Functional Path Training

Seeing the Game With Different Eyes

As an athletic development coach I watch a game or a competition quite differently. I am not a spectator or a fan, nor am I a sport coach who is concerned with tactics and strategy. Frankly my concern is the conditioning implications of tactics and strategy. I cannot afford to be a fan because that would detract from objectivity. I feel that watching a game of a team that I am working with as a conditioning coach makes me an active participant. I watch games or competitions to gather information and feedback to improve the athletes that I am working with. That is not to say that outcome is not important, because it is, that is the essence of competition and the ultimate measure in most peoples eyes. To insure consistent injury free performance it is essential to get beyond the outcome and see what I like to call the game within the game, the patterns and movements that occur that really make things happen. Those patterns and movements have direct conditioning implications that can be improved through a properly constructed program based on game analysis and observation.

The sport coach watches the game to evaluate strategy, tactics and technique. The spectator watches as a fan. Both are outcome oriented. The conditioning coach watches to see the patterns, the moments, strength/power demands and the effect of fatigue. The conditioning coach is process oriented. We look for things we have been working on in training and see how they apply. The game or competition represents an opportunity to reinforce the positive aspects of training as well as to look for things to work on.

Level Of Expectation

I have long believed that you level of expectation determines your level of achievement. Set the bar high and do everything possible to prepare yourself to clear that bar. Prepare to clear it not once, but continually because once you break through you can do it again. Raise the bar and raise the level of expectation. As a coach, don’t coach to the least common denominator; bring everyone up to the standard of your most proficient athletes. Demand that of them and yourself. It so easy to give in and regress towards the mean where everybody average and everybody is comfortable. I don’t know about you but I cannot recall being around anyone who was successful in any walk of life but especially sport who was comfortable. If they got comfortable they stopped getting better, if they stopped getting better the opposition passed them by. Do something today that gets you and your athletes changing, growing, knowing learning, questioning. Find a way to keep clearing the bar and raising it. Live in a culture of high expectation and achieve, get in the peak performance zone and revel in the challenges that exist there. Don't wait, do it now. Strike while the iron is hot, get out there and start making yourself all those around you better. Raise the level of expectation.

Practice

I was raised in the practice makes perfect school of thought. Not long into my coaching career it became quite clear that practice did not make perfect, it made permanent. I quickly realized that whatever I practiced must be “right” or I would just be repeating errors. My train of thought evolved to the point where the goal became perfect practice so that what I made permanent would have a direct transfer to the competition. I was continually learning about the process needed to achieve “perfect practice.” The actionable word here is process. I learned that sharp focus on the process allowed me to take positive steps toward achieving perfect practice. My thinking evolved toward stressing quality practice instead of perfect practice since quality is a measure of perfect and although perfection is seldom achieved it is something to continually strive for. This was a breakthrough for me and the results were quickly apparent in my coaching. A continual stress on quality was also something I observed in great coaches and athletes.

So what is quality practice? Simply put is mindful and goal driven. There are certain characteristics of quality practice. Step one – Show up everyday, not just physically that is a given. I mean show up mentally, be here now, in the moment with all your faculties. The second step is an outgrowth of the first; you must train the workout, not just do it. Going through the motions, punching the clock is not quality practice; it does not get it done. Focus, focus, focus – Have a measurable goal for each training session. Make the goal oriented to the process and the process related to the long term goals and objectives of the whole training plan. The process helps to break everything into bite-sized chucks that allow incremental steps toward the bigger competitive goal. Thoroughly plan the workout and work the plan. Time, measure and record everything. Progress occurs step by step. Make each session count! Each practice is an opportunity to improve if you are clear on what you want to improve. Have a routine and stick to that routine so that it almost becomes a ritual. Minimize distractions. Get it right the first time. Quality practice makes practice count.

Lessons I have learned Earning An Advanced Degree From School of Hard Knocks

The following are some lessons that have learned in my years of coaching. I was going through some files yesterday and I found this list that I wrote in 2005 after two particularly negative professional experiences in the previous year. I thought it would be worth sharing. Some these were hard lessons to learn and some were quite apparent from the day I started coaching.

Structure and order are essential in order to have any degree of consistent success.

Money and facilities are not the answer, good qualified coaches are more important.

Without a well-defined plan of training and competition there is chaos and inconsistent performance results.

More is not better. This is true if it is training, therapy gaining weight or losing weight.

One size does not fit all. It is important to consider what each athlete brings to the event in all respects.

It is more than physical talent; the athlete must have athletic intelligence and real mental toughness.

You must coach females differently both from a physical and a psycho/ social perspective

Anorexia is not an eating disorder. Eating or not eating is only a manifestation of much deeper psychological problems.

There is no quick fix, nor is there any thing like instant results.

Treating the symptoms rather than the causes does not work both in training and therapy.

If you spend as long in therapy as in training each day then something is seriously wrong with the training.

Progression is essential. Without a clear progression it is usually a process of one step forward and two steps back.

It is impossible to coach by email, phone, letter or fax. Coaching is a daily personal, labor-intensive process.

Objectively judging and assessing talent is essential for success.

Just because a person was a great athlete does not mean they can coach. Most of the time the great athlete only knows how they did it and what they did, which often will not work for anyone else.

Attempting to reproduce past results is an exercise in futility. The past is gone; it is only a reference point to guide future performance.

Never let your limitations as a coach limit your athletes. If you do not know something admit it, don’t try to bluff your way through it. The athlete will figure you out sooner or later that you do not know what you are doing.

There is no immediate cause/effect relationship between workouts and performance. In fact the relationship may be negative if the athlete is operating at the redline constantly during workouts,

Coaching is more than a workout or a drill. The context of the workout is often more important than the workout itself.

There is no place for performance enhancing drugs in sport, amateur or professional. Coaches have to speak out against it. Any coach who is aware that his athletes take a banned substance should be banned from coaching. There is no fine line in regard to drug use. You are either against it or you condone it.

Endurance Training Systems

The systematic approach is the key. In the past there were many great coaches who had well defined systems. A key ingredient to any good system is time. It takes time to develop all the capacities necessary for success in distance running. Bill Bowerman, the late great coach from the University of Oregon, is a great example of a coach with a system who had the big picture in mind. He knew that it would take time for his runner's to mature. His program was very progressive in that the runner’s mileage and overall workload was very controlled so that the runners could handle the workload. His hard/easy principles definitely incorporated the concept of recovery. He understood that the body needed time to recover from hard training efforts so he scheduled easy days to allow for adaptation. His system was an eclectic system that borrowed from other systems that he studied and adapted to the American environment and the younger developing collegiate athlete.

Arthur Lydiard, the famous distance coach from New Zealand, is known for the marathon phase of training. No doubt that this base phase of his training was important, but I have always felt that the most important phase of his program was the hill training phase. This is where his runners developed the specific strength for the powerful strides that led to the ability to handle a fast pace and also deliver a punishing finishing kick. He does not believe in weight training but this hill phase accomplished that purpose. Interestingly his system produced top ranked runners from the 800 meters to the marathon with runner who had a wide variety of natural talent. This versatility is the true measure of an endurance training system.

Percy Cerutty, the eccentric Australian coach, developed a system that put a heavy emphasis on the natural aspects of running. It incorporated a lot of resistance running in the sand dunes. Running barefoot as well a big emphasis on lifting relatively heavy weights. In many respects Cerutty was ahead of his in that his emphasis was on power as well as endurance.

Franz Stampfl in Australia and Mihaly Igloi in Hungary and latter the United States both had systems that depended quite heavily on Interval Training. Stampfl coached Roger Bannister to the first sub Four Minute mile. It is Interesting to note that Bannister, because of his medical school demands, only had one hour a day to train. That is one of the advantages of interval training; with limited time it is possible to prepare for the intensity of the demands of racing. It is a very efficient system of training. It was first researched and perfected in Germany in the 1930’s by Dr. Woldemar Gerschler in Frieburg.

"IT"

When an athlete has “IT” you can see “IT,” you can feel “IT,” you can sense “IT.” I am not sure what “IT” is but I know you better have “IT” if you want to be successful. It is fashionable to talk tangibles, what is measurable in talent identification and selection and then to talk about the intangibles. “IT” is somewhere in between. "IT" is not just physical ability, "IT" is not just mental toughness, “IT” is that quality that distinguishes and separates one from the pack. “IT” can be grit, but “IT” is more. Keeping looking for ”IT” and you will find “IT.” “IT” is the difference maker. In the competitive cauldron the athlete with “IT” finds a way to get it done.

Characteristics of a Successful Program

These are some characteristics I have observed over the years that make up the winning programs and individuals I have seen. It is real pretty simple, but the lesser programs, the perennial also ran’s don’t seem to be able to execute these.

Continuity – In a sound program there is not constant change and turnover of personnel. You win when good people allowed to do what they do best.

Consistency – A steady approach, no wild variations.

Clarity of Purpose – Everyone knows where they are going and has a clear roadmap of how to get there. Laser focus, nothing less.

Sense of Urgency – Get it done now and do it well. Don't wait, the best time to get it done is now.

2012 Looking Ahead

Happy New Year - Another year is past us, where did 2011 go? The beginning of a new brings hope and optimism, it bring resolutions to change and hopefully the resolve to make the changes last.  Each New Year for me signifies the start of another year coaching. Tomorrow I will begin my forty-third year of coaching. I am so thankful to be able to continue to coach and teach. I am as excited and motivated now as when I started in 1969. Forty-three years ago I wanted to change the world, I was full of idealism and had an abundance of energy.  I still want to change the world but with forty-three years of experiences I now know that the world I can change and impact is a smaller world, it is the people that I interact with on a daily basis and those I will touch through my teaching and coaching. I may not have as much energy, but I think I can direct and use that energy more efficiently to help guide, direct and implement positive change in the world of coaching. I hope all of you read this blog will take to heart the words of Gandhi “ Be the change you want to be.” Live change, change is constant so embrace it and define the change s you want to see. Let's all work and play to make 2012 the best year of our lives. Do it day by day, put an exclamation point on each day, and make each day better than the previous day.

2011 Lessons Learned - Lesson Seven

Lesson Seven – Progress, change and growth occur through collaboration with others. To continue to grow and learn it is important to also seek out others whose ideas differ.

Fire in Babylon

Last night I watched “Fire in Babylon” an excellent documentary film. To call this a documentary about the great West Indies cricket team of the 1970's and 80's does not do it justice. It is a classic example of sport as metaphor and also a window into society. In the West Indies in the 1960’s the former British colonies where all achieving their independence from Britain, it was a time of social and political ferment, sport, cricket was not isolated from this. The rise of the great Windies (The Windies comprise an all-star team of the best players from all the islands of the West Indies, hence the name Windies) team that eventually went undefeated in international test Cricket for fifteen years from 1980 to 1995 is chronicled in this excellent documentary. The vintage game action footage and the training were excellent. The Windies where were one of the first international squads to actually do conditioning, a fact that gave them a huge edge. I thought the interviews with the players on the team were outstanding. These guys were real class individuals who elevated their region, their race and the game to the status it enjoys today in spite of deep racial prejudice. This is a terrific insight in the culture of the region and the culture of the sport, a sport that is exploding in popularity worldwide. It is good to see them get the recognition they deserve as pioneers in their sport and as agents of social change.