continues today, Athletics is my passion, soccer is my mistress. Looking forward to watching as many matches as possible. Working to prepare a soccer player and team is unique. It is so multidimensional. You need the fitness of an 800 meter runner, you to be as strong as possible and as light as you can be, balance power, and unreal skill. I love this challenge. Here are some of my thoughts as the 2010 World Cups begins. Physicality & Stature of Players – The trend is toward bigger and faster players. Athleticism – Very athletic if you accept that athleticism is the ability to perform athletic movements, run, jump, throw and kick with precision style and grace in the context of the sport. Intensity – The time the ball is in actually in play for me is a prime measure of the intensity of the game. Over the past five world cups the percentage of time has gone up. Speed of Play – Not sprinting speed, but game speed. Speed of actions and decision making is incredibly high Distance Run – I don’t really understand why everyone is so amazed by this. It is not the kilometers run, it is what occurs during those kilometers that counts. Altitude and Environmental Conditions – Will be interesting to see if altitude has an effect. Usually it is heat that s a factor because of the time of year the World Cup is played, but this southern hemisphere winter so heat will not be a factor. Cumulative Fatigue – This is a huge factor. The number of matches that the top players have played leading into World Cup is amazing. It has to take a toll. Injuries – Related to the last point. Look at the number of top players already out.
Lowering the Bar – False Praise
I certainly believe in positive reinforcement and praise for great effort and outcomes. I also understand how important self-esteem and self-image is in teaching and coaching, but we have gone overboard with praise for mediocrity in order to build self-esteem. In every situation there are minimum expectations and standards that must be met to be part of the team. I emphasize minimum standards. Meeting those minimum standards does not warrant praise, those are expectations that everyone must meet. The same is true of effort; everyone is expected to go all out, plain and simple, no exceptions. So to praise someone for going all out is hollow and meaningless. The touchy feely feel good folks who have ruined a generation of kids would not agree, you must praise everything. That is pure bunk. We know from research and from results in front of our eyes everyday that false praise has the opposite effect; it makes the praise meaningless and ineffective, possible even lowering self-esteem. Praise those efforts and actions that exceed expectations, not those that just meet expectations. If I see one more bumper sticker proclaiming their kid an honor student I am going scream. Everyone can’t be an honor student, everyone can’t earn a varsity letter, there has to be a high standard to warrant an honor (praise). Lets raise the bar, not lower it. The level of expectation definitely will determine the level of achievement. Praising average work as great trivializes great. From a coaches perspective it seriously erodes your credibility and soon will render you ineffective. Be a John Wooden, select and measure your words carefully, instruct and teach, praise the extraordinary not the average. Hold yourself and those you teach and coach to a higher standard.
Fit for What?
I have been following various teams training for the World Cup. Some looked like track practice. The question you must ask is: What are you getting fit for? Are you getting fit for a 6 minute run test or for the match? You must run with a purpose, running willy nilly around the pitch is not rewarded. Soccer is basically a big physical chess game where creating and exploiting space is rewarded. That requires more than just being able to run forever. Johan Cruyff, Dutch star from the Seventies and later very successful coach put it quite well: “Don’t run so much, you have to be in the right place at the right moment, not too early, not too late.” The message is simple train for the match, not what you think is occurring , but what is actually happening.
Skill Training – Quantum versus Newtonian View
The Newtonian view of skill training is to construct neat little training packages that are programmed to proceed logically step by step in a linear manner to a higher degree of proficiency. Don't get me wrong there is a place for this, but much less that we once thought. Too much of this creates robots who look good until the competition starts. You must have skill and drill progressions, but they must be criteria based so that every athlete is not asked to progress at the same rate. Each athlete has a very distinct movement fingerprint. No two athletes in the same sport or event move exactly alike. A quantum and more contemporary view of this is to present the athlete with a series of increasing difficult and different movement problems to solve. To do that we must give them the tools to be able to solve those problems by providing a good foundation of basic movement skill, strength to control their bodies and some knowledge of the end goal. We know based on volumes of current neuroscience research that the brain and the nervous is very plastic, self-organizing and highly adaptable. It is not a computer that analogy does not give the nervous system the credit it deserves. 10,000 hours is a number tossed around now, but it is not just putting in mindless repetition for 10,000 hours it is an accumulation of experiences through mindful, meaningful deep practice. There is success and failure and you learn from both and self correct. Look closely at what you are doing. Create a rich and varied learning environment. You must encourage experimentation and risk taking to keep expanding the performance envelope. I encourage you to think beyond programmed drills and get creative to help your athletes ability to solve complex movement problems.