Author: Vernon Gambetta
Linear or Undulating
I keep seeing reference to the difference between linear and undulating periodization. Isn’t that an academic argument? Isn’t all training adaptation undulating? The body does not adapt in a linear manner. We may write linear progressions but that is not what happens in reality. Unless I have been missing something all these years isn’t periodization the timing of the application of training. It is why you do what and when you do it. No mysteries, just good planning based on pedagogy, experience and science in that order.
About Vernon Gambetta
Vern is currently is the Director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems. He has been the a conditioning coach for several teams in Major League Soccer as well as the conditioning consultant to the US Men’s World Cup Soccer team. Vern is the former Director of Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox and Director of Athletic Development for the New York Mets. Vern is recognized internationally as an expert in training and conditioning for sport having worked with world class athletes and teams in a wide variety of sports. He is a popular speaker and writer on conditioning topics having lectured and conducted clinics in Canada, Japan, Australia and Europe. Vern’s coaching experience spans 39 years at all levels of competition. Vern has authored six books and over one hundred articles related to coaching and sport performance in a variety of sports. He received his BA from Fresno State University and his teaching credential with a coaching minor from University of California Santa Barbara. Vern obtained his MA in Education with an emphasis in physical education from Stanford University.
Four Years Later
Today marks the four year anniversary of a real and a metaphorical journey for me. It is four years since I left the Nike Oregon Project; it was supposed to be my dream job, coaching elite athletes in a sport that I love. It was far from a dream, it was a horror story, a scary movie. Without a doubt one of the worst experiences of my life, but a defining moment none the less. I decided to drive back home to Sarasota and use the time to think and evaluate my future. It was a wise decision. I resolved to get back in the saddle and finish my book – Athletic Development, which I finished that fall. I started writing this blog to get me focused on writing each day. I took a little break from day to day coaching and just consulted. I got back on the metaphorical journey of the functional path after taking a turn down a deadend street. The experience taught me many lessons. I learned who my friends really were. It reaffirmed what is important professionally, how important it is to stand for what you believe ethically and what I have to do to be happy. Sometimes life’s lessons are hard, I thank God that four years later I am a better coach, and hopefully a better person focused on what is truly important in life. To paraprase the George Strait song – happiness was Portland in the rear view mirror!
Championship Grace & Style
There is a good lesson here for the young athlete. This is what Rafael Nadal said to the press after his defeat at the French Open: "So when one player [plays] bad, he must lose. That's what happened today. I have to accept with the same calm when I win than when I lose. After four years I lose here, and the season continue. When you lose, always everybody starts to analyze if I play too much. If I'm tired. The true, I won four years in a row playing the same. That's the true. This year I play the same and I lost. What happen? I lost. That's it." What is cool, is he did not blame anyone, he took full credit for his defeat.
Hip Injuries
Today’s New York Times Sports page had the following article of the increase of hip injuries in sport http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/sports/01hips.html?_r=1&ref=sports This is a quote from the article: “Experts said other factors could be at work in addition to the overemphasis on leg strength.” Who are these ubiquitous experts? Have any of them ever been around training and truly understand the demands of the sport. I believe the following quote from the article explains the increase of hip injuries in athletes today. Chris Powers nails it: “It’s not like workouts have changed all of a sudden; it doesn’t explain it,” said Christopher Powers, an associate professor of b iokinesiology at the University of Southern California . “People and doctors are just more aware of it diagnostically. We’ve always had hip problems; now we are just finding it better.” I might add finding it better because we ate looking for it.
Two Good Reads
How The Mighty Fall by Jim Collins, the author of the classic work Good to Great. This one really got me thinking, just as Good to Great did. I really he nails it, certain companies fail for the same reason sports teams and organizations fail. It is worth reading if you are committed to sustained excellence and want to know the perils and pitfalls to avoid. Conversely it will stimulate to think of things that you need to and focus on to be the best. The other book is Strokes Of Genius by L. Jon Werthem centers on the 2008 Wimbledon final match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. I could not put it down, even though I knew the result. This is a terrific insight into to two great athletes, how they prepare and compete. What was most fascinating was their background and early careers in the sport. Neither was the product of an academy, supportive but not pushy parents who gave them the opportunity to excel if they wanted to. Definitely two class acts.
09 GAIN Apprentorship
Three weeks away from our second apprentorship, I am counting down the days. It is a lot work to put this on, but the sharing of knowledge, passion and energy that occurs makes it all worthwhile. We have people coming from Australia, Ireland, England, and Abu Dhabi. Our mission is to define the field of Athletic Development, to accomplish that we attack three prongs: 1) Athletic Development (traditionally know as strength & conditioning) 2) Physical Education 3) Rehabilitation. This program is not for the faint of heart or dilettantes, it is an intense five days designed to get the attendees and instructors thinking. It is the beginning of a career changing process. Each attendee then can come back each year free, so that in essence the initial tuition is an investment in their future. Plan ahead if you are interested in next year’s program, it will be held in June 2010. I would like to recognize our sponsors that have made this possible. Our primary sponsor is Perform Better. Our other major sponsor in QinetiQ – TrainTrak a new physiological monitoring system than I have worked. Our secondary sponsors are Lifeline, Finis, Vasa, Lane Gainer and ASTYM. I want to thank all of them for their generosity, they are all companies that I have worked with who always have been supportive of my efforts.
Quotes
Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats. Howard Aiken "Failure sucks but instructs" “Don't try to be the 'next'. Instead, try to be the other, the changer, the new.” Seth Godin