Author: Vernon Gambetta
The Workout – A Means to an End
Last week I talked about it being more than an exercise, we also need to remember it is more than the workout. I can go online right now and download an infinitesimal number of workout, so what. I get at least one email a week from someone sending a link to a workout, usually with a comment like – What do you think? My answer is almost always is not sure what to think. The magic is not in the workout, the magic is in the plan. What is the context of the workout? Who are you doing the workout with? What are you doing? When are you doing it? Most importantly why are you doing it? Context is the key! What effect will this workout have on the subsequent workouts, what workout led up to this workout? I have learned the hard way that one workout cannot make athlete or a team but one workout can break an athlete or a team. We need to get away from the idea that because a workout is hard and you end up barfing that it is a good workout, this is the ethic being promoted in the commercial fitness”industry.” Believe me it is easy to bury someone, much harder to train someone. Each workout should have specific objectives that are measureable and observable; those objectives must be in support of the microcycle and the block themes. Anyone can work, but training is work with a specific propose. I read the other day that John Wooden used to spend up to two hours a day planning his practices. Roy Williams plans each of his practices to the minute. I know I spend up to twenty minutes a day planning training for that particular day for volleyball, when I was coaching track it was at least an hour. That does not count the time setting up the training session. In summary training is a long term proposition, it is about continual adaptation leading to optimal performance in the competitive arena. Train athletes who thrive on training, not survivors.
Venice Volleyball Pre-match Warm-up
Somehow I may have stumbled into the 21st century. This is my first attempt at posting video. (I was born twenty years to early to mater this on the first try) The following video clips show the stages of our pre-match warm-up. Warm-up begins with coordination, followed by lunge and reach series, lateral slide and block jumps at the net and then short burst sprints. Specific warm-up with the coaches follows, it focuses on volleyball skills. The elements of this warm-up are included in the daily pre-practice warm-up. the content of the warm-up varies with the goal of practice. This is a warm-up routine that I have been using for at least thirty five years at all levels of sport and with various sports.
What a Day! Venice Wins in Three – Regional Champions!
What a tremendous team effort, we defeated Clearwater in three games to advance to state championship Final Four Wednesday night in Lakeland. We will play Leon High School of Tallahassee, a team that we split with during the regular season. We came out of the blocks in the first game smoking, it was the best game I have seen the team play in my three years working with the team. Warm-up carried right into the game (more on that in a later post). I feel fortunate to be part of this program. Brain Wheatley the head coach gave me the opportunity three years ago to begin working with his program. Frankly this group of coaches and kids reignited my passion for coaching. I just hope that all of you sometime in your careers get the opportunity to work with a group of kids as focused and dedicated as this group. Now to refocus on the goal , the state championship, I compare it to a high hurdle race (each hurdle is a match), we have cleared the eighth hurdle, we can see the finish, but we have to execute a great three steps (win three games) to set up clearance of the ninth hurdle. We are almost there.
Hard Work
Hard work is something I can definitely relate to. When I saw that Roy Williams the men’s basketball at University of North Carolina had a book called Hard Work, I had to get it, I am a big fan of Dean Smith and his pupil Roy Williams. I remember talking to Michael Jordan my first year with the Bulls I had complemented him on his effort and execution in a footwork drill we were doing, the first words out of his mouth were that Coach Williams and Coach Smith had emphasized that aspect of his movement skills. That really got my interest, he did not call them Dean or Roy they were Coach Williams and Coach Smith. Since then I have tried to read anything that would give me insights into their program. This is a great coaching book! If you are coach or aspire to be a coach I think you must read this book along with Dean Smith’s book A Coaches Life. I could not put it down; I read 206 pages last night, going to read the last 50 pages as soon as I finish this post before our playoff game starts this afternoon. This guy has had to earn everything he achieved, nothing in life or sport came easy for him. He has not forgotten his roots and the people who helped him. He is on my list of people I would like to meet sometime. Here is a quote from the book, simple yet elegant: “My philosophy is that basketball is the simplest game in the world – if you can get five guys moving in the same direction for a common goal. Coaching is all about me getting my five guys to do what I want them to do better than you can get your five guys to do what you want them to do. If you have one guys looking out for himself, you’re in big trouble. If you have more than one you have no chance.” Another revealing quote that reminds of the John Wooden philosophy: “We always do what we want to do, not what the other team wants us to do.” For Coach Williams and for me it all comes down to hard work that is a constant! Other may have more talent, but if you work hard you give yourself a chance.
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Does it really matter what exercises the championship hockey did last year? What relevance does what they did have to what you are doing? Are you coaching the same athletes? One of the biggest pitfalls in all of this is the monkey see, monkey do syndrome – so and so is the world record holder, we saw a picture of him or her doing squats on a physioball therefore to be a world record holder we need to do squats on a physio ball. One again I implore all of you to step back and take at the big picture. I went through the monkey see, monkey phase around thirty years ago fortunately I learned from that. That is what led me to the paradigm I described yesterday, I was getting far too cute and fancy, not focusing on the need to do, but caught up in the nice to do. Today with the internet and especially you tube there is a plethora of disinformation to lead us astray. Focus on principles and concepts. Know the context of the exercise, who is extolling the merits of the exercise, what are they promoting? IT IS MORE THAN AN EXERCISE – CAN I BE MORE CLEAR THAN THAT!!!
More Than an Exercise
The focus in the Athletic Development approach is not on the exercise. The selection of the actual exercise is the last step in a multi-step process. In the strength coaching approach it is all about the exercise. Apparently the latest go to exercise is the RFESS (rear foot elevated split squat), an exercise introduced twenty years by Angel Spasov in his tour of the US. I call it the Bulgarian single leg squat. I need to go back to step one: What are demands of the sport I am working with? Step two: What are the demands of the position in the sport? Step three: What are the qualities of the individual athlete? Last but not least: What is the pattern of injuries in the sport? Once I have thoroughly researched all of these, then I will begin to lay out the plan. What is the time period available, both daily and long term? I will then determine themes for each block and then specific measureable goals for each microcycle in the block. Then and only then will I start to focus on the exercise. I start with my menu, analogous to a toolbox. I will then begin to eliminate exercises until I settle on my absolute need to do exercises that will give me the most bang for my buck, that will not add stress to stress and are manageable in terms of personnel, facilities and time available. I have learned over the years that less is more. Fewer exercises, that are very focused are better that more exercises trying to cover all bases. I can tell you right now that this RFESS exercise would not on my list for hockey (Field or Ice), soccer, rugby or football. All those sports are plagued by sports hernia. The position this exercise puts you in under load adds stress to stress. I am not sure why this is now the leg exercise of choice, but I do know it is low on my hierarchical menu. My advice to those of you interested in defining the field of Athletic Development, is beware of false prophets bearing gifts. It is more than an exercise.
Venice Volleyball – Another Giant Step Forward
Last night Venice defeated Naples Gulf coast in three games to advance to the regional finals on Saturday afternoon at home. That put us three matches from our of a state championship. This group of your ladies has dedicated themselves for three years to reach this goal. Jillian Allen, the young lady squatting in the picture epitomizes our team, she is focused, dedicated and intelligent, a leader on the team and in school. I preach that what you in April pays dividends in November. Last night Jill had two tremendous blocks in the middle that directly reflected some jumping mechanics we worked on last spring.
Defining the Field
Jonathan wrote the following in response to my Wake Up post of last week: Vern, I hear ya, but how is someone like myself going to help "define the field of athletic development?" I don't have the expertise and recognition that someone like you has. I also know that I haven't paid my dues yet, as you have mentinoed before, but what CAN someone like me do to make a difference NOW?? thanks, Jonathan Certainly a valid and thought provoking response. To paraphrase Gandhi you must become the change you want to see. I set out five years ago to help define this field based on the on the craziness I was seeing in physical education, athletic development and rehabilitation. It was all lumped under the label of “functional Training.” My first step was to finish my book, Athletic Development – The Art and Science of Functional Sports Conditioning. My second step was to start writing this blog as often as I could to keep me focused and to present information and identify problem areas as I see them. My third step was to start the GAIN Apprentorship in 2007. Going forward I am dedicating myself to the goal of defining the field of Athletic Development, not strength and conditioning, not performance training, definitely not personal training. Jonathan you can get on board and learn, pay your dues, become a leader in your community, in your school, with your team. The time to start is NOW, the place to start is where you are. I can’t do it by myself. I can be a spark, but each individual out here must take the initiative and get going. Question the establishment. Why is the NSCA having web seminars on starting a business, is that really their mission? Why does their “gold standard” certification consist of a multiple choice exam? Why is the NASM starting another certification? Is this all really about helping to develop better educated professionals or is about making money. We all must have the courage to question. You can be part of a change that is necessary. You need to clearly understand what you do and understand why you do it. Stay away from group think. The biggest question I have today with the millions being spend by pro teams, colleges and universities and even high schools are we really making our athletes better or are we just helping them avoid getting worse? Look around and see the palatial facilities and expensive equipment that fills these facilities, if this were the answer, then why are injuries off the charts? Virtually every major league baseball team has two ATC’s and two strength and conditioning coaches, what the hell are they doing? Look at the injuries in baseball, this is not my imagination, they are not even helping to keep from getting worse. This could be said about every sport. In physical education, rehab and athletic development we need to get back to basics. Forget facilities and equipment, focus on movement, how the parts are connecting and working together. Enhance those connections. Evaluate movement and train movement, don’t look for dysfunction because you will find them, instead focus on physical competencies and improve those. The more physically competent, the healthier and higher performing the athlete will be. I hope you will join me in defining Athletic Development. It has to be a team or as Seth Godin calls it a tribe. The concepts are not new, they just are not being applied. This is not about my ideas or me, this is about getting better, truly defining a profession and helping athletes to reach their ultimate potential. It is about getting children moving so they learn a healthy lifestyle, it is about rehab that is not a dark hole where the player never comes back to full function. I certainly understand that questioning the status quo makes people uncomfortable, but we all need to get out of our comfort zone. Change is never comfortable, but It is necessary. The change must begin now.