Author: Vernon Gambetta
Days of Iron Men & Wooden Ships?
I played college football in the mid 1960’s at Fresno State College. My goal from the time I was 12 years old was to play college football. It was a long shot as I did not even start on my high school team until I was a senior. I was alate developer having started high school at 13.5 years old, so in essence I was always a year behind my class. I made it; I was Captain of the freshman team. We were terrible with only 23 players, so I played 58 minutes a game at offensive center and defensive tackle. I was about 190 pounds. Spring practice 1965 I made the varsity and earned a $50 dollar a semester scholarship. I bulked up to 220 pounds. I was the third string center starting in the fall. My goal was to make the traveling squad to play University of Hawaii the last game of the year over thanksgiving break. I made it, got to go to Hawaii and fly in a plane for the first time. I was the youngest on the team. Many of the other players were in their mid-twenties and had been in the service and played two years of JC ball. They rented cars and went out drinking while I went for walks on the beach. After the season our coach resigned to take a job as an assistant at USC, so we had a new Coach Daryl Rogers, a Fresno State grad who was a complete asshole. He was a Bear Bryant wannabe. He wanted everybody to lose weight and be fast, here I had spent two years trying to bulk up now I had to lose weight. We had no organized off season program. I lifted with the track guys and started on a journey that continues today of learning about conditioning, speed development and strength training. At one point the head coach tried to discourage me from lifting weight because I would get tight and slow. I was an overwhelming 193 getting my ass kicked every day. I was second string center that year and did not play a minute in a game. I forgot to mention that in my sophomore year I got to play in one game for four minutes in a 56 – 0 route of Washburn University. After the 1966 season I figured out, given the offense we were running, that if I ever wanted to play, I would have to change positions. So, I went to the head coach and asked to switch to guard. At guard there was a lot of trapping and pulling so my size would not be a disadvantage and my speed had also begun to develop so I could use that as an asset. In spring practice, much to the surprise of all the coaches except for the new offensive line who actually coached me to be better by teaching me my position. There was no screaming at me and calling me a pussy, I graded out as the top offensive lineman. I earned a $350 semester scholarship and a starting position at guard. Unfortunately, on the last pay of the spring game I threw a block downfield and hit my head on the knee of a defensive back and got a severe stinger. It had happened before, but never like this. I lost feeling in my hand for three-days and could not sleep for a week. The rest of the spring and summer I worked on it. I religiously did neck exercises. When we started fall practice, two practices a day in 100 plus heat I held my starting position, but I knew I was not 100%. The day before our first game against Santa Clara, someone swung a blocking bag and hit me in the side of the head and my arm went numb. I didn’t say anything, I started the game and played awful. I was taken out at halftime. We lost the game. I went to practice on Monday, had a terrible practice after being ripped in the film session and being demoted to second string. The next day I went into a coach’s meeting and quit. That was the end of my football career. I would be lying if I said I did not look back. I made up my mind I would have nothing to do with football in any way shape or form, although I did reluctantly coach one season of junior high school football, not an especially enjoyable experience. Looking back here are some things that I learned. Football is abrutal violent sport that is not fun in any way shape or form. I learned about racism firsthand. The black players were treated very differently. They lived in a different part of town. Our line coach Bob Burgess was an alcoholic redneck racist and he did nothing to hide it. The N word was an integral part of his vocabulary. If you were injured, you got shots and played. Our team doctors nickname was needles Knutsen, he would shoot you up anywhere anytime including in the locker room at halftime. You were encouraged to take mickey classes to stay eligible. I was yelled at one day when after almost three hours of practice I asked to leave practice because I had a midterm in a night class. The coach asked me if there to get an education or play football. I answered to get an education. I was labeled an intellectual after that (also because I read my assignments before practice while waiting an hour every day to be taped). I was labeled soft and a pussy because I would not do the stupid illegal stuff the redneck line coach taught us. Then and there is where I formulated my philosophy of metal toughness. To me it was being mentally strong and being able to perform under pressure, not screaming and yelling and frothing at the mouth. Football is, at least the way we were taught, was not a game that formed friendships and camaraderie. It was brutal competition every day. We wore full pads every day and hit live every day. In preseason practice my junior year we actually had three practices a day in pads. The morning practice was 93 degrees and the other two practices were 100 degrees plus. We had one water break each practice. Looking back, it was a miracle that no one died of heat stroke. Concussions – that is another story. Looking back, there were at least three practices I cannot remember. Everyone just laughed, ah you got your bell rung. No such a thing as helmet fit. I learned that good coaching can make a difference. The new line coach who came in was a teacher, he related to me as a human being. What a breath of fresh air. He called me by name instead of you pussy. He was also the tennis coach. Next year he won the only NCAA championship Fresno State has ever won. So, it was a time of iron men and wooden ships. It was macho to be cruel, racist and misogynistic – that was and is the culture of the game. I am hoping that a benefit of Covid 19 pandemic is that there will be a pause button on football at all levels and there will be a total reexamination of the sport and its surrounding culture. I realize I am writing through the lens of my personal experience but hopefully it will stimulate some thought and discussion. The days of iron men and wooden ships should be a thing of the past.
On Skill Progression
Some good food for thought and discussion. This is from master coach Jim Richardson, former women’s swim coach at University of Michigan. He shared this with one day when we were talking about the progression for practice and learning when changing technique: Step One – Be Elegant (Let them feel it, almost Tai Chi like precision of movement) Step Two – Add Force (Easy part in some way in others very difficult to do without losing rhythm and precision) Step Three – Proceed with reckless abandon (Go for it!) Allow each athlete to proceed at their own pace. My thought is to make it playful and fun.
History is Alive
It is so important to know history, especially in today’s climate of instant information. Historical context is all important. Many training concepts and methods being practiced and promoted commercially are 50, 60, 70 years old or even older. Historical perspective gives a clearer direction on what you are doing now or what you are planning to do. Certainly, we can learn how these concepts and methods were previously used, what worked and what did not work and most importantly why. Often these methods fell out of favor for various reasons, it is helpful to know why. History can tell us that. Understanding those reasons will help us to avoid repeating mistakes. So-called kinograms are not new. We called them sequence photos! There are volumes of great photos going back at least 60 years taken by German coach and photographer Toni Nett. They represent elegant examples of technique of great athletes in all events. In 1970 Phil Bath came out with roll out sequences of top athletes in their respective events. They were taken with a high-speed camera, some of the rolls were six to eight feet long. They were a staple in my coaching. The downside and the same thing with the use of the so-called kinograms today is that we started coaching positions too much. Isometrics are not new! Some of you may be old enough to remember Charles Atlas promoting his dynamic tension training on the back of comic books – that was isometric training. When I started weight training in 1962 isometrics were all the rage. Isometrics worked then and they work today. It is interesting that isometrics have never has fallen out of favor in rehab. It is a method that I have used throughout the years in specific programs. Isometrics will not replace dynamic methods buy are a great adjunct. So called functional training is not new, 40 or 50 years ago it was called physical education. It was oriented to handling bodyweight in all planes of motions, sometime using apparatus and other time just body weight. It consisted of extensive use of dumbbells, kettlebells, ropes, pulleys, Indian clubs and medicine balls. So, the bottom line is, take the time to know history. Don’t repeat history, learn from it to get better and advance knowledge.
Look for Connections
Always think toe nails to fingernails. I learned this from Wilf Paish, an English coach almost fifty years ago. If in doubt look for and train connections. Ankle to knee and hip to shoulder, shoulder to elbow, and elbow to wrist, the body is a link system. What you do in one link effects all other links. The link system is designed to reduce and produce force harmoniously in all three planes of motion. Sport movements are coordinated actions in pursuit of specific goals – throwing a ball, propelling through the water, jumping high or far. All are the result of muscle synergies applied to the skill of the sport through directed practice. Get hip the shoulder and you can’t go wrong.
Adaptable or Adapted?
Are you a dinosaur or a cockroach? Dinosaurs are extinct because they were highly specialized and adapted. Cockroaches are thriving because they are highly adaptable. They can hold their breath for 40 minutes and can even survive being submerged under water for half an hour. You have a clear choice you can become very comfortable and do what you have always done, in other words be highly adapted – the result you will go the way of the dinosaur you will be irrelevant. Or you can be a cockroach, may not sound as appealing, but not only will you survive, but in most cases you will thrive. As a cockroach you have no choice but to be highly adaptable to be relevant. Your choice?
Track & Field Dual Meets – Some Thoughts
The dual meet was the cornerstone of an athlete’s development for years in track & field. For a variety of reasons, the dual meet has all but disappeared in track and field at all levels. I have heard all the arguments for abandoning dual meets and I didn't then or now ever agree with them. At the collegiate level the most prevalent argument is limited scholarships. What about getting walk-on’s? What about running less events instead of a full slate of events. Dual meets if used properly are keys to develop athletes, especially at the high school level. That gangly ninth or tenth grader given the opportunity to compete often turns into a smooth coordinated athlete as a senior. Without the opportunity to compete in dual meets how would you know and what would keep them motivated? At the collegiate level the opportunity to run multiple events or to compete in other events than your specialty is invaluable. Last but not least dual meet s are inexpensive to run. If scheduled properly travel is minimal, overnight stays are not necessary. It is very basic; the dual meet was the cornerstone of American success in Track & Field for many years. Not nostalgia but reality. Given the current reality the dual meet can be the salvation of the sport. We will devote a future GAINcast to this topic with an emphasis on the developmental aspects of the dual meet. Your ideas and feedback is always appreciated.
Champions Choice – Know Yourself
Know yourself, define yourself. Own the process. Do it for yourself, not for others. Value what you are doing for the essence of what you are doing, for its intrinsic value. It is not a sacrifice to work to be the best, it is a distinct privilege that separates you from those that chose the path to mediocrity. You are going where few other have not gone. Excellence is within you; you must take it into your own hands to realize it. You do that by making campions choices every day.
Makes Me Wonder
I see workouts posted online that make no sense to me. I am always learning so I look at these things and try to figure out a reason. There seems to be no logic. Frankly many of these sessions are halfway between Marquis de Sade and Monty Python. What are you doing? Put context in what you are showing so we can learn. Don't forget that getting someone tired is not training, there must be intent & purpose.