I sat down at the table in the boardroom. I was always nervous for this portion of interviews, you never knew who the people were asking you questions, if they already had a candidate in mind, etc. Had I drank too much water? Would I need to run out to the bathroom first? Did I not drink ENOUGH water? Would I run out of breath talking and start coughing. The rep from HR started with her question.
"As a coach, have you ever talked to a student-athlete about something other than their sport"
Looking puzzled"...um. Yes?"
She looked back semi-shocked that I answered in the affirmative, "Well, why?"
Laughed, looks at her semi accusatory"You've never coached college athletes before, have you"
I didn't get that job, but would still respond the same way. As college coaches actual "coaching" is a small percentage of what I do on a daily basis. Sure there is recruiting, travel, budget, equipment, the meetings, checking grades, more meetings, facilities, meetings about the facilities etc. I'm referring more towards the growth of the student-athletes and more specifically their social and psychological growth.
30% of college students have reported depression in a 12 month period and at least 50% have reported a high amount of anxiety (Ann Kearns Davoren and Seunghyun Hwang, Mind, Body, and sport: Depression and Anxiety Prevalence in Student-Athletes). As I coach at a University where a vast majority of students are also Student-Athletes, these percentages ensure that a large number of these athletes will have some mental-health issues at some point in their careers. As coaches we are told on an almost daily basis that "They are STUDENT-athletes, make sure to emphasize the STUDENT", which is true. In a sport like track and field where there is not much money to be had post-collegiately, and a very small percentage of student-athletes actually move on to the Olympics and sponsorships, a degree is very important. However, many student-athletes will tell you that part of the anxiety that comes from college life stems from them feeling "alone". Not just alone because they are away from home the first time, or maybe they have never been too social, but alone from the stand-point that no one listens to them, and they feel as though they cannot communicate to anyone how they are feeling. Being someone they can talk to often falls on being the responsibility of the coach.
Do not get my statement confused, however, this doesn't mean to become a "Friend Coach", because anyone that has spoken to me knows how I feel about that particular breed of coach, but it means to make yourself available if any issues arise. And trust me, issues will arise. Look for a few warning signs,
Suddenly tired and fatigued
Injury prone or seeming never ending soreness
Suddenly irritable or mood swings
Sports Performance dropping off
Tardiness, both at practices and classes
There are others as well, but these are generally the ones I see pop up. And I know, some of these behaviors an athlete might exhibit every single day because, well, that isn't a mental health issue, it simply is someone that isn't mature enough yet to be a student-athlete. But if someone on your squad suddenly starts exhibiting these qualities try to set up a time to talk to them. Most of the time they won't seek you out for a conversation, so you need to be vigilant and patient with them, and that all begins with trust-building. During one of the coaching courses, building trust was listed as one of the primary focuses of early season training. The main logic at the time was to establish trust so that if you change training one day, or ask them to do a very complicated or difficult workout they will "buy in" without arguement, but in terms of establishing yourself as a trusted member of the college community to confide it, it works the same way.
I could drone on about this topic for quite some time, but I wanted to keep this post brief, so now I will just touch quickly on mental health of you, as a coach, also. A coach whom I greatly respect talked about this topic at the end of a presentation and it perfectly described me sometimes. He stressed how stressful it is to be a coach. Apparently only nurses have a higher amount of anxiety and stress in their lives according to one study (couldn't find the study so take it with a grain of salt, that is just what was told to me). He described how some of the best coaches end up gaining weight, abusing substances and/or alcohol, falling into depression and having relationship issues because of the pressure they feel to make a positive impact in their student-athletes lives. I have noticed (and let's face it, experienced) the same thing. Sometimes the happiest coaches are the "worst" in terms of actual coaching for this very reason, and the most irritable, most stressed coaches are the best. An athlete asked me once if I enjoy meets now because I don't compete, I said no. I told them...
"Imagine how much emotion you put into your event, and how much emotion you go through after your event depending if you do well or poorly...now imagine having to go through that 100 times for different athletes every meet". Sounds a bit over-dramatic but it's true. Most meets, I will fall asleep around 7:30pm afterwards just from the amount of stress and how drained I feel afterwards, and a huge amount of coaches I know and respect are the same way. It is terribly draining to be the rudder for a ship, making sure everything stays on course. So for 2018, as well as making sure your athletes are mentally healthy, take care of your own mental health as well. Know when to slow things down a bit, set aside time for your own workouts, training, entertaining. And sometimes, most importantly, know when to just turn it off and step back for a bit. The #1 factor that student-athletes said affected meet and practice performance was the mood of their coach, so sometimes it isn't the athletes mental state that is hurting things, it's yours. Happy New Years!!!!....PS...Go Eagles...Dallas Sucks.
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Monday, July 18, 2016
The Value of Failure
A flaw in our society as I see it is the insistence that success and winning are the only options and that falling short of that goal makes you worthless and weak both mentally and physically. There is the old saying "failure is not an option" that people love to put on pictures and memes, posting them on their facebooks like badges of honor. Well, I hate to tell everyone, but not only is failure an option but many times it is the most likely option. And that isn't a bad thing, in fact it is a very good thing. This entry I will examine what makes failure good and why it should be embraced rather than feared or, even worse, completely ignored.
I could reference the numerous TV, Political, Scientific etc personalities that failed before they every made it big, but that has been done to death. A good quote I've read referencing these people, however, is that, "Instant success isn't the only kind of success" (http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-who-failed-at-first-2015-7) and that really strikes to the root of the problem. It seems in our modern society, many people want instant success and want things to work out perfectly otherwise they figure "What is the point?". Especially with the sports that I coach, most athletes will fail much more than they succeed especially at first. I've yet to meet an athlete that will be able to perform a snatch perfectly the first time they see it done, or be able to have a perfect plant and drive swing in pole vault; it just doesn't happen. The athletes that master these skills are the ones who learn from these daily failures and improve themselves in those areas. The ones that aren't successful are those that look for scapegoats or reasons why they aren't having instant success, usually blaming the coach, or other outside factors that really have nothing to do with why they aren't succeeding. Still other athletes will quit after they fail initially, which unfortunately I am noticing to be an other increasing group. Some people won't let themselves accept that they have lost, that they have failed at something and run away from it rather than embracing it and growing. To give an analogy I will step into the realm of 'video games.
I've been playing a game called Overwatch lately. It is a team based game where 6 people choose different characters to defeat another team in a specific goal (capture the flag type stuff, moving a payload, etc). It can be fun and almost like a game of rock-paper-scissor in determining what character counters another character. A few weeks ago the company that makes the game, Blizzard, released a new game mode that is competitive, where players are ranked and compete against a team of an equal ranking. A problem that has arisen, however, is that many players quit if they feel they are going to lose, thus stranding the rest of their team and basically screwing up everyone's fun. This is analogous of some of the issues I run into with athletes as well. Rather than live in the moment of failure and trying to grow past it, some will just turn and run away from it, never actually experiencing failure and growing as a person and athlete. Well, now that I have listed the problem it's time to list some ideas of solutions, and in terms of athletes it will have to start with the coaches.
Most of the time, the first area an athlete will experience failure will be in actual competitions. Stepping into the circle or runway in a track meet, or on the platform for weightlifting. Some athletes naturally shine in these moments. They have no fear of embarrassment or nervousness and in some cases compete much better than they perform in training. However, sometimes more frequently, and athlete will step into competition for the first time and instantly forget everything they are supposed to do. While this is painful to see an athlete go through this, one of the worst things a coach can do is be apologetic, emotional, and coddling. The athlete needs to know that this result can happen, and you sometimes need to experience failure and live in that moment to realize that it isn't the end of the world, it doesn't lessen you as a person and it helps you grow.
Aside from dealing with failure at that specific moment, your practices and training can help as well. One thing I love the Olympic lifts for is for helping with mental toughness and dealing with adversity. At a certain point it doesn't matter how strong or well trained you are, that bar will always feel heavy. Olympic lifting is all about trusting your technique and going through with the same focus regardless if you are at 60% or 100%. Many times athletes early on will "quit" on a lift halfway through simply because the bar feels too heavy. Staying with the athlete in these workouts can help them not only complete the workout but learn how to stay focused under pressure and block out the noise of their inner thoughts telling them they can't complete what they are starting. As a coach you can use these times in training to help with competition in the athlete's individual sport or event. The better they adapt in training situations, the better they will perform in competition.
Feel free to comment with how you as an athlete or coach deal with failure yourself or for your own team. Failure is going to happen, you can either run away from it, or treat it as a necessary part of your own growth and learn from it.
I could reference the numerous TV, Political, Scientific etc personalities that failed before they every made it big, but that has been done to death. A good quote I've read referencing these people, however, is that, "Instant success isn't the only kind of success" (http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-who-failed-at-first-2015-7) and that really strikes to the root of the problem. It seems in our modern society, many people want instant success and want things to work out perfectly otherwise they figure "What is the point?". Especially with the sports that I coach, most athletes will fail much more than they succeed especially at first. I've yet to meet an athlete that will be able to perform a snatch perfectly the first time they see it done, or be able to have a perfect plant and drive swing in pole vault; it just doesn't happen. The athletes that master these skills are the ones who learn from these daily failures and improve themselves in those areas. The ones that aren't successful are those that look for scapegoats or reasons why they aren't having instant success, usually blaming the coach, or other outside factors that really have nothing to do with why they aren't succeeding. Still other athletes will quit after they fail initially, which unfortunately I am noticing to be an other increasing group. Some people won't let themselves accept that they have lost, that they have failed at something and run away from it rather than embracing it and growing. To give an analogy I will step into the realm of 'video games.
I've been playing a game called Overwatch lately. It is a team based game where 6 people choose different characters to defeat another team in a specific goal (capture the flag type stuff, moving a payload, etc). It can be fun and almost like a game of rock-paper-scissor in determining what character counters another character. A few weeks ago the company that makes the game, Blizzard, released a new game mode that is competitive, where players are ranked and compete against a team of an equal ranking. A problem that has arisen, however, is that many players quit if they feel they are going to lose, thus stranding the rest of their team and basically screwing up everyone's fun. This is analogous of some of the issues I run into with athletes as well. Rather than live in the moment of failure and trying to grow past it, some will just turn and run away from it, never actually experiencing failure and growing as a person and athlete. Well, now that I have listed the problem it's time to list some ideas of solutions, and in terms of athletes it will have to start with the coaches.
Most of the time, the first area an athlete will experience failure will be in actual competitions. Stepping into the circle or runway in a track meet, or on the platform for weightlifting. Some athletes naturally shine in these moments. They have no fear of embarrassment or nervousness and in some cases compete much better than they perform in training. However, sometimes more frequently, and athlete will step into competition for the first time and instantly forget everything they are supposed to do. While this is painful to see an athlete go through this, one of the worst things a coach can do is be apologetic, emotional, and coddling. The athlete needs to know that this result can happen, and you sometimes need to experience failure and live in that moment to realize that it isn't the end of the world, it doesn't lessen you as a person and it helps you grow.
Aside from dealing with failure at that specific moment, your practices and training can help as well. One thing I love the Olympic lifts for is for helping with mental toughness and dealing with adversity. At a certain point it doesn't matter how strong or well trained you are, that bar will always feel heavy. Olympic lifting is all about trusting your technique and going through with the same focus regardless if you are at 60% or 100%. Many times athletes early on will "quit" on a lift halfway through simply because the bar feels too heavy. Staying with the athlete in these workouts can help them not only complete the workout but learn how to stay focused under pressure and block out the noise of their inner thoughts telling them they can't complete what they are starting. As a coach you can use these times in training to help with competition in the athlete's individual sport or event. The better they adapt in training situations, the better they will perform in competition.
Feel free to comment with how you as an athlete or coach deal with failure yourself or for your own team. Failure is going to happen, you can either run away from it, or treat it as a necessary part of your own growth and learn from it.
Friday, July 1, 2016
Preserve Our Present
Well it's July and you know what that means? It's all about Independence days. Canada Day, U.S. Independence Day, along with Algeria, Bahamas, and a whole list of others. One of the best things about our history in this country is that it is so easy to see and experience. Being from the Philadelphia area, I can drive to Olde City and visit the old exchange building, liberty bell, Ben Franklin's office, the old tavern where the founding fathers used to drink their ale, etc. Aside from these tangibles, there are so many documents still surviving of daily lives of both the founding fathers and just ordinary citizens of the time. This fact brings me to the main thesis of the blog entry. Writing the everyday events, feelings, thoughts was commonplace back then and sadly it has almost completely disappeared nowadays. Not only will this have ramifications on our future and how future generations will not be able to relate to our daily lives, it also can affect athletes.
For this month I'm going to ask everyone that reads this post to keep a journal every day for the month of July. Each entry doesn't need to be long, or profound. Ken Burns won't be creating a documentary about your thoughts like they are old Civil War letters "My dearest Agnes, it has been a fortnight since I heard from you...etc", however it will be a good account of your observations as well as a log of your training. There are a host of things happening in the world right now between UK leaving the EU, 2016 election, upcoming Olympics that you may forget about in the next 20 years or so, or you may want to pass on to your children/grandchildren to give me an idea of what was happening. Along with the historical benefits, there are a number of benefits specific to athletes also.
Journal-ling for athletes can help in a number of ways. For one, a day to day account of training, and how the athlete feels and responds to training can benefit not only the athlete but the coach as well. The coach can notice a trend in training (both positive and negative) which can help when programming future programs. This will also help the athlete in turn by increasing the athlete's awareness of the program design.
Another benefit is to be able to recognize over-training before it becomes a problem. An athlete logging their thoughts, feelings, and stressors can help show symptoms of over-training which can lead the coach to backing off of the training, or adjusting it to better help future workouts. Going in the same vein, a journal may also show a lack of sleep, warm-up, flexibility training and other things that may hinder athlete performance. In closing, try to take the month of July and keep a journal of all things athletic and otherwise. Maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't but give it a shot.
For this month I'm going to ask everyone that reads this post to keep a journal every day for the month of July. Each entry doesn't need to be long, or profound. Ken Burns won't be creating a documentary about your thoughts like they are old Civil War letters "My dearest Agnes, it has been a fortnight since I heard from you...etc", however it will be a good account of your observations as well as a log of your training. There are a host of things happening in the world right now between UK leaving the EU, 2016 election, upcoming Olympics that you may forget about in the next 20 years or so, or you may want to pass on to your children/grandchildren to give me an idea of what was happening. Along with the historical benefits, there are a number of benefits specific to athletes also.
Journal-ling for athletes can help in a number of ways. For one, a day to day account of training, and how the athlete feels and responds to training can benefit not only the athlete but the coach as well. The coach can notice a trend in training (both positive and negative) which can help when programming future programs. This will also help the athlete in turn by increasing the athlete's awareness of the program design.
Another benefit is to be able to recognize over-training before it becomes a problem. An athlete logging their thoughts, feelings, and stressors can help show symptoms of over-training which can lead the coach to backing off of the training, or adjusting it to better help future workouts. Going in the same vein, a journal may also show a lack of sleep, warm-up, flexibility training and other things that may hinder athlete performance. In closing, try to take the month of July and keep a journal of all things athletic and otherwise. Maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't but give it a shot.
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
So you think you're ready to compete?
A quality that is unable to be quantified and measured in athletes is the ability to "show up" and be competitive. There are a number of terms used for this trait, competitiveness, being a 'gamer', mental toughness, focus, and the list goes on. But what is it exactly? Can it be trained? Is it a situation where you are a product of your environment? I wanted to provide my own take on the issue, so travel along with me as we board the magic school bus towards being a competitor...wait...wrong show...wait...this isn't a show...just keep reading.
Just about every athlete has been there. You have trained well, you are killing it in practices and training, you get onto the track, field, platform, circle, etc and you forget just about every doggone thing that is generally second nature to you. I call this behavior "fear of embarrassment". It could be different for everyone, but in my experience all of these nerves and negative actions come from the (sometimes subconscious) mindset of "oh god, I hope I don't screw up, everyone will look at me like I'm a failure." Or even "If I screw up, I'm letting my entire team, coaches, family, species down". So Number 1 on my checklist of things to help you become a focused competitor...
1. Stay focused only on what you can control for yourself
I say this a lot during practices and competitions. It might be raining out, you might be needing to step up because another teammate is having an off day themselves, there may be scouts watching you. None of those factors can you control. The only actions you can control are your own.
A feeling that adds to the anxiety of competition and contributes to a lack of focus or competitiveness is that you are completely alone, on an island all by yourself. It's obviously not true, but in that moment you feel as though it is you against the world, nothing anyone is saying can help so why even listen to them. So...
2. Use self talk
No, it's not crazy to talk to yourself, it can actually be very beneficial. "Good point, Gregg", why, thank you Gregg. See! Using self-talk can not only help you while you are stressing during competition, it can help you re-focus, reinforce some cues that you need to work on( more on that later) and cause you to relax. If, for instance, you feel pain, soreness, discomfort. Rather than focus on the pain and how it will affect you negatively, talk. Say "ok body, I know you are giving me pain as a warning that something is wrong, but I need to finish this competition". Yeah yeah yeah, it sounds weird, but can actually help you to settle and re-focus your energy and thoughts. Try it a few times.
Another form of "self talk" may not even be considered self talk to some. It's form of meditation and relaxation but also self talk. Before competition (even during competition sometimes), get in a relaxed mode, find your "happy place". Imagine yourself in a place where you are your happiest and most relaxed. While there, imagine talking to someone that you look up to, and who's input you really value. Could be a parent, coach, teammate, even someone you may have never ever met. Whatever your current concern is, ask them about it "Why am I over-rotating; why is the bar too far out in front, why aren't I posting up properly". From there, wait for your answer from that person. Obviously you are answering your own question, but coming from someone you respect and value, it can hold a great deal of importance and do a lot to relax you.
3. Use cues and phrases
This tip may be the most common. "fast pull", "Drive!" "PUSH!", "Accelerate!", "Keep it close!". Any of my athletes have heard these terms many many times. Problem is, sometimes they go in one ear and out the other. During a competition, repeating this, even out loud, can help your focus. Phrases can also be beneficial, and even be repeated on a daily basis. Sometimes these are more difficult to come up with, some coaches and athletes like them to rhyme, but that is up to each individual.
4. Realize that confidence is not a constant state of mind.
This one might be the most difficult for a number of athletes. Sometimes as an athlete you will feel like because something didn't go well, and as a result your confidence has suffered, it can never be regained and you are just having "a bad day". This whole line of logic is entirely fallacious. Realizing that your confidence, as well as your performance, not only fluctuates, but are part of a symbiotic relationship and can be changed in an instant. The best way to regain confidence is to focus on what to correct, correct it, do well, and regain your confidence. On the flip side, using some of these tools to help regain your confidence will also result in an increase in your performance. To put it simply, realize that your situation CAN be improved and work to improve it rather that just accepting that things "aren't going well".
5. Develop a routine and log your focus/attitude
Along with being prepared, having a set routine can help focus and relax you for your competitions. How long you are awake for before you compete, what your warm-up routine is, what music you listen to; all of these things can help you focus and treat your competition as though it is just simply another day of training. Try to come up with a set schedule of what you will do before each competition and stick to it. Use this schedule the week leading up to, day of, and during your competition. I also am a firm believer in athletes logging and keeping journals. Log not only what you did in training and at competitions, but also your emotional state, level of focus, excitement level and other factors. Don't only describe what you are feeling, but evaluate yourself. Were you impatient and combative at practice? Give yourself a poor evaluation. And from there list the steps needed to correct these dysfunctions.
In closing, not everyone will be born with the necessary genetics and skills to become an elite level athlete, however every single athlete can reach their own individual potential. A huge portion of reaching this level is your daily training, but in order to truly excel and improve the athlete needs to spend just as much effort working on being focused and competitive in their competitions. Rare is the athlete that can just show up and put everything on the line, for a majority of athletes great care and preparation need to be spent taught how to compete. I'm bad at conclusions so that's the end of this blog article. Bye. Oh yeah, and try some of the things I recommended here. Hopefully they help.
Just about every athlete has been there. You have trained well, you are killing it in practices and training, you get onto the track, field, platform, circle, etc and you forget just about every doggone thing that is generally second nature to you. I call this behavior "fear of embarrassment". It could be different for everyone, but in my experience all of these nerves and negative actions come from the (sometimes subconscious) mindset of "oh god, I hope I don't screw up, everyone will look at me like I'm a failure." Or even "If I screw up, I'm letting my entire team, coaches, family, species down". So Number 1 on my checklist of things to help you become a focused competitor...
1. Stay focused only on what you can control for yourself
I say this a lot during practices and competitions. It might be raining out, you might be needing to step up because another teammate is having an off day themselves, there may be scouts watching you. None of those factors can you control. The only actions you can control are your own.
A feeling that adds to the anxiety of competition and contributes to a lack of focus or competitiveness is that you are completely alone, on an island all by yourself. It's obviously not true, but in that moment you feel as though it is you against the world, nothing anyone is saying can help so why even listen to them. So...
2. Use self talk
No, it's not crazy to talk to yourself, it can actually be very beneficial. "Good point, Gregg", why, thank you Gregg. See! Using self-talk can not only help you while you are stressing during competition, it can help you re-focus, reinforce some cues that you need to work on( more on that later) and cause you to relax. If, for instance, you feel pain, soreness, discomfort. Rather than focus on the pain and how it will affect you negatively, talk. Say "ok body, I know you are giving me pain as a warning that something is wrong, but I need to finish this competition". Yeah yeah yeah, it sounds weird, but can actually help you to settle and re-focus your energy and thoughts. Try it a few times.
Another form of "self talk" may not even be considered self talk to some. It's form of meditation and relaxation but also self talk. Before competition (even during competition sometimes), get in a relaxed mode, find your "happy place". Imagine yourself in a place where you are your happiest and most relaxed. While there, imagine talking to someone that you look up to, and who's input you really value. Could be a parent, coach, teammate, even someone you may have never ever met. Whatever your current concern is, ask them about it "Why am I over-rotating; why is the bar too far out in front, why aren't I posting up properly". From there, wait for your answer from that person. Obviously you are answering your own question, but coming from someone you respect and value, it can hold a great deal of importance and do a lot to relax you.
3. Use cues and phrases
This tip may be the most common. "fast pull", "Drive!" "PUSH!", "Accelerate!", "Keep it close!". Any of my athletes have heard these terms many many times. Problem is, sometimes they go in one ear and out the other. During a competition, repeating this, even out loud, can help your focus. Phrases can also be beneficial, and even be repeated on a daily basis. Sometimes these are more difficult to come up with, some coaches and athletes like them to rhyme, but that is up to each individual.
4. Realize that confidence is not a constant state of mind.
This one might be the most difficult for a number of athletes. Sometimes as an athlete you will feel like because something didn't go well, and as a result your confidence has suffered, it can never be regained and you are just having "a bad day". This whole line of logic is entirely fallacious. Realizing that your confidence, as well as your performance, not only fluctuates, but are part of a symbiotic relationship and can be changed in an instant. The best way to regain confidence is to focus on what to correct, correct it, do well, and regain your confidence. On the flip side, using some of these tools to help regain your confidence will also result in an increase in your performance. To put it simply, realize that your situation CAN be improved and work to improve it rather that just accepting that things "aren't going well".
5. Develop a routine and log your focus/attitude
Along with being prepared, having a set routine can help focus and relax you for your competitions. How long you are awake for before you compete, what your warm-up routine is, what music you listen to; all of these things can help you focus and treat your competition as though it is just simply another day of training. Try to come up with a set schedule of what you will do before each competition and stick to it. Use this schedule the week leading up to, day of, and during your competition. I also am a firm believer in athletes logging and keeping journals. Log not only what you did in training and at competitions, but also your emotional state, level of focus, excitement level and other factors. Don't only describe what you are feeling, but evaluate yourself. Were you impatient and combative at practice? Give yourself a poor evaluation. And from there list the steps needed to correct these dysfunctions.
In closing, not everyone will be born with the necessary genetics and skills to become an elite level athlete, however every single athlete can reach their own individual potential. A huge portion of reaching this level is your daily training, but in order to truly excel and improve the athlete needs to spend just as much effort working on being focused and competitive in their competitions. Rare is the athlete that can just show up and put everything on the line, for a majority of athletes great care and preparation need to be spent taught how to compete. I'm bad at conclusions so that's the end of this blog article. Bye. Oh yeah, and try some of the things I recommended here. Hopefully they help.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Improvement Vs. Maturation: Long Term Development of Athleticism
Yeah I went all fancy with the title for this blog. I often say to coaches and athletes alike that they need to be able to recognize the difference between improving in their sport/event and simply just maturing. What I mean by that will be the overall thesis of this post, of which I could go on for pages and pages but House M.D. is on and I've never seen this episode so I will keep it brief.
One of the main goals of a coach is to help each athlete reach his/her individual potential. Now, potential can be a very broad and general term. For me, potential is an all encompassing word that means their potential as an athlete. This potential will include basic athleticism (depending on their sport that could include strength, power, endurance, flexibility etc) as well as their technical potential for their individual sport and also their specific intelligence in the aforementioned sport. When you really think about all of that, it's quite a bit. For example, if I am coaching a jumper (pick a jump, any jump at all) that means not only do they need to reach their individual level of technical mastery, but also improve in all of the areas of athleticism and conditioning that pertain to that event. This way of training can take years and at first improvements may come slowly (and in some cases performances may take a step backwards initially), but once everything falls into place those improvements begin to accelerate and become more frequent in nature. This, to me, is the definition of "improvement". It's a very beautiful thing.
Maturation is what occurs simply by getting older and more experienced. The best metaphor I have is a basketball player with an awful jump-shot (let's call him Craigg Smit). If he continues to utilize his full body heave beyond the arc on a daily basis, his shooting percentage will increase. He will become more used to his unorthodox style and over time, it will work better than when he started. He did not "improve", his statistics simply got better. This is what I refer to as "maturation". The problem occurs when coaches and athletes mistakenly think that maturing is equal to improvement. Is there anything "wrong" with maturation? No, not at all. In fact, it happens in conjunction with improvement. Along with improvements in technique and athleticism, maturation will add even more. However, without improvement there will be a diminishing return on performance. So how does this all come into play with long term development in this day and age? Well, there's good news and bad news...
Unfortunately, our society has gone competition crazy. There is an overemphasis on competition and long term athletic development has taken a back-seat. Improvements alone aren't the only thing suffering as a result. A lack of proper development has lead to an increase of injuries due to poor deceleration technique, landing mechanics, bad quad to posterior chain strength ratio, etc etc. With an overemphasis on competition, maturation is becoming misconstrued as improvement more and more. A coach or athlete will see an increased statistic or performance and immediately think an improvement took place and assume, wrongly,that their training was sound. From there it continues until the athlete finishes their sports career never truly reaching their full potential, and potentially having a few serious injuries along the way. OK that was a bit of a downer...so what do we do?
Well, from my position, I receive athletes later on in their careers, once they are becoming adults. Many coaches in my position fall back on the old tired platitudes of "it's too late at this point, let's work with what we've got, can't teach an old dog new tricks". These cliches say more about the coach than they do the athlete. With a systematic approach and proper planning and programming the athlete can still improve. Will they improve as much as they would have if the process had began in their youth? Well no, but as coaches I feel we have a duty to the athlete to make sure they are on the path to reach their potential in whatever current state they are in when you receive them. So to the coaches an athletes out there, recognize if your performance increase is due to improvement or maturation, and if it is the latter, come up with a plan to take the next step in your athletic development. Set up a plan with a few things in mind...
1. The plan is based on evidence
2. Are practices geared toward development over a period of time in a number of areas...
a. General Prep
b. Training
c. Competition
d. Recovery
3. Is the plan systematic with both long term and short term development in mind
4. What is the ultimate end result.
Every coach can't be an expert, and specifics in training will vary based on philosophy as well as limitations that each athlete and coach face. However, each coach owes it to their athlete(s) to take the time and consideration to plan for their overall long-term development. And now, I have to go, Dr. House just said something witty and I missed it.
One of the main goals of a coach is to help each athlete reach his/her individual potential. Now, potential can be a very broad and general term. For me, potential is an all encompassing word that means their potential as an athlete. This potential will include basic athleticism (depending on their sport that could include strength, power, endurance, flexibility etc) as well as their technical potential for their individual sport and also their specific intelligence in the aforementioned sport. When you really think about all of that, it's quite a bit. For example, if I am coaching a jumper (pick a jump, any jump at all) that means not only do they need to reach their individual level of technical mastery, but also improve in all of the areas of athleticism and conditioning that pertain to that event. This way of training can take years and at first improvements may come slowly (and in some cases performances may take a step backwards initially), but once everything falls into place those improvements begin to accelerate and become more frequent in nature. This, to me, is the definition of "improvement". It's a very beautiful thing.
Maturation is what occurs simply by getting older and more experienced. The best metaphor I have is a basketball player with an awful jump-shot (let's call him Craigg Smit). If he continues to utilize his full body heave beyond the arc on a daily basis, his shooting percentage will increase. He will become more used to his unorthodox style and over time, it will work better than when he started. He did not "improve", his statistics simply got better. This is what I refer to as "maturation". The problem occurs when coaches and athletes mistakenly think that maturing is equal to improvement. Is there anything "wrong" with maturation? No, not at all. In fact, it happens in conjunction with improvement. Along with improvements in technique and athleticism, maturation will add even more. However, without improvement there will be a diminishing return on performance. So how does this all come into play with long term development in this day and age? Well, there's good news and bad news...
Unfortunately, our society has gone competition crazy. There is an overemphasis on competition and long term athletic development has taken a back-seat. Improvements alone aren't the only thing suffering as a result. A lack of proper development has lead to an increase of injuries due to poor deceleration technique, landing mechanics, bad quad to posterior chain strength ratio, etc etc. With an overemphasis on competition, maturation is becoming misconstrued as improvement more and more. A coach or athlete will see an increased statistic or performance and immediately think an improvement took place and assume, wrongly,that their training was sound. From there it continues until the athlete finishes their sports career never truly reaching their full potential, and potentially having a few serious injuries along the way. OK that was a bit of a downer...so what do we do?
Well, from my position, I receive athletes later on in their careers, once they are becoming adults. Many coaches in my position fall back on the old tired platitudes of "it's too late at this point, let's work with what we've got, can't teach an old dog new tricks". These cliches say more about the coach than they do the athlete. With a systematic approach and proper planning and programming the athlete can still improve. Will they improve as much as they would have if the process had began in their youth? Well no, but as coaches I feel we have a duty to the athlete to make sure they are on the path to reach their potential in whatever current state they are in when you receive them. So to the coaches an athletes out there, recognize if your performance increase is due to improvement or maturation, and if it is the latter, come up with a plan to take the next step in your athletic development. Set up a plan with a few things in mind...
1. The plan is based on evidence
2. Are practices geared toward development over a period of time in a number of areas...
a. General Prep
b. Training
c. Competition
d. Recovery
3. Is the plan systematic with both long term and short term development in mind
4. What is the ultimate end result.
Every coach can't be an expert, and specifics in training will vary based on philosophy as well as limitations that each athlete and coach face. However, each coach owes it to their athlete(s) to take the time and consideration to plan for their overall long-term development. And now, I have to go, Dr. House just said something witty and I missed it.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Beware the Sports Sophists
This blog post is a bit of a list, a "You May be a Redneck" style list, if you will, regarding Sophists in the realm of sport. Sophist is another name for a pseudo-intellectual, however the term pseudo-intellectual sounds pseudo-intellectual in itself. I believe that's an oxymoron, like rain on your wedding day, or swiss cheese. Basically, I become frustrated when I see status posts, tweets, blogs, articles and other such writings by people who like to inflate their ego by thinking that they know exactly what they are talking about, when much of what they write is complete bunk. So here is a list of warning signs that the post you are reading is by a pseudo-intellectual.
1. Flowery scientific-y language
Now don't get me wrong, proper language is important when discussing things related in the field of exercise science. The problem comes to be when you are incapable of writing a post without showing off some of the jargon that you have in your arsenal. The bigger problem comes into play when you use this vocabulary with your athletes when they have no background in training or exercise science. That is when their eyes gloss over and the hamster in their brain falls out of their wheel and everything you said is all for naught. Albert Einstein put it best...
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
2. Angry, aggressive points
Confidence is awesome, however I believe that it is also circular. As an example of this point, I feel that if you become over-confident you begin to border on false confidence coming from insecurity and self doubt. We all know people who talk incessantly about how awesome they are. Think back and you'll realize that these people are some of the most insecure people you've known. If someone is trying to convince you of a point regarding sports or training and they can't write without angrily speaking about what frustrates them about other coaches and athletes and what they do wrong, then you should start to look a little deeper and ask "well, why are you so angry about it?"
3. False equivalencies and other fallacies
Bit of background. In college I was required to take philosophy as a general education course. Due to an issue with the registrar I was accidentally placed in a high level advanced logic course instead of an intro course. I did not realize this fact until later in the semester. It was the only college course I failed. That summer I re-took the course at another University with actually a more strict professor but one who knew the material much better. I got a 4.0 which replaced my F. One of my favorite parts of philosophy was how to label and discover fallacious arguments. Put on one of those 24 hour news networks and you'll hear a whole gaggle of them! I read a huge number of posts that try to equate two things that really have no bearing on one another; sometimes even making analogies that make no sense whatsoever. Be sure when reading a post to scrutinize over the conclusions being made and ask yourself "Is what he/she is saying making logical sense?", if it doesn't then their whole argument will be flawed.
In conclusion, as a group I feel that those of us involved in athletics,sports,and coaching do a poor job of scrutinizing the information that we pass on to others; and athletes do a poor job of really researching whom they trust to learn from sometimes. The next time someone on your Facebook wall, or twitter feed posts something look a bit deeper into the presentation and try to figure out if they really know what they're talking about, or just pretending to.
1. Flowery scientific-y language
Now don't get me wrong, proper language is important when discussing things related in the field of exercise science. The problem comes to be when you are incapable of writing a post without showing off some of the jargon that you have in your arsenal. The bigger problem comes into play when you use this vocabulary with your athletes when they have no background in training or exercise science. That is when their eyes gloss over and the hamster in their brain falls out of their wheel and everything you said is all for naught. Albert Einstein put it best...
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
2. Angry, aggressive points
Confidence is awesome, however I believe that it is also circular. As an example of this point, I feel that if you become over-confident you begin to border on false confidence coming from insecurity and self doubt. We all know people who talk incessantly about how awesome they are. Think back and you'll realize that these people are some of the most insecure people you've known. If someone is trying to convince you of a point regarding sports or training and they can't write without angrily speaking about what frustrates them about other coaches and athletes and what they do wrong, then you should start to look a little deeper and ask "well, why are you so angry about it?"
3. False equivalencies and other fallacies
Bit of background. In college I was required to take philosophy as a general education course. Due to an issue with the registrar I was accidentally placed in a high level advanced logic course instead of an intro course. I did not realize this fact until later in the semester. It was the only college course I failed. That summer I re-took the course at another University with actually a more strict professor but one who knew the material much better. I got a 4.0 which replaced my F. One of my favorite parts of philosophy was how to label and discover fallacious arguments. Put on one of those 24 hour news networks and you'll hear a whole gaggle of them! I read a huge number of posts that try to equate two things that really have no bearing on one another; sometimes even making analogies that make no sense whatsoever. Be sure when reading a post to scrutinize over the conclusions being made and ask yourself "Is what he/she is saying making logical sense?", if it doesn't then their whole argument will be flawed.
In conclusion, as a group I feel that those of us involved in athletics,sports,and coaching do a poor job of scrutinizing the information that we pass on to others; and athletes do a poor job of really researching whom they trust to learn from sometimes. The next time someone on your Facebook wall, or twitter feed posts something look a bit deeper into the presentation and try to figure out if they really know what they're talking about, or just pretending to.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Use Your Flippin' Head!: Common sense training
Bruce Lee quote to start off this entry : "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times"
I'm not going to footnote or end-note this post. I COULD cite sources, studies, scientific journals, etc; however that would defeat the purpose of this entry. Athletes routinely send me videos (both current and former athletes) asking for input. Much of these videos have huge amounts of flaws. I am realizing, however, the athletes don't want input, they want a pat on the back for doing things wrong and improperly/unsafely.
Like I said, I am not going to cite sources in this entry but rather use a common sense approach. I have had a number of athletes humbly brag to me that they are squatting 700lbs. When I open the video file what I see is not a back squat, but more akin to someone trying to get the underwear out of their bum while a loaded bar is on their shoulders. My athletes know that sometimes (depending on the phase of training) I will program squats less than full once in a while (not often, but sometimes) however I will never program extremely shallow squats with a huge amount of weight. To put it bluntly, no Virginia, you cannot squat that much. As a common sense approach, take Xiaojun as an example. One of the best current olympic weightlifters. Take a look at this clip of him squatting 280kilos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmM-jR77SkY
By saying that you can squat more than him, you are telling me that you are on par with him in terms of strength and (most likely) athleticism. Which no, you aren't. Like I said, just being brutally honest here. Anyone whom I have coached knows how slowly I progress my athletes early on. So it breaks my heart when I see all of my hundreds of hours of work fly out the window, just so they can put more weight on the bar. Now I know how that guy from that movie felt, yeah THAT guy...
So all of this background just leads me to the title of my post...use your flippin' head! Just use common sense for a lot of these issues. I spoke before about how athletes need to stop viewing squats as a lift and start viewing it as a body movement. The technique for one style of squat should be the same as any other (front squat posture and stability should be the same as back squat, should be the same as body-weight). Back squats are a tool, they are not the competition. And the way to best utilize that tool is to perform it correctly regardless of the weight attached. Take another tool, for example, a hammer. What is the best way to use it? Well, the flat metal end hits the nail. Could you smack the nail with the claw end? Or the handle? Sure. Would it knock the nail in? Yeah kinda, but it wouldn't be pretty. Think of squats along the same lines. COULD you barely move with any range of motion with a gabillion pounds? Well yeah. Would part of your legs get a workout? Meh, somewhat, but it most definitely ain't pretty, and it most definitely ain't productive, efficient, or the best way to utilize that movement.
My high school track coach said a bunch of times "A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing" and boy was he right. Nowadays, anyone who lifts a weight considers them an expert and feels they have carte blanche to instruct others about their methods. I understand what happens during a quadruple bypass surgery more or less. Does that qualify me to not only perform one, but also instruct others how to perform one? Boy I hope not, I can barely sew up a hole in my pants. Why do we allow unqualified people to tell young athletes what to do in terms of weightlifting, strength training, and other areas of sport? I really have no idea, but that is where it falls upon the athletes' to use their heads, use some common sense and realize that what they are doing is wrong, dangerous, and needs to stop. If the workouts that are being given to you were found on some message board on the internet, you probably need to say something.
In closing, weightlifting is a great tool for adding strength, flexibility and training the nervous system; however it can also cause a lot of injury and inflexibility if performed improperly. Use some common sense, be careful who you listen to regarding training and try to educate yourselves. Anyone who knows me knows I am always available for input and I have no issues telling someone what they're doing is batcrap crazy. Focus on proper technique, admit your flaws (very important) and then correct those flaws. And above all, lift safely!
I'm not going to footnote or end-note this post. I COULD cite sources, studies, scientific journals, etc; however that would defeat the purpose of this entry. Athletes routinely send me videos (both current and former athletes) asking for input. Much of these videos have huge amounts of flaws. I am realizing, however, the athletes don't want input, they want a pat on the back for doing things wrong and improperly/unsafely.
Like I said, I am not going to cite sources in this entry but rather use a common sense approach. I have had a number of athletes humbly brag to me that they are squatting 700lbs. When I open the video file what I see is not a back squat, but more akin to someone trying to get the underwear out of their bum while a loaded bar is on their shoulders. My athletes know that sometimes (depending on the phase of training) I will program squats less than full once in a while (not often, but sometimes) however I will never program extremely shallow squats with a huge amount of weight. To put it bluntly, no Virginia, you cannot squat that much. As a common sense approach, take Xiaojun as an example. One of the best current olympic weightlifters. Take a look at this clip of him squatting 280kilos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmM-jR77SkY
By saying that you can squat more than him, you are telling me that you are on par with him in terms of strength and (most likely) athleticism. Which no, you aren't. Like I said, just being brutally honest here. Anyone whom I have coached knows how slowly I progress my athletes early on. So it breaks my heart when I see all of my hundreds of hours of work fly out the window, just so they can put more weight on the bar. Now I know how that guy from that movie felt, yeah THAT guy...
So all of this background just leads me to the title of my post...use your flippin' head! Just use common sense for a lot of these issues. I spoke before about how athletes need to stop viewing squats as a lift and start viewing it as a body movement. The technique for one style of squat should be the same as any other (front squat posture and stability should be the same as back squat, should be the same as body-weight). Back squats are a tool, they are not the competition. And the way to best utilize that tool is to perform it correctly regardless of the weight attached. Take another tool, for example, a hammer. What is the best way to use it? Well, the flat metal end hits the nail. Could you smack the nail with the claw end? Or the handle? Sure. Would it knock the nail in? Yeah kinda, but it wouldn't be pretty. Think of squats along the same lines. COULD you barely move with any range of motion with a gabillion pounds? Well yeah. Would part of your legs get a workout? Meh, somewhat, but it most definitely ain't pretty, and it most definitely ain't productive, efficient, or the best way to utilize that movement.
My high school track coach said a bunch of times "A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing" and boy was he right. Nowadays, anyone who lifts a weight considers them an expert and feels they have carte blanche to instruct others about their methods. I understand what happens during a quadruple bypass surgery more or less. Does that qualify me to not only perform one, but also instruct others how to perform one? Boy I hope not, I can barely sew up a hole in my pants. Why do we allow unqualified people to tell young athletes what to do in terms of weightlifting, strength training, and other areas of sport? I really have no idea, but that is where it falls upon the athletes' to use their heads, use some common sense and realize that what they are doing is wrong, dangerous, and needs to stop. If the workouts that are being given to you were found on some message board on the internet, you probably need to say something.
In closing, weightlifting is a great tool for adding strength, flexibility and training the nervous system; however it can also cause a lot of injury and inflexibility if performed improperly. Use some common sense, be careful who you listen to regarding training and try to educate yourselves. Anyone who knows me knows I am always available for input and I have no issues telling someone what they're doing is batcrap crazy. Focus on proper technique, admit your flaws (very important) and then correct those flaws. And above all, lift safely!
Monday, September 8, 2014
5 Qualities that quality human beings posess.
I've said before, I am tired of all of the "things positive people do" lists that people post on Facebook, or the "things mentally tough people avoid", I have made my own list. We are all human beings (unless this blog is being read by a dog, in which place please contact me because you're a reading dog and that's friggin' awesome), and being of the same species we have the capability for some amazing qualities. We also have some very negative qualities and things I refer to as "design flaws", which is OK. We are not wired the same way. So for all of you whom have bruises on your backs from patting yourself too much, here's my list...
1. Empathy
Anyone who knows me knows I have referred to empathy a number of times. I think that empathy is one of the most underrated, beautiful traits that we can posses. In the news lately are a number of saddening stories regarding depression and how it can affect people. Rather than actually trying to understand how deep these individuals have sunk and how awful a fight this affliction can be on a daily basis, people have rushed to call these individuals "mentally weak". Empathy doesn't mean you accept everyone's mindset, even if it is wrong. It means trying to actually put yourself in someone else's situation emotionally. It is not a weakness to possess this trait, it is a strength. We are social animals, not solitary.
2. Imagination
Very underrated, and sometimes beaten out of us emotionally and spiritually at a young age, imagination is largely a human trait. I'm not talking only about having an imaginary friend, or playing with your lego's or stuffed animals (I had Willy...he was a walrus...I loved him), rather the ability to think uniquely. Too often we just follow what others have told us, or what we have been taught. What if Dick Fosbury hadn't tried jumping over a bar backwards? Or Parry O'Brien hadn't put his back toward the sector in shot put? Let's try a quote from my man-crush to exemplify my point...“All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns.”-Bruce Lee
3. Beauty
I am NOT referring to appearance! I add an exclamation mark because beauty and variations thereof are used by me very commonly, and also commonly people assume I am talking about appearance. Here are the definitions of the word...
1. a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.
2. a beautiful or pleasing thing or person, in particular.
This quality I won't go into detail with, simply because it should be something each person can appreciate and see on their own. I would add more to the definition, however, and state that something does not need to be tangible in order to be beautiful since the qualities listed in the first definition are all tangible.
4. Humor
This quality is what I believe really does separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom. While I think other animals can be humored, and entertained I believe true humor is uniquely a human trait. Humor isn't only being funny, telling knock knock jokes, being the class clown...actually think about it...class clown's were never really that funny. They were usually trouble-makers that got laughs based on being rude...but I digress. Actually let me use another quote regarding humor..."Humor is mankind's greatest blessing"-Mark Twain....and how about "You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it"-Bill Cosby
5. Self-Awareness
I don't mean cogito ergo sum...if you don't know what that means google it. I mean knowing what type of person you are, flaws, strengths, etc and admitting to them. I closed with this trait because I believe it is why so many people post on their walls those lists I referred to earlier. Those lists contain qualities that people wished they possessed. Realize that you are flawed, and unique and that there is no way that ever lifeform on this planet can behave, think, and react the same way to their environment, lives, and stressors. To me, this point is the most aggrivating point about those lists. It may be easy for some to take hardship, life devasting situations, depression, stress. While others may be affected a completely different way. Part of this may be due to their lives as a whole and things that happened to them specifically, or it could just be how they are wired chemically, and emotionally. Either way, how dare anyone judge them for not having qualities that there may be no way for them to possess. Every human being is unique, so treat them that way. If the hole is round don't try to jam a square peg through it.
Ok that's it, there's my list. Basically if you possess these qualities, I doubt you're the type of person I am referring to that posts lists on social media. If you are insulted by this blog post...then I'm guess you have at some point posted a list like that on social media. My advice? Practice number 4 and laugh about it :)
1. Empathy
Anyone who knows me knows I have referred to empathy a number of times. I think that empathy is one of the most underrated, beautiful traits that we can posses. In the news lately are a number of saddening stories regarding depression and how it can affect people. Rather than actually trying to understand how deep these individuals have sunk and how awful a fight this affliction can be on a daily basis, people have rushed to call these individuals "mentally weak". Empathy doesn't mean you accept everyone's mindset, even if it is wrong. It means trying to actually put yourself in someone else's situation emotionally. It is not a weakness to possess this trait, it is a strength. We are social animals, not solitary.
2. Imagination
Very underrated, and sometimes beaten out of us emotionally and spiritually at a young age, imagination is largely a human trait. I'm not talking only about having an imaginary friend, or playing with your lego's or stuffed animals (I had Willy...he was a walrus...I loved him), rather the ability to think uniquely. Too often we just follow what others have told us, or what we have been taught. What if Dick Fosbury hadn't tried jumping over a bar backwards? Or Parry O'Brien hadn't put his back toward the sector in shot put? Let's try a quote from my man-crush to exemplify my point...“All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns.”-Bruce Lee
3. Beauty
I am NOT referring to appearance! I add an exclamation mark because beauty and variations thereof are used by me very commonly, and also commonly people assume I am talking about appearance. Here are the definitions of the word...
1. a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.
2. a beautiful or pleasing thing or person, in particular.
This quality I won't go into detail with, simply because it should be something each person can appreciate and see on their own. I would add more to the definition, however, and state that something does not need to be tangible in order to be beautiful since the qualities listed in the first definition are all tangible.
4. Humor
This quality is what I believe really does separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom. While I think other animals can be humored, and entertained I believe true humor is uniquely a human trait. Humor isn't only being funny, telling knock knock jokes, being the class clown...actually think about it...class clown's were never really that funny. They were usually trouble-makers that got laughs based on being rude...but I digress. Actually let me use another quote regarding humor..."Humor is mankind's greatest blessing"-Mark Twain....and how about "You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it"-Bill Cosby
5. Self-Awareness
I don't mean cogito ergo sum...if you don't know what that means google it. I mean knowing what type of person you are, flaws, strengths, etc and admitting to them. I closed with this trait because I believe it is why so many people post on their walls those lists I referred to earlier. Those lists contain qualities that people wished they possessed. Realize that you are flawed, and unique and that there is no way that ever lifeform on this planet can behave, think, and react the same way to their environment, lives, and stressors. To me, this point is the most aggrivating point about those lists. It may be easy for some to take hardship, life devasting situations, depression, stress. While others may be affected a completely different way. Part of this may be due to their lives as a whole and things that happened to them specifically, or it could just be how they are wired chemically, and emotionally. Either way, how dare anyone judge them for not having qualities that there may be no way for them to possess. Every human being is unique, so treat them that way. If the hole is round don't try to jam a square peg through it.
Ok that's it, there's my list. Basically if you possess these qualities, I doubt you're the type of person I am referring to that posts lists on social media. If you are insulted by this blog post...then I'm guess you have at some point posted a list like that on social media. My advice? Practice number 4 and laugh about it :)
Friday, May 16, 2014
The Athletic Classroom
Anyone who has ever spoken to me regarding coaching at the collegiate level has no doubt also seen me hop up on my soapbox and speak about the educational value of college sports. This statement holds true, also, for those individuals who have interviewed me for a coaching position. I rarely have anyone disagree with my statements and, if anything, fellow coaches tell me that they feel the same way. The dilemma I face on a consistent basis is that these colleagues of mine are only paying lip service, and behave in the complete opposite way. This blog article is simply outlining why I am so passionate regarding college athletics as a method of education, and why I feel we are on a downward slide moving away from education and academics.
I was never an outstanding track and field athlete. In fact, I was even below mediocre coming out of high school. With PRs at 39' in Shot Put and roughly 130' in discus I was pretty run of the mill. Luckily I had a coach in Kunle Lawson who took an interest in helping me improve when attending Lynchburg College and decided to become a division III athlete as opposed to accepting much larger offers to play football(my primary sport in high school). While a senior in high school, no one and I mean NO one recruited me for track and field aside from Lynchburg. One small program in New Jersey which shall remain nameless even told me that I was too small to throw Discus or Shot Put for them, but maybe they could try to teach me hammer. Imagine that, a division III program turning down an in-state athlete because of physical appearance without even watching them compete.
I bring up this anecdote because it exemplifies some things I feel are wrong with collegiate athletics. In an admissions driven sport (track and field) NO student athlete who is willing to compete for a program should feel undervalued or as though they aren't good enough to be part of the program. Compare athletics directly to academics for a minute, we often as coaches have student-athletes who arrive at college with low GPAs who need to work and mature to improve their grades in order to be in good academic standing and receive their degrees on time. There is little to no difference between this example, and a student-athlete who has yet to mature and grow athletically. As an educator, it is your job as a coach to help that student athlete improve and reach their athletic potential. Simply because they are not as developed as others on your squad is no reason to treat them differently or act as though they are a waste of your time.
In the academic world, the primary job of a teacher/instructor is to create an environment in which learning can take place. That is all. The goal is not to throw as much information at a student as possible or to teach directly towards a test so they pass, it is to create an environment where they are able to learn. Athletics should be treated the same way. The goal should be to create an environment where a student-athlete can reach their athletic potential and mature as an athlete. For each athlete this environment will be different, but the goal remains the same. Some athletes I have coached told me that I explain things too much to them, some student-athletes ask me even MORE questions about my program design and why certain drills are utilized. Neither athlete is "better" than the other, they just require a different type of environment.
Aside from creating the practice environment, the educational coach(trademarked Gregg Schmidt 2014!) must also care for the mental health of the student-athlete. College is a tumultuous time, especially for underclassmen, and the coach will always have outside issues to deal with regarding their student-athletes. I feel that most universities are way behind the curve when it comes to counseling and caring for the mental health of all students, not just student-athletes. The worst thing a coach can do is show the student-athlete that they don't care about their lives, or that it isn't their job to help them. A term educators are taught early on is "In Loco Parentis" which means "In place of the parents". This term means that in the absence of the parents, the educator is in charge of the growth and heath of the student athlete. I take this responsibility very seriously, as many of my former athletes can attest to, and am sickened when colleagues neglect their responsibilities.
In closing, I am not writing this article to slight or attack any other coaches or to list examples of things they do wrong (although the list is quite long!), it is simply a plea to my colleagues to understand their responsibility to the athletes that they work with and also to take it seriously and not for granted. Throughout my career I have been the direct "supervisor" so to speak of nearly 500 student-athletes and care for each of their growth equally. The goal as a coach is not to have the most national champions, or all americans, it is(or at least should be) to help each athlete reach their potential not only as an athlete, but as a human being.
I was never an outstanding track and field athlete. In fact, I was even below mediocre coming out of high school. With PRs at 39' in Shot Put and roughly 130' in discus I was pretty run of the mill. Luckily I had a coach in Kunle Lawson who took an interest in helping me improve when attending Lynchburg College and decided to become a division III athlete as opposed to accepting much larger offers to play football(my primary sport in high school). While a senior in high school, no one and I mean NO one recruited me for track and field aside from Lynchburg. One small program in New Jersey which shall remain nameless even told me that I was too small to throw Discus or Shot Put for them, but maybe they could try to teach me hammer. Imagine that, a division III program turning down an in-state athlete because of physical appearance without even watching them compete.
I bring up this anecdote because it exemplifies some things I feel are wrong with collegiate athletics. In an admissions driven sport (track and field) NO student athlete who is willing to compete for a program should feel undervalued or as though they aren't good enough to be part of the program. Compare athletics directly to academics for a minute, we often as coaches have student-athletes who arrive at college with low GPAs who need to work and mature to improve their grades in order to be in good academic standing and receive their degrees on time. There is little to no difference between this example, and a student-athlete who has yet to mature and grow athletically. As an educator, it is your job as a coach to help that student athlete improve and reach their athletic potential. Simply because they are not as developed as others on your squad is no reason to treat them differently or act as though they are a waste of your time.
In the academic world, the primary job of a teacher/instructor is to create an environment in which learning can take place. That is all. The goal is not to throw as much information at a student as possible or to teach directly towards a test so they pass, it is to create an environment where they are able to learn. Athletics should be treated the same way. The goal should be to create an environment where a student-athlete can reach their athletic potential and mature as an athlete. For each athlete this environment will be different, but the goal remains the same. Some athletes I have coached told me that I explain things too much to them, some student-athletes ask me even MORE questions about my program design and why certain drills are utilized. Neither athlete is "better" than the other, they just require a different type of environment.
Aside from creating the practice environment, the educational coach(trademarked Gregg Schmidt 2014!) must also care for the mental health of the student-athlete. College is a tumultuous time, especially for underclassmen, and the coach will always have outside issues to deal with regarding their student-athletes. I feel that most universities are way behind the curve when it comes to counseling and caring for the mental health of all students, not just student-athletes. The worst thing a coach can do is show the student-athlete that they don't care about their lives, or that it isn't their job to help them. A term educators are taught early on is "In Loco Parentis" which means "In place of the parents". This term means that in the absence of the parents, the educator is in charge of the growth and heath of the student athlete. I take this responsibility very seriously, as many of my former athletes can attest to, and am sickened when colleagues neglect their responsibilities.
In closing, I am not writing this article to slight or attack any other coaches or to list examples of things they do wrong (although the list is quite long!), it is simply a plea to my colleagues to understand their responsibility to the athletes that they work with and also to take it seriously and not for granted. Throughout my career I have been the direct "supervisor" so to speak of nearly 500 student-athletes and care for each of their growth equally. The goal as a coach is not to have the most national champions, or all americans, it is(or at least should be) to help each athlete reach their potential not only as an athlete, but as a human being.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Why stick with 'what's been working', if you don't even know if it's working?
Ok, at this point any of my athletes/fellow coaches who know me, know that I have an all encompassing man-crush on Bruce Lee. Allow me to preface this entry with a bit of back-story regarding Bruce and I and how I feel he changed my life/opened my mind.
Bruce was a classically trained martial artist in the style of Wing-Chung Gung-Fu. He learned from Yip-Man, still a legend in the world of martial arts, and was incredibly adept in his technique. Fast forward to his early life in the USA. Bruce never stepped away from what he learned from his Gung-Fu background, but still adapted the technique and fighting style to make it his own, which is how he 'created' Jeet Kun Do. I put 'created' in quotes because Jeet Kun Do is made to be adapted to each individual martial artist. One of his famous quotes is...
"Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own"
Or also the very famous "Be Like Water" quote.
This statement and other writings of his opened my mind as both an athlete and coach. When I graduated from college I weighed upwards of 280lbs and was tired of being a lazy, un-athletic oaf and using the excuse of "oh, I'm a shot putter" to explain why I weighed so much. Using Bruce Lee's texts, and catering a training regime to my own style as well as strengths and weaknesses I went from close to 280 in July to 187lbs the following April all the while gaining strength. I owe a lot to Bruce Lee's writings and his own research some 40 years before I even implemented his ideas on fitness, nutrition and just clean living. To borrow another quote, this time from Isaac Newton, I stood 'on the shoulders of giants' and my education as a coach had begun.
Ok fast forward to the whole purpose of this blog entry, regarding the close-mindedness that is still rampant throughout the coaching/athletic community. Any of you who know myself, or any of my colleges through East Coast Gold, or track and field coaches I am friendly with know how open the coaches are to discuss their training ideas, coaching philosophies and just basic program design method. It is an awesome community to be a part of, and I've learned just as much (if not more) from these conversations as I have through any of my certification courses, lectures or conventions.
As a result, I've learned to be very open and generous with my time and knowledge as a coach, especially with strength and conditioning. However, when I ask questions regarding a teams program design when they ask for advice on their workouts, the reply that I still detest to this day is "well, we've been doing this program for 15 years now so we'll be sticking with that". Keep in mind, this frustration has nothing at all to do with the workout itself, rather the rigidity and apathy that is used for the reason of it's implementation. More often then not, these workouts are the same workouts the particular coach used themselves when they were an athlete, then they simply copy and paste, and dispense to their new athletes. It's basically Amway or Quixtar with workouts rather than groceries.
As a bit of background, strength training for sports has not been around all too long when you think about it. The workouts started as mostly hypertrophy/bodybuilding workouts and grew from there. Sadly, some coaches never evolved their workouts past hypertrophy. I've noticed that I have encouraged and ended many a blog post asking coaches and athletes to educate themselves further but, yep, I'm going to do it again. If I had not (and did not still continue to) educate myself, I would be 280lbs still and a very ineffective coach. Any of my coaching buddies reading this entry know, from first hand experience, how many of their brains I pick when writing workouts for an upcoming season, especially if I am going to try new things with a particular group. My first college coaching gig was in 2005 and I wish I had the lifting workouts I wrote from back then. For athletes in season it contained things like 4 different versions of a press, along with cleans at sets of 8 and 2 forms of squats all in the same day. I didn't know any better. However what I DID know was that I wanted to constantly improve.
A day doesn't go by that I don't look back with regret at that the athletes I coached early in my career and wish I could work with them now. I was a loud mouthed, arrogant, uneducated coach, who made up for his insecurities by displaying anger. However, I was at least able to understand my short comings and evolve my programs from there. I'm currently working on workouts for Summer/Fall for athletes and looking into last years program for any things I feel can be improved. So next time you are trusted with the task of coaching young athletes and designing programs, take the time to research, not only training methods you aren't well versed in, but also each individual athlete. And once your research is complete adjust your workouts to fit whatever mold you have. In other words, 'Be Like Water'.
Bruce was a classically trained martial artist in the style of Wing-Chung Gung-Fu. He learned from Yip-Man, still a legend in the world of martial arts, and was incredibly adept in his technique. Fast forward to his early life in the USA. Bruce never stepped away from what he learned from his Gung-Fu background, but still adapted the technique and fighting style to make it his own, which is how he 'created' Jeet Kun Do. I put 'created' in quotes because Jeet Kun Do is made to be adapted to each individual martial artist. One of his famous quotes is...
"Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own"
Or also the very famous "Be Like Water" quote.
This statement and other writings of his opened my mind as both an athlete and coach. When I graduated from college I weighed upwards of 280lbs and was tired of being a lazy, un-athletic oaf and using the excuse of "oh, I'm a shot putter" to explain why I weighed so much. Using Bruce Lee's texts, and catering a training regime to my own style as well as strengths and weaknesses I went from close to 280 in July to 187lbs the following April all the while gaining strength. I owe a lot to Bruce Lee's writings and his own research some 40 years before I even implemented his ideas on fitness, nutrition and just clean living. To borrow another quote, this time from Isaac Newton, I stood 'on the shoulders of giants' and my education as a coach had begun.
Ok fast forward to the whole purpose of this blog entry, regarding the close-mindedness that is still rampant throughout the coaching/athletic community. Any of you who know myself, or any of my colleges through East Coast Gold, or track and field coaches I am friendly with know how open the coaches are to discuss their training ideas, coaching philosophies and just basic program design method. It is an awesome community to be a part of, and I've learned just as much (if not more) from these conversations as I have through any of my certification courses, lectures or conventions.
As a result, I've learned to be very open and generous with my time and knowledge as a coach, especially with strength and conditioning. However, when I ask questions regarding a teams program design when they ask for advice on their workouts, the reply that I still detest to this day is "well, we've been doing this program for 15 years now so we'll be sticking with that". Keep in mind, this frustration has nothing at all to do with the workout itself, rather the rigidity and apathy that is used for the reason of it's implementation. More often then not, these workouts are the same workouts the particular coach used themselves when they were an athlete, then they simply copy and paste, and dispense to their new athletes. It's basically Amway or Quixtar with workouts rather than groceries.
As a bit of background, strength training for sports has not been around all too long when you think about it. The workouts started as mostly hypertrophy/bodybuilding workouts and grew from there. Sadly, some coaches never evolved their workouts past hypertrophy. I've noticed that I have encouraged and ended many a blog post asking coaches and athletes to educate themselves further but, yep, I'm going to do it again. If I had not (and did not still continue to) educate myself, I would be 280lbs still and a very ineffective coach. Any of my coaching buddies reading this entry know, from first hand experience, how many of their brains I pick when writing workouts for an upcoming season, especially if I am going to try new things with a particular group. My first college coaching gig was in 2005 and I wish I had the lifting workouts I wrote from back then. For athletes in season it contained things like 4 different versions of a press, along with cleans at sets of 8 and 2 forms of squats all in the same day. I didn't know any better. However what I DID know was that I wanted to constantly improve.
A day doesn't go by that I don't look back with regret at that the athletes I coached early in my career and wish I could work with them now. I was a loud mouthed, arrogant, uneducated coach, who made up for his insecurities by displaying anger. However, I was at least able to understand my short comings and evolve my programs from there. I'm currently working on workouts for Summer/Fall for athletes and looking into last years program for any things I feel can be improved. So next time you are trusted with the task of coaching young athletes and designing programs, take the time to research, not only training methods you aren't well versed in, but also each individual athlete. And once your research is complete adjust your workouts to fit whatever mold you have. In other words, 'Be Like Water'.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
The Decline of the All-Around Athlete...
Sports specialization has become a growing problem in youth athletics, I would even use the word "epidemic". Children are being thrown into a specific sport (soccer, football, basketball) at a young age and immersed in that sport yearlong. This action can lead to a number of problem that ultimately I, as a collegiate coach, am faced with on a daily basis. This entry I just wanted to summarize some of those reasons.
When we're young while we may have a set amount of fast twitch fibres or a genetic predisposition to some sports or activities, our motor skills have yet to fully develop, as well as forms of coordination, postural issues/dysfunctions and other basic tenets of athleticism. When dealing with youth athletes and their parents, I always preach to them to allow their children to play as many sports as they would like. Yes, I will always use the word play, but I will get back to that later. The benefits of a youth athlete training and competing in a variety of sports are immense. For one, every sport builds athleticism in different ways. Whether it be speed, endurance, power, coordination, flexibility, motor skills, etc; the benefits are obvious. The athlete that is better trained all around, will be the better athlete and will have fewer injuries as a result.
The next benefit goes back to that word "play" that I used earlier. The whole purpose of sport at a young age is to enjoy it. Does anyone know the percentage of athletes that turn pro? Here is one that is staggering, 1.7% of college football players turn pro, and .08% of high school football players turn pro. Basketball is even lower with 1.2% of college and .02% of high school players turning professional. (http://www.businessinsider.com/odds-college-athletes-become-professionals-2012-2?op=1)
What this statistic tells you is that the odds of becoming a professional athlete are so infinitesimal, that we are burning out our youth and amateur athletes simply for our own egos and not their own well being. Athletics can be an excellent educational device, but lately it is used either for money making purposes or (worse in my opinion) as a way to stroke egos. The focus needs to be on the athletes' growth, but athletically as well as personally, academically and socially.
Finally, sports are a great stress relief. For college athletes, their days are filled with classes, coursework, thesis papers as well as the basic ills that go with being a 18-23+ year old. Being told that at 18 years old you need to specialize and only pick one sport is just more weight packed onto the donkey's back. Most of the time, the reason for being told this demand is that the coaches simply do not want to share "their" athlete with another sport. Once again, it all goes back to ego. Rather than look out for the well being of the student-athlete, the coach is consumed with the idea of "this athlete is mine, these other coaches and sports will screw him/her up, so they need to train with me 12 months a year". When you think about how absurd this behavior is, it really makes you wonder what athletics (especially collegiate and scholastic) are for anymore.
In conclusion, I'm not really hoping to accomplish anything with this entry, just hoping that my fellow coaches athletes and pals out there will pass along the idea of making these young athletes healthy and happy, but making them well rounded. Think of all the amazing multi-sport athletes in history. Jim Thorpe, Marion Jones, Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders moving up today with Lolo Jones and other sprinters in the winter olympics. Stop thinking about athletes as "yours" exclusively. If anything it's YOU that belongs to THEM as their coach, you are there to serve their best interest. Never the other way around.
When we're young while we may have a set amount of fast twitch fibres or a genetic predisposition to some sports or activities, our motor skills have yet to fully develop, as well as forms of coordination, postural issues/dysfunctions and other basic tenets of athleticism. When dealing with youth athletes and their parents, I always preach to them to allow their children to play as many sports as they would like. Yes, I will always use the word play, but I will get back to that later. The benefits of a youth athlete training and competing in a variety of sports are immense. For one, every sport builds athleticism in different ways. Whether it be speed, endurance, power, coordination, flexibility, motor skills, etc; the benefits are obvious. The athlete that is better trained all around, will be the better athlete and will have fewer injuries as a result.
The next benefit goes back to that word "play" that I used earlier. The whole purpose of sport at a young age is to enjoy it. Does anyone know the percentage of athletes that turn pro? Here is one that is staggering, 1.7% of college football players turn pro, and .08% of high school football players turn pro. Basketball is even lower with 1.2% of college and .02% of high school players turning professional. (http://www.businessinsider.com/odds-college-athletes-become-professionals-2012-2?op=1)
What this statistic tells you is that the odds of becoming a professional athlete are so infinitesimal, that we are burning out our youth and amateur athletes simply for our own egos and not their own well being. Athletics can be an excellent educational device, but lately it is used either for money making purposes or (worse in my opinion) as a way to stroke egos. The focus needs to be on the athletes' growth, but athletically as well as personally, academically and socially.
Finally, sports are a great stress relief. For college athletes, their days are filled with classes, coursework, thesis papers as well as the basic ills that go with being a 18-23+ year old. Being told that at 18 years old you need to specialize and only pick one sport is just more weight packed onto the donkey's back. Most of the time, the reason for being told this demand is that the coaches simply do not want to share "their" athlete with another sport. Once again, it all goes back to ego. Rather than look out for the well being of the student-athlete, the coach is consumed with the idea of "this athlete is mine, these other coaches and sports will screw him/her up, so they need to train with me 12 months a year". When you think about how absurd this behavior is, it really makes you wonder what athletics (especially collegiate and scholastic) are for anymore.
In conclusion, I'm not really hoping to accomplish anything with this entry, just hoping that my fellow coaches athletes and pals out there will pass along the idea of making these young athletes healthy and happy, but making them well rounded. Think of all the amazing multi-sport athletes in history. Jim Thorpe, Marion Jones, Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders moving up today with Lolo Jones and other sprinters in the winter olympics. Stop thinking about athletes as "yours" exclusively. If anything it's YOU that belongs to THEM as their coach, you are there to serve their best interest. Never the other way around.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
What's a coach?
With all the junk going on in sports lately, I'm beside myself with anger. First with bullying taking place in the locker room, and so many "experts" saying that people need to "toughen up" and it's "part of the game". I don't know, but through my experience coaching, some of the "toughest" players on the field were the quietest and most even tempered in the locker room and off the field. "Oh but professional football is different, the sport demands a 'killer instinct' to survive, they're a different breed". So were are saying that if a player goes home and beats up a family member, spouse, child, or regular citizen it's OK, because it's just them being "tough" and that's the type of attitude we need from our athletes? And then you have the waste of grey matter sports commentators saying that because a player is intelligent, maybe they aren't cut out for professional sports. Since when is being intelligent and good-tempered a bad thing? All of these issues, for me, come from the main problem that there are a lack of coaches in the world. Oh hey, but Gregg there are tons of coaches out there. So many, that there are some great, amazing coaches they are still looking for jobs (cough:hint:cough). Well what I mean by that thesis statement, is that there is a lack of ACTUAL coaches, and this fact precipitates the failures of the athletes and culture within athletics.
What is a Coach Anyway?
Whenever I am asked what being a coach means, I always say the same thing. Coaching is education. To me, that statement needs no further elaboration, and really shouldn't warrant an explanation, but I always need to expand. Anyone who has taken a course in education knows that the main purpose of an educator is to create an environment conducive to learning. In other words, the main role of a teacher isn't to throw knowledge at the students and hope for it it stick, rather their job is to create an environment so that learning CAN take place. Think back to the various classrooms of which you've been a part. Sometimes the teachers who may not know the most about the particular subject are the best,simply because they create an environment that is comfortable, welcoming, professional which causes you to retain more knowledge. On the other hand, sometimes the most intelligent teachers create the most uncomfortable, un-welcoming environment and you learn very little. I remember some classes where every single day the teacher would turn out the lights, put on the overhead projector and give notes for an hour. Between the dark room, and the slow, hypnotizing hum of the projector I would invariably doze off within fifteen minutes.
Compare what I just said to some coaches you have had. A coach that I greatly admire (Dan Steele currently of University of Northern Iowa) calls the idea that a great athlete becomes a great coach a "Pervasive Myth". All too frequently, athletes, athletic departments, and coaches believe that if someone was a great athlete, then surely they will be a great coach. This conclusion is far from accurate for a number of reasons, partially for the same reasons why the most intelligent people don't make the best teachers. Sometimes a great athlete is simply that, a great athlete. Once again, I'm reminded of what Coach Steele has written, comparing it very aptly to a mechanic. "Being a former athlete gives you many wonderful tools for the coaching toolbox, but you still have to know how to apply them. A great mechanic isn’t great because of his mastery of tools. He is great because of his mastery of problem solving." (http://unitrack.blogspot.com/p/coaching-compass.html)
So ok, what is the goal of the coach then? Well, remember the goal of a teacher? According to some definitions, coaching is "a process that enables learning and development to occur and thus performance to improve."(Eric Parsloe, The Manager as Coach and Mentor (1999) page 8)
If you notice, simply replace the phrase "a process" with "an environment" and you have almost the same definition as what it means to be a teacher. From this extrapolation, we can conclude that being a teacher, and being a coach are synonymous. It is due to this fact that we understand exactly why many elite athletes are not effective coaches. Being able to do something yourself, and being able to teach someone else how to do that skill are two very different things. In the track and field world, think of how many athletes you've come across who may not be as skilled as you in terms of technique or training, but still beat you in races or field events simply due to genetics. Some of these athletes then move on to the coaching ranks and become frustrated when their own athletes don't share the same success they once had. However, that is not their fault in my opinion, it is simply the mechanism that society has created as of late. I know of a number of coaches whom I admire, that never competed in track themselves, or if they did not at a high level. Yet the were very effective coaches once they learned the skill-set simply because they were great educators.
Modern Problems of Coaching
Recently, a current coach was taped going on a lengthy, abusive tired directed at his players. This story is nothing new, however some of the commentary on the matter is what greatly upset me. "When I was a football player, our coach would yell things worse than that!" or "These kids need to toughen up, the coach did nothing wrong". Really? Simply because you were treated a certain way doesn't mean it's right. Heck, during the reign of Charles II in England, a man was allowed to give his wife "moderate correction" if she deserved it (I'll leave you to decipher what 'moderate correction' would be if a wife was thought to be misbehaving). So by their logic, that means domestic violence is OK, because their ancestors used to do it. What angered me the most, is that this coach is at one of the highest levels of his sport. So we can infer that he has had this coaching, um, let's call it 'style', for many years and hasn't had to change a thing. Yet coaches like this are paid good salaries, and put in charge of the growth of numerous 18-24 year olds year after year.
Another problem with scholastic coaching (youth, high school, and college) lately is understanding what the goals are. Too often, the results are seen as the goal, rather than seeing them as simply ONE of the goals. In an area such as collegiate coaching, retention, GPA, and graduation rate should be just as highly praised, as number of all-americans, national champions or other high performance. Some coaches are happy having a squad of student-athletes just barely above the minimum GPA requirement as long as they are performing well during competitions. From there, the student-athletes may move on to the professional ranks having not grown as individuals at all during their time at an institute of "higher education". Think about that for a minute, I just did and it made me a little sad.
Where does the athletes' behavior come into play?
I know I know, it seems like I veered a bit off track (haha, track and field pun) from my original thesis, however it all comes into focus when you think about it. If a student-athlete from the time they are in high school, all the way through college, up into the professional ranks is taught that a certain type of environment is accepted, or even encouraged, can we really blame them for acting a certain way? That doesn't make it right, but it is the fact of the matter. Rather than creating a comfortable, educational environment conducive to growth, if they are brought up in an environment of violence, aggression and anger and taught that you need to have a "killer instinct", how would they know any better?
Lately, coaches have also encouraged cocky behavior from their athletes under the mask of being "confident" and "self esteem". To me, if you feel that you are accomplished as a coach simply because your athletes' exhibit cocky, over-confident behavior you need to seriously examine your thought process. Making your student-athletes self-esteem strong should definitely be a goal, but if you impart arrogance instead (which is a much easier thing to do) than you are just as guilty as a coach who imparts violence and aggression to their athletes as eventually it will come to bite you in the rear.
Conclusion
I could actually go on about this topic for quite a bit longer, but I'll cut myself off now. Basically I find the direction college, high school, and grade school coaching is going very disconcerting and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. There are, however, a few rays of light on this cloudy day though. For one, it is easier than ever to get information regarding a coach or school prior to becoming a student-athlete, so as long as the athlete is diligent in their research, they can get a good feel for the coach prior to going there. Also, in the same vein, there are a number of outstanding coaches/educators out there that I love listening to regarding their coaching philosophies. The main hope is that athletic-directors and schools will begin to really sit and think for themselves what they want in a coach. And maybe they will begin to realize that coaching is indeed teaching. Sooooooo yep, that's it adios. (I'm awful at conclusions)
What is a Coach Anyway?
Whenever I am asked what being a coach means, I always say the same thing. Coaching is education. To me, that statement needs no further elaboration, and really shouldn't warrant an explanation, but I always need to expand. Anyone who has taken a course in education knows that the main purpose of an educator is to create an environment conducive to learning. In other words, the main role of a teacher isn't to throw knowledge at the students and hope for it it stick, rather their job is to create an environment so that learning CAN take place. Think back to the various classrooms of which you've been a part. Sometimes the teachers who may not know the most about the particular subject are the best,simply because they create an environment that is comfortable, welcoming, professional which causes you to retain more knowledge. On the other hand, sometimes the most intelligent teachers create the most uncomfortable, un-welcoming environment and you learn very little. I remember some classes where every single day the teacher would turn out the lights, put on the overhead projector and give notes for an hour. Between the dark room, and the slow, hypnotizing hum of the projector I would invariably doze off within fifteen minutes.
Compare what I just said to some coaches you have had. A coach that I greatly admire (Dan Steele currently of University of Northern Iowa) calls the idea that a great athlete becomes a great coach a "Pervasive Myth". All too frequently, athletes, athletic departments, and coaches believe that if someone was a great athlete, then surely they will be a great coach. This conclusion is far from accurate for a number of reasons, partially for the same reasons why the most intelligent people don't make the best teachers. Sometimes a great athlete is simply that, a great athlete. Once again, I'm reminded of what Coach Steele has written, comparing it very aptly to a mechanic. "Being a former athlete gives you many wonderful tools for the coaching toolbox, but you still have to know how to apply them. A great mechanic isn’t great because of his mastery of tools. He is great because of his mastery of problem solving." (http://unitrack.blogspot.com/p/coaching-compass.html)
So ok, what is the goal of the coach then? Well, remember the goal of a teacher? According to some definitions, coaching is "a process that enables learning and development to occur and thus performance to improve."(Eric Parsloe, The Manager as Coach and Mentor (1999) page 8)
If you notice, simply replace the phrase "a process" with "an environment" and you have almost the same definition as what it means to be a teacher. From this extrapolation, we can conclude that being a teacher, and being a coach are synonymous. It is due to this fact that we understand exactly why many elite athletes are not effective coaches. Being able to do something yourself, and being able to teach someone else how to do that skill are two very different things. In the track and field world, think of how many athletes you've come across who may not be as skilled as you in terms of technique or training, but still beat you in races or field events simply due to genetics. Some of these athletes then move on to the coaching ranks and become frustrated when their own athletes don't share the same success they once had. However, that is not their fault in my opinion, it is simply the mechanism that society has created as of late. I know of a number of coaches whom I admire, that never competed in track themselves, or if they did not at a high level. Yet the were very effective coaches once they learned the skill-set simply because they were great educators.
Modern Problems of Coaching
Recently, a current coach was taped going on a lengthy, abusive tired directed at his players. This story is nothing new, however some of the commentary on the matter is what greatly upset me. "When I was a football player, our coach would yell things worse than that!" or "These kids need to toughen up, the coach did nothing wrong". Really? Simply because you were treated a certain way doesn't mean it's right. Heck, during the reign of Charles II in England, a man was allowed to give his wife "moderate correction" if she deserved it (I'll leave you to decipher what 'moderate correction' would be if a wife was thought to be misbehaving). So by their logic, that means domestic violence is OK, because their ancestors used to do it. What angered me the most, is that this coach is at one of the highest levels of his sport. So we can infer that he has had this coaching, um, let's call it 'style', for many years and hasn't had to change a thing. Yet coaches like this are paid good salaries, and put in charge of the growth of numerous 18-24 year olds year after year.
Another problem with scholastic coaching (youth, high school, and college) lately is understanding what the goals are. Too often, the results are seen as the goal, rather than seeing them as simply ONE of the goals. In an area such as collegiate coaching, retention, GPA, and graduation rate should be just as highly praised, as number of all-americans, national champions or other high performance. Some coaches are happy having a squad of student-athletes just barely above the minimum GPA requirement as long as they are performing well during competitions. From there, the student-athletes may move on to the professional ranks having not grown as individuals at all during their time at an institute of "higher education". Think about that for a minute, I just did and it made me a little sad.
Where does the athletes' behavior come into play?
I know I know, it seems like I veered a bit off track (haha, track and field pun) from my original thesis, however it all comes into focus when you think about it. If a student-athlete from the time they are in high school, all the way through college, up into the professional ranks is taught that a certain type of environment is accepted, or even encouraged, can we really blame them for acting a certain way? That doesn't make it right, but it is the fact of the matter. Rather than creating a comfortable, educational environment conducive to growth, if they are brought up in an environment of violence, aggression and anger and taught that you need to have a "killer instinct", how would they know any better?
Lately, coaches have also encouraged cocky behavior from their athletes under the mask of being "confident" and "self esteem". To me, if you feel that you are accomplished as a coach simply because your athletes' exhibit cocky, over-confident behavior you need to seriously examine your thought process. Making your student-athletes self-esteem strong should definitely be a goal, but if you impart arrogance instead (which is a much easier thing to do) than you are just as guilty as a coach who imparts violence and aggression to their athletes as eventually it will come to bite you in the rear.
Conclusion
I could actually go on about this topic for quite a bit longer, but I'll cut myself off now. Basically I find the direction college, high school, and grade school coaching is going very disconcerting and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. There are, however, a few rays of light on this cloudy day though. For one, it is easier than ever to get information regarding a coach or school prior to becoming a student-athlete, so as long as the athlete is diligent in their research, they can get a good feel for the coach prior to going there. Also, in the same vein, there are a number of outstanding coaches/educators out there that I love listening to regarding their coaching philosophies. The main hope is that athletic-directors and schools will begin to really sit and think for themselves what they want in a coach. And maybe they will begin to realize that coaching is indeed teaching. Sooooooo yep, that's it adios. (I'm awful at conclusions)
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Hi, Tea!
Sitting here drinking a nice cup of Oolong Tea and I'm reminded of something. I freakin' love tea! Wait wait wait, bear with me I'm going somewhere with this. Whenever I drink tea I become addicted again, and wonder why I stop drinking it in the first place! When I was at my peak as an athlete (running and lifting every day along with plyometrics and hurdles/jump/throw training) I would regularly consume around 17 cups of tea a day. The reason I started was because of my man-crush on Bruce Lee, so that sounds like a good place to start.
Bruce (can I call him Bruce?) would drink thermos after thermos of tea while filming, training, or just relaxing. He never consumed alcohol or anything that he deemed useless to fuel his body. Chinese tea comes in almost countless varieties and he tried them all, but would regularly drink Lipton tea, same as anyone else. When I graduated from college I weighed 284lbs in August. By February I trimmed down to 192lbs before bottoming out at 187 around August. Not that it played a HUGE part in me trimming down (not going to sheetz and eating at 3am was a huge part of it, as was laying off the crown royal along with my increase in training) but when researching Bruce and also the benefits of tea it's impossible to say that it played no role at all. The three main types of tea I drink and recommend are Green, Oolong and White. I'm gonna give some background on all three as well as the benefits.
Green Tea: Ok first of all, all teas that I drink come from the same plant (Camellia sinensis ). What determines what type of tea you have is the process of growing and fermenting. Regular black tea is fully fermented and processed. Black tea is all good and well, but a lot of the benefits found in tea are lost in this process. If you're going for Green Tea, don't get the decaffeinated it kind of defeats the purpose! Green tea also contains HGCG, one of the most powerful antioxidants known! Aside from the metabolism boost, this reason is the biggest benefit of Green Tea.
Oolong Tea: If you've eaten in an authentic Chinese Restraunt (not buffet or an "americanized" Chinese food place), and ordered tea, Oolong is probably what you were served. Many Chinese like to drink Oolong after meals to aid with digestion. If you aren't a tea drinker chances are you never even heard of this type of tea let along drink it regularly, but if you don't you should! Oolong is somewhere in the middle of Green and Black Teas (sometimes called brown tea). It is partially fermented so it's caffeine can be slightly higher than green, but not as high as black. It does not contain the amount of HGCG as Green Tea due to this process however it contains more polymerized polyphenols. It is the combination of HGCG and caffeine that some research links to weight loss, which is why some really really really bad companies are selling oolong as "weight loss tea" and charging insane amounts of money for it. If you pay more for this style than you do any other, you're getting jipped. Research has shown that drinking 3 cups a day will burn an extra 70 calories per day, doesn't sound like much but over a year that's 7 pounds! Oolong Tea also tastes pretty darn good, and gives you a full feeling. If you are in between meals or training, chug some Oolong Tea to fight off cravings.
White Tea- Pretty simple. It's a baby green tea leaf. It contains a great amount of polyphenols and other chemicals. All of these teas but especially Green and White help lower blood pressure, cholesterol and aid in cardiovascular health. White tea was saved only for the emperors, but lately has become much more mainstream. Some question the current quality of white tea, or if it's basically just a green tea blend mostly. If you are going to try it, spend a little extra and make SURE it's ONLY white tea leaves.
Well that about wraps it up. Tea is awesome, especially if someone is trying to get back into shape, fight off hunger, or just looking for something good to drink. The amount of caffeine is also good for athletes as it raises your EE (energy expenditure) prior to workouts. Make sure you don't drink TOO much of it (yes I used to drink 17 cups a day, that's prolly not recommended), but if you're used to Coffee and lattes for your caffeine fix (oh my god I loved the pumpkin spice latte it was really good, but I actually tried a peppermint white chocolate latte too and it was bangin!, but anyway) try tea instead. Now that I decided to back off of lifting for a while and get back into running to trim back down, I'm gonna get back on my tea regimen. Take it for what you will, but if you need more convincing read some of the research!
Bruce (can I call him Bruce?) would drink thermos after thermos of tea while filming, training, or just relaxing. He never consumed alcohol or anything that he deemed useless to fuel his body. Chinese tea comes in almost countless varieties and he tried them all, but would regularly drink Lipton tea, same as anyone else. When I graduated from college I weighed 284lbs in August. By February I trimmed down to 192lbs before bottoming out at 187 around August. Not that it played a HUGE part in me trimming down (not going to sheetz and eating at 3am was a huge part of it, as was laying off the crown royal along with my increase in training) but when researching Bruce and also the benefits of tea it's impossible to say that it played no role at all. The three main types of tea I drink and recommend are Green, Oolong and White. I'm gonna give some background on all three as well as the benefits.
Green Tea: Ok first of all, all teas that I drink come from the same plant (Camellia sinensis ). What determines what type of tea you have is the process of growing and fermenting. Regular black tea is fully fermented and processed. Black tea is all good and well, but a lot of the benefits found in tea are lost in this process. If you're going for Green Tea, don't get the decaffeinated it kind of defeats the purpose! Green tea also contains HGCG, one of the most powerful antioxidants known! Aside from the metabolism boost, this reason is the biggest benefit of Green Tea.
Oolong Tea: If you've eaten in an authentic Chinese Restraunt (not buffet or an "americanized" Chinese food place), and ordered tea, Oolong is probably what you were served. Many Chinese like to drink Oolong after meals to aid with digestion. If you aren't a tea drinker chances are you never even heard of this type of tea let along drink it regularly, but if you don't you should! Oolong is somewhere in the middle of Green and Black Teas (sometimes called brown tea). It is partially fermented so it's caffeine can be slightly higher than green, but not as high as black. It does not contain the amount of HGCG as Green Tea due to this process however it contains more polymerized polyphenols. It is the combination of HGCG and caffeine that some research links to weight loss, which is why some really really really bad companies are selling oolong as "weight loss tea" and charging insane amounts of money for it. If you pay more for this style than you do any other, you're getting jipped. Research has shown that drinking 3 cups a day will burn an extra 70 calories per day, doesn't sound like much but over a year that's 7 pounds! Oolong Tea also tastes pretty darn good, and gives you a full feeling. If you are in between meals or training, chug some Oolong Tea to fight off cravings.
White Tea- Pretty simple. It's a baby green tea leaf. It contains a great amount of polyphenols and other chemicals. All of these teas but especially Green and White help lower blood pressure, cholesterol and aid in cardiovascular health. White tea was saved only for the emperors, but lately has become much more mainstream. Some question the current quality of white tea, or if it's basically just a green tea blend mostly. If you are going to try it, spend a little extra and make SURE it's ONLY white tea leaves.
Well that about wraps it up. Tea is awesome, especially if someone is trying to get back into shape, fight off hunger, or just looking for something good to drink. The amount of caffeine is also good for athletes as it raises your EE (energy expenditure) prior to workouts. Make sure you don't drink TOO much of it (yes I used to drink 17 cups a day, that's prolly not recommended), but if you're used to Coffee and lattes for your caffeine fix (oh my god I loved the pumpkin spice latte it was really good, but I actually tried a peppermint white chocolate latte too and it was bangin!, but anyway) try tea instead. Now that I decided to back off of lifting for a while and get back into running to trim back down, I'm gonna get back on my tea regimen. Take it for what you will, but if you need more convincing read some of the research!
Friday, October 25, 2013
Don't be a lazy athlete(or coach)
One thing I cannot tolerate is laziness. When I am not coaching,like this period of time right now, I grow very angry at coaches and athletes that I observe phoning in workouts, practices, training plans and programs. Let me start with the athletes for right now.
One trap that many athletes fall in is the idea that "the grass is always greener". Rather than, to put it bluntly, shutting up and doing their training, some athletes want to scrutinize every single drill, workout, and practice looking for things that they can disagree with. Maybe they read a blog, or watched youtube, or talked to their buddy who competes for All-America Awesomeness University and found out that they do things quite differently there. One thing I have always told my athletes is to walk into your workouts with a good attitude and know that most coaches want their athletes to succeed. Sometimes an athlete becomes so convinced that what they are doing is wrong that they convince themselves that their coach's main goal in life is to hold them down and make sure they don't improve. There is a lot of "blind leading the blind" going on nowadays in sports and training, any fool can publish a workout, or training philosophy to a website with no credentials whatsoever. When I get challenged on a topic by one of these "gurus" I always have one and only one question..."Who have you coached?". I attach this point to the "athletes" section because nowadays everyone sees themselves as an expert, and both coaches and athletes need to make sure they are always furthering their education.
To the coaches, some of them, you know who you are. Don't phone in workouts, it's frustrating. I had the "pleasure" of working with a coach who was AMAZED that I write my programs weeks and months in advance. As the coach said to me "wow, sometimes I don't even know what I'm doing an hour before practice!" I would like to say that this is an isolated example but it's blatantly obvious to me this example is the status quo for many programs across the country. Here is an example of a training program for weightlifting I have observed all too often.
Week 1 3x12of 10 lifts
Week 2 3x10 of 10 lifts
Week 3 3x8 of 10 lifts
Week 4 3x6 of 10 lifts
...and the program continues like this all season long. One area of my coaching philosophy I feel I have a great grasp on, is to acknowledge that I don't know everything and I can always learn something new. This does not mean that I will be like some, and throw out my whole program and adapt a whole new training scheme, it means if I learn something new I will research how to implement it along with what I already know. Another example is a coach whose athlete posted on their facebook a youtube video of a hammer thrower doing various core lifts for training, the coaches response was "this looks good, we will do all of these for 3 sets of 8 next week". Really? Come on. No research? Are you that insecure and have that little confidence in your program that you will redo everything at the drop of a hat?
In conclusion, the main thesis of this post is to constantly learn and constantly go into things with an open mind. If you are stubborn and hard headed you will never grow as a coach or athlete. A quote I love (because it's one I came up with myself) is what I will close with. The day I stop being a student, I will also stop being a teacher.
One trap that many athletes fall in is the idea that "the grass is always greener". Rather than, to put it bluntly, shutting up and doing their training, some athletes want to scrutinize every single drill, workout, and practice looking for things that they can disagree with. Maybe they read a blog, or watched youtube, or talked to their buddy who competes for All-America Awesomeness University and found out that they do things quite differently there. One thing I have always told my athletes is to walk into your workouts with a good attitude and know that most coaches want their athletes to succeed. Sometimes an athlete becomes so convinced that what they are doing is wrong that they convince themselves that their coach's main goal in life is to hold them down and make sure they don't improve. There is a lot of "blind leading the blind" going on nowadays in sports and training, any fool can publish a workout, or training philosophy to a website with no credentials whatsoever. When I get challenged on a topic by one of these "gurus" I always have one and only one question..."Who have you coached?". I attach this point to the "athletes" section because nowadays everyone sees themselves as an expert, and both coaches and athletes need to make sure they are always furthering their education.
To the coaches, some of them, you know who you are. Don't phone in workouts, it's frustrating. I had the "pleasure" of working with a coach who was AMAZED that I write my programs weeks and months in advance. As the coach said to me "wow, sometimes I don't even know what I'm doing an hour before practice!" I would like to say that this is an isolated example but it's blatantly obvious to me this example is the status quo for many programs across the country. Here is an example of a training program for weightlifting I have observed all too often.
Week 1 3x12of 10 lifts
Week 2 3x10 of 10 lifts
Week 3 3x8 of 10 lifts
Week 4 3x6 of 10 lifts
...and the program continues like this all season long. One area of my coaching philosophy I feel I have a great grasp on, is to acknowledge that I don't know everything and I can always learn something new. This does not mean that I will be like some, and throw out my whole program and adapt a whole new training scheme, it means if I learn something new I will research how to implement it along with what I already know. Another example is a coach whose athlete posted on their facebook a youtube video of a hammer thrower doing various core lifts for training, the coaches response was "this looks good, we will do all of these for 3 sets of 8 next week". Really? Come on. No research? Are you that insecure and have that little confidence in your program that you will redo everything at the drop of a hat?
In conclusion, the main thesis of this post is to constantly learn and constantly go into things with an open mind. If you are stubborn and hard headed you will never grow as a coach or athlete. A quote I love (because it's one I came up with myself) is what I will close with. The day I stop being a student, I will also stop being a teacher.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Program Design Basics
Ok haven't had a blog post in a while so figured I'd put one up about my program design. This example is going to be extremely basic and won't have anything as far as sports specificity or general "flava" but if you know nothing about program design, it's a decent guideline.
Phases, cycles blah blah blah exercise science blah blah blah central nervous system.
This title means I am not going to cover how to design a full training program or talk about how to get your central nervous system active for a competition and not how to totally fry your CNS during a phase. I'm simply going to show how for a single day, during a single session, I would design a program. If I was to go any deeper into that it would be more of a journal article and less of a blog post.
Order of importance
One extremely basic guideline that is almost always overlooked is the order of the lifts and where they fall in the workout. At some point an athlete will always ask "do I HAVE to do (insert lift here) first??". And they always is always "yes" if not "yes, now shut up and do it"...not really...well sometimes...depending on the athlete. You will always do the most explosive lifts first that utilize the most muscle groups and that have the highest demand on the CNS system. The Olympic lifts are ALWAYS the priority..no...stop interrupting....ALWAYS....just to hammer it home....Olympic lifts.....ALWAYS....Come....First. Well not always sometimes if posterior chain strength is the most important thing I will have squats first and then an hour rest and then Olympic lifts but you get the idea!
USA Weightlifting used to use the A,B,C lift system of teaching program design (A Lifts are Olympic lifts, B. Lifts were Pulls and Leg Strengthening and C lifts were basically everything else). If you are a noob and don't know much about designing workouts then...well first of all go find a good coach! You need constant supervision as a beginner how else will you improve! If you are a noob coach, then this style of program design isn't a bad place to start, but go find a course on Olympic weightlifting and grow a bit. I say that because depending on the athlete, workout, needs, point of the season, etc I will routinely have RDLs in front of pulls, or push press in front of squats depending on the need. But I am just generalizing a lot right now.
Sets and Reps
"Coooooaaaaach do I need to do 5 Sets of 3 and 2 reps? Can't I just do 3 sets of 10. No, you can't. For a number of reasons. For Olympic lifts for beginners I will rarely if ever go above 3 reps in a single set (except for combinations, ie 3 pulls+3 cleans + 3 front squats). The general rule of thumb is to never ever go above 6 reps in a set of Olympic lifts. There has been some literature out there saying that some coaches do go over this, and my questions is always "Why?". What is the ultimate goal of your Olympic lifting workout? Will high reps help or hurt? One of the main problems with high rep Olympic lifting for beginners is the same basic reason why I have the lifts in the beginning of the workout. They are demanding on the CNS and beginners will have a number of technical flaws. It doesn't matter how strong of an athlete you/they are, after 4 or 5 lifts for a beginner a clean becomes a jumping upright row and a snatch becomes a jumping front shoulder raise. Especially in pre-season why do high reps? Pre-season is the time to hone and learn technique, not develop technical flaws and give Coach Schmidt grey hair. So if you ever wondered why I keep the repetitions low, that is part of the reason why. I'd rather have beginners do 7 sets of triples with light weight and 2-5min recovery than 3 sets of 10 and develop technical flaws, or worse, develop an injury.
Pay Attention to total Volume in a workout as WELL as Intensity
Too often athletes and/or coaches will focus specifically on Intensity (as in percentage of 1RM) in a workout and overlook volume. Think back to some of the workouts I have written for you. Try to remember the total volume variations in the workout. If intensity rises and and volume stays the same, what would happen? What if volume increased and intensity decreased? What if both decreased? For track athletes what was throwing volume like when lifting volume dropped? Pay attention to this type of thing, because it is planned and there is a reason for it, however that is another subject completely.
Consistent Recovery
Recover between sets. NSCA recommends between 2 and 4.5mins of recovery for max strength. I generally have athletes keep it around 2.5min or so unless otherwise stated.
In closing
The main points to take away:
Don't do too many lifts in a session.
Make sure the lifts are in an order that makes sense.
Don't go high reps on any of the olympic lifts.
Volume as well as intensity is important
Make sure your recovery is consistent
and most importantly...
NEVER SACRIFICE TECHNIQUE!
That's it, adios!
Phases, cycles blah blah blah exercise science blah blah blah central nervous system.
This title means I am not going to cover how to design a full training program or talk about how to get your central nervous system active for a competition and not how to totally fry your CNS during a phase. I'm simply going to show how for a single day, during a single session, I would design a program. If I was to go any deeper into that it would be more of a journal article and less of a blog post.
Order of importance
One extremely basic guideline that is almost always overlooked is the order of the lifts and where they fall in the workout. At some point an athlete will always ask "do I HAVE to do (insert lift here) first??". And they always is always "yes" if not "yes, now shut up and do it"...not really...well sometimes...depending on the athlete. You will always do the most explosive lifts first that utilize the most muscle groups and that have the highest demand on the CNS system. The Olympic lifts are ALWAYS the priority..no...stop interrupting....ALWAYS....just to hammer it home....Olympic lifts.....ALWAYS....Come....First. Well not always sometimes if posterior chain strength is the most important thing I will have squats first and then an hour rest and then Olympic lifts but you get the idea!
USA Weightlifting used to use the A,B,C lift system of teaching program design (A Lifts are Olympic lifts, B. Lifts were Pulls and Leg Strengthening and C lifts were basically everything else). If you are a noob and don't know much about designing workouts then...well first of all go find a good coach! You need constant supervision as a beginner how else will you improve! If you are a noob coach, then this style of program design isn't a bad place to start, but go find a course on Olympic weightlifting and grow a bit. I say that because depending on the athlete, workout, needs, point of the season, etc I will routinely have RDLs in front of pulls, or push press in front of squats depending on the need. But I am just generalizing a lot right now.
Sets and Reps
"Coooooaaaaach do I need to do 5 Sets of 3 and 2 reps? Can't I just do 3 sets of 10. No, you can't. For a number of reasons. For Olympic lifts for beginners I will rarely if ever go above 3 reps in a single set (except for combinations, ie 3 pulls+3 cleans + 3 front squats). The general rule of thumb is to never ever go above 6 reps in a set of Olympic lifts. There has been some literature out there saying that some coaches do go over this, and my questions is always "Why?". What is the ultimate goal of your Olympic lifting workout? Will high reps help or hurt? One of the main problems with high rep Olympic lifting for beginners is the same basic reason why I have the lifts in the beginning of the workout. They are demanding on the CNS and beginners will have a number of technical flaws. It doesn't matter how strong of an athlete you/they are, after 4 or 5 lifts for a beginner a clean becomes a jumping upright row and a snatch becomes a jumping front shoulder raise. Especially in pre-season why do high reps? Pre-season is the time to hone and learn technique, not develop technical flaws and give Coach Schmidt grey hair. So if you ever wondered why I keep the repetitions low, that is part of the reason why. I'd rather have beginners do 7 sets of triples with light weight and 2-5min recovery than 3 sets of 10 and develop technical flaws, or worse, develop an injury.
Pay Attention to total Volume in a workout as WELL as Intensity
Too often athletes and/or coaches will focus specifically on Intensity (as in percentage of 1RM) in a workout and overlook volume. Think back to some of the workouts I have written for you. Try to remember the total volume variations in the workout. If intensity rises and and volume stays the same, what would happen? What if volume increased and intensity decreased? What if both decreased? For track athletes what was throwing volume like when lifting volume dropped? Pay attention to this type of thing, because it is planned and there is a reason for it, however that is another subject completely.
Consistent Recovery
Recover between sets. NSCA recommends between 2 and 4.5mins of recovery for max strength. I generally have athletes keep it around 2.5min or so unless otherwise stated.
In closing
The main points to take away:
Don't do too many lifts in a session.
Make sure the lifts are in an order that makes sense.
Don't go high reps on any of the olympic lifts.
Volume as well as intensity is important
Make sure your recovery is consistent
and most importantly...
NEVER SACRIFICE TECHNIQUE!
That's it, adios!
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