Functional Path Training

What's New?

This past weekend my good friend and professional colleague, Jimmy Radcliffe, came to Sarasota for his annual day and a half visit after the NCAA regional track meet. We spend the time each year reflecting, analyzing what we did the previous year and planning. Jim was kind enough to have me assist with the Women’s Olympic Gold Medal Ice Hockey team so that was one topic of conversation. Neither of us had ever worked with ice hockey before, but we came to the conclusion that it really did not matter because it was all about reinforcing basics and improving movement efficiency.

We came to a profound realization, after looking at the landscape of Strength & Conditioning/Athletic Development through the lens of a combined ninety years of experiences, that there is very little that is new. People have put together “stuff” with sciency names that is great for marketing, but beneath the hype and catchy phrases you see that there is not much new there-- essentially old ideas repackaged and sometimes bastardized. What is new is the technology, some of it good and some of it bad. What technology has given us is a better understanding of why and how methods work and don’t work. It is interesting to note that most of the methods were developed and perfected before sophisticated technology existed. Look at the 1940’s book by Logan & McKinney and you will see that the analysis that they were able to do without high speed computerized analysis techniques was spot on. Take a look back, know your history, know the principles behind training.

Here are some books (there are many more) and names from the 1970’s and before that are just as timely with their information today as when they were written.

Logan & McKinney – Kinesiology

Bob Nidefer - The Inner Athlete

Knot & Voss – Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation

Pat O’Shea – Scientific Principles and Methods of Strength Fitness

Jim Hay – The Biomechanics of Sports Techniques

Joseph R. Higgins – Human Movement, An Integrated Approach

If you take the time to read these books you will realize that everything old can be new again.

We are not two old guys longing for the good old days, rather we are asking the younger generation of coaches to take a longer view of the body of knowledge that has gone before us. We both realize that when we used “new” ideas that strayed from the basics, the results were not there. It does not have to be shiny and new to be good. Know the basics, repeat the basics, don’t deviate from the basics and above all know and respect where the basics came from.

GAIN X – Short but Spectacular

As one who is not given to hyperbole GAIN was too short but it sure was spectacular, it was easily the best we have ever had. After ten years, we don’t have it figured out but we sure are on our way. GAIN is not a conference, it is an event, an event that is meant facilitate networking and building a community of professionals who will question and challenge each other to be the best. It directed in four prongs 1) Athletic Development 2) Sport Coaching 3) Sports Medicine/Rehabilitation 4) Physical Education with the goal to foster communication and sharing between these disciplines.

So many people have gone into making GAIN what it is today. I want to recognize them with a special thank you

Melissa Gambetta (My Wife) – The brains behind the operation, the person who does all the hard stuff to make it run smoothly

Ed Ryan who graciously gives up his time each year out of his busy schedule to do the onsite operations

Tommy McHugh AKA Tommy Tech who does all the filming, manages the web page and his dad Patrick McHugh who helps him

Rice University Men’s Track & Field who are our on-campus sponsor, specifically Brek Christensen, assistant coach.

The GAIN Originals (Still Coming to GAIN) 

 

 

Tove Shere

Adam Moss

Bill Knowles

Steve Myrland

Greg Thompson

Patrick McHugh

Phil Bazzini

Joe Przytula

The Faculty

 

Wade Gilbert, professor in the Department of Kinesiology at California State University, Fresno. Dr. Gilbert's areas of expertise include coaching effectiveness, talent development, and sport psychology. Editor - International Sport Coaching Journal | Consultant - USOC Coaching Education.

Michael Joyner MD, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. He has done extensive work in Physiology of Elite Athletes. Elite athletic performances are experiments in nature on the limits of human physiology. Dr. Joyner uses data from real-world competitions to understand the limits of human physiology. 

John Pryor, Former conditioning coach Japan Rugby, now the conditioning coach for Suntory Rugby, Brumbies in Super Rugby and Fiji.

Jim Radcliffe, Head S&C Coach University of Oregon, a pioneer and a true master of the profession.

Martin Bingisser, HMMR Media, Swiss National Hammer Throw Coach

Nick Garcia, Athletic Development Coach & Assistant Track Coach, Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, California

Steve Magness, Head Cross Country and Assistant Track Coach University of Houston

Bill Knowles, ATC Philadelphia Union Academy and HP Sports. Pioneer in reconditioning and return to play.

Ed Ryan, ATC Head Trainer US Women’s Olympic Basketball Team, Formerly Head of Sports Medicine at USOC

Randy Ballard, , ATC , Director of Integrated Performance, University of Illinois

Joe Przytula, ATC Supervisor of Physical Education and Health, and athletic trainer with Elizabeth Public Schools, Elizabeth New Jersey USA.

Greg Thompson, Elementary Physical Education Teacher Farmington Michigan, Currently Athletic Development and Age Group Head Coach, Livonia City Soccer Club

Steve Myrland, District Performance Coach for Athletics, District Wellness Director Middleton Wisconsin School District

Our Partners

Their generosity makes it possible to have the quality faculty we have.

1080 Motion - http://1080motion.com/ makes of 1080 Sprint and 1080 Quantum

Bridge Athletic - https://bridgeathletic.com/ makes of Bridge training management software

Lane Gainer - http://lanegainer.com/ makes of the famous Bullet Belt

My Sports and Coaching Books of the Year

My Sports and Coaching Books of the Year. Notice the placing of the Wade Gilbert book - Coaching is the foundation!  

Some Thoughts, Reflections & Advice on Coaching

Keep Learning

There is no one way or an answer

Be Humble

Know what you know and learn what you don’t know

Don’t reinvent the wheel

Know History

Stay curious & keep asking questions

Coaching is a craft, be a skilled craftsperson

Make mistakes and learn from them

It’s not about you; it is all about the athletes you work with

Lead from the front – preferably by example

Take time to enjoy the ride – smell the roses

Learning From the Past

Much of what I stand for is not new, we already know it, it has worked in the past in a myriad of environments but has been rejected as old fashioned, not high tech, not scientific. We have abandoned proven methods in the name of progress. Certainly in every field of endeavor everything old is new again, but because of our society’s rejection of the past we have not studied the coaches who paved the way for us. It is trite to say that we stand on the shoulder of giants but without coaches like Bill Bowerman, John Wooden, Doc Councilman, Geoff Dyson, Franz Stampfl, and Percy Cerruty where would we be today in terms athletic performance. They were innovators who were not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom. No one stands alone; I have been very fortunate to learn from many people. Most importantly I have learned from the athletes that I have coached and observed. Who better to learn from? They were the ones who did the training; they were the ones, who competed, they lived it.

Vin Scully – Excellence Personified!

Growing up in California in the late 1950’s and early 60’s Vin Scully was your steady companion on warm summer nights. There was nothing better than listening to Vin Scully on a little transistor radio describe the excellence of Sandy Koufax pitching or the daring of Maury Will stealing a base when everyone in the stadium knew what he was going to do. There was special melodic quality and clarity to his voice, no hyperbole, no screaming, pure class, and the focus was on the game and the players. On Sunday Vin Scully broadcast his last Dodger game bringing to a close a sixty-seven year career! There will never be another like him. He is a man of faith, great character and class. Mr. Scully enjoy your retirement. Thanks for the memories you are a national treasure!

Let the “Games” Begin

As the games begin I run the gamut of emotions from the excitement of seeing the best of the best go head to head to deep despair and disappointment. As young coach in 1972 and 76 the Olympics was pure excitement, it was in my mind the pinnacle of athlete excellence. I trained with some Olympians and getting to see them in the big show was special. I got to go to Montreal as a spectator. It was so exciting I was like a kid in a candy store I was oblivious to the politics going on. I was there, I went to the practice track every day from day literally from dawn to dusk until track & field competition began. When the competition began I would watch the warm-ups at the practice track and run to my seat in the stadium for the competition. What an inspirational learning experience. It was heady times for a naïve young coach who thought it was all about technique and training and good coaching. Little did I know what was to come?

Then I got to the higher levels of the sport of track and field. I was now coaching national and international athletes and was serving on various committees of TAC (The precursor to USATF). It was then that the reality of the cheating and corruption hit me. It was not fun to watch. I saw it first hand when the American track and field athletes were offered so-called “educational testing” leading into the 1984 games. In essence they were being educated in how to beat the system. I saw the inner working of what is now USATF, an organization that makes FIFA look like the boy scouts. I know you are thinking that was almost forty years ago, yes and it is the same people and coaches involved today.

That brings us to today with the games set to begin. We have athletes from the US who are considered potential stars of the games who have tested positive more than once. We have the same drug coaches coaching. We are as far from the Olympic spirit as is possible. It is all driven by billions of dollars of sponsorship and television money. All that being said I will still watch selected events and sports there is still something special about this level of competition. I am looking forward to seeing the athletes that I have worked with compete because I know they have not cheated. I wish good luck to the honest and clean athletes and coaches who hopefully will be able to rise above the madness. My dream, a dream I hope to see in my lifetime is truly clean sport where there are lifetime bans and bans for coaches who cheat. I dream about seeing these young 11 & 12-year-old swimmers I am working with now have a chance to compete on a level playing field. Let the games begin and celebrate the true Olympic spirit.

Countdown to GAIN 2016

Six days to GAIN 2016 at Rice University in Houston Texas. We have our largest turnout ever although the goal is not to be big we have achieved our goal numbers. Too big and the personal interaction and sharing that makes GAIN special is lost. We have delegates from all over the world and the US. Our three areas of emphasis: Athletic Development Coaching, Sports Medicine and Physical Education are well represented. Reminder this is not a conference or a clinic it a professional development network for those who want to want to be the best at getting better.

GAIN Mission

Provide a global platform for education, innovation and motivation in Athletic Development. The focus is on developing and strengthening the connection between all elements of the sports performance team to produce adaptable athletes that are prepared for optimum performance.  

GAIN IX - 2016 Theme

The Coaching Process – Leading Effective Change

GAIN Odds & Ends

Check out the first GAIN Whitepaper on Athletic Development – Defining the Field. This is my attempt at defining the field and moving away from the restrictive nature of the name and concept of strength & conditioning. Go to www.thegainnetwork.com and scroll down to GAIN White Paper. Download the PDF, share it, reprint it use it as you see fit. There will be more to come from the GAIN community.

Also another resource from GAIN and HMMR Media http://www.hmmrmedia.com/ are the GAINcasts. Listen to the GAINcasts for insights into athletic development and coaching. Listen to the latest episode for my thoughts and ideas on what is strong and how much strength is enough http://www.hmmrmedia.com/2016/04/gaincast-episode-10-what-is-strong/

GAIN IX – 2016 will held June 14 to 18 at Rice University in Houston Texas. There are a few spots still open for the right professional – Apply now at http://www.thegainnetwork.com/

What if?

What if there were no strength coaches?

What if there were no personal trainers?

What if off season football was playing baseball or running track?

What if there were no NFL or NBA combine?

What id there were no Nike, Reebok and Under Armour throwing money around?

What if there was mandatory daily Physical Education from kindergarten through twelfth grade?

What if coaches were trained teachers?

What if sport were school based?

What if there were no travel baseball, soccer and basketball?

What if there was no freshman eligibility in college?

What if there were no Internet or social media?

What if there were no 24-hour news and sport channels?

The list could go on and on. I know this was the “good old days” when I started coaching in 1969. Maybe an old  being nostalgic. We cannot turn back the clock but we can learn from the past. There are many lessons from those days that apply directly to the problems we face in sport coaching today. Sport does not exist outside of society; it mirrors and magnifies the good and bad of society. Hopefully this will get all of you thinking about solutions.