Athletic Development – Defining the Field
Training Do’s and Don’ts #7 – Priority Training
Too often when we begin a new training program or a new training phase, we look at the exercise menu and try to include too much. Too many exercises or too may sessions with the result a diluted train...
Training Do’s and Don’ts #6 – Planning (AKA Prediction Addiction)
I learned very early in my coaching & teaching career the importance of planning. For my first ten years coaching I suffered from severe “prediction addiction”, thinking that like the oracles of a...
An Aha Moment – The Javelin Dance
I have told this story many times in presentations and in various podcasts. It deserves to be retold to underscore the lesson I learned many years ago and is reinforced daily in my coaching. One of my...
Training Do’s and Don’ts #5 – Peaking & Taper – Thoughts on Taper, Peaking for Swimming
“Sometimes in the peaking process is not what you do it is what you don’t do.” John Larralde, track coach speaking at GAIN on preparing his milers to win California State high School championships. Wh...
Athletic Development Omnibook – A Coaching Resource & Handbook
Even though this book is titled the Athletic Development Omnibook, it is more like the 54th version of work that I started in 1969 when I was a student at UCSB. It began as a project for my Foundation...
Training Do’s and Don’ts #4 – More Work or Less Work
The most common default when making the choice between more work or less work in training is to do more volume. After all it is easier to quantify more jumps, more throws, more runs. Also, when workin...
Training Do’s and Don’ts #3 – Warm-up (Preparation)/Cooldown(Reset)
Warm-up and cooldown are essential parts of the whole training process. It is helpful to think of the warm-up as preparation for training and cooldown as a reset to prepare the body for the next train...
Training Do’s and Don’ts #2 – Hard/Easy
I was first introduced to the concept of Hard/Easy at the first clinic I attended in January 1968 by Bill Bowerman, the coach at University of Oregon. The Hard/Easy concept was a cornerstone of his pr...
Training Do’s and Don’ts #1 – PAL Paradigm (Running Technical Model)
Training D0 – Base your training on a sound technical model and then adapt it to your athletes. The PAL Paradigm is my interpretation of the technical model necessary to run with good mechanics ...