Author: Vernon Gambetta
Track & Field Omnibook – A Great Resource
This book is truly a classic! It had and continues to have a huge influence on my coaching. Even though the Fourth edition was published in 1985, many of the concepts and principles are as relevant today as they were then. Even though this is a track & field oriented book it is a must read for all coaches who are interested in coaching the person in a systematic and holistic manner. It just underscores how Ken Doherty was an innovative thinker who was way ahead of his time. If you are interested in looking deeper into his work I recommend his classic textbook Modern Track & Field which was a textbook for my Theory of Track & Field class in 1968. I also recommend Modern Training for Running if you work with middle distance or distance athletes in any sport.
Resources to Learn How to Get Better at Getting Better
I am convinced that going forward in sport the biggest gains and the so called marginal gains too will come from how we get better at getting better. How we can improve our teaching, how we make practice and training more meaningful and effective will be the biggest difference makers. I am going to make this a major focus for the rest of my career. In that spirit, I am sharing with you this list of resources. This is by no means exhaustive, it is just the books I have in my library that I have read. I am now in the process of re-reading some of these books and going through them all and reviewing the annotations and underlinings to put together an action plan of principles we can all use as coaches. It's going to take some time. I am interested in hearing from you about other resources and ideas in this area. We will all get better at getting better by sharing. Aposhan, Susan. Natural Intelligence – Body-Mind Integration and Human Development. Williams & Wilkins. Baltimore .1999 Berthoz, Alain. The Brain’s Sense Of Movement. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press. 2000 Brown, Peter C., Roediger II, Henry L., Danile, Mark A. Make it Stick – The Science of Successful Learning. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Cambridge, MA 2014. Butler, David S. The Sensitive Nervous System. Adelaide, Australia: Noigroup Publications. 2000 Carey, Benedict. How We Learn – The Surprising Truth About When, Where and Why It Happens. Random House. New York. 2014 Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow – The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper Perennial. New York. 1990 Coker, Cheryl A. Motor Learning & Control for Practitioners (Second Edition). Holcomb Hathaway, Publishers, Scottsdale, AZ. 2009 Connor, Marcia L. Learn More Now – 10 Simple Steps to Learning Better, Smarter & Faster. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ. 2004 Coyle, Daniel. The Little Book of Talent. Bantam Book. New York. 2012 Coyle, Daniel. The Talent Code. Bantam Book. New York. 2009 Davids, Keith. Button, Chris. Bennett, Simon. Dynamics of Skill Acquisition – A Constraints-Led Approach. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishing Company. 2008 Doherty, Ken. (1985) Track & Field Omnibook (Fourth Edition) Duhigg, Charles. The Power of Habit – Why We Do What We Do In Life And Business. Random House. New York. 2012 Dweck, Carol. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House. 2006 Farr, Steven. Teaching As Leadership – The Highly Effective Teacher’s Guide to Closing the Achievement Gap. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco. 2010 Foley, John. Glad To Be Here Debrief – Activating High Performance for Teams. CenterPoint Publishing. 2015 Gawande, Atul. The Checklist Manifesto – How to Get Things Right. Metropolitan Books. New York. 2009 Gazzaley, Adam and Rosen, Larry D. The Distracted Mind – Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. 2016 Gilbert, Wade. Coaching Better Every Season – A Year-Round System for Athlete Development and Program Success. Human Kinetics. Champaign, Il. 2017 Gray, Peter. Free to Learn – Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. Basic Books. New York. 2013 Green, Elizabeth. Better Teacher – How Teaching Works. W.W. Norton & Company. New York. 2014 Goleman, Daniel. Focus – The Hidden Driver of Excellence. Harper Collins. 2013 Halvorson, Heidi Grant and Higgins, E. Tory. Focus – Use Different Ways of Seeing the World for Success and Influence. Hudson Street Press. New York. 2013 Hannaford, Carla. Smart Moves – Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head. Great Ocean Publishers. Arlington, Virginia 1995 Helfand, David J. A Survival Guide to The Information Age – Scientific Habits of the Mind. Columbia University Press, New York. 2016 Herman, Amy E. Visual Intelligence – Sharpen Your Perception, Change Your Life. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Boston & New York. 2016 Hurson, Tim. Think Better – An innovator’s Guide To Productive Thinking. McGraw Hill. New York. 2008 Jensen, Frances E. and Nutt, Amy Ellis. The Teenage Brain – A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults. Harper Collins. New York, 2015 Johnson, Steven. Mind Wide Open – Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life. Scribner, New York. 2004 Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. New York. 2011 Kaufman, Scott Barry – Editor. The Complexity of Greatness – Beyond Talent & Practice. Oxford University Press. New York. 2013 Kaufman, Scott Barry. Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined. Basic Books. New York. 2013 Kelly, Tom. The Art of Innovation. New York: Doubleday. 2001 Knapp, Barbara. Skill In Sport. Routledge & K. Paul, 1963 Lakoff, George. And Johnson, Mark. Metaphors We Live By. University of Chicago Press. Chicago and London. 1980 Lemov, Doug., Woolway, Erica and Yezi, Katie. Practice perfect – 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco. 2012 Leonard, Charles T. The Neuroscience of Human Movement. Mosby. St. Louis. 1998 Leonard, George. Mastery – The Keys to Success and Long-term Fulfillment. New York: Penguin Books USA.1992 Leonard, George. The Way of Aikido: Life Lessons from an American Sensei. New York: Penguin Books USA. 2000 Levitin, Daniel J. The Organized Mind – Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload. Dutton, New York. 2014 Levitin, Daniel J. A Field Guide to Lies – Critical Thinking in the Information Age. Dutton. New York. 2016 Longstaff, A. Instant Notes – Neuroscience. BIOS Scientific Publishers, Taylor & Francis Group. London and New York, 2000 Leslie, Ian. Curious – The Desire To Know and Why Your Future Depends On It. Basic Books. New York. 2014 Medina, John. Brain Rules – 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School. Pear Press. Seattle. 2008 Magill, Richard A. Motor Learning and Control – Concepts and Application. Ninth Edition. New York: McGraw Hill. 2007 Meadows, Donella H. and Wright, Wright – Editor. Thinking in Systems – A Primer. Chelsea Green Publishing. White River Junction. Vermont. 2008 Michalko, Michael. Thinkertoys (Second Edition). Ten Speed Press. Berkeley. 2006 Newport, Cal. Deep Work – Rules For Focused Success In A Distracted World. Grand Central Publishing. New York and Boston. 2016 Nater, Swen and Gallimore, Ronald. You Haven’t Taught Until They Have Learned – John Wooden’s Teaching Principles and Practices. Fitness Information Technology. Morgantown, WV 2006 Nidefer, Bob. The Inner Athlete – Mind Plus Muscle For Winning. Thomas Y. Crowell Company. New York. 1976 Peters, Steve. The Chimp Paradox – The Mind Management Programme for Confidence, Success and Happiness. Vermillion, London. 2011 Pink, Daniel H. A Whole New Mind – Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. New York: Riverhead Books. 2005 Pink, Daniel H. Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. New York: Riverhead Books. 2009 Ramachandran, V.S. and Blakeslee. Phantoms In The Brain – Probing The Mysteries Of The Human Mind. Quill. New York. 1998 Ratey, John J. and Hagerman, Eric. Spark – The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. Little, Brown and Company, NY, London, Boston. 2008 Renshaw, Ian, Davids, Keith and Savelsbergh, Geert J.P. Editors. Motor Learning in Practice – A Constraints led approach. London, England: Routledge Taylor & Francis group. 2010 Restak, Richard. Mozarts Brain and the Fighter Pilot – Unleashing Your Brain’s Potential. Three Rivers Press. New York. 2001 Siegel, Daniel J. The Mindful Brain – Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being. W.W. Norton & Company. New York. 2007 Stafford, Tom and Webb, Matt. Mind Hacks – Tips & Tools for Using Your Brain. O’Reilly. Sebastopol, CA 2005 Tutko, Tom and Ogilvie, Bruce. Problem Athletes and How to Handle Them. London. Pelham Books.1966 Vanek, Miroslav and Cratty, Bryant J. Psychology and the Superior Athlete. Toronto, Ontario: Collier-Macmillan Canada, Ltd., 1970 Vickers, Joan N. Instructional design For Teaching Physical Activities – A Knowledge Structures Approach. Human Kinetics. Champaign, Il. 1990 Vickers, Joan N. Perception, Cognition, And Decision Training – The Quiet Eye in Action. Human Kinetics. Champaign, Il. 2007 Whiting, H.T.A. Acquiring Ball Skill – A Psychological Interpretation. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger. 1969 Williams, Mark A. and Hodges, Nicola J. Skill Acquisition In Sport – Research, Theory And Practice. Routledge. London and New York. 2004 Wrisberg, Craig A. Sport Skill Instruction for Coaches. Human Kinetics. Champaign, Il. 2007 Wulf, Gabriele. Attention and Motor Skill Learning. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishing Company. 2007
GAIN 2017 Theme
Each year for have a theme that serves as a focal point for our presentations and discussions for that year. This year our theme is: Making Connections to Foster Meaningful Change & Innovation The central focus of GAIN is the network of professionals to be able to connect and share, since this is the tenth meeting of GAIN and we want to emphasize the connections in the network more than ever. There is strength and wisdom in connections and it is through connections that meaningful change can and does occur. If you are interested in meaningful change and learning join us. To apply go: http://www.thegainnetwork.com/
Guru or Coach
This is an old post that I think is particularly timely. The bottom line message is to find a mentor not a guru Guru Coach Style Substance Information Knowledge Secrets Open Put Downs Uplifts Drink the Kool-Aid Water No Questions – All the answers Guided by questions Big Claims Actions Speak Front Page Back Page Follows the $$$$ Principle Driven Complex Simple Exclusive Inclusive In the Spotlight In the background Conditional Unconditional
Unforgiving, Relentless and Undefeated
I am not talking about UCONN women’s basketball that just won their hundredth straight game or the New England Patriots. I am talking about two of the greatest athletes ever! Who are they? You do know them because you compete with them all day everyday. One is invisible but beats you every time the other is always underfoot, but because it is so familiar we fail to recognize it. I am talking about gravity and the ground. In sport and life movements they dictate everything we do. At best we can learn to cheat gravity. We learn to manage its effects to jump higher, run faster or throw faster or farther but eventually it wins. It is gravity that tears ACL’s and pulls hamstrings, but as great an athlete as gravity is it needs help. That help comes from the ground. The ground comes in many permutations, grass real and artificial, sand, finely tuned tracks, roads or rough trails but it is always there. Our movement is dependent on the how we negotiate the ground; actually it depends on how well we apply force into the ground to propel us in the intended direction. To get to the essence of training it is essentially to learn how to use and cheat gravity and to apply optimum force to the ground to propel you in the desired direction. It is all very simple in concept but actually quite complicated in application.
Sports Science?
I see more gobbledygook and sciency stuff called “sports science” going on today that ever in my years as athlete and coach. Has anyone taken a step back and honestly assessed where we are going with all this? Everybody and anybody who administers a wellness survey or monitors some physiological function now calls themselves a sports scientist. Over the course of my career I have had the opportunity to work with some the greatest exercise physiologists, biomechanists, sports psychologists and motor learning/skill acquisition experts ever. I have seen how these professionals work as part of a performance team, backstage, not onstage claiming super bowl wins, world cup wins or Olympic goal medals. We were all part of a performance team with a clear goal working in one direction to make the athlete or team better. The great performance teams that I have worked in and seen work are coach driven. This demands that the sport coach be educated to ask the right questions and know how to direct the efforts. What I see today with the use of this generic term “sports science” being thrown around alarms me. I see so called "sports scientists" directing programs, making crucial decisions on athletes trainability based on algorithm derived numbers telling coaches that athletes can not practice because they are too tired or too sore. Many so-called sports scientists have little or no practical experience outside of academia or some sterile training center environment where they have no real athletes to work so they can sit around theorize all day. Sports science must be clearly defined, the so-called sports scientist needs to understand that they do not drive the bus. They must be at training sessions and actively involved with the coaches. They need to understand the culture of the sport and get to know the sport they are working with. They must help the coach to use the data they derive (Assuming it is valid data) by giving the data context. Applied sports science can be a valuable resource, lets get back to where it needs to be – a resource that is on tap not on top.
The 4R’s
Frank Dick one of my mentors shared this basic concept to give a context to debrief of training or performance. Reason Why are you doing what you are doing? Reality What exactly are you doing? Is that reconciled with the reason? Reflection What did you learn from what you did? Be as specific as possible here. Response What are you going to do differently? This should consist of specific actions based on the reflection. This is a simple process that can be used to make your daily coaching more effective.