Why are teachers and coaches still using the plank?
One species takes over
I have no idea when this exercise was introduced but, much like the Grey Squirrel, it has eliminated its predecessors and become the dominant species.
I was coaching my ‘Strength and Co-ordination’ group last night and I asked them if they did the plank at school and how teachers progressed the basic exercise. Archie: “They get us to run laps in between.” Oliver: “They just make us do it for longer.” At some point, these teachers will go on a conference where words like ‘disengaged’ are used.
Progressing Core Training
Lack of core strength is apparent
I never use the plank when coaching, repeat never. I would lose any last shreds of integrity if I asked the children to do a pointless busy work task that I myself would never do. Instead, we do bracing combined with movement.
Last night, the ‘core training session plan looked like this:
A: Discuss plank, why do we use it. What does it look like? B: Show front support, side support, back support as a more challenging task. Ask them why it is more challenging. C: Show heel slides (we use these frequently) and show it relates to the supports. D: Split into pairs, ask them to come up with a similar sequence for squats. Come up with the simple variant, the intermediate variant and the CRAZY variant. E: Get them to show each other and ask when they might use each. E.g. coming back from injury do the simple task.
Moving and bracing examples
They set the sets and reps. What we got from this was: 1: Decision making 2: Interaction with peers, including discussion, demonstration, corrections and feedback (and laughter). 3: Imagination and creativity. 4: Autonomy and leadership. 5: Quite a lot of strength work in a short time, without me having to tell them to ‘work harder.’
Conclusion:
None of this looked ‘perfect’, yet the athletes were doing the work themselves. I gave them hints and a framework, they cracked on with the task. If you are a p.e. teacher or sports coach prescribing the plank, ask yourself “What could I do better?”
If you are interested in learning more about this type of Foundation Strength training, we have 17 spaces left on the GAIN Deep Dive with Vern Gambetta, in Uffculme, Devon in January 2020.
As many people in the world know and understand you can learn so much by watching and observing other people.
How does society work? How people act in different situations, being a couple of examples.
This skill, of observing and reflecting is so important to a coach’s personal and professional development. I have had the chance to work with some excellent coaches over the last 5 years and from each, I have gained new skills and qualities.
While waiting for Matt, (as he was late to our meeting) I have the opportunity to watch two teams warming up for a game of Netball. As I was watching I noticed that both teams were doing the same drills and activities. And I got thinking…… is this normal? Does every team warm-up the same? If so does that mean that each person that plays that sport is the same? Is that warm-up effective for them?
Planning your Warm-Up
This is a message that I deliver on our Athletic Development Coaching Course We spend time planning and reflecting upon the coaches’ individual and team warm-ups and how they help prepare their teams before they compete and it has proven to be very useful for their athletes.
Here are some tips:
Have a plan. Write it down if necessary. Make it simple.
Make it personal to you- don’t copy what anyone else is doing.
Move generally before you get ready for your specific event.
Use large muscle groups first, get warm and sweaty.
Introduce technical drills for form.
Build up speed and intensity.
Integrate speed work with mobility, so that you don’t get fatigued.
Practice in training and experiment with what works for you.
Keep it short- that way if you are called up sooner than expected you won’t panic.
Routine is key; it will be a comfort before you compete.
What I saw and what I was thinking….
While watching the Netball warm-up I saw:
A lot of running in a straight line (A to B)
A low to medium intensity of running, and not explosive movements, high-intensity actions
Limited decision making and interplay between players.
When I look at Netball, I see a high-intensity game (for those actually involved with the ball), that is multi-directional and at varying intensities of movement thought-out the game. When in netball does a player run completely straight with no change of pace or direction. Did the warm-up resemble the actual activities and movements required in the match? Probably not.
A warm-up is so important to mentally and physically prepare athletes for competition. Yes, we can physically prepare athletes with the implementation of correct movements and actions, but who can we mentally prepare them? As each athlete has a different makeup and needs.
What we can do is to stimulate each athlete’s sensor systems, so that they make fast, and correct decisions in the heat of battle. This means including decision making in a warm-up, especially for team evasion sports. The video below shows athletes choosing a movement across the base of the square and then accelerating across the diagonals.
My favourite is Keep-Ball, a simple game that requires the players to make a number of passes between each other, without letting the opposition gain the ball. This activity is multi-directional, with a variety of intensity and movement. It includes communication and decision making.
Ask yourself, are you actually preparing your athletes for competition?
Are you looking for a good book to read on holiday? We are over half way through the year, so I have had a chance to read a few that may be of interest.
You might want to unwind with some easy reading and then gear up for the season or autumn term with something more substantial.
I try to avoid hype trains; they often make a lot of noise and leave nothing but dust and leaves spinning mindlessly behind. The reader picks themselves up, brushes off the dirt and continues along the track until they hear “You must read this, you must read this” and promptly get knocked down again.
Instead, I shall just recommend books that are well written, informative and entertaining in some fashion. At the end of this blog you can see a short summary of every book I have read so far this year.
Tsundoku: an unread pile of books
I have avoided buying books this year for the most part, and used the excellent library service. This is an effort to get my Tsundoku down to a manageable size.
I did have a small flurry post GAIN as usual, thanks to my colleagues recommending books.
Light but worthy.
West: Carys Davies. Sublime short novel about exploration and grief. Simple and elegant. If you can only read one novel this year, this will inspire you to read more
Revolutionary Road: Richard Yates. Superb novel about a dysfunctional couple in the suburbs of Connecticut. A page turner
How to Live on 24 Hours a day: Arnold Bennett. A super little book on making the most of your time. It can be read on a flight. I have written a full description here.
Words Are My Matter: Ursula K. Le Guin. A series of essays, book reviews and literary thoughts from the recently deceased author. Famous for her SF books, but the ideas and expressions in this book have opened my mind to new avenues of reading. A treat.
Writing with Intent: Margaret Atwood. A collection of essays, reviews and thoughts from this veteran writer. I couldn’t put this down. I loved the writing. I had never read Atwood until this year, taking Le Guin’s recommendation and running with it.
Impress your colleagues with your knowledge
If the staff room is full of teachers looking at Instagram for ideas for their next lesson, then try these out for size.
Well written, well researched
The Playmaker’s Advantage: Leonard Zaichkowsky. Well written, well evidenced account of how game sense is developed in the brain. Good examples throughout. Essential for those working within “Talent Development Pathways”! “Junior success is a poor indicator of long-term senior success. Their success at the age of 10 had a zero correlation with their success as a senior. Same was true with their success at ages 11-14 and 15-18. We have a zero correlation. That means those who were better at a young age were not those who were better at an older age.” Quoting Arne Gullich’s research of German soccer development academies and German Olympic sports.
Doctrines of the Great Educators: Robert Rusk. A synopsis of thoughts from Plato, Montessori and several others. Lots of good ideas. Full review here.
The End of Average: Todd Rose. Very interesting book about statistics being badly applied to humans. “The fact that there is not a single, normal pathway for any type of human development- biological, mental, moral, or professional- forms the basis of the third principle. This principle makes two important affirmations: • First, in all aspects of our lives and for any given goal, there are many, equally valid ways to reach the same outcome • Second, the particular pathway that is optimal for you depends on your own individuality.”
The Courage To Be Disliked: I. Kishimi & F. Koga. Interesting look at Adlerian Psychology, told in a student/ teacher type interview. The two main points are to develop self- reliance and to live in harmony with society. “A way of living that acknowledges only company work is one that is lacking in harmony of life.” A thoughtful quote to end on as you go away for some relaxation and reflection time.
The Full List
Words Are My Matter: Ursula K. Le Guin. Excellent start to reading in 2019 with this series of essays, book reviews and literary thoughts from the recently deceased author. Famous for her SF books, but the ideas and expressions in this book have opened my mind to new avenues of reading. A treat.
The Courage To Be Disliked: I. Kishimi & F. Koga. Interesting look at Adlerian Psychology, told in a student/ teacher type interview. The two main points are to develop self- reliance and to live in harmony with society.
The October Country: Ray Bradbury. Collection of Gothic horror stories.
The Barcelona Way: Damian Hughes. A mish-mash of ideas gleaned from observations during Pep Guardiola’s time at the club. Some good points from this: Cultural Architect, Cultural Assassin.
The Lonely Voice: Frank O’Connor. High craft, reading it makes me want to be better. A series of essays about short story writing looking at literature’s greats.
Surfacing: Margaret Atwood. Novel set in Quebec featuring a woman trying to find her identity and not submitting to cultural norms. Enlightening.
Son of the Morning Star: Evan Connell. Extensive historical account of Colonel Custer and the battle of the Little Big Horn.
Sketches From a Hunter’s Album: Ivan Turgenev. Collection of stories from 19th century Russia. Shows the plight of the peasants. Entertaining and great atmospheric descriptions.
Crazy Weather:Charles L. McNichols. Super coming of age story of a white boy living on a Mojave reservation. Very detailed descriptions.
The End of Average: Todd Rose. Very interesting book about statistics being badly applied to humans.
The Trial: Franz Kafka. Interesting story, but turgid writing and structure make it a tough read
Most Secret: Nevil Shute. A ripping war yarn about a secret mission in France. Splendidly understated.
Slide Rule: Nevil Shute. Autobiography of this engineer and author, detailed account of early aviation in the UK.
Skin in the Game: Naseem Taleb. A few good points set out in this unnecessarily thick book. If you lecture but don’t practice, or have a tangible downside if you are wrong, then you lack “skin in the game.”
The End of the Affair: Graham Greene. Short novel set in the 1940s, concise expression of human love and faith.
Brilliant Presentations: Richard Hall. Well laid out and easy to follow guidelines on improving your presentations.
Revolutionary Road: Richard Yates. Superb novel about a dysfunctional couple in the suburbs of Connecticut. A page turner
West: Carys Davies. Sublime short novel about exploration and grief. Simple and elegant.
Doctrines of the Great Educators: Robert Rusk. A synopsis of thoughts from Plato, Montessori and several others. Lots of good ideas.
Stone Mattress: Margaret Atwood. Nine tales of speculative fiction. A leaning towards the older generation. Good fun.
Where Shall We Run To?: Alan Garner. Amusing and poignant autobiography of childhood in the war.
Space,Time and Nathaniel: Brian Aldiss. 1950s SF short stories, some good ideas.
The Mint: T.E. Lawrence. Autobiographical account of Lawrence’s time as Airman Ross in the RAF basic training. Superb prose about life as a recruit between the wars. Hardly ever referenced, but I would recommend.
How Things Are, A Science Tool-Kit For The Mind: Ed. John Brockman & Katinka Matson. A series of essays written in 1994 about science based topics and ideas. Thought provoking and interesting to read now, 25 years later, how much has changed.
Winning in the Trenches: Forrest Gregg. Autobiography form this Packer great. The most interesting part is his childhood, and then dealing with the players’ strike in Green Bay. A great man, the book is less so.
The Creative Writing Handbook: Ed. J. Singleton & M. Luckhurst. A series of workshop ideas and premises for writing groups such as short stories, poetry , journalism and screenplays. Useful, but written 20 years ago, so dated in parts.
Death in Venice and Other Short Stories: Thomas Mann. A sad collection of dysfunctional individuals, written over one hundred years ago. Superbly written.
Deep Work: Cal Newport. A look at how to be productive, rather than busy. Very good ideas on switching off and concentrating on purposeful work.
The Shrinking Man: Richard Matheson. Classic SF story, focusing on the detail at home of this problem.
Encyclopedia of Physical Education, Fitness and Sports (Vol 4): Ed. T Cureton. Produced in 1985, so dated in some parts, but excellent in others. Very easy to read and well laid out. Information presented for coaches and teachers should always be this good.
The Black Klansman: Ron Stallworth. So strange it can only be true account of the black police officer infiltrating the Colorado Springs branch of the KKK. Entertaining.
Forgotten Voices, of the Falklands War: Hugh McManners (Ed). Imperial War Museum account of various people in the conflict. Heavy Para bias and critical of Sandy Woodward and 5 Brigade. Their viewpoints would have been appreciated.
How to Live on 24 Hours a Day: Arnold Bennett. A super little book about making use of the time we have got. Beautifully written and very relevant.
Live and Let Die: Ian Fleming. A James Bond novel, interesting, but seems racist in parts now.
Jeeves in the Offing: P.G. Wodehouse. Comedic novel.
The Inimitable Jeeves: P.G. Wodehouse. Short stories featuring the fall and rise of Bingo Little.
The Playmaker’s Advantage: Leonard Zaichkowsky. Well written, well evidenced account of how game sense is developed in the brain. Good examples throughout.
The Kean Land: Jack Schaefer. Collection of western short stories. Some are very good.
Writing with Intent: Margaret Atwood. A collection of essays, reviews and thoughts from this veteran writer. I couldn’t put this down. I loved the writing.
Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: Robert Sapolsky. In depth look at stress and how it affects the human body. Extremely informative and entertaining to read.
Thanks as usual to Devon Libraries and the Hayridge in Cullompton for the loans, and to Mandi Abrahams of Castle Books in Beaumaris for her annoying habit of recommending two books for every one I have just read!
If you have a suggestion on what to read this Summer, please leave it in the comments below.
were the opening remarks from Vern Gambetta at the GAIN conference in Houston last week. He set out a vision for the conference that I took to heart.
What are you currently doing?
What do you want/need to do?
Gap analysis: what is necessary to close the gap?
I have some personal reflections and tasks to do as a
result. Below are some more general points that may be of interest.
1. Decision Making: Len Zaichkowsky
Breakfast with Vern, Len and Peter Vint.
The author of ‘The Playmaker’s advantage’ talked about developing excellent games players. The performance separators between the good and the great were an athlete’s ability to:
Search for cues.
Decide quickly and accurately.
Execute flawlessly.
As coaches, we need to then design practices that help develop these qualities. Len called it ‘Overspeed training for the brain.’
Tight area drills and small sided games are two ideas that
can be used.
If you remove thinking and decision making from the players in training, how can you expect them to produce on the field?
2. A Hard Look at Evidence: Dr Grace Golden
‘The path to informed expertise and reasoning is not certain, it’s a
journey.’ Grace is an Athletic
Trainer and course leader at Oregon University.
She crammed 3 hours of information into a one hour seminar which was
enlightening.
She gave an overview of definitions of evidence, and how we
can gather it to inform and improve our practice. In the UK there is much talk
of ‘Evidence
based practice’ which is usually interpreted as ‘Only do it if you read it in a
journal.’
This has never sat well with me, because my own observations, reflections and feedback from athletes that I coach have influenced me as much (if not more) than studies I have read. Of course, if I only rely on my eyes, I am subject to bias.
Grace said we need to filter the evidence to counter this bias. She gave a hierarchy of evidence, with randomised controlled trials (RCTs) at the pinnacle.
The Parachute RCT control group?
However, due to ethics and logistics, RCTs may be unsuitable or unfeasible. She gave the example of studying the efficacy of using parachutes when jumping out of a plane.
Who would want to be in the control group that didn’t get to use the parachute? There has been no RCTs studying parachutes, but we all agree that they are a pretty good idea.
Evidence based practice
Grace showed how medicine has moved from evidence based practice to evidence informed practice.
Evidence informed practice
The assessment, treatment and then reassessment of interventions lead to informed practice. ‘Evidence doesn’t make decisions, clinicians do.’ Haynes (2002).
Grace then spent some time on the art of questioning. She said that informing yourself is not about acquiring knowledge. We are drowning in data (or funky exercises). Increased knowledge can make us more ignorant. We ignore what we see and hear in front of us.
A key point was to question our questions. Allow athletes the time to question us and
for us to think and respond.
3.
Planning: John Kiely and Eddie Jones
‘The plan is the outcome of the process, not the central part.’
John Kiely.
Several of the presenters mentioned planning. What was interesting was that all looked at it as more of a framework, rather than a detailed, longitudinal work.
John was talking about rethinking adaptation and gave a detailed critique of Selye’s work on stress adaptation and how it had been appropriated for sports. The periodisation concept puts the plan at the heart and centre of what is being done with the athlete.
John suggested a different approach.
The plan is the outcome
Philosophy:
The coaching teams; belief system, created by the blending of critical analysis
of evidence, experiences and opinions (See point 2).
Process:
The set of linked actions designed to track, analyse and review relevant
information (lots of ways of doing this) from coaches and players and other
sources.
Plan:
The training detail emerges from the process outputs and the hard constraints
imposed by logistics and competitive schedules.
John likened the detailed planning as kind of like writing a letter so Santa. It is more of a soother for coaches, than something that is likely to happen. (Gary Winckler said something similar here).
Rant alert:
My #1 bugbear when working with NGBs is being asked to send my ‘Annual periodised plan’ to a spotty youth straight out of University without any idea of what the coaches are doing, or what the players do outside of my sessions. It is a total fiction and a waste of my time. It does allow the spotty youth to ‘show nice graphs’ to justify their job.
Rant over.
Relying too much on the plan can reduce your agility. Planning isn’t an excel spreadsheet and we need to move away from thinking that a good programme is a well- executed plan. This was an excellent seminar.
Eddie Jones on planning
Eddie Jones gave
an overview of some of the things he has done with Japan Rugby and now England
Rugby. He said that you have ‘Got
to plan and get on with it,’ and that ‘It’s better to have a good plan today
than an excellent plan tomorrow.’
Working within the confines and pressures of International
fixtures are examples of the ‘hard constraints imposed by logistics and
competitive schedules.’ John mentioned.
Eddie said
that as a head coach it is important to plan, but don’t get fixated. Don’t let
tradition suffocate you. ‘Traditional
thinking stops you from changing. It takes COURAGE.’ to try something
different.
‘You can’t love something if you are copying something else.’ Eddie was very keen on infusing the plan with
passion and purpose.
4. Selling the message to players: many presenters.
Trying to dodge Jim Radcliffe
My personal bias maybe meant that I was tuning into any tips on how to present evidence or explain the purpose of what we do and why to the athletes I coach. But, many of the presenters did mention this.
Grace Golden suggested sharing your verbal pitch with athletes. Draw a picture of what you are trying to achieve. She said that not empowering the athlete to engage in the process was a mistake. They need to have a voice.
Greg Gatz showed his ‘Carolina Performance Newsletter’ and communication noticeboard at the University Of North Carolina. He uses these to share success stories and create buy in.
Bill Knowles talked about ‘Inspiring stories of world –class recoveries by average athletes’ was as important as stories of world-class athletes.
John Kiely shared four points from science that underpins the art of coaching:
Build Awareness: Education (gradually).
Signal competence (with humility).
Build belief and promote expectation.
Consciously design processes, environments and messaging.
Be YOU, but your best possible You (don’t be a charlatan).
John said that people respond to signals of competence, so think about your communication very, very clearly.
Eddie Jones talked about creating a vision and making the athletes feel part of something special.
Len Zaichkowsky said to treat your clients like gold and have your passion be contagious.
One of many impromptu discussions. This one on neck strength with Andy Stone and Dean Benton.
Vern Gambetta said that ‘Culture is the greatest scalable opportunity for a competitive advantage.’
This last section is something I shall be developing at our club over the next couple of months.
Summary
Many people ask ‘What
is GAIN?’ The headline speakers draw new people in; they are an
eclectic bunch, with new speakers from different fields each year.
However, the reason I returned
for an 8th time is the quality
of attendees. The chance to share ideas and learn from professionals from
many different countries, disciplines and sports is unique. I know that if I
have a problem or an idea, then I can get in contact with one of the people I
have met at GAIN and get an expert answer.
Andy, Jason, me and Dean reflecting over Tacos
Some of the best
people you have never heard of gave me food for thought, so thanks to
everyone who sat by me at meal times, or was training at 0530 in the morning
with me.
I am looking forward to helping our athletes over the upcoming months, helping other coaches on our coaching courses.
We all have 24 hours a day; it is one thing that unites us as humans. How we spend them differs vastly. Two Arnolds (Schwarzenegger and Bennett) have recently influenced my thoughts on how to spend my time. Here are some ideas on making the most of your time.
Wisdom from Bennett
I shall use quotes from the following:
Arnold
Bennett’s excellent little book ‘How
to live on 24 hours a day.’
Cal
Newport’s ‘Deep Work’ which
offers very constructive advice about maximising your time.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s motivational video (see below) about achieving your goals.
What do you want to do?
Before you start trying to be more productive, you need to
know what it is that you want to do with an extra hour a day.
Without a goal you can’t plan
Look at more kittens on skateboard videos?
Practice your drawing?
Learn a new language?
Get fit?
Research your family tree?
Read a book a month?
Far be it for me to judge what your interests are, but if you don’t know what you want to try
and achieve with an extra hour, you will lack the incentive to make changes.
“I’ll live the focused life, because it’s the best kind there is.”
Winifred Gallagher
Waking up every morning with a purpose will make a
difference.
Step 1:
Think about what it is you would like to do if you were given an extra hour a
day.
Or maybe for work related tasks, ‘Think about what you would
like to do if you ONLY had one hour in the day.’
‘Busyness as Proxy for Productivity: In the absence of clear indicators
of what it means to be productive and valuable in their jobs, any knowledge
workers turn back toward an industrial indicator of productivity: doing lots of
stuff in a visible manner.’ Cal Newport.
Eliminate the unnecessary
Once you know what you want to try and do, then you can free
up some time.
Excellent book on creating great work
‘Eliminate meetings, emails, social media, or put them in boxes. Have a
digital sabbatical or a digital sabbath.’ Cal Newport.
20 years ago no one checked work emails at home; now a day off means only checking your emails twice. This means that valuable head space is taken up by thinking about work, rather than what you want to do.
‘If a man makes two-thirds of his existence subservient to one-third, for which he admittedly has no absolutely feverish zest, how can he hope to live fully and completely? He cannot.’ Arnold Bennett.
Bennett allocates 8 hours a day for work and 50 minutes each side of that for travel. Even if you hate your job, he suggests it shouldn’t ruin the rest of your time.
It is easy for me to say as someone who is self-employed,
but I have always resisted the urge to have meetings and send emails. I joke
that those in the public sector often say ‘I’ve
had a busy day with meetings and emails.’
Whereas I say ‘I got
nothing done because I had to go to meetings and reply to emails.’
If you are employed by an organisation that likes to have meetings to discuss the next meeting, then good luck. Otherwise, think about how you can say ‘No’ to things that won’t immediately impact on your work.
Newport recommends the digital
Sabbath- taking one day off a week from electronic communication (including
skateboarding kittens). For more important pieces of work: books, revision,
articles or projects, then take a digital
sabbatical for several weeks.
This will be extremely hard for those people who insist on
sharing every meal they eat or every dog walk they take on Instagram. Hence the
need for that burning desire in step 1.
Step 2: Eliminate the
unnecessary from your work life and social life.
How much time is left?
It is worth watching this video featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger’s quote ‘Sleep faster’ on how to allocate time in your day. Arnold Bennett in 1908 came to a similar conclusion; 6 hours a sleep is enough, and the rest is just habit.
If you have 10 hours for work and travel, 6 hours for sleep,
that leaves 8 hours for you. Take away two for household chores, ablutions and
meal times and that leaves 6 hours for what you want to do.
Those of you with newborn infants, or caring for the Aged Relative will have additional responsibilities. This will eat into those 6 hours considerably.
When I had two children under 4, my brain was a fog and I learnt to exercise in 15 minute chunks as and when I could. I read Graphic Novels instead of books because I was so tired all the time. Relentless was the word constantly coming to mind.
Step 3: Work out how
much time is left.
You will find an hour at least. If you
can’t find the hour, sleep faster. Ninety
minutes is a good amount of time, any more than that and you are likely to
lose focus.
Newport talks a lot about having ninety minute focus periods throughout the day, with no more than
four periods (6 hours) total. It is very
hard to do high quality work all the time.
When are you at your best?
Are you up when the lark is on its wing and the snail is on its thorn? Do you enjoy the peace and quiet once the rest of the family has gone to bed?
Find the best time for you
When I started being strict with my 6 hours of sleep a night, I realised I had a choice: stay up later, or get up earlier. When I looked at what I achieve in the day before 0700 compared to what I achieve after 2100, the choice was clear. Get up earlier.
I get a head start on the day before the family awakens and descends down the stairs placing their various demands. You may prefer having your time at the end of the day. What is important is that you find the fit that works for you.
Then plan your hobby/ task at your best time of day. You want to start easily and build up. This is very important.
‘A failure at the commencement may easily kill outright the newborn impulse towards a complete vitality, and therefore every precaution should be observed to avoid it. The impulse must not be over-taxed. Let the pace of the first lap be even absurdly slow, but let it be as regular as possible.’ Arnold Bennett.
If you are trying to learn to play the piano, then Chopsticks rather than Chopin may be the best place to start. Gain some satisfaction in making time for yourself, and achieving step one.
If you compare yourself to a more accomplished / experienced
practitioner, you are likely to quit. If you say ‘I could never write a short story
as good as Margaret Atwood, so I won’t try,’ how will you ever improve?
The ridiculous comparison is an easy way to avoid failing at a task (I see it in athletes all the time).
‘I will not agree that, in this business at any rate, a glorious failure
is better than a petty success. A glorious failure leads to nothing; a petty
success may lead to a success that is not petty.’ Arnold Bennett.
Step 4: Start simply
and gradually, build on small successes.
Enjoy the Journey
‘Life is a destination, not a journey‘ was my motto when I was competing. I was so focused on the outcomes, results and selection for squads and teams that I spent little time enjoying the moments.
That is the only thing I would change if I had the chance to
repeat the experiences.
Once you have the inclination, the time and the purpose for your new task, set yourself up to enjoy the process. It may mean having a separate room, converting your garage to a gym or creating a ritual to transition from life to hobby.
Create your own ritual
‘The proper wise, balancing of one’s whole life may depend upon the
feasibility of a cup of tea at an unusual hour.’ Arnold Bennett.
I ease my way into the day with a cup of freshly brewed coffee, thanks to my automated coffee machine. Once that is drunk, I can then start creating or doing, rather than consuming.
You may like to celebrate completing minor tasks with something rewarding. I would suggest matching the reward to the task, or at least not contradicting it. There is no point celebrating losing a kg of weight by eating a chocolate orange.
Step 5: Enjoy the
journey, celebrate minor successes and learn from the failures.
Remember that you will stumble and fall, that is normal.
‘The path to Mecca is extremely hard and stony, and the worst of is that
you never quite get there after all.’ Arnold Bennett.
Good luck with finding out what excites you -that is the hardest part. The rest is just logistics.
Yesterday we hosted the Making Sport Better workshop with Wayne Goldsmith in Willand. He gave two great presentations on coaching today’s generation of athletes, plus answered many questions at the end. Here is a brief summary.
“Coaches are the masters of change”.
Nobody changes by being yelled at or being given pieces of paper and being told “do 6 or 9 of these.” Many coaches assume that the athlete is doing their session with the INTENT that the coach wrote it with. The coach puts thought into the content, science, volume and frequency, but if the athlete does it half- heartedly, then the results will be different from intended.
Michael Phelps
Wayne constantly illustrated the talk with anecdotes and examples. He talked about watching Michael Phelps doing a simple drop set session with dumbbells in the gym. He had a set each of 40kg, 30kg and 15kg dumbbells. He pressed the heaviest set as many times as he could, and then went to the next set and repeated it. There is nothing complicated about it.
But Wayne said it was how Phelps drove himself and worked. The INTENT was there, so he achieved.
“What is talent?”
Wayne asked this of a very experienced football coach, who thought about it and tapped his chest and said “Ticker.” The heart to drive and succeed and the commitment to the programme.
“I can measure Heart Rate, but I can’t measure Heart.”
Success is a choice that athletes make; the days of yelling and telling are over. So we need to change how we do things. How about rating their skill, saying “that was a 6/10” and seeing how they can improve.
“You can be hard, without being a BastHard”; Wayne talked about having standards and setting them with athletes, the emotion you should show when is coaching is “love and kindness”.
Confidence = belief x evidence
Fill this can with evidence
Wayne spent a good part of the session looking at ways of building confidence. The coach’s job is to create an environment and opportunity for people to succeed. He used a diagram of an empty can (I can) and how we can help the athlete fill their can with evidence. This can come from training, from good lifestyle habits and from results.
“Confidence comes from knowing, knowing comes from doing.” If the coach can help the teenager believe in themselves, they will go on and do more.
Wayne said that having the can model and the definition
“confidence = belief x evidence”
gives him something to work with and coach from. Without that model, it becomes too abstract.
“Culture is what you do, not what you say.” It’s about behaviours. By creating a challenging but supportive environment, you help the athlete fill the evidence can to the top.
Guided discovery
I then took the coaches outside to do a warm up activity and
introduction to jump training using guided discovery for twenty minutes.
Coaching the athlete: Inspiration not just perspiration
Coaches learning by doing
Wayne’s definition of resilience was “It’s not about what happens to you, it’s how you choose to respond.”
He said that definitions of Mental Toughness changed from athlete to athlete and is situation specific (I said that for my daughter it was just getting through the school day sometimes).
Wayne gave the example of a grid he used with a rugby team to identify behaviours that would help improve the team.
On field
Off Field (Gym)
Game Day
Social
Progression
Hard Work
Honesty
The players then identified key behaviours so they see what
these words mean in real life to them.
“You have to make the intangible tangible, the unreal real.”
By writing these behaviours down and managing them and getting the athletes to respond, you build a culture of improvement. This then leads to evidence that can be put in the can.
Performance practice
Wayne talked a lot about the myth of technical perfection. He said the model was usually based on elite performers who were outliers. Coaches then became slaves to this myth and thought that mindless repetition will fix a problem.
He then listed 3 stages of learning:
Skills- teaching
Mastery– becomes automatic
Practising under pressure– can they do the skill reasonably well at high speed, or under fatigue or under emotional pressure?
Wayne gave the example of an NRL player who dropped a ball in a big match. The obvious response is to get him to practise high ball catches in training. But this could be only part of the problem. Maybe it was the wet ball. Maybe it was the fear of three 100kg players running at him. Maybe it was the anxiety of the big match.
If we just use repetition in search of perfection, we are only using a quarter of the solution.
Dynamic core
I then took the coaches out to show them a series of progressions of dynamic core work. You can see some of in these two videos:
Example of the floor work we did
Dynamic core
Summary
We finished with a series of questions to Wayne and I. I didn’t write a full account because I was hosting the workshop. I did find the attendees asked some insightful questions, with a genuine desire to learn.
We tried to offer our advice and experiences, although we definitely don’t have all the answers! I set up this time because it is rare that we get to just chat and discuss problems that we all face. One of the coaches said “I’m glad it’s not just me.”
Wayne was friendly and approachable throughout the day. It was great to see coaches from sports including: handball, basketball, rugby, fencing, equestrianism, tennis, triathlon and cycling, as well as school teachers.
Thanks to everyone who attended and to Willand Rovers F.C. for their hospitality.
Our next course is the one day “Foundation in Athletic Development” for sports coaches and teachers looking to help get their teams ready for next season.
It is just applied in a different context. Whilst we can get caught up in the Xs and Os, or the latest buzzwords- “constraints led coaching!”, if we look back, we can learn from those that preceded us and find out what truly stands the test of time.
In the book “Doctrines of the Great Educators”, Robert Rusk reviews the principles of 13 great education minds and how they influenced others (1). I have written some notes from the book, and added comments on their applicability to coaching and also to schools and their physical education.
Descartes
For any p.e. teachers reading this, arm yourself with these quotes when your curriculum is being squeezed. According to Steven Rose, we have Descartes to thank for the current dichotomy of mind versus body in education (2).
The seventeenth century Catholic philosopher and mathematician divided the universe into the mental and the material. It separated the mind or soul from the body. This then influenced science and medicine that divided into cognitive or somatic streams later.
As you may well be aware, the two are intrinsically linked.
P4 His first task was to lead men to self-examination and self-criticism. “herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself: he has not desire for that of which he feels no want.”
P5 Three stages of knowledge are described:
Opinion– the individual is unable to give valid reasons for his knowledge or assumed knowledge
Destructive or analytic stage– the individual realises he does not know what he assumed he knew. Contradiction and perplexity arrives.
Knowledge– the individual’s experience is critically reconstructed and he can justify his beliefs by giving reasons for them.
P7 “Were not the laws which have the charge of education right in commanding your father to train you in music and gymnastic?”
P19 “Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind…. Then do not use compulsion; but let early education be a sort of amusement; you will then be better able to find out the natural bent.”
P33 “The most important part of education is right training in the nursery. The soul of the child in his play should be guided by the love of that sort of excellence in which he grows up to manhood he will have to be perfected.”
P 44 “Children must be allowed relaxation, but, as in other particulars, a mean has to be preserved; deny them play, they hate study; allow them too much recreation, they acquire a habit of idleness. Play also reveals their bent and moral character, and Quintilian observes that the boy who is gloomy, downcast and languid, and dead to the ardour of play affords no great expectations of a sprightly disposition for study.”
P58 “The first duty of the tutor is to know the nature of the pupil, approving and extolling any virtuous dispositions which the latter should happen to possess and condemning in no hesitating manner which might lead the pupil into evil. He should also take care that the pupil is not fatigued with continual learning, but that study is diversified with exercise.”
P 141 “It is forgotten that these urchins who gambol upon village-greens are in many respects favourably circumstanced- that their lives are spent in perpetual play; that they are all day breathing fresh air; and that their systems are not disturbed by over-taxed brains.”
P143 “He that hath found a way how to keep up a child’s spirit easy, active and free, and yet at the same time to restrain him from many things he has a mind to, and to draw him to things that are uneasy to him, he, I say, that knows how to reconcile these seeming contradictions, has, in my opinion, got the true secret of education.”
P186 “A feeble body makes a feeble mind.” “All wickedness comes from weakness.” “The weaker the body, the more imperious its demands; the stronger it is, the better it obeys.”
“Would you cultivate your pupil’s intelligence, cultivate the strength it is meant to control? Give his body constant exercise, make it strong and healthy, in order to make him good and wise; let him work, let him do things, let him run and shout, let him always be on the go; make a man of him in strength, and he will soon be a man of reason.
As he grows in health and strength, he grows in wisdom and discernment. This is the way to attaint to what is generally incompatible, strength of body and strength of mind, the reason of the philosopher and the vigour of the athlete.”
Our first teachers are our feet, hands and eyes. “To substitute
books for them does not teach us to reason, it teaches us to use the reason of
others rather than our own; it teaches us to believe much and know little.”
P190 “Teach by doing whenever you can, and only fall back upon words when doing is out of the question. Let all the lessons of young people take the form of doing rather than talking; let them learn nothing from books which they can learn from experience.”
P246 Quoting Pestalozzi “I would go so far as to lay it down as a rule that whenever children are inattentive and are apparently taking no interest in a lesson, the teacher should always first look to himself for the reason.”
P249 “Let the main ides which are introduced into a child’s
education be few and important, and let them be thrown into every combination
possible.”
P254 On discipline which can be broken into two parts:
Regierung: orderliness or teacher’s control of pupil’s behaviour.
Zucht: character training or self-discipline.
The former serves primarily the needs of the teacher, the latter those of the pupil. Regierung secures merely external conformity, whereas the work of Zucht is not to secure a certain mode of external behaviour but rather to develop insight and the appropriate volition in the mind of the pupil.
(Interestingly, Oakland Raiders head coach John Madden made the same observations (3))
Discipline need not be repressive: “When the environment is so arranged that childish activity can spontaneously discover the road to the useful and expend itself thereon, then discipline is most successful.”
“The foundation of control consists in keeping children
employed.”
He expands further into how the translation of both into
English becomes “discipline”.
This can be misconstrued where “A well-disciplined school may be the worst possible institution for the development of character, since it may leave no opportunities for the practice of such actions as are initiated by the pupils’ own motives nor afford occasion for the exercise of self-discovery and self-imposed discipline.”
P274 “To have educative value the play of the child must not be a purposeless activity; his play impulses must be directed and controlled by the employment of definite material necessitating an orderly sequence in the feelings engendered and in the activities exercised.”
P275 “While play is the characteristic activity of childhood, work is that of boyhood. Interest in the process gves place to interest in the product. Whereas during the previous period of childhood the aim of play consisted simply in activity as such, the aim lies now in definite, conscious purpose.”
P277 “Every child, boy, and youth, whatever his condition or position in life, should devote daily at least one or two hours to some serious activity in the production of some definite external piece of work.”
P286 “The duration of a process is determined not by the exigencies of an authorised time-table, but by the interval which the child finds requisite to exhaust his interest.”
P287 “When the environment is so planned that childish activity is directed along the lines of the useful and expends itself thus, the result is the most effective form of discipline .”
P288 “Montessori has devised certain formal gymnastic exercises to develop the child in coordinated movements. She disapproves of the child practising the ordinary gymnastic exercises arranged for the adult.”
P325 “The great change of outlook in biology in the nineteenth century- Darwin’s doctrine of evolution- was not achieved by experiment but by observation and deduction.”
Summary
As you can see, all of these great minds have influenced later generations of teachers. Most of them have expressed the need for mental activity to be balanced with physical activity.
Never did they express the need for a competitive sports based curriculum, led by adults, for adult entertainment.
Thanks to Mandi Abrahams of Castle Books in Beaumaris for sending me this book.
References
Doctrines of the Great Educators. Robert R. Rusk. 3rd edition Macmillan (1965).
Steven Rose in How Things Are: A Science Tool-Kit For The Mind. p202. Ed. J. Brockman & K. Matson. Phoenix (1997).
One Knee Equals Two Feet. John Madden with Dave Anderson. Jove Books (1987).
I was working with a group of young players this week- pretty new to physical training.
I outlined the plan over the next 10-12 weeks. We are going to work on efficiency of movement, becoming more robust and develop your athleticism.
I then asked what did they think that involved… getting bigger was the immediate response.
Getting bigger without having a solid foundation of movement (or structural integrity ) will result in an immediate short term (about 12 weeks) improvement.
In other words the hypertrophy will take about 12 weeks to take effect and then another 12 weeks can be improved upon as well. So, at the end of nearly 6 months training you will be bigger.
3 key tips to getting bigger
Lift heavy for longer. Do big lifts, under loads, for some time.Strongman training, deadlifts, squats are all good ways of gaining mass. If it is just pure mass, with little function, then you are best off learning from some of the Strength Training Legends.
Eat well. There is no point eating junk food, you will become obese. Instead eat a well balanced diet that contains lots of natural foods. There are many sources of protein and testosteronethat can be found in your normal diet. It is a lot cheaper than buying fat shakes too.
Sleep. It is when you sleep that your body recovers and repairs itself. Most teenage rugby players are not getting enough sleep.
The Downside
If your focus is purely on getting bigger, then there are 2 potential downsides:
Injuries: if you are a rugby player you can look forward to shoulder and hamstring injuries because they are the 2 most common ones, and a season of rehab. Is it any wonder that the RFU injury audit shows an increase in rugby injuries?
Slow: If you don’t work on the application of strength through a full range of motion, and at speed, then you might end up getting slower as they found in Australia.
Conclusion
Hypertrophy work– getting bigger- is a goal in itself, but should not be the first thing that young rugby players work on.
If it is, it will hamper your Athletic Development and your rugby skills.
Younger players should look to grow up before growing out. You will be getting bigger as you get older.
Coaches who tell 14 year olds they need to get bigger, are missing the point.
This video shows some of the work I do with the tight five in rugby to make props and second rows more agile:
The British Army used to produce some excellent training manuals. My copy of the 1931 manual contains many pertinent coaching points.
It is worth considering what has gone before us. Whilst the weaponry may have changed in the past 90 years, the human body and psyche remain fundamentally the same.
Individualisation of training is an old concept
Consider this:
“1 The Physical training of army boys cannot be undertaken without first considering their individual character. Collectively they can be said to possess the definite ambition to function as soldiers from the very start of their careers; consequently they have a strong inducement to exert the necessary effort required for the progress.
By reason of their youth, they are active, energetic, healthy and have acquired some idea concerning discipline; but their will power, and with it their character requires to be trained in the right direction.
The importance of this factor must be realised by all instructors, who should set themselves the task of developing each individual characterrather than forcing all into a uniform pattern.”
How about “functional fitness or “cool exercises”?
“The exercises employed in a system of physical training, if they ensure as they should the harmonious development of the whole body, will at the same time correct the faults engendered by one-sided work and so put the body in a better state to perform any other work that may be required of it.
At the same time as he develops his body he must be taught to realise that he himself achieves this by his own effort, and is merely guided by his instructor. Interest in the possibility of his own power and the capacity to produce that power beget self- effort. Self-effort can therefore be produced.
It must be borne in mind that the performance of the various exercises is only a means to an end and that training is not merely for the sake of the exercises themselves but for the ultimate effects of those exercises.”
In those 3 paragraphs you have a basic guideline for people who are beginning to coach:
Have a systematic plan
Engage and educate the athlete so they motivate themselves
Remember that their ultimate goal is to do well at their sport, not be gym rats.
Guidance for the Physical Training Instructor
“The Instructor should remember that exercises which are well known to him, and which have become easy by practice, are new and often difficult to the pupil. he must not, therefore, be impatient of faults, neither must he expect perfection of execution too soon.
Any endeavour to obtain correctness of execution too suddenly is contrary to all sound principles of physical training.
Just as the progress of the recruit from week to week and month to month should be steady and gradual, so also should the correction of faults in each exercise be gradual. All the faults in an exercise should not be corrected at once, but the most important faults should first be put right, and later on those of less importance.
The capabilities of the men must be carefully observed, and judgement must be exercised in deciding when to exact perfection of execution and when to be satisfied with a reasonable attempt.”
This is the essence of coaching!
Character development
“The characteristics which should be chiefly stressed are accuracy, self-respect, energy , punctuality, obedience, tidiness and cleanliness.
Of these, the first- accuracy- is perhaps the most important as it inculcates the habit of performing every act with precision. It should therefore be continually kept before the boys’ minds in order to perfect them through their own efforts.”
Again, character development is emphasised as heavily as physical development here- would we now call that “training to train”? This is what used to be taught in physical education classes in schools before they became games lessons.
3″ Over-enthusiasm leading to unnecessary strain must, however, be avoided, and exercises acting directly on the will, such as balance exercises should predominate. In particular the absolute control of the body should be insisted on after any agility exercises have been performed.”
4 “Throughout the whole training the instructor must study each individual, and must never lose sight of the fact that he has in his hands the power to advance or curtail the development of the boy’s character.”
It is this last aspect of coaching that is predominant in a lot of sports, but is missing in strength and conditioning coaching– Young people are not just guinea pigs or numbers on a spreadsheet.
A lot can be learnt from these old texts, and a systematic approach to coaching, education and physical development is the most important thing for me.
“A pessimist complains about the wind, an optimist waits for it to change, a leader adjusts the sails.”
(source unknown) sent by John Mallett.
Our young athletes are trying desperately to balance all the demands placed upon them with exams, sport and peer pressure.
Their parents are trying to make ends meet, be in two places at once and pay for petrol for after school sports and weekend competitions.
Their coaches are trying to plan sessions, put tactics and technical sessions together, but realise that the fundamental movements and physical literacy are missing.
Time and money are more precious than ever before. If we take shortcuts with our young sports people: they will break.
“I’m too busy to exercise, I need to revise”
Revision mounts up
I have heard this every year for the last 15 years at about this time. Young people, parents and teachers are all under pressure to get results.
But, we know that exercise improves mood, helps concentration and helps get better academic results.
So why do parents and school teachers stop encouraging people to move and socialise and be happy?
One parent (who is a surgeon) suggested his 3,2,1 method of revision:
3 hours in the morning, 2 hours after lunch and then 1 hour later.
This gives the young person time to have a life and to work as necessary. If your teenager is locked in their bedroom all day, do you really think they are being productive in that time?
I would suggest a phone ban during revision time, to help avoid distractions, allowing it out at certain times only.
An hour of exercise a day (at least) will restore balance to their young stressed minds.
We live in a flawed sporting world: life and circumstances are often against us. I am trying to help parents, coaches and the sports men and women get better.
As many people in the world know and understand you can learn so much by watching and observing other people.
I was working with a group of young players this week- pretty new to physical training.
If your focus is purely on getting bigger, then there are 2 potential downsides:
considering their individual character. Collectively they can be said to possess the definite ambition to function as soldiers from the very start of their careers; consequently they have a strong inducement to exert the necessary effort required for the progress.
respect, energy , punctuality, obedience, tidiness and cleanliness.
4 “Throughout the whole training the instructor must study each individual, and must never lose sight of the fact that he has in his hands the power to advance or curtail the development of the boy’s
Our young athletes are trying desperately to balance all the demands placed upon them with exams, sport and peer pressure.