Athletic Development – Defining the Field
The Good Old Days
The other day I was talking to a friend and we were reflecting back to 43 years ago to when I started coaching. The differences are quite pronounced. I hope you all realize that I am not living in the...
Winners
There's often a perceived big difference between winners and losers. In reality that big difference is not so big. The difference is in the little things. It is doing the little things a little be...
Accumulation
Sometimes we forget that training accumulates training session to training session, week to week, month to month and year to year. So what are the implications of that? Simply that it is not ne...
Strength Training and The Growing Athlete – Part Three
The key concepts to consider as precursors to beginning a comprehensive strength training program are: Build a broad a base of activity and general fitness Build a firm foundation in movement skills Y...
Strength Training and The Growing Athlete – Part Two
The fact is that strength is a basic motor skill, which is an important precursor to other motor skills. To ignore strength development will only serve to limit the development of other key motor qual...
Strength Training and The Growing Athlete – Part One
The common myths about strength training the growing athlete are: Before puberty the young athlete cannot put on muscle mass or make significant strength gains because of the lack of androgenic hormon...
Coaching That Matters
The coaching that matters is not the technical, tactical and training nuances; coaching that matters is what some call the intangibles. The ability to say the right thing at the right time. To be firm...
The Process
Training to improve performance in the athletic arena is a process. Here are the steps in the process as I see them: Define the process – Lay out your goals and objects. Be clear on the ultimate desti...
Errors of Commission, Errors of Omission
For as long as I can remember the prevalent thought was that injuries were the result of something that was not being done in training. Perhaps it was a lack of core strength, proper leg strength or a...