Author: Vernon Gambetta
Meaningful Practice
I know the term deliberate practice is the current buzzword but I don’t think it is getting the job done. I have always felt that words create images and images create action, so I use the term meaningful. Meaningful clearly communicates what I want from practice, it leaves little room for nuance. Practice must have a clear plan and purpose that the athlete understands. It must relate to the competitive demands of the sport the athlete is preparing for. It must be relevant to physical and developmental age of the athlete (Adult drills and training methods imposed on children are counterproductive). Mindless repetition does not count as practice. If you want examples go watch a typical tennis academy practice where they hit balls for four hours or watch a baseball infielder take 100 ground balls repetitively. Folks that is the norm just look around, nothing meaningful, just work. Each drill, each exercise must have a purpose that the athlete clearly understands or it is just time on their feet punching a clock accumulating time toward that magic 10,000 hour number. Focused meaningful work that chooses to distort the competitive demands not replicate them is the answer. That is meaningful, the athlete relates to it because they see the relationship of the technique they must master or the game situation they must improve. At the end of the day less is more to make the practice meaningful.
The Basics
Know the Basics Master the Basics Don’t Deviate From the Basics The basics my not be sexy or exciting, but they are necessary. When I say basics I mean starting with fundamental movements as a basis for technique, I mean multilateral lateral training that encompasses all components of training in a systematic manner, not biased one sided training that creates highly adpated athletes who are injury prone. All the great athletes and coaches I have ever been around never stray far from the basics. They approach the basics with as Steve Brown, former coach of Sarasota Sharks termed “mind numbing consistency.” The most spectacular performances & performers are manifestations of the basics done extraordinarily well.
What is Periodization?
Periodization (Planned Performance Training) is the timing, sequence and interaction of the training stimuli to allow optimum adaptive response in pursuit of specific competitive goals. It is: Why you do, what you do, in relation to when you do it. Another way to look to look at it, you are bringing the future into the present so you can do something about it. In one word it is planning – Don’t over complicate it – Apply the KISS Principle – Keep It Short and Simple. Think actions planning.
Old Questions – New Answers
Questions are a major stimulus to drive change. Significant change will not come by spending an inordinate amount of time trying to find new answers to old questions. Real profound change will come from abandoning the old questions. Stop trying to answer them. Leave then alone. Reframe them and ask new questions from a whole different perspective.
Reinventing the Wheel
It just amazes me to see how every generation of young coaches have to reinvent the wheel. No need. Connect with people who have been there before and the journey is much easier and direct. These the exact words from coaching legend Tom Tellez to me in 1982 "Why don't you come and spend three days with me, no need for you to make same mistakes I have made." Those three days changed my coaching. The path became more direct and clear. Who will it be for you?
Evidence Based
So your training is evidence based. Who has gathered the evidence? What actually is the evidence? I get it, it is published and peer reviewed – so what? So much research I see is still on untrained college students with a very small number of subjects for six weeks to nine weeks in duration. It always makes me wonder. I am very partial to practice based evidence. Find someone who has been there before, preferably many times, and ask him or her why they do what they do? What mistakes they made and how they corrected them. Learn from others who have a multitude of experiences. Coaches cannot afford to wait for research to tell us what to do. Coaches lead and innovate and science will follow. The ultimate proof is sustained excellence in the competitive arena.
Some Tips to the Top
Smart work, very focused and directed to meet individual needs is necessary. Embrace risk and failure – Take calculated chances and learn form the mistakes. Do ordinary things in an extra ordinarily manner everyday. Basics executed consistently win. Focus on the absolute need to do, no fluff. Take one step at a time. When volleyball player Karch Kiraly was asked how he prepared to win a Gold medal he answered ” I never did. I only prepared to win the next play.”
One Trick Pony
Are you preparing your athletes to be a one trick pony? What’s a one trick pony? A one trick pony is an athlete who is highly specialized in a narrow range of skill sets and conditioning. They are highly adapted to one way of doing things, very fixed in mindset and highly adapted. They are focused on what they cannot do. The alternative is a versatile athlete that is highly adaptable, has a range of physical abilities and capacities that are finely tuned to match up with the technical proficiencies required in their sport. They are focused on what they can do and optimize those abilities. The multifactor prepared athlete is “bullet proof” when it comes to injuries because they have embraced injury prevention as a transparent part of the training program. They thrive in the competitive arena because they are prepared for the game not for artificial performance factors developed in a sterile training environment. To me it seems like a no-brainer. Go for the versatility – embrace it and step up to the podium!