Functional Path Training

Functional Path Training - Eight Years Into it

Eight years ago this week I started writing this blog. I had no clue about blogging and even less about the connected world of cyberspace. I started writing the blog as a daily “warm-up” for my writing of my Athletic Development book. I had no idea that I would still be writing eight years latter and that it would be syndicated and have the followers that it does through various social media. As I have said before I do not write the blog for others, I selfishly write it for myself. I use it to organize my thoughts to direct my work at that time. If others get something out of it, that is a bonus. I have never shied away from expressing my opinions and will continue to do as long as I write the blog. If I am wrong I will apologize.

We have all moved much farther down the functional path in the past eight years.  Access to knowledge in training has exploded, yet in many ways we have not progressed. Injuries are higher that they have ever been perhaps because we have not learned the lesson of functional path well enough or applied those lessons. I guess only time will tell. I am looking forward to continuing to write this blog and share my ideas with anyone interested. I will close with a brief reaffirmation of my beliefs: I have no tolerance for phonies, gurus, complexifiers, commercializers and shameless self-promoters. I pride myself on charting my own path even though it may not always be comfortable or inline with conventional wisdom. I am old fashioned with respect to duty, to integrity, to honesty and the value of a work ethic. I certainly have made mistakes, both errors of judgment, errors of commission and errors of omission – hopefully I have learned from those mistakes and become a better person because of it. I have few heroes but am very thankful for my family and my mentors who are a constant guiding light for me.

I wish you safe travel on your journey down the functional path.

Favorite Exercises

I always get a good chuckle when I am asked what are my favorite exercises and I answer I don’t have any. Why don’t I have any favorite exercises, really it is quite simple. I have a big toolbox of exercises accumulated over my years of coaching; I must know how to use each of those tools appropriately as demanded by the needs of the athlete and the sport and position. I have to be careful that I don’t go to my “favorite” because I like it but it may not fit the athlete or situation. I try to think about movements that would appropriate. I want to look at pulling, pushing, squat & squat derivatives, bending, hinging and bracing movements. Then I will begin to apply exercises that will fit the movements and address the need of the athlete. In other words I will put the horse before the cart to effectively train the athlete. Exercise should never drive the program, movements should, and exercises train movements.

 

Culture – The Difference Maker

I have been fascinated all my life with why some teams win and some teams lose. As a young athlete and I coach I sensed it but I did not really know what it was. After about ten years of coaching it was quite apparent it was culture. Culture is in some ways abstract and somewhat intangible. You know good culture when you see it and conversely you know bad culture when you see it. In my experience great coaches create great cultures. It is a level of expectation, a feeling that what you are doing will produce positive results. Culture is more than the domain of the coaches though. It starts with the receptionist that answers the phone, the equipment person, and the grounds keeper. They all have a hand in creating a culture of excellence. Everyone has pride in what they do and feels they are part of the success of the team on the field. It is not about facilities, it is all about people. It is how you conduct yourself as a coach and how you treat everyone you come in contact with. When you put on the uniform you feel special. I saw it in 1989 when the NY Yankees Rookie team shared our complex when I was with the White Sox. It was the way they wore their uniform, the way they acted, the persona of the coaches. They exuded excellence, because nothing else was expected. I saw it at Adams Sate when I visited Joe Vigil there in the summer of 1982. It was quickly very clear why they dominated cross-country at the time. Dr Vigil set the tone, but it was more. I saw it with North Carolina Womens soccer when I first got to work with them. I saw it with Kenyon College swimming. There was something special there. I saw it last fall when I visited Jim Radcliffe at University of Oregon. Watching football practices and a game it was clear what the culture was. It was more than the signs on the walls; it was the attitude, the people. Outside of sport Starbucks has it. They have it because they work at it, just like any great team. It does not just happen.

Changing culture is tough. To change culture more often than not means changing personnel, getting rid of energy vampires that suck the air out of the room with their negativity. Sometime it means getting rid of athletes; sometimes it means losing some games to make a point. At the end of the day culture counts and what you do as coach minute by minute and day by day counts the most. It is elevating the mundane, the daily routine to make it matter. 

Isolationism

It is easy to get caught in the isolationist trap. Trying to isolate an energy system or any system of the body may be mentally convenient and look good in theory but in practice it is like chasing a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. All systems of the body work together all the time and they work together synergistically to maintain a state of homeostasis. When you do a heavy lifting session it is certainly of high nervous system demand and very taxing on the muscles involved but there is also an ancillary cardiovascular effect and endocrine hormonal effect. In designing and implementing an effective long-term training program this must be taken into account. Look at how systems of the body integrate and how there is a spillover from one training method to another. Tap into the wisdom of the body, integrate to adapt to the demands of training in order to prepare for competition.

 

Advice to Young Coaches & Old Coaches Also

Last week I had the opportunity to spend two days with my friend, mentor and professional colleague Dr Joe Vigil at our USATF Coaching Education meeting at the Olympic training center in Chula Vista. Joe is 83 years old and just as passionate & enthusiastic as he was when I first met him over thirty years ago. He gets up at 4:00 Am every morning and does two hours of professional development reading. He is one of the most accomplished coaches in the world and is still hungry to learn! When I spend time with Joe I come away inspired and full of ideas. We both share a passion for coaching and teaching and a concern for some of the things we see happening in coaching today. The following is some advice gleaned from my conversations with Joe and from my experience. Hopefully it will be food thought as each of you moves forward in your careers.

Enjoy the journey – Take some time along the way to stop and smell the roses.

Have a life - Find a balance between your coaching and the rest of your life.

Be yourself and always be true to yourself.

Take risks, make mistakes & learn from them.

Listen more than you talk.

No shades of gray regarding drugs, either black or white.

Find the smartest person in the room & hang out with them.

Know your stuff, but more important is to show your stuff on the field, court, track or pool. Ultimately is not how much you know it is how you coach, how you put it all into practice.

Ask smart questions & be sure to listen to the answers. 

Never lose sight of the fact it is always about people and relationships.

It’s not about you it is all about the athlete.

Be prepared to pay your dues, you don’t enlist the army as a general.

Find someone to help you and mentor you

Stay humble

Coaching is profession, treat it as such and be professional in all areas.

If you are in it for the money or the fame, forget coaching and go to Las Vegas or Silicon Valley.

Don't follow people & personalities, follow principals and progressions.

That Time of Year

Next week most collegiate and high school fall sports begin practice. Conventional wisdom dictates that these sports start with a “training Camp” usually eight to ten days of two or three times a day practices. Supposedly the purpose is to get ready for the upcoming season. Frankly this is a vestige of times past when there were no off-season programs and the players had to get in shape (Not that you can get in shape in two weeks anyway). In reality what happened then and still happens today is that over the course of this training camp fatigue accumulates and the risk of injury increases. In addition the fatigue from this period carries over into the first competitions thus compromising game performance. To compound the problem it is typical to start the training with testing to determine the player’s fitness for the game (I say that somewhat facetiously). If the player fails the test then they are made to do so-called remedial work (AKA punishment) until they pass the test. They are also expected to practice thus compounding the problem of fatigue. By the time they are “in shape” the season is one third over. Here is an example from a major DI school in Field Hockey (This is more the norm than the exception)

Endurance testing; 1st day run 300 yds. in a 25 yd. distance in 1.07 ,rest 3 minutes repeat 2 more times (Must pass all 3 times), 2nd day run a mile in 6.30 rest 3 minutes repeat 2 more times (pass all 3 times). If they do not pass all the runs in the allotted time they go into remedial training, this includes the goalies.

Lets stop and think about all of this. First: It is imperative to have a strong comprehensive off-season training program that encompasses all elements of fitness to play. Second: Testing sends a powerful message. Make the test reflect the demands of the game so the players train for the game not the test. Third: The purpose of this training is specific preparation for the up coming season. Therefore the players should go into the season technically proficient, tactically sharp, fresh and ready to play.

There are many good viable solutions to this and it all starts with planning and understanding the demands of the sport. The goal here is to teach and coach to prepare to play not to punish and develop toughness. Fall championships are won in the winter and spring, not now.