Author: Vernon Gambetta
Carmel Swim Club
This year I am working with Carmel Swim Club in Carmel Indiana on their dryland training program. This entails me visiting the team four times during the year, frequent calls and emails to assist the coaches design and implement a comprehensive program to address the development of the physical literacy of the swimmers from age eight to eighteen. My first visit was in late August and the most recent visit this past Monday and Tuesday. In August we planned the year in appropriate blocks based on the competition schedule and began work on implementing the physical literacy components with the age groupers. This is a true Long Term Athlete Development program designed to produce swimming athletes. It will take a year to implement the whole program and work out the bugs but under the guidance of Head Coach Chris Plum and Head Age Group Coach Ian Murray they are well on their way. This program builds upon what they have done before. Spending time with these coaches, seeing their dedication and hunger to learn and innovate, it is easy to see why they are fast emerging on the national scene as a club to be reckoned with. The video clips below are from the Tuesday morning upper body session at 6:00 AM, they did some swimming after this session.
Announcing 2010 GAIN Apprentorship
2010 GAIN Apprentorship June 18 – 23 Coaching athletic development from design to implementation The mission of the GAIN Apprentorship is to define the field of Athletic Development by educating professionals in foundational principles and methodology as applied to coaching, physical education and rehabilitation. GAIN Apprentorship = Apprenticeship + Mentorship We combine the features of both into an interactive blend of theory and practice in a five-day residential coaching school format. This is an opportunity to observe, 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. To foster continued growth and interaction the graduates of the program can continue to participate via the secure web site, and the coaching school for the duration of their careers if they so choose for no additional cost. The 2010 school will be June 18 – June 23 in Sunrise, Florida at the Holiday Inn KICS International Sport Complex – http://www.kicsint.com The program is open to sport coaches, conditioning coaches, physical education teachers, athletic trainers, physical therapists, chiropractors and doctors. Enrollment is limited. Tuition is $3,600 with a $250.00 non-refundable deposit required upon acceptance. This includes lunch and dinner each day, it does not include rooms, a special room rate has been arranged with the hotel. Full tuition payment is required prior to the start of the course. Please call 941-378-1778 for a special scholastic rate. To download application go to www.gambetta.com/apprentorship Benefits Athletic Development Handbook Physical Competency Assessment Handbook T-Shirts and Backpack Continuing Education Units Career long access to GAIN Forum and library Career long attendance at Coaching School “Meeting of the Minds” Follow-up Seminar – Every Fourth Year The Faculty Vern Gambetta – Athletic Development Jim Radcliffe – Strength & Power Development Kelvin Giles – LTAD & Physical Competency Assessment Frans Bosch – Biomechanics of Running Bill Knowles ATC, CSCS – Reconditioning Jack Blatherwick PhD – Physiology of Exercise Joe Przytula ATC – Functional Biomechanics of Upper Extremity & Core John Perry P.T. – Functional Biomechanics of Lower Extremity Ed Ryan ATC – Rehab and Reconditioning Greg Thompson – Physical Education Dave Joyner MD – The Topics Coaching Today – Contemporary Coaching Philosophy Skill Acquisition Movement Analysis Physical Competency Assessment – Testing & Evaluation Planned Performance Training Long Term Plan Block Construction Training Session Design and Construction Peaking/Tapering Strategies Monitoring Training Long Term Athlete Development Talent ID & Selection Reconditioning – Return to Play Biomechanics of Functional Movement Motivation and Goal Setting Speed Linear Multidirectional Speed and Agility Strength/Power Strength Diagnostics Endurance Short Term & Long Term Flexibility Management and Organization Recovery/Regeneration Competition Analysis & Training Monitoring Equipment Selection Sport Specific Considerations Special Topics The Female Athlete The Overhead Athlete The Masters Athlete Schedule Friday June 18 (Daily Theme – The journey begins) Saturday June 19 (Daily Theme – Plan the work & work the plan) Sunday June 20 (Daily Theme – Power Up) Monday June 21 (Daily Theme – After the work the rest is easy) Tuesday June 22 (Daily Theme – Fit and Fast) Wednesday June 23 (Daily Theme – Good to go) The schedule is set up so that is a plenary session with the entire group followed by small group interaction with the instructors. There will be a blend of small group session and “active learning” how to coach sessions.
Thanksgiving
I want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving day. Each and everyone of us have much to be thankful for, hopefully we can all take a moment today to reflect on our blessings and think of ways that we can help people who are less fortunate.
Suggested Readings
This is a list of books that are in my library that I suggest everyone interested in Athletic Development should read. Historical Works Bunn, John. (1955) Scientific Principles of Coaching. New York, New York: Prentice Hall, Inc. Dintiman, George B. What Research Tells The Coach About Sprinting. AAHPER, Washington, D.C. 1974 Doherty, Ken. Track & Field Omnibook (Fourth Edition). Los Altos, CA. Tafnews Press. 1985 Doherty, Ken. Modern Track & Field. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1963 Gillman, Sid & Roy, Alvin. World Champion San Diego Chargers Strength Program – In and Out of Season. 1963 Counsilman, James E. The Science of Swimming. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1968 Dyson,Geoffrey H.G. The Mechanics of Athletics. New York. Holmes & Meier Publishers. Seventh Edition, 1977 Hoffman, Bob. (1959) Better Athletes Through Weight Training. York, PA: Strength & Health Publishing Company Jesse John: Hidden causes of injury, prevention, and correction for running athletes. The Athletic Press. Pasadena, CA 1977 Knotts, Dorothy E. and Voss, Margaret. Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation: Patterns and Techniques Miller, Carl. Olympic Lifting Training Manual Nideffer, Robert M. The Inner Athlete – Mind Plus Muscle for Winning. New York, New York. Thomas Y. Crowell Company. 1976. O’ Shea, Patrick. (1976) Second Edition. Scientific Principles and Methods of Strength Fitness. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company Dominguez, Richard H. M.D., and Gajda, Robert S. Total Body Training. New York, N.Y: Warner Books,1982. Logan, Gene A. and McKinney, Wayne C. Kinesiology. Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers. 1970 Todd, Mabel E. The Thinking Body. Princeton Book Company Publishers. Highston, NJ. 1937 Wilt ,Fred. Editor. Second Edition. How They Train Volume III: Sprinting And Hurdling. Tafnews Press. Los Altos, California. 1973 Youth & Development Colvin, Geoff. Talent Is Overrated – What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else. New York. New York. Bantam Publishing. 2009 Coyle, Daniel. The Talent Code – Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How. New York. New York. Penguin Group. 2009 Drabik, Jo'zef Ph.D., Children & Sports Training, Island Pond, Vermont: Stadion Publishing Company, Inc. 1996 Farrey, Tom. Game On – The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children. New York, New York. ESPN Books. 2008 Gabbard, Carl., Leblanc, Elizabeth., and Lowy, Susan. Physical Education for Children-Building the Foundation, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1987 Starkes, Janet L. and Ericsson, K. Anders. Editors. Expert Performance in Sports – Advances in Research on Sport Expertise. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics Books, Inc. 2003 Training Bosch, Frans., and Klomp, Ronald. Running – Biomechanics and exercise Physiology Applied in Practice. London. Elsevier Churchill Livingstone. 2005 Bosco, Carmelo. Strength Assessment with Bosco’s Test, Italian Society of Sport Science, Rome, 1999 Bruggemann, G.P. Koszewski, D. & Muller, H. Biomechanical Research Project Athens 1997 – Final Report, International Athletics Foundation. Meyer & Meyer Sport, Oxford, UK 1999. Cometti, Gilles. La Pliometrie. Universite De Bourgogne, 1988 Curwin, Sandra. & Stanish, William D. M.D. and Mandel, Scott. Tendinitis: it’s Etiology and Treatment, New New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Gustavsen R, Streeck R: Training Therapy; Prophylaxix and Rehabilitation. New York: Thieme Medical Publishers 1993 Gambetta, Vernon A. The Gambetta Method – A Common Sense Guide To Functional Training for Athletic Performance. Sarasota, FL: Gambetta Sports Training.2002 Gambetta, Vernon A. Athletic Development – The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishing Company. 2007 Kraemer, William J. and Hakkinen, Keijo. Editors. (2002) Strength Training for Sport. London, England: Blackwell Science, Ltd Komi, P. V., Editor(Second Edition) Strength and Power In Sport, London: Blackwell Scientific Publications. 2003 Training In Sport – Applying Sport Science. Edited by Elliot, Bruce and Mester, J. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, West Sussex. England. 1998 Mach, Gerard. Sprints & Hurdles. Canadian Track & Field Association, Ontario. 1980 Noakes, Tim, MD. The Lore of Running. Fourth Edition. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics Books, Inc.2003. Platonov, Vladimir N. and Bulatova, Marina M. La Preparacion Fisica – Deporte & Entrenamiento. Fouth Edition. Barcelona, Spain. Editorial Paidotribo. 2006 Radcliffe, James C. and Faentinos, Robert C. (1999) High- Powered Plyometrics. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishing Company. Scholich, Manfred. (1986) Circuit Training. Berlin: Sportverlag Stone, M., and O' Bryant, H. (1987) Weight Training: A Scientific Approach, Minneapolis, Minnesota: Burgess Publishing Company. Starzynski, Tadeusz. And Sozanski, Henryk. (1999) Explosive Power and Jumping Ability for all Sports. Island Pond, VT: Stadion Publishing Company. Vittori, Carlo in collaboration with Plinio Castrucci, Ida Nicolini, Ennio Preatoni. Corse Di Velocita. Atleticastudi. Fidal – Centr Studi & Ricerche, Anno XIV, May/June 1983 Planed Performance Training (Periodization) Berkun, Scott. The Art of Project Management, Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc. 2005 Bondarchuk, Anatoliy. Transfer of Training in Sports. Michigan, USA. Ultimate Athlete Concepts. 2007 Harre, Dietrich. Principles of Sports Training – Introduction to the Theory and methods of Training. Berlin, GDR: Sportverlag. 1982 Issurin, Vladimir. Principles and Basics of Advanced Athletic Training. Michigan, USA. Ultimate Athlete Concepts. 2008 Issurin, Vladimir. Block Periodization – Breakthrough in Sport Training. Michigan, USA. Ultimate Athlete Concepts. 2008 Kurz, Thomas., Science of Sports Training, Second Edition. Island Pont, Vt: Stadion Publishing Company, 2001 Manso, Juan, Valdivielso, Manuel, and Caballero, Jose. Planificacion del Entrenamento Deportivo. Madrid, Spain. Gymnos, Editorial Deportiva. 1996. Mujika, Inigo. Tapering and Peaking for Optimal Performance. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics Books, Inc. 2009 Olbrecht, Jan. The Science of Winning – Planning, Periodizing and Optimizing Swim Training. Swim Shop, Luton, England. 2000 Rapaso, Vasconcelos A. Planificacion Y Organizacion del Entrenamento Deportivo. Barcelona, Spain. Editorial Paidotribo. 2000 Sports Science Calais-Germain, Blanche. Anatomy of Movement. Seattle, Washigton. Eastland Press. 1993 Cometti, Giles. Los Metodos Modernos de Musculacion. Third Edition. Barcelona, Spain. Editorial Paidotribo. 2001. Enoka, Roger M. Neuromechanical Basis of Kinesiology Second Edition. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics Books, Inc. Kellman, Michael, Editor. Enhancing Recovery – Preventing Underperformance in Athletes. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics Books, Inc. 2002 Kreighbaum, Ellen and Barthels, Katharine M. Biomechanics – A Qualitative Approach for Studying Human Movement. Fourth edition. Boston, Allyn and Bacon. 1996. Lieber, Richard L. (2002) Skeletal Muscle Structure, Function & Plasticity – The Physiological Basis of Rehabilitation. Second Edition. Philadelphia: Lippincot Williams & Wilkins. McArdle, William D. Katch, Frank I. And Katch, Victor L. (2007) Sixth Edition. Exercise Physiology – Energy, Nutrition and Human Performance. Baltimore, MD. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins. Newton, Robert U. Expression and Development of Maximal Muscle Power. Doctoral Dissertation, Southern Cross University, 1997 Winters, Jack M, Woo, Savio L-Y, Editors. Multiple Muscle Systems – Biomechanics and Movement Organization. New York, New York. Springer-Verlag. 1990 Teaching & Skill Acquisition Davids, Keith, Button, Chris, Bennett, Simon. Dynamics of Skill Acquisition – A Constraints-Led Approach. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics Books, Inc.2008. Hannaford, Carla. Smart Moves – Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head. Great Ocean Publishers. Arlington, Virginia 1995 Nater, swen and Gallimore, Ronald. You Haven’t taught Until They Have Learned: John Wooden’s Teaching Principles and Practices. Morgantown, WV. Fitness Information Technology. 2006. Creativity & Innovation Brown, Tim. Change By Design – How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation. New York, New York. Harper Collins. 2009 Collins, Jim. How the Mighty Fall – and Why Some Companies Never Give In. New York, New York. Harper Collins. 2009 Dweck, Carol. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House.2006 Gardner, Howard. Five Minds for the Future. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. 2006 Hargadon, Andrew. How Breakthroughs Happen: The Surprising Truth About How Companies Innovate. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. 2003 Johansson, Frans. The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts, and Cultures. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. 2003 Kelly, Tom. The Art of Innovation. New York: Doubleday. 2001 Pink, Daniel H. A Whole New Mind – Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. New York: Riverhead Books. 2005
Industry or Profession?
I do not work in an industry; in my book coaching is a profession. I made a conscious choice many years ago to not get involved in the fitness industry. It is too much about style, hype, marketing and appearance. Coaching is about results, it is about substance. I resent it when people lump the two together. In my opinion this is why we have some of the injury problems and inconsistent performances we have today in sports. Too many people are following fads and trends, instead of following known best practice that is less sexy, more time consuming requiring a greater commitment.
Squats – From Sublime to Ridiculous
Someone send me this last week: “Mike Boyle's RFESS (rear foot elevated split squat) has made some serious waves in the strength and conditioning community. I think that is important that he dares say no to back squat or front squat any more.” I think this is a sad commentary on the strength and conditioning community. What will it be next, I am not interested in creating controversy or getting in a pissing contest, but at least be consistent? Ten years ago it was the front squat that was it nothing but the front squat, now it is this. For me it is not about selling the latest DVD (I don’t have any – nor will I anytime soon) it is about educating. Regardless of the exercise there is no one way. A comprehensive strength training program includes squatting movements, pulling movements, pushing movements and bracing movements. Squatting is a fundamental human movement. Gait is fundamental to human movement. Gait occurs of off one foot onto to another foot that is my simple rationale for including single leg (Single leg squats) and reciprocal leg exercises (lunges and step-ups) in a good sound strength training program. This has been my rationale for years; it dictates the selection of lower extremity and total body exercise on my exercise menu. Resistance should progress from bodyweight to appropriate external load based on the chronological and training age of the athlete and the sport. This is not Strength Coach Version 4.159, it is just sound training methodology that I learned at UCSB in Dr. Button’s Foundations of Conditioning class in 1969. By the way one of the textbooks in that class was Pat O’Shea’s book Scientific Methods and Principles of Strength Fitness, a classic work everyone should read. Once again I implore all of you to get beyond the hype, marketing, bravado and THINK! Sound training methodology and best practice dictates that your exercise selection fit the demands of the sport and above all does no harm.
Venice Season Ends – One day Short
This was the post I was hoping not to have to write, we lost in three games to Leon High School of Tallahassee in the State Semi Final match last night. Obviously it was a huge disappointment. We just did not play our game, too many errors and when you get to that level the other team will capitalize, which they did. None the less I am very proud of this group of young ladies. It was been very gratifying to watch them grow up and mature as people and players. As I have said many times on this blog they are special group of people. I will always cherish the memories of working with this group. I also want to thank Brian Wheatley, the head coach, who runs a heck of a program and the assistant coaches that allowed me to be a part of this experience. We were all wishing for one more day, and one more match, but it wasn’t meant to be. I now close the door on this phase of my coaching career with many conflicting emotions. I wish I could still work with the Venice program but the travel demands of my consulting business do not allow me to put in the time commitment necessary. I cannot expect a commitment out the athlete if I am not able to give the same commitment. Ladies, thanks for the great memories, you are number one in my heart!
Vern at His Best
I was a little hesitant to put this on the blog due it’s personal nature, but my wife encouraged me to post it, (She never allows me to get to full of myself) so here goes: I decided to take a break from writing and go on an hour bike ride. It was a beautiful Florida chamber of commerce type day, 68 degrees, blue sky, no wind, you get the picture. So I get all my fancy bike riding gear on and climb on my Cannodale with all the trimmings. Started out on my ride going out east to ride in the farmland, cross under the interstate and was just cruising along. Kind of day dreaming, some would say spacing out. All of sudden I hear this ring, ring and this "old guy" (probably two or three years younger than me) riding a fat tire cruiser, high handlebars, New Balance shoes, no toe clips passes me like a freight train leaving a tramp. He quickly opens up about a fifty meter gap on me. Then I got pissed. I could not believe this old guy was beating me. So I kicked it into gear, pedaled furiously passed him and opened up a gap of about 100 meters, just started to relax because I figured I had dusted him when I got a flat tire. So I had to pullover, he passed me, smiled at me and pedaled away. Have a nice day. Had to call my wife to come and pick me up. Thought she was going to crash when I told he the stroy she was laughing so hard.