Author: Vernon Gambetta
Why Use FMS?
I have been outspoken in my criticism of the FMS over the years; I first evaluated the FMS back when it started. My initial evaluation and opinion based on my experience and study has not changed as it has grown in popularity. It is a borderline waste of time that generates random numbers without transfer to real life situations. Stop and think, stop sheep walking and doing something because everyone else is doing it. One argument recently presented to me was that it is used at NFL Combine. And the NFL also still uses isokinetic testing. If we use the NFL as our example of a thought leader we are in bad shape (see their enlightened response to the concussion crisis). I have heard the rationale for the selection of the FMS movements; as far as I am concerned they do not hold water. If you force the body to conform to unusual, strange, often uncomfortable positions – Is that a valid assessment? Stop and think! In assessment I need to reconcile the shapes they have to make in their sports with the shapes they can make and then determine an appropriate training program for that athlete. I want to see how the athlete can make connections and transitions not get in positions that are mentally convenient and easy to measure. By the way because it is easy to measure does not imply it is meaningful. I am interested in injury prevention not injury prediction. The goal is to test/assess/screen the athlete to determine what they can do, not what they cannot do. The assessment must give me actionable information, a “Trainability” assessment that offers guidance as to their ability to train at an appropriate level to their physical competency. In this approach there is no need for special corrective exercises, it is all transparently incorporated into the athletes training program. To do this requires some thought; it is not a neat package that you learn in certification seminar. It demands an understanding of movement. Much of what is necessary has been around for years in the physical therapy world and in physical education. It also comes back to the fundamental concept that Testing =Training and Training=Testing, each training session is an ongoing evaluation and constant adjustments must be made. In summary I urge you to stop and think critically in regard to using the FMS, you can do better.
The GAIN Story
GAIN started in 2008, but the genesis of GAIN goes back to the start of my coaching career in 1969.It quickly became clear to me that anytime I could meet with professional colleagues to exchange ideas that my performance as a coach would improve. It all started to come together for me in July 1972 at the first AAU Learn By Doing Track & Field Clinic. It went for four days from 7:00 AM in the morning to 9:00 PM at night and then there were discussions about what we had learned that went late into the night. I came away from that experience vowing to repeat the experience wherever and whenever possible. It was career changing for me. I now had a network of coaches I could communicate with and I no longer felt like the Lone Ranger. Going forward into the 1980’s a group of us would convene at every opportunity, usually at National Championships or conventions with the express purpose to share ideas and cross check each others training programs. These occasions were uplifting and sometimes quite challenging when you did not hear what you wanted to hear. In 1992,I started teaching the Building and Rebuilding The Athlete seminar. It started as a two day seminar consisting a broad overview of all the components of training and rehab for the athlete. The volume of content and format only allowed us to scratch the surface. Each seminar someone would ask me if I ever was going to initiate something beyond Building and Rebuilding. Because of various factors, I was unable to do so until 2008 when we had our first GAIN at the Holiday Inn Sports complex in Sunrise Florida. There were twenty brave souls in attendance; I don’t think any of us had a good idea of what it would be. Seven years later, GAIN has evolved and grown into the career changing experience that I hoped it would be when I started it. We have highly motivated attendees who are professionals in their various areas and a superb faculty who are high-level practitioners who have their skin in the game. They know through practice based evidence what it takes to achieve results at the highest levels of sport and they are willing to share. Join us in this learning journey of professional development. There is no experience like this total immersion for five days with highly motivated professionals. I am only a facilitator, a catalyst – the strength is in the network and the subsequent connections into a learning community of highly motivated professionals eager to challenge ideas, generate new ideas and take a different look at old ones. Go to http://www.thegainnetwork.com/ and apply now.
Some Thoughts on Planning
Planning is the preparatory work the coach must do to structure training systematically in alignment with the themes and objectives of training and the athlete’s level of conditioning. The process is the result of the experience of the coach coupled with applicable sport science concepts. Jan Olbrecht, Belgian sport scientist, likens the training plan to a table of contents. It should be comprehensive, covering all aspects of the athlete’s performance. The training plan (Table of contents) should include: The competition – classified as to their relative importance Crucial Important Developmental The specific training goals The specific competitive goals A broad overview of the means and methods of training A projection of the number of training sessions, as well as volume and intensity of the main training components The dates of the tests and the actual test to be used Non-training (sport) commitments Contingency Plans
The Message
Know your message Make your message clear, concise and punctuated. Be consistent with your message. Live your message.
The Crows
Crows are attracted to shining objects. Are you a crow? Are you immediately attracted to shining objects? Crows in coaching are those who are constantly attracted to the newest shining object in the form of fads, they believe the hype and marketing, they are always looking for the latest greatest shortcut. Hopefully you are not a crow but a critical thinker with a sound foundation in training principles and finely tuned BS filter so that you can ignore the shining objects.
Making Practice Better
Don’t try to replicate the game in practice, instead distort the game. Use varied constraints and restraints that force faster decision making speed and demand higher speed of action. Never allow the athlete to get comfortable into a set pattern. In essence by doing this the game itself will slow down. Make the focus not on perfect practice but on perfect effort. Encourage risk taking to push the performance envelope. Taking these approach demands deep understanding the game and the fundamentals in order to be effective. Changing how you practice will change how you play the game.
Some Thoughts From This Mornings Walk
How do you measure results? Wins & loses? Improvement? Perfect effort? Different muscles perform different functions depending on the demands of the activities. Bad training methodology enhanced by advanced technology and supported by sophisticated analytics is still bad training. If you meet someone with all the answers walk away. Find someone with all the questions and you will learn something. It would be interesting to ask Olympic champions in Track & Field what they were doing when they were 12 years old? Evaluation of movement ability – look at the shapes, postures and positions you have to make in the sport and look at what you can do and then reconcile the two.
Measurable Immeasurables
One of the keys to growing and enhancing coaching ability is learning to measure the immeasurable. Honestly I have not lost my mind; hear me out on this one. The measurables are given, distance, time, tonnage, intensities, heart rate, lactate measurement etc. From the first day of coaching you can get those, but there is more. It took me a few years to understand this. Observing some great experienced coaches enabled me to see and understand it is the Immeasurables that often make the most difference. They were feeling, seeing and hearing things I was not even aware of because I was stuck on the measurables. You learn to measure the immeasurables by developing your coaching senses. It is finely tuning your intuition, hearing rhythms of foot strikes and patterns of breathing, or to see that a throw or a jump that just does not look “right.” You learn to see movement with new eyes, you look for patterns, you hone in on rhythm and tempo. You get better at recognizing the immeasurables the more you practice, just like the athlete gets better with practice so will you. Today when you go to workout put away the stopwatch or the iPad and just look and listen, you will be amazed at what you see, feel and hear.