Functional Path Training

Green Eggs and Ham

Green eggs and ham uses 50 different words and only one of those words has more than one syllable!

Shouldn't we be able to do the same in movement?

Imagine combining pulling, pushing, reaching, bending & squatting into into the movement equivalent of “Green Eggs and Ham.”

Use your knowledge, imagination and creativity to grow robust adaptable athletes capable of solving the most complex moment problems, its not that complicated just think of Green Eggs and Ham.

Stop and Think

Before the day starts today take a minute and reflect. Why are you doing what you are doing when you are doing it and with whom are doing it? If you can’t sensibly and logically answer these questions in the context of the whole development process of the athlete then maybe you should not be doing it.

Coaching Pitfalls – Taper and Pre-season Training

Over the years, I have seen that there are two periods of the year where good coaching can go awry: The pre-season training period and the taper. Both are essential but both are fraught with perils and pitfalls characterized by the same root cause – the willingness/desire/need/obsession to do more than is necessary. Ultimately do to insecurity and lack of trust in the process.

In the pre-season, there is a tendency to overdo and overwork. It is often seen as the last chance to add more before the actual competitive season begins. It is common to use two sessions a day and sometimes three sessions during this period. This fails to consider the work done in the off season and the overall cumulative effect of training. The extra training often has a negative effect sometimes doubling volume. The result is a tired dead athlete going into the competitive season when you want a fit lively excited athlete starting the season on the upbeat. This should be a time for specific training to take advantage of the off-season work. Think optimum not maximum and train to the athlete’s capabilities to effectively adapt. This is also the time when new athletes to the team need to be on ramped into the program. This must be gradual and progressive to not deaden them for the upcoming season. In summary, the goal of pre-season is to get each athlete to the start of the competitive season completely adaptable to the competitive demands and to be able to train sufficiently to sustain a high-performance level throughout the season.

The taper period represents a very similar pitfall. In this period, you should not try to do more or do something that you have never done before. It is a time to trust the preparation and fine tune. One more of anything is risky. What is most important in the taper often is what you are not doing rather than what you are doing.

How do I know these pitfalls? Simply because I have succumbed to them myself. There was a time when I did more in the pre-season and buried the team for the first third of the season. In taper several times I did “one more” hard session to insure they were ready and took away the edge. I took the competition away from the athletes by doing too much. Less is more or to quote the Texas Tornados “A little bit is better than nada.”

Changing Practice

We all practice with the intention of getting better. But can we do better at practice? Can we get more out of practice? Changing practice offers the possibility of changing the game. Here are a few thoughts/ideas that will help make practice sticky and more effective:

Don’t try to replicate the game – distort it. Competition is chaos!

Use distributed practice.

Make mistakes – No perfect practice, instead think perfect effort.

Use interleaving – Leave and come back to it.

Use games for understanding.

De-emphasize Drills - Drills do not equal skills.

Be a twitter coach – Get your point across in 140 characters.

Learn how to use feedback. When to give immediate and when to delay feedback.

Paths to Performance

There are many paths to performance. Note that it is plural, paths not path. There is no one way, in fact it is highly individual. This is perhaps the biggest conundrum in coaching – How to fit/tailor the training to the individual athlete to achieve each athlete’s optimum performance level. There are fast responders, slow responders and a few non-responders. Each athlete brings their individual qualities to their sport or event. We must recognize and account for this. You can have the wired explosive athletes and you can have a slower less explosive athlete – they can achieve very similar results in competition but must take different paths.

Athletic development is a process not a model. Certainly, not driven by an algorithm. It is nonlinear although at times somewhat predictable. The actual components are clear and well defined, however the means of developing those components is fluid and dynamic. No secret sauce, just a well-defined adaptable plan and a lot of smart work.

The Profession of Coaching

Coaching is a profession, not an industry. The younger generation of coaches who have been heavily influenced by social media and 24 hour sports channels do not seem to understand this. As a profession, there are standards and expectations. Coaching for me has never been a job, it has been a way of life, a lifestyle. Coaching is what you are with every fiber of your being. Coaching is special because you are impacting lives in a very direct way. Honor and respect the profession, be thankful for the privilege of being a coach.

Old Coach – Young Coach

As a young coach, I was sure I knew everything and I was dumb enough to tell everyone who would listen and some who would not. I thought a lot of the old coaches were out of it, behind the times. They did not subscribe to the latest fads and speak in fancy jargon, they just consistently produced results. My biggest regret is taking too long to figure this out. Those old coaches knew what they did know and they did it very well they seldom if ever strayed from the basics. When they did speak, it was with wisdom and authority. Most of the time they just listened and occasionally asked questions. When they did ask a question, it was very incisive and to the point. It was something they wanted to know. Now as an old coach I realize there is so much more that I don’t know than I do know. As I continue the journey I am working on closing the gap. Learning to ask better questions and eternally thankful for the continuing opportunity. Be sure to listen to those old coaches they probably have made mistakes you don't have to repeat.