Author: Vernon Gambetta
The Way
There is a right way, a wrong way and what works for you. There is no one-way. Find what works for you in your situation, fine tine and refine it to insure that it keeps working. No need to follow the crowd, just do what works. Don’t wait for science they will follow. Don’t worry that is it different be a leader not a follower. The ultimate validation of a training method is what happens in the competitive arena.
Limit to Progress
There are definite limits to progress in growing as a coach. Yesterday I was reflecting on what I have done as a coach and what I have observed and I came to a less than obvious conclusion. The limit to progress is often not what you don’t know or the unknown, it is you do know or should I say what you think you know. It is so easy to be trapped into one way, the way you know based on what you know, especially if you have had success doing it that way. The lesson for me is to know what don’t know and reconcile what don’t know with what you do know. Make sure that what you do know is actually what is producing results for you. Above all keep learning and growing, everyday work to find a better way. Never be complacent in what you know.
Some Random Thoughts on Sports, Coaching and Life
Advice from best selling author David Baldacci: ”Don’t write what you know about, write what you’d like to know about. And never chase trends. Don’t write about dinosaurs because Crichton did, or codes because Brown did. Write something you’re passionate about and want to learn more about. Have fun with it. Don’t treat it as a job. Exercise your imagination, treat it like a game.” This prompted my thoughts: Don’t always practice and focus on what you are good at, take a chance and practice what you are not good at. Approach it with passion. Accept the fact that you may not get it the first time. Be uncomfortable, use those mistakes to learn. Use your imagination and visualize how much better you will be when you master it. On Injuries in the developing athlete: Rather than look for blame, look for cause. In my experience the majority of injuries at the High School and youth level can be traced directly to poor fundamental movement skills. It is fundamental movement skills AKA Physical Competencies that underlie sport skill. We basically are putting the cart before the horse. The second factor is improper progression. The same programs are imposed on the freshman and the senior without any regard for Physical maturation, cognitive and emotional development. Third major factor is early specialization. Your philosophy is your voice – It speaks louder than any words! On the coaching of Brother Colm coach to Olympic 800 meter champion David Rudisha: “If Rudisha was trained by a system to be a perfect athlete, it might destroy him,” he said. “If you get a supercoach, they only look at a blueprint—a product. Brother Colm goes to the roots. He understands people, where they come from.” My take home message from this and what makes Brother Colm so successful is that he coaches the person not the event. “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” Victor Frankel Think possibilities. Focus on what you can do. Accentuate your strength and minimize the weaknesses.
Coaching – Key Ingredients
I have been totally immersed in coaching coaches the last three weeks in New Zealand. On reflecting on what I saw and have seen throughout my career there are three key ingredients that are the determining factors in the difference between good and great coaches: Passion – This is the fuel that drives everything. It is what drives you forward in the good times and the bad. Knowledge – This is the guide that provides the direction and context to guide the passion. Experience(s) – This is what provides the perspective. It is what allows you to keep the big picture in mind and the end always in sight.
Before Marginal Gains
Before you search deeply for marginal gains in performance it is important that you have taken care of what precedes marginal gains. Sometimes it is so obvious it is easy to overlook. It is really quite simple, it is a process that is necessary to achieve at the highest level: Know the Basics Master and Refine the Basics Don’t Deviate From the Basics Once this process is clear then and only then will marginal gains be of significance in performance. It's all pretty basic!
How Do You Get Results?
Do it better? Do More? Do Less? Make the work harder? Make the work easier? Do it differently? Stay the same? Focus on strengths? Focus on improving weaknesses?
Getting Better Faster
I have been in New Zealand for four days now presenting to high performance coaches and interacting with various members of Sport New Zealand’s High Performance team. It has been total immersion in performance excellence, a real coaches dream. The singular focus has all been all about what needs to be done to get better. Certainly elite sport is moving forward at hyper speed, faster than coaches and sport leaders can comprehend. We have been talking continually about future planning and present perfect. It is easy to talk about 2020 and 2024 but it is another thing to act on those as if they were tomorrow. In the current reality in international sport they are tomorrow. Who will the coaches be ten years from now? What is being done to upscale and prepare them for the future reality? They will need different skill sets – what are those skill sets? Those athletes for 2020 & 2024 are now ten to fourteen years old. What is being done to nature and develop them? Do we really know who they are? These are all questions and concerns that every sporting nation and sport organization should be addressing right now – today! Remember the words of Mario Andretti “If things seem under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” What are you doing to prepare to move faster?
GAIN Professional Development Community – 2014 Schedule
Don't miss out on this special professional development opportunity. Below is the faculty and the teaching schedule for this year. To apply go to http://thegainnetwork.com/joingain GAIN VII Theme Focusing on the Process of Developing Athletes From the First Step to the Podium The GAIN Faculty We are very fortunate to have a faculty with a tremendous breath of experiences. These are professionals who have a track record of excellence in their chosen fields. They know how a performance team works, how all aspects of athletic development complement each other and most importantly they understand the process of developing athletes. AT GAIN we have four main areas of focus 1)Coaching 2)Athletic Development (S&C) 3)Sports Medicine/Rehab 4)Physical Education. Our faculty are the experts in each of these respective focus areas. The goal is foster connections and communication between all these areas to develop the best athlete possible. Join us and learn from these professionals and interact with other professionals in the GAIN network. Go to http://thegainnetwork.com/joingain and apply now. Don’t miss out. Coaching Finn Gundersen – Gunderson Consulting working with MLS Philadelphia Union Development Academy. He was formerly US Skiing Director of Alpine Sport and Education and Headmaster of the famous Burke Mountain Ski Academy in Vermont. Clay Erro, Best Winning Percentage in Football in Nor Cal Section History at Enterprise High School in Redding California. Now Retired and Consulting on Coaching Excellence. Vern Gambetta, Founder of GAIN Network, Currently Director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems Athletic Development Jim Radcliffe, Head S&C Coach University of Oregon Gary Winckler, Hall of Fame Track & Field Coach, Former assistant Canadian Olympic Track & Field Coach in 2012 and Head Women’s Track Coach at University of Illinois Vince Anderson, Texas A&M, Assistant Track & Field Coach Sprints & Hurdles Nick Garcia, Athletic Development Coach & Assistant Track Coach, Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, California Steve Magness, Head Cross Country and Assistant Track Coach University of Houston Nick Folker, Former Aquatic S&C Coach at University of California Berkeley. Now with F.A.A.S.T and BridgeAthletic Tracy Fober, PT, CSCS, Iron Maven Physical Health & Performance, St Louis Missouri Sports Medicine/Rehab Bill Knowles, ATC, CSCS HPSports – Director of Reconditioning and Athletic Development Philadelphia Union Academy – Major League Soccer Pennsylvania, USA Ed Ryan, ATC Head Trainer US Women’s Olympic Basketball Team, Formerly Head of Sports Medicine USOC Randy Ballard, ATC Assistant Trainer, University of Illinois Working With Track & Filed and Volleyball Joe Przytula, ATC is the current Supervisor of Physical Education and Health, and athletic trainer with Elizabeth Public Schools, Elizabeth New Jersey USA. Physical Education Greg Thompson, Elementary Physical Education Teacher Farmington Michigan, Currently Athletic Development and Age Group Head Coach, Livonia City Soccer Club Steve Myrland, District Performance Coach for Athletics, District Wellness Director Middleton Wisconsin School District Day One – Tuesday, June 17 1:00 – 3:00 Registration 3:30 – 5:00 Introduction & Orientation 5:00 – 7:00 Dinner 7:00 – 7:30 GAIN Philosophy of Training Gambetta 7:30 – 8:30 Communication For Effective Coaching Erro Day Two – Wednesday, June 18 6:30 – 7:45 Movement Madness Station #1 Running Mechanics Winckler Station #2 PE Myrland Station #3 Postural Strength Modules Gambetta 7:45 – 9:30 Breakfast 9:30 – 9:50 Functional Path Concepts Gambetta 9:50 – 11:00 LTAD – Burke Mountain & Beyond Gundersen 11:00 – 11:10 Break 11:10 – 12:10 Endurance Training Myths Magness 12:10 – 1:00 Lunch Newbies 1:00 – 2:10 Siesta/Individual Meetings 2:10 -3:00 Discussion Groups Strength Training 3:00 – 3:10 Break 3:10 – 4:00 Discussion Groups Endurance Training 4:00 – 4:10 Break 4:10 – 4:50 Discussion Groups PCA/Injury Prevention 4:50 – 5:00 Break 5:00 – 6:00 Practical – Reflex Strength Training Winckler 6:00 – 7:30 Dinner 7:30 – 8:15 Team Building Gundersen 8:15 – 8:45 GAIN Talks Newbies (Separate Session) 1:00 – 2:10 Foundations Physical Competency Assessment Ballard 2:10 – 2:20 Break 2:20 – 3:30 Foundation of Speed – Sprint Mechanics Winckler 3:30 – 3:40 Break 3:40 – 4:50 Foundations of Reconditioning Knowles 4:50 – 5:00 Break Day Three – Thursday, June 19 6:30 – 7:45 Movement Madness Station #1 Warm-up Radcliffe Station #2 PE Myrland Station #3 Reflex Strength Training Winckler 7:45 – 9:30 Breakfast 9:30 – 10:40 Fundamentals of Acceleration Mechanics Anderson 10:40 – 10:50 Break 10:50 – 12:00 Athlete Development at Notre Dame High School Garcia 12:00 – 1:00 Lunch 1:00 – 2:10 Siesta/Individual Meetings 2:10 – 3:20 Agility – Practical Pointers & Progressions Radcliffe 3:20 – 3:30 Break 3:30 – 4:40 Advance Concepts of Reconditioning Knowles 4:40 – 4:50 Break 4:50 – 6:00 Practical – Reconditioning Knowles 6:00 – 7:30 Dinner 7:30 – 8:00 Developing Leaders Gundersen 8:00 – 8:30 GAIN Talks Day Four – Friday, June 20 6:30 – 7:45 Movement Madness Station #1 Hurdle Mobility Radcliffe Station #2 PE Thompson Station #3 Foundational Movements Fober 7:45 – 9:30 Breakfast 9:30 – 10:40 Application of The Bondarchuk Method Garcia 10:40 – 10:50 Break 10:50 – 12:00 Speed & Power Development – Special Considerations Radcliffe 12:00 – 1:00 Lunch 1:00 – 2:10 Siesta/Individual Meetings 2:10 – 2:20 Break 2:20 – 3:30 Building A Framework For Monitoring & Performance Ballard 3:30 – 3:40 Break 3:40 – 4:50 Developing Endurance – Nuts & Bolts Magness 4:50 – 5:00 Break 5:00 – 6:00 Practical – Training Observation Garcia 6:00 – 7:30 Dinner 7:30 – 8:15 Role of the Parent in Athlete Development Gundersen 8:15 – 8:45 GAIN Talks Saturday, June 21 6:30 – 7:30 Movement Madness Station #1 Shoulder Basics Fober Station #2 Plyo Progressions Radcliffe 7:30 – 9:00 Breakfast 9:00 – 10:00 Designing an Effective Training Session Gambetta 10:00 – 10:10 Break 10:10 – 11:30 PE – The Foundation of Athlete Development Thompson 11:30 – 11:50 Foundational Concepts of Athletic Development Gambetta 12:00 – 12:20 Coaching Wrap-up Erro