Tag Archive: cns

1. Coaching audit: time to be self critical

   19th July 2011 11:23 am Leave a Comment

   Having been in business full time for approaching 10 years, I thought it was time to assess where we stood. Having had a couple of heavy deadlines earlier in the year, I decided to take the time to get some input on where the company stood.

   I am in the last stages of a 4 part audit of Excelsior.

    April: Customer focus.

   Myself and the staff did an extensive survey of what the athletes and customers wanted and expected from us. This included verbal Q&A and written questions. We looked at this information about what they didn’t know, common questions they had, where they looked for information and in what form.

   One of the surprising things that came out of this was that they wanted Excelsior stash!

   This information has helped shape our workshops, current and future, as well as the blog and resources.

   May: External coaching audit.

   As part of the Transformational coaching course run at Bath University, Wayne Roberts has been observing some of my coaching sessions at different locations. He then assimilated his thoughts into a very productive feedback session. I am not sure how many of you get observed coaching, and then get constructive feedback- I recommend it. Of course it has to be from someone who can give non judgemental feedback (don’t get your line manager or close colleague to do it). When there is no financial incentive from either party, it seems to enable honesty.

    June: Technical coaching audit.

   I had an intensive 5 days on the GAIN conference in Houston (detailed blogs to follow) which covered a vast array of topics in the Athletic Development field.  This was a chance to get my practices and thoughts challenged and analysed by expert practitioners from around the world. I haven’t assimilated all the information yet, but it was a useful process to get away from my existing peer group.

   July: Internal company audit.

   Feedback due next week from the staff, including the Interns, on their experiences and the company as a whole. Probably the toughest critics, they have seen at close hand what work is involved and have been instrumental in helping develop what we do.

    I aim to use August to collate this information and get a head start on the next few years. Being a small company we can adapt quite quickly to changing demands, but we need to ensure that we have a stand out service and record to help our athletes and coaches in these difficult financial times.

2. How to become a Strength and Conditioning Coach? – Diary of an Intern

   8th July 2011 3:11 pm 3 Comments

   We are now counting down to the end of our internship with James at Excelsior, and this is a good point to reflect on what I have experienced!

   But before that I just want to mention the events from the last few weeks at Millfiled School.

   For the last three weeks we have seen a new intake of girls for next year’s sessions. James has aimed to get them moving correctly over the summer to provide them with good technique and so that he can start then loading in September. We have gone through the 5×5 injury prevention programme with them as well as given them agility and leg exercises to do over the summer. Providing a good base (if they train consistently over the summer) to aid future training and improvement.

   Self reflection of an Intern

   Throughout this process I have learnt many things, which I will list in a minute, but the most valuable of these has been the chance to gain firsthand experience with quality athletes and coaches.

   As Matt mentioned in his last blog it is great to assist a good quality coach and mentor, but it is also important to have the chance to coach by yourself and think for yourself. This is something I have had the chance to do recently and has helped me become more confident as a coach.

   If you want to be a coach, or even work with athletes, then I have discovered that experience is the most important factor to consider.

   As well as experience, other buzz words I would relate to this internship include:

   • Reflection
   • Confidence
   • Consistency
   • Goals
   • Knowledge
   • Practice
   • Experience
   • Recovery/rest
   • Injury prevention
   • Women in the gym
   • Squats
   • Movement
   • Technique
   • Fun/inspiring

   These words and phrases have all cropped up in previous blogs over the last year and are concepts a coach should regularly consider.

   Although this internship has been invaluable, I know my learning and growth as a coach is far from over.

3. When the weights get heavy I get disciplined!

   14th January 2011 7:20 am 5 Comments

   Performance Sports Training

   We got back into the swing of things yesterday, watching a couple of athletes train. The diversity in athletes that James trains was obvious, having watched an American football athlete followed by a GB blind footballer.

   The politics of elite sport is obvious however it is nice when more concentration is applied to the training sessions athletes take part in. The quote above came from one athlete we were coaching, who lacked focus in his strength training warm up.

   Although many athletes would like to build on their strength straight away, it is apparent that this method may potentially cause an athlete to break and once this occurs there is no going back.

   It is occasionally better to break down an athlete’s weight lifting technique in order to build them back up again. Sometimes this can be done quickly but in some instances it may take longer. However watching from a neutral point of view you can see that taking this time will only benefit the athlete.

   James’s philosophy of taking notes and not breaking an athlete even for short-term gain is admirable. It is very important to follow a weightlifting routine, especially when not being trained by a coach and being left to your own devices in between sessions. Moving too quickly or not following a routine may do more damage.

   Individual strength coaching 

   I have also seen first hand that sometimes doing the best for an athlete doesn’t always come before your own personal power. Although a position comes with power if an athlete is succeeding outside that power, it is sometimes better to leave them to it.

   Not every athlete responds to the same programme in the same positive way. Each athlete requires personal treatment especially at the highest level. However this comes with experience, something I am learning each week with Excelsior.

   The Christmas break was a much needed one. The snow was very enjoyable although it disrupted many people’s lives and had the SWT day cancelled. However coming from Jersey it was nice to see some real snow and find that you can actually survive when there is more than half an inch!

   I hope everyone had a brilliant start to 2011 and I look forward to working with everyone involved with Excelsior this year. Please leave a comment Matt

   Strength Training for Sports Programme