Sacred cows are ideas and concepts passed from generation to generation of coaches that no one questions or challenges. They may have made sense at some time in the past, but are now more likely to get in the way, still they persist. Some sacred cows are so entrenched that they are actually taught in coaching education/certification programs.
Here are some common sacred cows:
Need to build an aerobic base for sprint and intermittent sprint sports
Sprinters paw the ground
Sprinters actively dorsiflex the foot just before ground contact
The arms in sprinting stay at a forty-five degree angle
Lactic acid causes fatigue
Lactic acid causes soreness
Recovery work after competition “flushes’ the lactic acid from the system
Don’t look at the board in the long jump
Hamstrings flex the knee
Quads extend the knee
Abdominals flex the trunk
Training in-season must be a maintenance program
They may have made sense at one time, before we knew any better, but they did not evolve and change as our knowledge of sport science and performance expanded. Some of them sound quite convincing. They come with elaborate pseudo scientific explanations. Don’t be fooled and blindly follow. Do your homework, read the research. Study your sport. Slay the sacred cows, challenge yourself to stay current and question.