Functional Path Training

Intellectual Incest

One of my mentors, Dr Joe Vigil, coined that phrase many years ago. He used it describe coaches who pass around the same information, usually misinformation, in a small group and believe it to be gospel. They keep reinforcing their own misinformation. You need to ask yourself as a coach where do you get your information. Have you taken the time to go talk to a coach in another sport and learn how they train or how they organize practice? Have you read any technical journals in the last month? Have you read any scientific journals in the last month? Do you do the things you do because that is the way they have always been done? Does all your information come from the internet? If so you might consider going beyond the internet. Do you have a mentor that has had a variety of experiences? It is so easy to get caught up in intellectual incest while searching for the latest and greatest, the secret or the next big thing. I am convinced that the next big thing in coaching in general and athletic development in particular will come from a generalist who searches well beyond traditional fields in the coaching domain. Since August I have fifty books, only ten of those books were directly related to sport or training, most were well outside the field, some in cognitive neuroscience, some in communication, some biographies. What they all had in common is that they stimulated ideas that I think are helping to improve my coaching. I encourage you to do the same. This is one of the goals of the GAIN Apprentorship – to challenge people to get out of their comfort zone and search farther afield. All that being said remember the immortal words of Gertrude Stein “the answer is there no answer.”

Coach Hugh McCutcheon on Coaching

Hugh McCutcheon is now the coach of the US Women’s national team, he was the coach of the men’s Olympic team in Beijing that won a gold medal. I had the opportunity to have lunch with him in November at a conference at the USOC. I was very impressed with his ideas. In this piece he is obviously focused on volleyball, but you can tell he is grounded in principles that apply to any sport. I think in this country coaches have the attitude that each sport is unique and different, when in fact we can learn from other sports. Today the Scum coach for the New Zealand All Blacks is coming to watch out volleyball conditioning workout. He is in the states for professional development. He told me yesterday how important it is to learn from other sports. We can’t figure that out. There are S&C coaches that are trying to make their players faster who have NEVER walked across campus to talk to the track coach. Whats wrong with that picture. You have know what you don't know in order to learn.

The following was taken from a blog by John Keseel of USA Volleyball, Apparently some people felt that I was representing this as something I have written. This was written by John Kessel.

When asked about the differences between the men's and women's  game, Hugh replied  "What is the difference? Don't we live on planet Earth and the laws of physics apply? I am approaching it as volleyball, whether you are a woman or a man. The idea of 'women's vs. men's' volleyball is doing nothing but stereotyping. Guys have issues too. We are going to do everything we can to be great, based on science and principles."

Later on Hugh and Peter Vint did a myth buster segment. There was some lively discussion on these, among others, which Peter used the science from the Biomechanics lab studies to dispel these...

Myth: The wrist snap is important in attacking

Myth: An athlete's ability to read the game/make correct decisions is unalterable

Myth: Toed-in base positions are best for passers and defenders (and/or blockers)

Myth: Starting a move on the balls of the feet results in faster movement times than starting flat footed

Myth: Piking at the instant of ball contact is a good thing to do

and a bunch more....

 The closing session Hugh spoke about the need for "generalized specialists" who are good in all areas of the game but really good in 1-2 skill sets. He noted how we are specializing too early in volleyball. There is not rocket science, the way you get good at passing is by passing, and the way you get good at the game is by playing the game. Trying to teach the game from a generalized basis, you will be better at working together as a team, and win more of the little things that are being lost. "When you start teaching the game, the most important thing is to make it fun...for if at the end of the day if the game is not fun, it will be really hard to keep them around."  Our opponents in other volleyball nations can

1.       Execute all of the fundamentals at a very high level

2.       Have correct technique and are biomechanically efficient

3.       Make all the little plays - they cover, can set out of system, can dig, etc.

4.       Make all the right choices about where to stand, who to set, where to block etc.

If I am going to ask my kids to work hard, I need to work hard too. We should connect as best we can to our kids...they should not be berated to get good, we are service providers to facilitate the hours of each players live to something they enjoy, so when we do what we do, we need to ask if this is right by the team and the individuals. Coaching is a valued career in our nation amazingly, but it is something you earn, not something you require. We have to be into best practices from ourselves, making it a good and positive experience (not all rainbows and ponies), and not beating up on the kids, for ultimately we want to grow the game...positive reinforcement has longer effect on players than negative, so I want to catch them doing it right a lot, right Kess?

Communication

Clouseau:  Does your dog bite?  

Hotel Clerk:  No.
Clouseau:  [bowing down to pet the dog]  Nice doggie.                                           

[Dog barks and bites Clouseau in the hand] 

Clouseau:  I thought you said your dog did not bite!  

Hotel Clerk:  That is not my dog.

Very Useful Information

This post on the BBC Sports website http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/7854443.stm caught my eye. This is very interesting and I believe useful information. It has always been my contention that American middle distance and distance runners do not train the way they have to race. In order to do that you have to know how races are won and conversely lost at the world class level. This type of information can help. I am working with a company that has developed a more sophisticated monitoring system that can provide more detailed information, especially in multidirectional sports. The goal is to train for the game or the race.

How Olympic Finals Were Won or Lost

By Mark Butler BBC Sport's athletics statistician takes a look at the numbers behind the big races

If you are a casual runner testing your fitness, try measuring out 100 metres and see how quickly you can cover that distance.

Then compare your result with the following figures: 15.4seconds for men and 17.3 for women.

For many fit people, these might not seem to be tough targets and of course are far from the current world records of 9.69 and 10.49.

But consider that these were the slowest 100m sections covered in the respective Olympic 1500m finals last summer.

Every athlete in both those races ran 14 further 100m stretches faster than those times, and without a break!

These figures were obtained from a revolutionary timing system, where all distance running athletes each wore a tiny transponder on the inside of their front bib number.

Each time the runner passed over the 100m, 200m, 300m or 400m point on the track, his or her time was registered.

Therefore in the men's 10,000m with 35 finishers, some 3,500 separate times were recorded.

It was all a bit too much to take in at the time, but now we have had a chance to take stock, can see a unique picture of how and when races were won or lost.

Among the highlights:

·  A fast back straight, rather than finishing burst, clinched victory in many races.

·  Britain's Lisa Dobriskey may not have made the tactical error many believed in finishing fourth in the 1500m.

·  Women's 10,000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba ran a section faster than Britain's Mo Farah in his heat of the men's 5,000m.

KILLER BLOW

In finals it is interesting to note that none of the new Olympic champions ended their race with their fastest 100m. The damage had been done before that point.

Not surprisingly, the 800m races provided the fastest movers. Two of the 800m men clocked a time of 11.7 down the back straight on the first lap in their preliminary races, but both went on to be eliminated.

OLYMPIC FINALS LAST 100m - MEN 800m W Bungei (Ken) 13.0 secs 1500m R Ramzi (Brn) 13.3 5,000m K Bekele (Eth) 14.2 10,000m K Bekele (Eth) 13.7 3,000m Steeplechase B Kipruto (Ken) 13.5

Conversely, Canada's Gary Reed left it too late. Seventh at 700m, he finished the Beijing final with a blistering 12.3 but ended up a frustrating fourth.

In the women's 800m, the figures confirm the trademark move of the new champion Pamela Jelimo: a big effort on the final back straight.

The Kenyan clocked 14.2 for the section between 500m and 600m before slowing to 15.2 then 15.6. When Kelly Holmes won in Athens she finished faster than that, but from a slower initial pace.

Rashid Ramzi ran a tactically perfect race to win the men's 1500m, with a scorching 12.6 on the crucial final bend.

His taller rival, Kenya's Asbel Kiprop, clocked 12.8, which proved the difference, even though Kiprop was the faster in the finishing straight and closed to within 0.2 secs of the Bahraini.

Of course the figures alone cannot tell the story of the race. Someone forced to run wide on a bend would be actually be running further than 100m between the two transponder points.

In the women's 1500m it was widely felt that Lisa Dobriskey had lost a medal through poor tactics, but the timing analysis does not fully confirm this.

OLYMPIC FINALS LAST 100m -WOMEN 800m P Jelimo (Ken) 15.6 secs 1500m J Langat (Ken) 15.1 5,000m T Dibaba (Eth) 15.4 10,000m T Dibaba (Eth) 15.8 3,000m Steeplechase G Samitova-Galkina (Rus) 16.7

In finishing fourth she ran a faster last 100m (14.6) than all but one of the other finalists, but the one quicker was Ukrainian Natalya Tobias, who Lisa had been tracking all round the final lap and who took the bronze medal.

Would they have been able to finish so fast if they had covered the courageous breaks made by winner Jebet Lagat (14.3 to 1100m) and silver medallist Irina Lishchynska (14.5 to 1200m) earlier in the race?

We'll never know. We do know that it did not work for Bahrain's world champion Maryam Jamal, who finished with only 17.2 after leading at the bell.

Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba each won the 5000m and 10,000m double and the statistics show that they won with similar tactics at the finish.

It is as if they take delivery of fresh legs in the closing stages of their races.

In the men's 10,000m, Bekele simply changed gears 500m from home, moving down from 15.1 to 13.9 to 9600m and 14.0, 13.2, 12.5 for each successive 100m then 13.7 easing off.

Bekele was even more impressive at the 5000m, with three consecutive 100m segments under 14 secs from the bell.

In the brutally quick women's 10,000m final, "Dibaba the Dasher" was able to run the final back-straight 100m in an astonishing 14 secs.

That meant she was moving faster in that section than any woman in any of the 1500m races in Beijing as well as Great Britain's Mo Farah during his heat of the men's 5,000m.

She had gone from 12 to 16mph in the space of 200m, which might not impress Jeremy Clarkson but is a deadly change of pace for a woman during a long distance race.

As with Jelimo, Ramzi and Bekele, her victory was forged before the home straight and she was able to slow somewhat without being threatened.

Sadly the Beijing timing measurement did not extend to sprint events where the runners all keep to separate lanes, but it is hoped that this will be possible at future meetings.

We can therefore look forward to getting a record of the fastest of all individual 100m runs, that of the second half of the 200m.

Also this technology can give us a more accurate picture of the seemingly pace-perfect 400m tactics of Christine Ohuruogu.

Pillars of Success

This is Seth Godin’s post from January 22, 2009. I read his blog every day. His ideas and thoughts always seem to give a kick start to my day. His focus is marketing, but if you think about it coaching is marketing. We have to have a brand and present a clear message about our brand. The text in italics are my comments, the bold text are Seth Godins words.

The five pillars of success

1. See (really see) what's possible

My experience shows that we often sell ourselves short because we lack the vision to see what is possible. We must have a clear vision of the result we want to achieve, not a foggy picture.

2. Know specifically what you want to achieve

Be able to state it in measureable terms so that you can see progress toward your goals. That allows you to measure how you achieved your goal and be able to repeat it. It also allows you to assess the reasons why if you did not achieve your goal. Eliminate those mistakes and get on the correct path.

3. Make good decisions

The decisions you make should be based on experience and advice from others who have traveled similar paths. Don’t be lone ranger allow others to provide input, but remember the buck stops with you so you ultimately you have to make the decision.

4. Understand the tactics to get things done and to change minds

This is based on the ability to communicate. Remember communication has three dimensions, sending the message, listening to others message and sometime just being there.

5. Earn the trust and respect of the people around you

Actions speak louder than words in this regard. If you don’t walk the walk and just talk the talk it is impossible to gain respect.

It sure seems like we spend all our time on #4.

Punishment Is Not Coaching

Lisa wrote the following and asked me to comment: “I wondered if you had a comment on the HS coach charged with reckless homicide in the death of his player from hyperthermia? Reckless homicide maybe going too far, but there is a huge responsibility on head coaches (not just ATC, strength coaches) to know how the body responds to physical stressors placed upon it. (Some) coaches need to understand that "punishment" is not the same as performance training.” Lisa I will refrain commenting directly on the Kentucky situation since none of us know all the facts, rather I will comments globally on what I have seen. As an athletic development coach, sport coach or physical education teacher I am not a believer in physical exercise as punishment. I feel very strongly that if we are trying to teach the athlete how to be fit and learn an appreciation for exercise as a means to fitness that using laps or “gassers’ as punishment is in appropriate. My attitude is to take away what they most want to do – play or practice. I am not a punishment coach, I make that clear to everyone I work with. The program will be demanding enough without adding that element. Each athlete regardless of their level of development must be taught that they have certain responsibilities to learn to take care of their bodies. We can only train them a limited number of hours each day, what they do the rest of the time is their personal responsibility.

We also need to get away from this idea that pre-season training is the time to get in shape. You can’t get in shape in ten days or two weeks. More players are injured and games lost during this period because coaches hammer the athletes and they NEVER recover. This is 2009 we should understand adaptation and proper training and preparation.

Heat is a whole other matter. Universally stress from heat is the single biggest factor in limiting performance and training. Heat stress is dangerous and must be recognized as such. Even today we have too many coaches who think they need to have the players sweat the weight off. Look at the coaches, many of them wear rubber jackets to take weight off. What an example. We know that just drinking water during practice is not enough. We must drink an electrolyte solution and be well hydrated before practice starts. Train and practice away from the heat of the day. In other words just use good common sense.

There is another area that coaches do not understand, that is exercise induced asthma. It is very prevalent in today’s youth. I have been around too many coaches that think the athlete is just being a wimp - they are not. It is a condition that is dangerous and potentially life threatening, it must be recognized and dealt with on an individual basis.  We need to reach the athletes to communicate with the coach if they have this condition. I feel that the athlete has responsibility in this regard.

After coaching forty years and being an athlete longer, it is amazing to me that we are still talking about this kind of stuff. I somehow survived two and three a day practices in college football with two Dixie cups of water, and not being allowed to take our helmets off. When I think back on that I realize how lucky we were that no one died. I vowed after that experience to never put any athlete that I worked with through that kind of abuse. It was abuse not training. Training is preparing the athlete to thrive in any environment and just survive.

Only in Florida

I could not resist taking this picture the other day while stopped at a red light. Click on the picture.

More on Player Coaches

Tim I think you misunderstand me. A good coach at any level empowers the athlete. They are not robots. On the other hand empowering the athlete is not letting the inmates run the asylum. It is clear who is the leader and the captain of the ship. It does not have to be my way or the highway, but everyone needs to be clear on the desired destination and the means to reach that destination. In the case of the Arizona Cardinal offensive coordinator, ultimately is he who is accountable for the team’s offensive performance, it is his job to judge who is being productive, during a game a match it is not his job to give the player an explanation. Discussions with players take place off the field in an office. If a player wants to talk to a coach that coach should be approachable, but remember there is a proper time and a place. Will there be confrontations? I sure hope not, but in the heat of a game or a spirited training session a confrontation is possible. When that happens no one wins. As a leader and a teacher a coach has to make hard decisions, decisions that may not be popular but that are for the good of the team. The coach has the big picture in mind, sometimes the athlete does not. I have found that in today’s society at every level of sport it is more prevalent for the athlete to be concerned about their stats or minutes than the team performance. With today’s generation there is an I in team, which makes the coaches job that much tougher.

Dr. Seuss

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities. Dr. Seuss

Players Coaches

The following are quotes from the Arizona Cardinal offensive coordinator Todd Haley who was confronted by one of his players when the player was taken out of the game. What stuck was his comment on “players coach.” My experience in pro sports is that a player’s coach is the equivalent of a lack of discipline and structure. Look at the records in every major professional sport and nary a player’s coach has won consistently. This is not an old school idea; it is the way to be successful and accountable. Todd I tip my hat to you. You got me interested enough that I might actually watch a series of down of the Super Bowl, a non event in the Gambetta household.

"I only know one way to do it, and that's how I'm going to do it," Haley says. "I was taught by one of the best about how you coach and how you have success, and that person was Coach [Bill] Parcells. I take some heat from it sometimes in this day and age where people say you've got to be a player's coach and all this stuff. Well, that's not me. I'm wired a certain way, and that's not going to change."

"Your dream as a coach is to be able to coach guys and they want to be coached, they want to be pressed, they can take you getting on their butt," Haley said the next night. "It makes it so much more fulfilling when they rise up and play to their abilities. It's a special feeling to know you had something to do with it."