Functional Path Training

GAIN Coaching by Design Workshop Designing & Implementing an Effective Athletic Development Program December 14 & 15, 2024,

GAIN Coaching by Design Workshop

Designing & Implementing an Effective Athletic Development Program

December 14 & 15, 2024,

Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, California.

Register now: https://thegainnetwork.com/events/gain2024/

At the end of the workshop the attendees will be able to put together an effective athletic development program appropriate for the athlete or the team they are working with.

Workshop will consist of 20-to-30-minute presentations followed by practical’s & White Board sessions. The White Board Sessions with all the instructors at the white board bringing ideas together to design an effective training program and interact with question from the attendees

                  Saturday

                              7:30 to 8:30 – Registration

                              8:30 to 12:00 – Presentations

                              12:00 to 12:45 – Whiteboard Summary/Discussion

                              12:45 to 2:15 – Lunch

                              2:15 to 5:15 – Presentations

                              5:15 to 6:00 – White Board Summary/Discussion

                  Sunday

                               8:00 to 12:30 – Presentations

                               12:30 to 1:15 – Whiteboard Summary/Discussion

The topics will focus on the 5S’s – Speed, Strength, Stamina, & Skill and how they connect into an effective training system:

The GAIN System – Coaching by Design

Training Quality – Volume is NOT a biomotor quality

Effective Warm-up & Preparation

Elements of Speed Development - Technique and Training

Mach Drill Revisited

Effective use of Sprint Assistance & Resistance

Agility – Stopping, Starting & Change of Direction Progressions

Foundational Strength Training - Concepts and Application

Plyometric Progressions – Integration into a Training Program

Power Development using Plyometrics

In-season Training

Bondarchuk method applied

Medicine Ball Training beyond the core

Applied Pedagogical Concepts - Getting Better at Getting Better

Sport Specific Endurance

Field Tests & Interpretation

Our faculty has a tremendous breadth of experiences and a record of excellence in their chosen fields. They know how all aspects of athletic development complement each other and most importantly they understand the process of developing athletes.

Vern Gambetta – Founder, GAIN Network

Jimmy Radcliffe – Head strength & conditioning coach, University of Oregon

Brian Fitzgerald - Sprint coach at Ventura College. Formerly head coach at Rio Mesa high school where he coached numerous state champions and national record holders in the sprints.

Nick Garcia – Head strength & conditioning coach and assistant track coach at Notre Dame High School. Nick works with all teams at Notre Dame – 16 sports in total. He knows how to organize and coach the developing athlete.

Register now join our community of professional’s eager to learn and willing to share ideas and information. https://thegainnetwork.com/events/gain2024/ If there any questions please call 941-378-178. Don't miss out on this career changing experience.

Using the Design Process for Better Coaching

Accept

    Get started, allow the problem to generate the process.

Analyze

    Gather all the facts visible and invisible.

Define

    Determine the destination – the aim, the destination.

Ideate

    Brainstorm – every possibility is on the table.

Select

    Narrow down the option to need to do and must do.

Implement

    Get going, take action and move forward.

Evaluate

    Develop appropriate metrics to measure progress to the end result.

From: The Universal Traveler – a soft-systems guide to creativity. Problem solving and the process of reaching goals. By Don Koberg and Jim Bagnall. Crisp Publications, Inc. Menlo Park, CA. 2003

Developing Athletes

Ever since I started on this journey first as an athlete and then as a coach I was fascinated with what it took to develop and nurture the athlete. As a young athlete I saw some athletes develop and thrive and others stagnate and fall by the wayside. Why was this? I noticed that certain schools were always good in selected sports. I noticed that certain coaches, regardless of talent, year in and year out always produced top athletes and teams. Why was that? At that stage of the journey I must admit it was all somewhat mysterious to me, there did not seem to be a method behind what I was observing. I wanted to know why the things that I was seeing were occurring.

Those questions started me on a quest; some would call it an odyssey to find answers. I knew that there had to be more to it than I was seeing and experiencing. When I began coaching I noticed the same things I had seen as an athlete. Some athletes thrived, some just barely survived and many fell by the wayside. Now that my perspective was broader not only did I see schools continue to develop talent but also nations. It quickly became clear that athletic excellence was something that could be systematically nurtured and developed. So, I began to look around the US and then around the world, I started looking for big things, commonalities; just like everyone I was trying to find the secret. I quickly realized there was and is no secret. I did start to see patterns and common threads though. Little did I know that I was working in a system that was doing exactly what I was searching elsewhere for. I literally could not see the forest for the trees, the answer was right in front of me.

When I started coaching and teaching in 1969 that was probably the apogee of sport development in the United States. We were the preeminent sporting nation in the world as evidenced by the dominant performances at the 1968 Olympic games. There was mandatory daily physical education taught by trained educators. Sport was centered in the schools and coached by trained coaches. Sport at all levels was part of the educational system. In the elementary and junior high schools there were afterschool sports programs that featured participation over winning. By the mid to late 1970’s all this began to unravel. Mandatory Kindergarten through twelfth grade daily physical education was dropped. Physical education as an academic discipline in colleges and universities was deemed not academic enough and physical education programs were dropped or the curriculum was changed to sport or exercise science. The mission of training physical education teachers and coaches was severely compromised.

All of this coincided with the ascendency of the GDR and the Soviet Union in the 1960’s and their dominating performances in the 1976 and 1980 Olympic games. They began to beat the US in sports where we had traditionally been strong. So we started looking at what they were doing and tried to copy it. This was somewhat of a knee jerk reaction. What we failed to take into account as we blindly copied their system was the cradle to grave control, they had over their athletes due to the communist system. Frankly the methods and ideas those countries used became an infatuation for many. Little did we know that our system, what some people derisively called a non-system as it had existed was probably superior. It would take the fall of the wall and the decline of the eastern bloc for us to understand that their system was not everything it was made out to be.

I write all of this to set the stage for the goal of this book. It is quite straight forward – to define the process of developing athletes and in parallel coaches’ development from the beginning stages to the podium and beyond because it is my contention that the two must go hand in glove. It is a journey, a process, not a clearly defined model as many would like to portray it. There are landmarks that must be achieved along the way but there are not definite time parameters; it is not a straight line. The athlete and coach are part of the socio-cultural milieu so they reflect the society they exist in. There are many realities today that face the developing athlete that were not a factor forty or fifty years ago. I will take a historical look at the various athlete development systems to see what we can learn from them. I will then outline a process of athlete development designed to meet the current reality of sport in the 21^st century and all the challenges that are entailed. It is a dynamic process that requires continual learning. Thanks for joining me in this journey as we learn together to develop the best athletes and coaches possible.

Running Mechanics Part Three

To correct running mechanics, use the Fault/Reason/Correction Paradigm. First identify the fault in the mechanics. Then find the reason for the flaw and then correct the flaw. Look at the big things first in the context of the PAL Paradigm. Get a sense of the flow of the action, before looking at specific considerations. Focus in on smaller pieces of the puzzle only after global considerations have been addressed. This is in concert with the whole/part/whole concept of motor learning, start with the whole action in this case running, then look at the parts. Decide what parts need attention. Design task oriented drills or movements that will reinforce the correction of those parts. Rather than focus on the fault you are trying to correct, give the athlete a task to achieve that will correct the fault. Above all coach the correction, don’t coach the flaw. Allow the runner to explore and solve the movement equation, then, as soon as possible relate the drill back to the whole action.

In designing and selecting drills to improve running mechanics, answer the following questions:

Why drill? Drill to reinforce correct patterns or to change or improve incorrect patterns.

What drills? The drills should be as directed and specific as possible. A few drills well chosen & clearly defined are better than many general drills that dance around the issue. Make sure that the drills are in fact reinforcing correct mechanics that relate to everyone’s specific needs.

When is it best to do the drills? The optimum time for learning is when the person is fresh and fully recovered from any previous training stress. Therefore, drills are best done near the start of a training session.

How to execute the drills? Based on the objective of the respective drill make sure that the drill is correctly executed.

Drills alone and running are sometimes not enough to improve running mechanics. Improved strength is a big factor in improving running mechanics. Segmental weakness can contribute to poor mechanics, especially in the core. Therefore, it is important to couple any program that attempts to improve running mechanics with a sound strength training program that utilizes multi-joint and multi-plane exercises.

The following is a checklist of running mechanic skill faults to look for and correct. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

         Posture

                  Sitting – Leaning backward

                  Bending forward at the waist

                  Excessive side-to-side sway

                  Head Position – Back or Forward

         Arm Action

                  Swing across the midline of the body

                  Arm carriage

                           Too High

                           Too Low

                  Abbreviated arm action

                  Excessive arm action

         Leg Action

                  Foot strike

                           Exaggerated forefoot or heel contact

                  Stiff hips

                  No knee lift - Shuffling

Running mechanics vary with and must be adapted to the speed of the run. A sprint has different demands than a distance run. Running mechanics occur on a continuum from a pure sprint to a long-distance run. The most visible change along the continuum is in the amplitude of the movement.  A sprint demands longer stride length, greater air (flight time) and shorter ground contact time. As well as a vigorous arm action, higher knee lift and a forefoot foot strike. Efficiency is not as much of a consideration as is the pure production of power. A distance run will have shorter strides, much shorter flight time, longer ground contact time, a mid-foot to rear foot strike and lower more economical arm action. The longer the distance run the more important the efficiency becomes.

Summary

Improving running mechanics is not a quick fix. It demands constant attention and fine-tuning like any other motor skill. Because it is a motor skill it is teachable and learnable. It requires body awareness, balance and good basic core and leg strength. Each running step is a step toward ingraining a new motor pattern or reinforcing an established pattern. Beware of drill for drill sake. Oftentimes drills break the movement into too many component parts. Always relate the drill to the whole action of running.

How to Be a Guru

So you want to be a guru? Here are some helpful tips I have learned through observation of many of the well-known gurus in action.

Make everything as complex as possible, it you are not sure make it more complicated.

Use big words that no one can understand or spell so they can’t look them up in any reputable source. Make up words wherever possible.

Be as sciencey as possible. Cite obscure studies in Russian journals that no one can find much less read.

Mumble a lot so people can’t understand you but they still think you are saying profound things.

Claim every athlete you ever walked by in the gym or at the track as one of the pros or Olympic medalists you worked with.

Have as many letters as possible after your name. Make some of them up if you are not sure, it is always good to have a few extra.

Steal ideas and pretend like you made them up. Don’t give credit to anyone because it might make you look like less of an expert.

Hide behind palatial facilities and machines that go bling, bam & boom.

Pretend that training and working out started when Al Gore invented the Internet, obviously anything before that is irrelevant. If it is old is can’t be any good.

This is obviously tongue in cheek but if you take a step back and look around you will see much of this in journals, workshops and especially on the Internet. The only way this will change is if we start calling these people on their words and actions. Be aware, look for substance not style and think critically. Follow principles not personalities.

How to Be a Guru

So you want to be a guru? Here are some helpful tips I have learned through observation of many of the well-known gurus in action.

Make everything as complex as possible, it you are not sure make it more complicated.

Use big words that no one can understand or spell so they can’t look them up in any reputable source. Make up words wherever possible.

Be as sciencey as possible. Cite obscure studies in Russian journals that no one can find much less read.

Mumble a lot so people can’t understand you but they still think you are saying profound things.

Claim every athlete you ever walked by in the gym or at the track as one of the pros or Olympic medalists you worked with.

Have as many letters as possible after your name. Make some of them up if you are not sure, it is always good to have a few extra.

Steal ideas and pretend like you made them up. Don’t give credit to anyone because it might make you look like less of an expert.

Hide behind palatial facilities and machines that go bling, bam & boom.

Pretend that training and working out started when Al Gore invented the Internet, obviously anything before that is irrelevant. If it is old is can’t be any good.

This is obviously tongue in cheek but if you take a step back and look around you will see much of this in journals, workshops and especially on the Internet. The only way this will change is if we start calling these people on their words and actions. Be aware, look for substance not style and think critically. Follow principles not personalities.

When Will We Learn (Warning this is a Rant!)

Volume is not a biomotor quality. It is a major stimulus at certain times in a year and a career. So why do we see swim teams and distance running programs go to extremes of volume training for prolonged periods of time to the extent that the athlete is so beaten down that they are 10 to 15 seconds off their personal bests in certain events. This is not necessary! It ceases to be training and borders on abuse.

Here is what happens with a squad: one third, the studs, who could do anything thrive. The middle third is always redlining, always struggling. They may or may not pull it together by championship season. The bottom third are roadkill. Yet we continue to lionize systems and coaches who follow this model because they win. At what cost? They win despite not because of.

There are better ways to do it and achieve world record and championship results. Simply the lack of understanding what quality is. No swimmer or runner should every be far off from their personal best times at any time of the year by an extreme amount. (Percentage varies by person and event). We need to get away from the survival model where we beat the shit out of the athlete then “Taper” with extreme rest and hope for results. Wishing or hope is never a strategy. This is not peaking it is gambling.

Instead learn to cycle the work appropriate to athlete, their event, and the time of the year. Learn to alternate cycles of preparation (more general work), adaptation (more specific work) and application (more competition and race pace work). This all needs to be coupled with appropriate strength training.

It can be done, and it is being done. It is necessary to get away from the fixation on mileage/yardage and prepare for the demands of the event.

2023 Retrospective

2023 was an amazing year. So much came together for me in my 54th year of coaching. Two world records for Summer McIntosh and a career defining year for Ellyse Perry in Cricket. Those  highlights did not come out of nowhere. I realize looking back on the year and my career the preparation, learning, networking that resulted in those performances. My tagline for years has been: "Coaching the best to be Better" These two women are the best and they will get better. I learned so much from them about commitment to excellence, the 24 hour athlete and the coach athlete partnership.

So where am I going in 2024? I am looking forward to more collaboration with the GAIN Network. Sharing ideas and growing professionally and personally. We will be moving to San Francisco, moving across country is not something you typically do in your late 70's but it is an opportunity to grow and most importantly be closer to family (Actually across the street). California is home - being home again will be special.

Some thoughts to sum up 2023: 1) Make the preparation be the separation - what you do when no one is watching is the difference make!  2) A quote from Bertrand Russell that really resonated with me: "The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn." 3) Aristotle said "I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think."

Have a Healthy, Happy and Safe New Year

Vern Gambetta, Director of Curiosity, GAIN Network

Training Do’s and Don’ts #10 – Do know your history.

If you want to be a great coach it is imperative that you know the work of those who have come before you. It is more than being able to answer trivia questions, it a deep understanding of you sport and those who the leaders and innovators in their time were. You will also find that you may think you are plowing new ground, when in fact these folks were doing it 50,60 or 70 years ago.

If you fancy yourself a sport scientist, do you know these names? Jim Hay, Betty Atwater, Chuck Dillman, Jack Wilmore, Bob Nidefer and David Costill

If you are basketball coach do you know who John Bunn is?

If you are sprint coach do know who these coaches are? Ed Temple, Leroy Walker, Bud Winter and Gerard Mach

If you are a hurdle coach, do you know who these coaches are? Alessandro “Sandro” Calvesi, Wilbur Ross

If you are jumps coach, do you know who Tadeuz Stazynski  or Witold Kreer is?

If you are a throw coach and/or a strength and conditioning coach, do you know who Chuck Coker  or Ken Shannon is?

If you are middle distance or distance coach, do you know who Mihalyi or Franz Stampfl is?

If you coach pole vault, do you know who Dutch Wamerdam is?

If you coach Decathlon, do you know who Friedel Schirmer is?

We could go on forever across a variety of sports, the point being that you MUST know your history to be the best you can possibly be.

Training Do’s and Don’ts #10 – Do know your history.

If you want to be a great coach it is imperative that you know the work of those who have come before you. It is more than being able to answer trivia questions, it a deep understanding of you sport and those who the leaders and innovators in their time were. You will also find that you may think you are plowing new ground, when in fact these folks were doing it 50,60 or 70 years ago.

If you fancy yourself a sport scientist, do you know these names? Jim Hay, Betty Atwater, Chuck Dillman, Jack Wilmore, Bob Nidefer and David Costill

If you are basketball coach do you know who John Bunn is?

If you are sprint coach do know who these coaches are? Ed Temple, Leroy Walker, Bud Winter and Gerard Mach

If you are a hurdle coach, do you know who these coaches are? Alessandro “Sandro” Calvesi, Wilbur Ross

If you are jumps coach, do you know who Tadeuz Stazynski  or Witold Kreer is?

If you are a throw coach and/or a strength and conditioning coach, do you know who Chuck Coker  or Ken Shannon is?

If you are middle distance or distance coach, do you know who Mihalyi or Franz Stampfl is?

If you coach pole vault, do you know who Dutch Wamerdam is?

If you coach Decathlon, do you know who Friedel Schirmer is?

We could go on forever across a variety of sports, the point being that you MUST know your history to be the best you can possibly be.