Functional Path Training

The Challenge

I woke up this morning reflecting on the workouts this week with the Venice Volleyball girls. It was perhaps the most impressive week of workouts they have done in the four years I have been working them. They are getting very strong. (All can squat 1.5 times bodyweight) Yet this is the time of the training year when I get uneasy. Why? Simply, because as I have said many times it is relatively easy to get strong, but more difficult transferring that strength to the game. That is our challenge going forward. I am thinking of many different ways that I can accomplish this with this group. I am going to use Myotest more to emphasize bar speed and power production on jumping (The problem is we only have Myotest). We have two more weeks of this phase where I will put the final touches on max power and begin transitioning to more specific movements. I am working on an individual player improvement plan where each girl will get specific homework to address individual needs. In the next phase we will have our biggest emphasis on jumping and on quick speed (court coverage). This is the only window of time when they are not practicing volleyball, so this offers the opportunity to work on jumping mechanics. I guess this is where the art and science get balanced out.

This Nails It

The evil empire. I saw this with my own eyes. The blame for disrespect of authority in sport falls right on their doorstep. All they care about is money! http://content.usatoday.com/communities/christinebrennan/post/2010/04/keeping-score-for-nike-its-all-about-the-money/1?loc=interstitialskip&POE=click-refer

The Training Session

The individual training session is the cornerstone of training. A long-term plan is a succession of linked individual training sessions in pursuit of specific objectives. It is the individual training session where the long-term plan is actually implemented. Therefore it is important to understand the necessity of adjustments and flexibility within the context of the plan, especially at the level of the daily training session. Contingency planning is a very important, and a necessary part of the planning process.

 

Every component in the workout must be in pursuit of the specific objectives of the workout and follow the general theme for that particular session. The workout is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end, therefore it must be put in the context of the whole training plan, so it is important to not let the individual training session get blown out of proportion.

Seth Godin on Higher Education Meltdown

This is Seth Godin's post today. Very thought provoking. Well worth reading. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/04/the-coming-meltdown-in-higher-education-as-seen-by-a-marketer.html

Coaching Excellence – Professional Development

How much time do you devote each day and each week toward your professional development? I know one international federation in another country that spends 30% of their budget on professional development. I  try to spend 45 minutes to an hour a day on professional development. Joe Vigil PHD, a great coach and mentor does an hour of professional development reading each morning at 5:00 am. He has been coaching for over 60 years and is now 80 years old. Nort Thornton, one of the greatest swim coaches ever, share ideas from books we have read and challenge each others ideas on training on a periodic basis. He has been coaching for close to sixty years and is in his mid seventies. You are never too old or too knowledgeable to stop learning.

What exactly is professional development? First: I do not count time on the Internet reading trash, time on the Internet on sites like Ted, Seth Godin do count. They challenge you and make you think. Second: Read books and research articles in and out of your field. Read authors that challenges your thinking. I try to read 100 books a year. I spend close to one thousand dollars on subscriptions to periodicals and scientific journals a year. Third:Find a mentor not a guru.Someone who can be your bullshit filter and who will guide you and challenge you. Fourth: Interact with other professionals, attend conferences, and take trips to observe other professionals you respect. Fifth: Invite other professional to come and evaluate your work, they will see things you miss.

 

Never stop learning and challenging yourself to get better. Just about the time you think you have it figured out, some new ideas will arise to challenge you. Stay ahead of the curve, be proactive, do not copy and follow, innovate and lead. Get out of your comfort zone, for me it is mastering technologies that will make me better and more productive. The only way you can do that is continual professional development. I conclude with a quote I just saw

"Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity." Christopher Morley

A Real Pioneer

One of the highlights of my visit to Colorado Springs was getting to catch up with Jack Braley. Jack is one the real pioneers in the strength and conditioning field. He was an assistant football coach and the first S&C coach at the Air Force Academy. He was doing all this stuff when I was still in high school. I first meet Jack at an NSCA Convention in the 1980’s (Back in the days when it was a coaching organization). I used to look forward to the conventions just to talk to Jack and pick his brain. Jack is 76 years and he still helps Matt McGettigan with the football S&C at the Academy. He has so much wisdom and experience it was great catching up with him. Someone needs to get a video camera and do an interview with Jack; he has seen and done so much we can learn from him. He knew how to get players football strong. I feel fortunate to know a guy like Jack, a real trailblazer. We need to honor and recognize guys like Jack.

Timely Reading

I just finished these two books. Partners in Command is obviously historic work focusing on the relationship of Marshall and Eisenhower and Popes book focuses on the Middle East and South Asia. Pope offers a perspective from someone who went to school in the middle east and speaks the language. Both books offer tremendous insights into our current world situation.I recommend both if you want a better understanding of  the why of what is happening in today's world.The following statement by Marshall made in the middle of WWII is just as true today: "We    could not indulge in a Seven Years War. A king can perhaps do that, but you cannot    have such a protracted struggle in a democracy in the face of mounting casualties."

Where will you stand? Your Choice!

USOC Training Design Conference - Day Two

The morning panels were great. Tons of great insights in high performance. Great to catch up with Thomas Rongen. Listening to him speak brought back fond memeories of pre-game and halftime with he Tampa Bay Mutiny. Great coach and communicator, I know he made a better coach. The take home quote of the day was from from Michael Chu - High Performance Coaching Development manager for the New Zealand All Blacks. He said for them and their players there was a singular focus "Playing for the black jersey." Hugh McCutcheon was outstanding, he had some interesting comments on getting away from everything being coach driven and moving toward player empowerment. I will blog more on this in the next few weeks. Scott Higgins from Curling did an excellent short presentation on changing culture, something that many of us have to do. This seminar really got me fired up and reignited some fires that need to be reignited. Off to breakfast and the last morning, more from All Blacks.

Chocolate

I saw this on the Writers Almanac this morning and I could resist sharing this. My wife and I are chocoholics so made me want to go get a cafe mocha. This got me dreaming of See's candy

Ode to Chocolate

by Barbara Crooker

I hate milk chocolate, don't want clouds
of cream diluting the dark night sky,
don't want pralines or raisins, rubble
in this smooth plateau. I like my coffee
black, my beer from Germany, wine
from Burgundy, the darker, the better.
I like my heroes complicated and brooding,
James Dean in oiled leather, leaning
on a motorcycle. You know the color.

Oh, chocolate! From the spice bazaars
of Africa, hulled in mills, beaten,
pressed in bars. The cold slab of a cave's
interior, when all the stars
have gone to sleep.

Chocolate strolls up to the microphone
and plays jazz at midnight, the low slow
notes of a bass clarinet. Chocolate saunters
down the runway, slouches in quaint
boutiques; its style is je ne sais quoi.
Chocolate stays up late and gambles,
likes roulette. Always bets
on the noir.

"Ode to Chocolate" by Barbara Crooker, from More. © C&R Press, 2010. Reprinted with permission.