Author: Vernon Gambetta
Current Reality
The Woodstock remembrance & anniversary of Apollo 11 spurred me to think about changes – then versus now. It certainly is a different world today! This is not a rant from an old man yearning for the good old days because those are gone and will never come, plus they may not have been all that good anyway. We must master the current reality. We live in a hyperconnected world. We are overloaded with information, whether we want it or not. We have taken away childhood in an attempt to advance our children faster. This is the current reality.
Achievement Triangle
Each year I post this. It is my attempt to delineate the process that an athlete must grow through to be a peak performer. It is a process where many are called, and few chose to get beyond the comfort zone. The key here is that it is a matter of personal choice and forming habits that enable excellence in all aspects of life, not just sport.
Know History
It is imperative to know history. Toynbee certainly was spot on when he said that those that ignore history are condemned to repeat it. Historical perspective will provide context and perspective. Know where ideas come from. Where did training methods come from? Once you dig into history of training methods you will find very little that is new.
Action Now!
Do not trivialize – Do not try to pick the fly shit out of the pepper Seek knowledge rather than information Specialize in being a generalist Get a mentor not a guru Achieve mastery Be a leader, not a follower Understand the spectrum of the demands in the sport you are working with Training is more than exercises and training methodology – it is application of the principles of sport science and sound pedagogy Beware of the “Sheep Walking” phenomenon, if you follow the flock you will step in shit. Think, Think, Think Ultimately it is about the athlete – We must not forget that
Training is Cumulative
Think Long-Term – Training is cumulative, it takes time to adapt & proper timing of the training stimulus Athletically, you must earn the right to progress to the next step Systematic Sequential Progressive Often, what you do not do is as important as what you actually do Always remember that one workout cannot make an athlete, but one workout can break an athlete – Less is More!
Simple Training Rules
Have a Plan, Execute It, and Evaluate It Build the Complete Athlete All systems work together Train all components all the time – Use It or Lose It Fundamental Movement Skills Before Specific Sport Skills You Are What You Train to Be Build the Athlete from the Ground Up Train Postural Strength & Stability with Core as the Center of the Action To Be Fast You Must Train Fast Build an appropriate Work Capacity Base for the Sport Train Toenails to Fingernails Train Movements not Muscles Train Multi Joint Train Multi Plane Movements Training is Cumulative – Win the Workout
Over Recovery Syndrome
I have identified a new syndrome – the over-recovered athlete. I look at the landscape and I see athletes and teams spending as much or more time doing ice baths, cryotherapy massage etc. as they do in actual training. Rest and recovery are fine and necessary but only of benefit if you first do the necessary work. I am fearful that today we have a generation of over-recovered and undertrained athletes so overly mindful of training load that they are not doing enough to stimulate adaptation and prevent injury. Overload and progression are the first principles of training you learn. Progressive overload with rest and recovery cycled just like training are the answer. Sometimes TUF – Training Under Fatigue if acceptable and necessary. Look carefully at what you are doing and what you are not doing to prepare and sometime exceed sport demands. Remember after the work the rest is easy, but first you must do the work!
Thoughts on Getting Better
My passion and focus are on getting better at getting better. The longer I coach, the more I realize that we can’t rely on doing more of the same old things we have been doing and hope to get our athletes better. We must use the time and resources better to get better. Here are some thoughts, ideas and concepts I have culled from some of my research and practice on learning: The learning process is based on acquiring new habits and changing old habits Practice does make perfect; practice only makes possible – no guarantees Perfect effort creates a positive climate for learning Drills do not equal skills. Use drills selectively and prescriptively Start with a technical model of the skill and then let the athlete express their interpretation the model. At best the technical model is a framework. Never fit the athlete to a model. Explicit learning is acceptable in the early stages of learning to guide the athlete and move them forward. Gradually switch toward implicit learning by giving the athlete more difficult movement problems to solve. Talk it (clear explanation), chalk it (demonstration) and Walk it (imitation) – then let them spread their wings and fly. Massed practice yields short term results but does not stick For learning to be durable it must be hard Practice is an and opportunity to get better Learn to interleave – practice a skill for a short-focused period of time, leave it go to something else and come back to it. Do this several times in a session. Law of Threes – This relates to the concept of interleaving, it is something I came up with that works for me. Practice a skill for three minutes, move to another skill for three minutes. Repeat these three times and move to other skills. I then come back to original pair as many as three times. It is not the time you put into practice, it’s what you put into the time Have clear specific measurable objectives for each session. Evaluate the planned versus achieved results in practice. The coach is the catalyst that directs the athlete’s attention to the appropriate action. Feedback must be appropriate for each specific situation and learner. Limit the amount of feedback, be specific and on point. Vary the type of feedback Timing and frequency of feedback – With an experienced athlete it is not as effective to give immediate feedback. The beginner on the other hand needs more immediate feedback. Encourage the athlete to rely on their own intrinsic feedback, not to rely on the coach. Feel it! Develop their own error detection and correction process. Here are some resources that well help you get better at getting better: Berthoz, Alain. The Brain’s Sense of Movement. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press. 2000 Brown, Peter C., Roediger III, Henry L., McDaniel, Mark A., Make it Stick – The Science of Successful Learning. The Belknap Press of Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 2014 Chow, Jia Yi. Davids, Keith. Button, Chris. and Renshaw, Ian. Nonlinear Pedagogy in Skill Acquisition – an introduction. London, England: Routledge Taylor & Francis group. 2016 Davids, Keith. Button, Chris. Bennett, Simon. Dynamics of Skill Acquisition – A Constraints-Led Approach. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishing Company. 2008 Dweck, Carol. Mindset – The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House. 2006 Farr, Steven. Teaching as leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 2010 Gabbard, Carl., Leblanc, Elizabeth., and Lowy, Susan. Physical Education for Children-Building the Foundation, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1987 Gilbert, Wade. Coaching Better Every Season. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishing Company. 2017 Lemov, Doug. Woolway, Erica. Yezi, Katies. Practice Perfect – 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco, California. 2012 Leonard, George. Mastery – The Keys to Success and Long-term Fulfillment. New York: Penguin Books USA.1992 Magill, Richard A. Motor Learning and Control – Concepts and Application. Ninth Edition. New York: McGraw Hill. 2007 Nater, Swen. & Gallimore, Ronald. You Haven’t Taught Until They Have Learned – John Wooden’s Teaching Principles and Practices. Fitness Information Technology. Morgantown, WV. 2006 Pink, Daniel H. A Whole New Mind – Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. New York: Riverhead Books. 2005 Renshaw, Ian. Davids, Keith. Newcombe, Daniel. Roberts, Will. The Constraints-Led Approach – Principles for Sports Coaching and Practice Design. London, England: Routledge Taylor & Francis group. 2019 Renshaw, Ian. Davids, Keith. and Savelsbergh, Editors. Motor Learning in Practice – A Constraints led approach. London, England: Routledge Taylor & Francis group. 2010 Wulf, Gabriele. Attention and Motor Skill Learning. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishing Company. 2007 Zaichkowsky, Leonard and Peterson, Daniel. The Playmaker’s Advantage – How to Raise Your Mental Game to the Next Level. Gallery Books, Jeter Publishing. New York. 2018