Tag Archive: athletic development

1. Athletic Development in Schools

   27th November 2013 10:15 am 3 Comments

   “You can power clean 9000lbs, but if you can’t synchronise, you won’t be able to apply it.”

   Jim Radcliffe said this at GAIN this year. “Synchronisation” was one of the main themes of the Coach/Teacher CPD session last Saturday. I was presenting some of the key lessons I learnt from attending GAIN, plus looking at how schools can implement an effective Athletic Development programme.

   Where we are now

   When reading about fitness programmes for young people, the outcome is often emphasised. Especially when dealing with “academies” or National Governing Bodies. However, if we try to do a “mini me ” version of what professional clubs or senior players are doing, then things can go wrong in a hurry.

   Instead, I look at what state of physical readiness the kids are in, plus what their playing; training ratio is. We discussed at some length the amount of competition that kids are forced into: school, club, county and the pressure they are under.

   This lifestyle together with enforced periods of poor posture, means that they commonly exhibit:

   • Limited range of motion in thoracic spine
   • Tight hip flexors
   • Poor ankle, knee, hip integrity
   • Poor body composition
   • Poor running mechanics
   • Unstable torso

   Putting the athletic into LTAD

   Knowing this, and knowing where we need to be, it is then important to devise exercises and training programmes that work on rectifying “lifestyle” type ailments: the “disease of disuse” (Gambetta).

   I showed the coaches some of the exercies that I use regularly with all my young athletes: working on hip and knee control, hip and T-spine mobility. These are done in sequences and also help synchronisation of the muscles.

   (I have moved away from doing things such as flexibility and balance in isolation, instead I look to combine the movements).

   Sprint mechanics

   After lunch we looked at putting this theory into practice, more specifically at sprint mechanics and a resistance training session.

   I kept the speed session simple, and just used these 3 points gained from Gary Winckler:

   

   Winckler went through this in more detail at GAIN, but in summary he says that:

   • Posture highly dependent on the means of force application.
   • A correct force application should result in an appropriate posture.
   • A correct posture will improve the result of a good force application.

   (There is that word posture again). I then took the coaches through a practical warm up drill (courtesy of Jim Radcliffe) that worked on all these aspects. The use of some rusty old athletics hurdles was especially poignant as they resembled the fluidity of the coaches’ hips!

   Strength training

   The final session was the work done in the gym. Here I showed two sessions that follow my “4 cornerstones” principle of preparation, adaptation, application and regeneration.

   Both are designed for field hockey players in mid season. The beginner is for those relatively new to resistance training, but with sound mechanics. The intermediate is for those who have been training for at least 1 year.

   

   I went through the practical aspects of these sessions, plus the rationale behind each exercise and the sequencing. Our aim is to get the players more athletic, robust and to be able to express this on the hockey pitch: where it counts.

   I start assuming the players have either been hunched over in classrooms, or spent time driving in the car to get to training: we have to get them moving. We then work from fast to slow, co-ordinated and synchronised to more simple exercises.

   Each session finishes with the players moving fast and in different directions, followed by regeneration work to help prepare for the next training period.

   Coaching the people

   We discussed at some length ways of getting young female players involved and enthusiastic about resistance training (the boiling frog scenario).

   We also discussed how to get young male athletes away from the “look good nekked” programmes and instead following programmes that help them as athletes. This is an ongoing source of frustration, but these coaches at least recognise what should be happening.

   Brett Richmond and Tom Tuthill at Bloxham School have done a great job with their gym: very well designed.

   Thanks to the school for hosting, thanks to the coaches and teachers for getting stuck into the learning and asking some really good questions.

   If you would like to host a CPD event for p.e. and games teachers at your school, please contact us.

2. 3 Tips for Athletes’ Winter Training

   14th November 2013 4:31 pm 1 Comment

   “A lifetime of training for just 10 seconds”

   Jesse Owens

   Winter for track and field athletes is the ideal time to work on conditioning without the focus of peaking for competition. Here Assistant Coach (and erstwhile sprinter) Matt Durber highlights 3 ways you can improve your athlete winter training.

   Improve your off season training

   

   Winter is a chance to get off the track!

   There is more to out of season training than running endless laps of the track or competing in cross country races.

   The following observations are based on my experience over the last few years of athletics training, as well as some insights from top track coaches.

   1)      Warming up: the clue’s in the name

   

   Matt using hurdles to develop mobility

   Recently on a cold winter evening, I saw an athlete arrive at the track and proceed to jog a couple of laps.

   Upon finishing and becoming “too warm”, the athlete removed their tracksuit and performed some static stretches sat down on the floor.

   Needless to say after a few minutes the athlete was now “too cold” and had to go and warm up again (making the previous 10 minutes completely pointless?!)

   Instead, why not prepare for training the smart way. A run to warm up initially is not a bad thing (after all, that is what you will be doing during the session!), but should be followed by a series of dynamic exercises working on mobility  and technique, rather than static stretches.

   More tips on warming up.

   2)      The need for Speed

   Winter is traditionally used as a time to work on endurance, even for sprinters. However, without working on top speed, what are you learning to endure?

   Speed work should be included in the training plan all year round, and should consist of exercises to help improve top speed through correct running mechanics. The volume of this work can then be increased (when suitable) to provide the endurance of the newly gained speed.

   Speed training is not only important for Sprinters, but can also help middle and long distance runners as well. Increasing your top speed will result in improved efficiency when running at a slower pace.

   Read more thoughts on speed training from Frans Bosch: author of “Running- Biomechanics and Exercise Physiology Applied in Practice”

   3)      Strength training

   Many athletes use the winter months as a time to train in the gym to increase strength and power.

   Although exercises such as Squats and Deadlifts will provide a significant stimulus for muscular adaptation, it is just as important to focus on the application of strength.

   Circuits are a great way of organising a group and getting general work done in a short time and I use them accordingly (circuit video  and here). However, doing one good repetition, followed by 14 bad ones is helpful to neither body or soul!

   Rather than just performing generic exercises to strengthen legs or “core”, it is also important to focus on the requirements of your event.

   • Runners-e.g.  Hip heist, knee stability and ankle stiffness
   • Jumpers-e.g. Horizontal or vertical displacement off single leg
   • Throwers– e.g. Shoulder strength and mobility as well as rotational strength from torso and hips.

   This hanging hip drill is an example of specific strength.

   A good rule of thumb is to work on general strength for 50% of the time, specific strength the other 50%.

   This review of Track coach Gary Winkler’s seminar on speed training describes the importance of making every aspect of training relevant to your sport or event.

   Read here for more information on the role of the hamstrings during running.

   Summary

   • Make every aspect of your training, from warm ups to gym work, relevant to you and your event.
   • Aim for precision and quality in every repetition in the gym or lap of the track that you complete.
   • Based on my personal experience over the last year as well as the wealth of experience of other coaches I have learned from, the athletes who make the most progress are the ones that do things consistently well.

   Matt Durber 

   If you want comprehensive training plans with video clips, then check out our ebooks on Amazon: Jump Higher, Run Faster and Get Stronger.

   Any young sports people in Devon who want to improve their performance, either come to our weekly sessions in Willand or one of our holiday Sports Performance Workshops

3. 3 pillars of athletic development: Kelvin Giles

   18th September 2013 3:15 pm 11 Comments

   “Great coaches find a way or make one”

   Kelvin Giles presenting his “Quest for physical literacy” om Exeter on Monday.

   The theme was putting precision, variety and progression into the coaching and teaching of young people at every opportunity.

   Kelvin gave a great one day workshop which had coaches, parents, teachers, physiotherapists and also 4 junior international athletes attending.

   The 3 pillars of athletic development

   Kelvin outlined his take on this:

   1. Cardiorespiratory (metabolic) efficiency: the running, swimming, cycling that gets the heart and lungs working.
   2. Nutritional quality: what the athletes put into their mouths and bodies.
   3. Mechanical (movement) efficiency: the focus of the day.

   When looking at mechanical efficiency, the load must be determined by the quality of the technique.

   That load is either: speed, distance, volume, direction, complexity or the surface upon which it is performed.

   When all of this is perfect, only then can you progress.  “Function before sports specific skill, force, speed or endurance.“

   This is criterion based progression:  the athlete must earn the physical right to progress. The adaptation must be permanent and consistent.

   (Compare that with the norm which is “no weights until you are 16, now we start with power cleans”, or “you can’t do a body weight squat? Never mind, get in the smith machine and we can add some weight because you are too skinny” James’ rant over).

   Kelvin gave examples of this, and we started with a lot of squat variations, followed by physical competency assessments.

   I have done this 4 times previously with Kelvin, but always learn something new. Today it was that spending 4 hours in a car leads to tight hamstrings!

   The state of the nation

   Kelvin spent a good portion of the day outlining the data and research behind our lack of physical ability.

   As a coach of young people, or even senior clubs and teams, it is easy to concentrate on “performance outcomes” either in the gym or in the win/ loss column. However, it is important to remember where these athletes are coming from.

   It is alright having “medal targets” for Rio and Tokyo Olympics, but the simple fact is that we have a young generation of unfit, overweight kids who struggle to move properly. Kelvin laid this out very well.

   It is everyones’ responsibility to help solve this problem. The answer isn’t with p.e “specialists” being put into primary schools and chucking a ball at 30 kids and saying “play a game“.

   The answer isn’t with hordes of sports science students being able to recite force/ time relationships or measuring Vo2 max on a treadmill but unable to coach a press up or a squat properly. Let alone sequence those movements into a meaningful, engaging coaching session.

   The answer lies with better coaching and teaching:”If you don’t chase precision, you are supporting mediocrity”. 

   “Kids aren’t afraid of hard work, the’re afraid of boredom”. Wayne Goldsmith

   “My butt is killing me”

   The last hour of the day was all practical with Kelvin taking the group through some lunge progressions, sway drill variations and single leg squat variants.

   “Are we teaching/ coaching them to discover, or to be robotic?” Kelvin put all his theory and experience into practice.

   This was a great example of how good coaching and using time and space can create overload, rather than justing adding weight. “The minute you put a bar on someone’s shoulders you slow them down“.

   With minimal coaching cues, Kelvin set tasks that their bodies had to solve: linear, lateral, rotational, squatting, bracing, hinging. So much variation and fun, with just the body.

   As Steve Myrland says “Complex equipment tends to yield simplistic results, simple equipment tends to yield complex results

   Summary and the way ahead

   Exeter school provided the venue and it was great to see their teaching and coaching staff making the most of this opportunity.

   They have recently opened their Athletic Development Gym and have implemented some great programming ideas.

   Thanks to everyone who took part, and especially to Kelvin for once again delivering a great workshop (following on from his session at Willand School, I have been helping them further implement the ideas).

   Contact me if you would like a similar course run near you

4. Spreading the joy of movement: Willand School and Kelvin Giles

   9th September 2013 8:26 am 2 Comments

   “We spend the first two years of their life trying to get them to move and say Dada, then spend the next 16 years telling them to sit down and shut up.”

   Kelvin Giles gave a great 2 hour presentation to the staff at Willand School last Friday as part of their back to school training.

   He explained the benefits of moving well and moving regularly, and got the staff to take part.

   Primary school teachers are in the fortunate (or unfortunate) position of having to be “Jack of all trades“. Whilst some may have a “sporty background”, others are artists, linguists or scientists. This was an opportunity to show how physical activity can aid learning and give the teachers some practical ideas on how to implement it.

   As Kelvin said, p.e is the first subject to be cut when the gymnasium has to be used for exams, nativity play practice or if the kids go to the zoo for the day!

   Benefits of physical activity in schools

   Kelvin broke this down into 3 areas, and related everything to the classroom and school environments.

   1. Physical: muscular -skeletal (posture, work place absenteeism), neuro-muscular (brain and body connection), metabolism (work capacity, how you cope with daily life).
   2. Cognitive: How they learn to move, how they acquire skill, how they apply skill.
   3. Psychosocial: behaviour, perseverance, discipline.

   (Interestingly, the session before Kelvin was by a cursive handwriting expert who extolled the virtues of physical co-ordination tasks to help handwriting. They also recommended an inclined desk to write properly,which also helps improve posture, something I have been telling the school about for a year!)

   Explicit vs Implicit Learning

   I have seen Kelvin present a few times before, and talked quite a bit with him. This was the first time I saw him talk about and implement these two different types of coaching cue.

   It was good to see this in action. The first is a set of rules, the second is subconscious learning by experimentation. Kelvin showed an exercise on video, then got the staff to try it out. No winners, no losers: everyone was having a go. Then a few ideas like “eyes shut” or “change arm positions” that enabled the staff to experiment and challenge themselves: again no winners or losers.

   The staff through themselves into the session, and it was difficult to get them to stop having fun! It was great to see how engaged the staff were. I hope this passes down to the children at the school.

   This was part of Willand School’s 3 part approach to developing p,e this year. Head Teacher Anne Hawkins has put time and energy into developing this and my aim is to help support her in this work. It will benefit not only my kids, but all of those who attend the school.

   Thanks again to Kelvin for delivering. Really looking forward to the full day next week in Exeter.

5. Athletic Movement: 8 tips on how to move like an athlete.

   26th August 2013 9:03 am 5 Comments

   Or why you should avoid exercise machines!

   Here are some thoughts on the training of athletic movement gained from recent reflections/ reading or coaching. In no particular order:

   1. Get athletes to move from slow to fast to slow again. Watch how some movement is easier at slow speed, some at fast. If they can do this fluidly, things are going well. If they struggle, more work is needed on the transition.
   2. 

      James showing some flexibility in movement

      Flexibility is more than stretching: it is how you move from position to position. No amount of stretching can compensate for your incorrect exercise technique. Link a series of stretches together and work on the transition, combine this with breathing and you will get results that transfer to your sport.
   3. “One should seek good balance in movement, not stillness“ Steve Myrland: like the flexibility, it is the ability to move around from position to position that is important.
   4. Prescriptive sessions can set the fundamentals up for athletes; you teach them how to stand, crawl, roll, jump, hop, skip, run, bounce, glide and soar. However, true learning occurs when they have problems to solve that require linking and syncing of those athletic movement patterns. Allow time for them to do it on their own, in pairs and finally as a group.
   5. Balance and movement can be challenged by using 1,2,3 or all 4 limbs. Alternate between them.
   6. “Complex equipment tends to yield simplistic results, simple equipment tends to yield complex results” Steve Myrland. There appears to be an inverse relationship between “gadgets or stuff” and sound coaching. I have seen hundreds of “agility” sessions that have tons of cones, ladders or poles set up, but have little impact on improving agility. If you fail to project your hips in the direction of travel, you are just rehearsing bad mechanics.
   7. Extension, brachiation (hanging) and inversion need to be included in every training session because gravity is crushing us at every opportunity.
   8. “The core is a human construct, not a physiological construct” Lederman. If your coach is getting you to do “core” training consisting of the plank: sack them and get a new one!

   The human body is designed to move, that includes the “core”. The ability to brace is essential, but do that in the context of movement around a central point. Once you can hold all 4 plank positions for 15 secs, it is time to move. Watch this healthy shoulder exercise video  to see how to progress from the plank:

   • More on this in our coaching courses
   • Join our club and improve your athletic movement

6. Do your athletes thrive or survive?

   5th August 2013 8:04 am 1 Comment

   Every get the feeling you are muddling through?

   That is what a lot of parents of young athletes feel like. Buffetted along the river of teenage years, carried by a current of car journeys,camps. training sessions, angry coaches, exams and hormones.

   The 5th Athlete Support Day was designed to put some sense into this madness and give the parents and young athletes a rudder to help them steer their way through (enough of the boating analogy).

   11 questions every athlete needs to ask themselves

   This was our starting point. I got the athletes in pairs to discuss where they were and give themselves a mark out of 5 on each point. These questions highlight the key areas that differentiate those who participate from those who are trying to perform.

   Part of the remit of the Excelsior Athletic Development Centre is to make the athletes self-aware. We have previously got them assessing their own physical capability, this session was designed to get them thinking about their training habits.

   There is a nexus at 15-16 where parents have less of a role and the developing athlete is trying to form habits that last into senior years. Those habits are crucial in developing potential once maturation has evened out. (Earlier success is often due to early maturation or heavy parental input, hence one reason why “early specialisation” fails).

   Beginning strength training

   The next part of the day was building on strength training exercises developed previously. It is amazing to see that new people who have been part of “academies” for at least a year are unable to control their own body weight.

   I am flabbergasted at why anyone would suggest athletes should lift weights before they can do a single press up correctly.

   Rather than handing out the ubiquitous sheet of paper with exercises on it, I get the athletes to think of 2-3 variations of the movements: squat, push, pull, rotate, brace. Then they practice those and write them down. That then becomes their programme. For some that means body weight, some it is Dumbbells, some it is barbells. 

   Application

   The last two sections of the day were getting the athletes running fast and exploring different ways of moving. Using principles I have learnt from Frans Bosch and Gary Winckler I concentrate on 2 key points in any session at the most and then find 2-3 ways of developing that.

   The youngsters seemed to embrace the challenge, and then I have to turn it down a bit as the co-ordination fails to keep up! This is the tricky part of coaching a group: each person has a different framework, mindset and needs. It is also the fun part!

   Last up: stretch,curl, hop, roll, slide and soar. These key words describe what I want the athlete to do, they find ways of doing that. Very young children are expressive and have few inhibitions. This group were typical of the mid teenage years and were afraid of “getting it wrong” or “looking stupid“.

   That soon changed and they broke free of the societal shackles and became very innovative. I then set up a few puzzles and tasks that they could only solve using these movements: either individually or as a group.

   Do you want to become a better athlete?

   So far this year, 5 of the athletes from the Athletic Development Centre have gained their first International Caps: 3 in Hockey, 1 in Modern Pentathlon and 1 in Track and Field.

   That is really nice, but more importantly the other regular attendees are developing their athleticism and improving their performance: Injury Free! if you are a teenage sports player and want to learn how to train or a sports coach who wants your players receiving expert advice, then please contact me here

   There is no promise of International selection, no fads, no quick fixes, no “guru” talk: just sound coaching in a supportive environment.

   Thanks to Exeter University for hosting the day. 

7. Athletic Development Seminar with Vern Gambetta

   20th November 2012 10:38 am Leave a Comment

   Head Spinning

   I had the fortune to spend a weekend in Leeds with Vern Gambetta listening to him talking about athletic development with young athletes. Vern has over 40 years experience in the profession with plenty of anecdotes from these years, he is extremely enthusiastic, which enables him to inspire coaches and athletes alike.

   The topics of his presentations linked with many of the chapters in his book, a must read for any aspiring coach.

   I came away from the weekend with my head spinning with information and a full notebook, which is going to take me a while to reflect on.

   Here are some stand out points from the weekend.

   Keep competence development one step ahead of skill development.

   Young athletes need to follow a physical development pathway; LTAD (long term athletic development) is being used by many governing bodies, despite some arguments against the windows of adaptation.

   No matter what pathway they take the athlete always needs to be able to perform the skills; which comes from a having a sounds competence level.

   How running affects muscles.

   When we did the practical running sessions Vern explained that running backwards with extending your legs back helps to improve calf flexibility, something most young athletes need, it does not work hamstrings though.

   He also uses curved runs to improve hamstrings. An example with groups  is snake runs where they follow the athlete in front running and changing directions like a snakes body.

   Maintenance = slow leak.

   One of the topics we talked about was in season training. He describes a common training term of maintenance as a slow leak: over this phase the athletes will slowly lose any adaptations they have made. This needs to be carefully monitored and programmed otherwise you could start every season from the same point.

   Once injured an athlete is always in rehab.

   Once an athlete has had a serious injury and been through a rehab process you must always treat them as if they are in rehab. Re-occurrence or compensatory injuries can always occur.

   Adaptation/ detraining times

   A schematic on the time it takes to adapt to training.

   
   

    

   I have already started to use some of the practical exercises Vern showed with my athletes and re-read the notes once but I will need to read them again and look through the slides.

   Duncan Buckmaster

   For more reading on this see the extensive reviews of GAIN here

8. Physical Literacy/ Athletic Development: Vern Gambetta

   26th September 2012 3:18 pm 3 Comments

   “Paper is 1 dimensional; humans live and breathe in 3 dimensions”.

   Vern Gambetta delivered the first lecture of GAIN V on the importance of Physical Literacy and how it underpins everything else we do.

   (I know I have reviewed this backwards,but it also acts as a summary of everything I learnt this year).

   Gambetta’s lecture emphasised the fact that the Human body is a self organising system that is capable of amazing things: our training should reflect that, not inhibit it.

   In the rush to use Sports Science, the most important element is the Human element. Hence the quote above.

   The workout starts with the Warm Up and this should include “Linking, synching and connecting movements”… or you could sit on a foam roller.

   The training must include Force Reduction and Proprioception, as well as Force Production.

   Putting Physical Literacy into practice.

   Gambetta expanded the Physical Literacy analogy by putting this sequence together:

   • Physical Literacy (your ABCs)
   • Physical Competence (A sentence)
   • Specific Sport Skill / Technique (A paragraph)
   • Sports Performance (A Novel)

   No one tries to write a novel before learning how to read, but are Coaches and Parents trying to get their kids and athletes to do things without the correct tools?

   “Sports reflect society”. Kids have less opportunity for informal play and experimentation. PE classes are sports classes, rather than physical education.

   We need “Mandatory DAILY physical education, taught by trained EDUCATORS.”

   Another problem is the lack of sleep that teenagers are getting. Constantly wired into their screen devices, or staying up late to catch up on studies, means they don’t get enough REM sleep for development.

   Kids are not miniature adults

   Too much training + too formal= not enough play

   Kids must be able to play. This leads to better all around development: Cognitively; physically and socially. (That doesn’t mean adult organised play based on mini versions of team sports).

   Kids grow upwards first, then outwards. So trying to change that sequence through loading and lifting is damaging.

   (Dave Ellis also made that point when showing different frames and sizes of NBA players).

   These areas are crucial for development and must be included in the overall training plan:

   • Rhythmic awareness (timing, use music).
   • Directional awareness (all directions, up down, left and right, forward/ backward).
   • Visual awareness (tracking, balls, people, objects, use balloons early on).
   • Spatial awareness (where you are in relation to other players. Lining up in formations helps this).
   • Tactile awareness (the ground, other people. Judo, wrestling help here).
   • Auditory awareness (footfalls, problem of loud music in the gym).
   • Body awareness (hand in relation to foot, hand to hand, hand to head, head to foot etc).
   • Temporal awareness (jumps, change of direction, catching).

   Locomotion is key to Athletic Development

   None of these qualities operate in isolation. Instead, they sequence and operate together. The gait cycle is fundamental in this.

   (I did talk to Vern about training blind athletes who have not had the opportunity to develop this gait cycle: it inhibits everything they are trying to learn and do later on).

   Movement is a series of dynamic postures. Working on static posture such as pilates is fine, but we must look to progress and sequence these postures.

   (Posture was mentioned in one form or another in every lecture).

   Vern then discusses Assymetry vs Symmetry in posture, saying that the body is assymetrical and we shouldn’t get too hung up on this.

   (I disagreed to some extent, working with developmental athletes we are continually trying to balance front/ back and left/ right. Especially with sports like cricket who do too much assymetrical work and the kids are getting injured).

   “Skill ’em not Drill ’em”

   Another common theme in GAIN, was the emphasis on creating skills through challenging environments and scenarios. This compares to endless drill practice, where the kids get good at drills, but with zero transfer to the sport (ladders anyone?).

   Vern also used the example of tyre flipping as part of Strongman training that encourages the use of slow movements. Much slower than the demands of the sport. (Subsequent discussions have agreed on a time and place for this type of training, but not to exclusion of other things).

   One of Vern’s mantras is to “Keep competence development one step ahead of skill development”. That means the athlete’s phsycial skills are developed before their technical skills.

   (I have seen kids being taught triple jump who can not stand on one leg, can not do a body weight squat with control and can not stick a 2 foot landing).

   In young kids, running actions are quite good. Giving the kids games and races that encourage them to run around are better than doing run drills. Changing surfaces, taking off shoes (sometimes), running up and down inclines all help.

   Lessons Learnt

   For those of you (if there are any) who have read this series of blogs, you may think have gone into too much detail. I haven’t: I have just scratched the surface.

   Here are some of the other thoughts gained from informal conversations at meal times.

   • Everything is everything (Tracy Fober quote) do not work in isolation.
   • Interdisciplinary conversations and meetings are essential.
   • Sharing ideas gets away from silo mentalities.
   • There is a continuum from child development to professional athlete. Nearly every coach or lecturer mentioned posture for example. What affects the PE teacher is also relevant to the physiotherapist, track coach, strength coach and football coach.
   • Coaching is essential, drilling is mindless.
   • Testing or random number gathering? Data and information is important, but it must be relevant and not get in the way of training.
   • Don’t move up a run distance until you can at least run a decent time over a shorter one. Do you run marathons or endure them? (Randy Ballard!)

   Thanks again to roomie Andy Stone for sharing his wrestling and PE ideas and being a good training partner.

   Thanks to Vern Gambetta and all the lecturers for their insights and sharing. They are all very approachable and they are all there to learn too.

   Thanks to all the attendees who also shared and imparted their wisdom and experiences. The whole environment was one of learning and sharing by consumate professionals.

   Most importantly I have had time to take an Operational Pause over the summer and reflect on my current practices and training programmes. By trying things out and applying them I am able to consider how they fit in.

   Further reading:

   What is Physical Literacy?

9. What has happened to P.E in this country?

   4th September 2012 9:16 am 5 Comments

   Progression, Variety, Precision

   These were the 3 cornerstones of Physical education and a gym culture where “you went to learn, not to train” according to Ed Thomas at GAIN V this year.

   Dr Thomas is a mine of information on the history of P.E. (I don’t mean a GCSE syllabus) and its educators.

   He is pictured here helping Andy Stone get to grips with inverted brachiation training (read more on this from Thomas here)

   “A perfect storm of ignorance” has led to sports replacing physical culture. If you look at our “PE” lessons you will see that they are really games lessons.

   Blame it on basketball

   Schools used to have gymnasiums filled with equipment that allowed participants to do a myriad of different exercises in large groups safely. They were taught in formations and shown how to teach each other.

   This led from the floor, to above the floor training using ropes, beams and bars. This is why pull up scores were so good in those days (In 1948 the Iowa high school fitness manual stated that in order to get an A grade, you had to be able to do 44 pull ups).

   Then, someone invented basketball and the schools had to remove all the kit and allow that to take place.

   This meant that the PE had to move into the playground, which depended on the weather, and so a decline took place.

   Look at the girls in the picture on the right, and compare that to the “fitness suites” that schools insist on using nowadays where girls completely disengage and listen to ipods on cross trainers!

   Methods, Materials and Motivators

   3 things the ancients had according to Thomas. I can’t really do justice to the depth and width of his knowledge, but the detail of the systems and structures that were in place hundreds and even thousands of years ago was enlightening.

   Some key points I learnt:

   • Systematic teaching methods and organisation of big groups helps learning
   • Posture in the workplace or school classroom needs addressing (I will cover this in more detail soon). It is the foundation of all sporting movements.
   • PE assumes greater importance every time a nation goes to war
   • The link between Restorative, Martial, and Pedagogical systems is key.
   • The link between Personal, Interpersonal and Transpersonal health is also key.

   Seeing him speak and spending time with him over the 5 days made me realise how poor and shoddy PE in this country is. We have gone backwards over the last 100 years, and especially over the last 30 years.

   That is why I am running a series of workshops and offer training courses for the PE teachers who do want to try and influence the next generation. Otherwise our whole country will suffer from a lack of knowledge and ability.

   This is the first in a series of blogs looking at some of the key concepts that were discussed and delivered at the Vern Gambetta GAIN conference in Houston I attended in June this year.

   Further Reading:

   • How to create an outstanding physical education programme
   • History of Gymnastics in British Schools
   • Doctrines of the great educators

10. Training young athletes: Part 7 Marco Cardinale

    5th March 2012 2:21 pm Leave a Comment

    In this Olympic Year, I thought it would be a good idea to hear from coaches who have worked with developing athletes and their thoughts. Today Marco Cardinale  who is the head of Sports Science and Resarch at the British Olympic Association.

    I started my career coaching young athletes. I was in fact a Handball coach, interested in developing young handball players. Our programmes started with kids in primary schools all the way to the senior national teams.

    Working with young athletes has always been rewarding as you see them growing and improving and very quickly you can see the ones having the right attitude about hard work and commitment which will lead them to sporting greatness. Rewards don’t come only from the one winning medals, they come from seeing everyone reaching their potential and maximising learning to become better. 

    So, here are few hints and tips. 

    1) Each training session counts, but only if the athletes are connected and willing to engage

    2) Each training session has to have a purpose, athletes need to know why they are doing it

    3) Learning happens with deep practice, so make sure the athletes are immersed in what they do

    4) Use random practice to create challenging environment, however keep in mind progression needs to be appropriate to the skills of the athletes you are coaching

    5) Make sure athletes write things down and are actively engaging in learning what they are doing

    6) Give ‘process orientated praise’. For example, praise the athlete’s effort and strategy. E.g: ‘You really tried hard’; ‘That was a good way to do it’

    7) Emphasize hard work and learning, you can get better if you learn more than your opposition

    8) Use interactive technology, the young generation likes interactions, persuasive technologies can be very effective  

    Coaching Generation Y

    The way we coach/teach athletes now needs changing as new generations cannot be coached in the same way as the old one. Some fundamentals are still valid. Hard work and learning are the fundamental aspects for a young athlete, deep practice, passion for the sport and knowledge are the building blocks of elite performers.

    Young athletes willing to excel in sport should look at young musicians or artists. You can only excel if you study your sport, if you develop a deep inquisitive knowledge of all the aspects relevant to your sport (equipment, nutrition, tactics).

    So, look at the best in the World, learn what they do, write notes, take pictures, save videos, analyse their performances, admire the skills and think about how you can develop new ones.

    The young athletes of today will be tomorrow’s champions only if they will play a different game than today’s champions.

    Marco Cardinale

     

    If you wish to have an easy to follow guide to training young athletes, then click on the book cover to the right. I wrote this standing on the shoulders of giants.