Author: Vernon Gambetta
Developing Athletes – Art & Science
This whole process of developing athletes is both an art and a science. This is a careful blend, not an either or proposition. In today’s world of rapid change and scientific advances it is easy to get caught up in the science and minimize the art. It is very important to strive to constantly achieve a balance. Coaching practice should be rooted in science, but ultimately it is practice-based evidence that is important. There has never been a sport scientist that invented a new technique or training method, they have only verified or validated, usually after the fact, which technique or method devised by a coach or an athlete worked. We can’t wait for sport science to lead; coaches have to be on the cutting edge of innovation and change. Everything coaches do must be based on sound principles and sport science; it is imperative that we keep accurate and detailed records so that we can look retrospectively at why something succeeded or why it failed.
Strength – Global Considerations
Of all the biomotor qualities strength may the most all-encompassing. There is no form of motion that does not require some expression of force; therefore all sports will derive benefit from sport appropriate strength training. The key here is that it is sport appropriate. The physical quality of strength is the underpinning for the optimum development of the other biomotor qualities. Because of its importance and ease of measurement it is tempting to try to train strength as an independent motor quality, but it is important to underscore that strength is a highly interdependent motor quality that profoundly interacts with and affects all the other biomotor qualities. It must be trained accordingly and this interaction must be accounted for in the whole training program. The benefits of a sound strength-training program are: Improved ability to reduce and produce force Increased ability to express explosive power Increased joint stability Significant contribution to Injury prevention and rehabilitation Training methods from a variety of other sport disciplines have heavily influenced strength training. The most prominent influences have been from Olympic weight lifting, power lifting and bodybuilding all of which are also competitive sports. In addition gymnastics and wrestling have had profound influences on what we do in strength training. Strength is an umbrella term that incorporates a spectrum of activities and training methods designed to enhance the force requirements of the sport being trained for. Strength is the ability to exert force with no time constraints – it is simply how much force can be applied. The role of strength training is to condition the bones, tendon, ligaments and muscles, to withstand and overcome the high forces placed on them in competition and training.
Purpose
What is the purpose of training? Do you have a purpose to the training? Training with a purpose is doing what is necessary to earn the right to progress to the next step. Each step should have a specific purpose that leads to a logical culmination in improved performance in the competitive arena.
Child Champions – Where are they now?
Trophy chasing and medal hunting at young ages is frivolous at best and harmful to the long-term development of the athletes. Child champions and age group record holders do not have a good track record of long-term success. Undue emphasis on results gives the youngster and their entourage a distorted sense of their actual abilities, value and self worth, which seems to stifle the desire to keep working to improve. The prevalent attitude among age group champions is why do I have to work harder I am already the best. This is a tough one to counter. Then it catches up with them two or three years later when the late developer who has kept working passes them by and now there is a huge attitude problem a s well as a limited possibility of making up for the work that was not done. The competitive life of age group champions is historically very short. Very few go on to latter success. Philosophically it is very important to measure success not just through competitive results but also by producing better people with sport as a vehicle for that. Delight in the experience and the lessons learned, not everyone can be an Olympian or professional athlete.
Connections
Look for connections in the body. Train to enhance the connections. Take advantage of the connections. Connect the training with the demands of the sport.
It’s not the weight room
A beautiful weight room with polished floors, tons of weights, machines that go bing, beep and burp surrounded with walls of mirrors all in a strictly controlled air conditioned environment set at an optimum 72 degrees may not be all that it appears to be. It’s not the weight room it is what happens there that matters. Is real coaching going on or is supervision with everyone doing the same program? It’s not the weight room it is the methodology that is employed there, it is the quality of coaching. Ultimately it is how the strength qualities developed in the weight room transfer to the field, track, court or pool. It is a very comfortable and seductive environment that can be a trap. The trap is chasing numbers that result an athlete completely adapted to the weight room environment rather than fully adaptable and prepared for the demands of the sport they are preparing for. The key is to learn to use the weight without getting dependent on it. The weight room is a step toward a “weight room without walls” where you take the strength training to the track, to the pool deck or to the court. This demands creativity and a deep understanding of the sport the athlete is preparing for. The advantage is versatile, adaptable bulletproof athletes who can apply their strength. Use the weight room as a step in the athletes’ development, don’t abuse it.
Stop – Look – Listen
Beware of artificial constructs that segment, compartmentalize and mechanize the body. They may be convenient but they misdirect and mislead. These artificial constructs have no connection to how the body actually functions outside of a sterile laboratory or clinical environment. Just because something is easy to measure does make it meaningful. A statistical correlation does not mean there is a direct causation. Coaching significance trumps statistical significance. Learn to use common sense, intuition and above all a well trained coaching eye that is acutely sensitive to subtleties in movement.
The Little Things
Everyone is quite caught up in the search for “marginal gains” which has gained notoriety because of the success of British cycling in the past two Olympiads. To me little things is not about seeking marginal gains, rather it is doing the little things, it is doing what is necessary from day to day and training session to training session to keep progressing in training. The little things are about taking care of basics, the fundamentals, and the routine that will make a huge difference as they accumulate. Everyone spends time looking for that 2% that will put them on the podium. Take care of the first 98% and the 2% will come. That 98% consists of the basics and the fundamentals finely tuned and repeated everyday. Do the little things to insure steady progress towards the goal of excellence in the competitive arena.