Tag Archive: LTAD

1. Getting Better at Practice: decision-making

   10th May 2023 9:07 am Leave a Comment

   Playing sports at any level requires making decisions. Sometimes they are tactical decisions such as when and where to pass the ball. Sometimes they are training decisions such as which technique to prioritise or how much weight to lift.

   
   Players need to be allowed to make decisions in order to develop and succeed. The sooner they start, the sooner they can start taking responsibility and ownership, and the sooner this will translate to the field/court/arena.

   Giving players choice and autonomy is one of the three key points that ensure athletes enjoy their sessions and want to return (Wade Gilbert).

   
   Watching players grow and develop into independent thinkers is one of the best parts of coaching. I can’t think of anything worse than standing on a sideline micro-managing every move.
   But, like everything else, the players need good coaching to help them rather than leaving everything to chance.

   

   Here are some ideas that I use to get players involved in decision-making.

   1.Start off simple.
   The easiest coaching tool is exploration. e.g. before coaching a specific throwing technique, I ask the players to find as many different ways as possible to throw an implement. The safety parameter is to throw in a certain direction. I might add a restraint such as ‘two-handed throws only.’

   
   Then I get them to choose the type of throw to get the implement the furthest and practice that.
   In a group of 10 athletes, there might be 2-3 options chosen. I can then link the similarities to why they worked. I can also ask if that type of throw is the best for accuracy.

   
   This can also be done with kicking and striking (racquet/bat sports).

   2. Limit the choices

   Anyone who has done the weekly shop with a toddler will understand the benefits of having limited choices available in supermarkets, with clearly marked and labelled prices for easy comparison.

   The same thing applies to sports. By creating a drill with two main options, the athlete can choose and see which works best. It also forces them to work on skills that they might otherwise neglect.

   This is especially good for beginners who have a limited skill set.

   e.g. A small-sided football game where they can only score a goal with their weaker foot or their head.

   A two-handed throw either overhead standing face on, or standing side on and throwing with a long arc.

   Both these examples help guide the athlete into performing basic skills that underpin good play later on but allow them to adapt to what they think works best.

   

   3. Allow the athlete to create routines/games themselves.
   It is important to allow athletes to take control of their own training as their skill set develops and they mature. This could be within a warm-up (see here) or in the session design itself. Autonomy does not mean anarchy.

   
   It means the coach sets up situations and guides the players.

   
   e.g. Gymnastics: create your own routine that must include a balance, a roll, a jump and a movement on hands.

   
   In teams of three, work out a passing move that you could do in the middle third of the pitch and then one in the attacking third. Test that against one, two and then three defenders. Did it work? Why/why not?

   
   Weightlifting: select a weight that you feel comfortable doing for 3 sets of 3, then 3 sets of 2. Or, here are the four exercises we are doing in the session, you select the order in which you wish to do them.
   This last exercise goes against every principle of a ‘numbers’ coach who insists that there has to be a specific sequence in order to maximise results. But, allowing the athletes to choose the order themselves gives them a feeling of autonomy. It can create a ‘holiday’ atmosphere in a sport where the repetition of the same exercises is physically and emotionally hard.

   

   Summary

   I have given a few examples of tasks that can be set up within practice to help your athletes learn to make decisions. Not all will respond, some just want to be told what to do, especially if they are tired and their brains hurt after school. Others will thrive and look forward to these parts of your training more than others.

   
   It still requires coaching, but more of an overseeing rather than directing mode. This allows you to watch the practices and understand what is happening rather than ‘do’ the practices where it is easy to lose sight of the overall session.

   If you have any other suggestions on decision-making, please leave them in the comments below.

   Further reading:

   How to get better at practice: intention and attention

2. The oxymoronic Talent Pathway

   8th December 2022 11:03 am Leave a Comment

   How did people get good at sports before the existence of pathways and ‘talent’ academies?

   

   If you read biographies of a previous generation of sporting superstars there is usually a mention of a dedicated p.e. teacher or coach at a local sports club. Children discovered their love for the sport locally and affordably. They might have had a keen parent, like Tim Henman or Seb Coe, but most stumbled into the sport through normal p.e. and games or by going with a friend to a local club.

   The sport was fun, and well-coached and this lead to some successes and a desire to do a bit more training. There were no academies or pathways. ‘Sport for all’ was the Sport England motto.

   This changed with the introduction of the National Lottery and the mechanisation of sport in the UK, especially after the ‘failure’ of Team GB at the Atlanta Olympics. Medal tables and podium places took the place of ‘Sport for all.’

   Funding was dependent on National Governing Bodies (NGBs) meeting top-down objectives, including having a ‘pathway’ despite there being no evidence of such a thing working in reality. In his book, ‘The Talent Lab,’ Owen Slot summarises the report into Britain’s subsequent (and expensive) pursuit and attainment of medals thus,

   ‘There is no one single element of success, no one cap that fits all.’

   The goal of UK sport was to win more Olympic medals and that was achieved: between the Atlanta Games and Rio (2016), GB won 96 medals.

   However, just 12 people won or contributed to 49 of them.

   Over half the medals were won by just a dozen individuals.

   Or, to put it another way, is this a good use of public money?

   Where is the Olympic Legacy?

   In the ten years after the London Olympics, there has been a decrease in sporting participation. Part of that can be blamed on the Covid-pandemic and the various lockdowns. However, the pandemic may have hastened the decline rather than caused it.

   There are two stark facts that should be first and foremost on the minds of parents, teachers, coaches and public health figures:

   1. Only 1 in 5 adolescents and adults meet the current weekly recommendations for aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercises for health across 31 countries.
   2. The reported levels of anxiety and depression in adolescent athletes in the USA are higher now than they were pre-Covid.

   In other words, 80% of adolescents are not doing enough exercise to stay healthy.

   Those that do play sports have more mental health issues than they did prior to Covid even though they have returned to activity.

   And yet...

   There are more ‘talent pathway managers’ than coaches in NGBs nowadays. More ‘scholarships’ and ‘academies’ and ‘talent programmes’ than there are minibuses to ferry the kids around. As soon as a child shows an interest (or an early growth spurt or specialisation) then they are ‘identified’ and told they ‘must’ attend a training/ selection camp miles away from home.

   Those working within ‘Talent Pathways’ operate in an echo chamber where they attend conferences with other people in similar roles from different sports and share ‘best practice’ ideas! For those on an NGB salary, it is understandable that no one raises their hand and says,

   ‘Hold on! Shouldn’t we be focussed on helping young people get healthy and active and supporting them rather than cherry-picking from an ever-decreasing pool of participants?’

   They would risk losing their job and their salary, so they stick to the company line.

   Too much, too early

   NGBS are continuing to encourage young children to specialise, especially girls because they are afraid of losing ‘talent’ to another sport (see the Talent ID Bun Fight). They might not say so overtly, but when a child is told that they must attend weekly ‘talent’ sessions miles away and go to regular camps involving overnight stays, time and logistics prevent that child from doing anything else.

   When I worked with England Golf, the regional (under-16 coaches) were told to:

   1. Only select those girls who would definitely play for England at the senior level.

   2. Select them at under 13 so they would ‘be in the system for longer.’

   These young girls had barely started secondary school and they were put into the system. They were ill-equipped physically and emotionally for this intense training and expectation. Many of them quit the sport or just returned to their home coaches and courses.

   The perverseness of the NGB means that the child is in danger of dropping out of all sports: burnout, injury, or competing demands such as schoolwork are the major causes.

   The increased cost of fuel and a squeeze on family incomes means that even fewer children can afford to travel big distances, let alone afford overnight stays, to play sports.

   And, it is worth repeating, there is no evidence that early selection at a young age leads to representation at a senior level: in fact, the opposite is often the case.

   In German football, those playing in the National Team specialised later and played more ‘pick-up’ games with their friends than those just playing in the Bundesliga. The players who specialised earliest and had less ‘free-play’ ended up playing in semi-professional teams below the Bundesliga.

   At some point, specialisation and more investment in training will be necessary: but it is at a later age than you think and only when the child is ready.

   Playing a variety of sports, locally, with friends still works at a young age. If they are still sleeping with a teddy bear they should not be specialising.

   

   Questions for parents to ask

   Parents are bombarded with information from NGBs and often told that their child ‘has’ to be on the pathway in order to become successful. I suggest that parents ask the NGB the following questions:

   1. Why?

   2. Is there evidence that these ‘pathways’ work?

   3. Can my child be successful without attending this academy?

   4. Did any of the elite performers in your sport use a different route?

   5. How much will it cost?

   6. What happens if they are de-selected: will you help support them back at their club?

   The answers that could be given are:

   1. To show that the NGB is ‘doing something.’

   2. Yes: for some people but not for all (as does every method). And there is a recency bias.

   3. Yes: if given the right support and encouragement locally.

   4. Yes, of course, they did. Some didn’t even start the sport until their late teens.

   5. A lot: fuel, time, accommodation. Money that could be best spent elsewhere (unless you are wealthy).

   6. No. The risk of dropping out entirely is high because the child perceives themselves as ‘a failure’ if they do not make the next set of teams.

   Excelsior Athletic Development Club

   

   Our club philosophy is to help every athlete get better. It is not to produce champions nor is it to be part of a ‘pathway.’ Every person has different motivations for training including:

   · Goal/success driven

   · Feeling fit and good about themselves.

   · Looking good

   · Hanging out with friends

   · Learning a new skill.

   All of these are valid and worthwhile. The problems only occur when there is a mismatch between their motivations for training and their willingness to train enough or if the coach’s expectations don’t match the athlete’s.

   A goal-driven athlete who doesn’t want to train frequently will be frustrated when they don’t succeed.

   The athlete who wants to feel fit and hang out with friends will be frustrated/ upset if the coach (me) tries to make them compete.

   This comes down to communication and education. If our athletes can meet their expectations at our club they will continue to participate and see the benefits. This is led by them and facilitated by the coach.

   It is not driven by an NGB setting targets.

   We coach people at our club, not statistics. It is worthwhile remembering the old motto,

   ‘Sport for All,’ and helping the young generation along their journeys of discovery rather than forcing them into someone else’s pathway.

3. Free the children

   21st March 2022 10:53 am Leave a Comment

   

   Have you been to a zoo recently? You might see a collection of animals behind bars. They have some space to roam but, for the likes of the speedy cheetahs, not enough to get up to full speed and hunt.

   They were born to do this.

   I have written previously about the stunted development of kittens when their movement is restricted in a lab setting.

   Imagine how the cheetah in the zoo feels: pining against his primal urges, wishing to unleash himself and test his speed against the wildlife of the plains.

   Would anyone disagree that the natural, uncaged environment is best for this, and many other animals, as long as mankind stops destroying their habitats?

   Why do you imprison your children?

   

   There has been a trend in recent years to ‘professionalise’ high school sports. This often means trying to copy what is seen at the college or professional sports level. Or, what is perceived to be done at those levels.

   This has meant that high schools have literally put cages into their gyms: calling them ‘Power cages’ (sic) does nothing to diminish the fact that movement is restricted.

   No one calls the cheetah enclosure, a ‘power enclosure’ (not yet, anyway). The limited definition of most ‘S&C’ coaches confuses ‘power’ with ‘force’ and this means increasing ‘power’ by adding load to the young athlete.

   Quick physics reminder

   P=(fxd)/t

   Power = (force x distance)/ time.

   Power will increase if you do things further and faster, not just adding more load to increase force.

   ‘The problem is NOT that athletes have too great a spatial awareness.’ Sprint Coach Vince Anderson.

   Cages restrict movement and limit speed: the two things that young athletes need to develop. The ‘S&C’ ‘coach’ can justify the expense of the cage by showing how much more mass the young people are moving. Despite the fact that it is slow and has limited range. The environment dictates and limits the scope of programming.

   These environments have been dominated by American Football (US) and rugby (Commonwealth countries) and ignore sports where moving external mass (another human, heavy objects) is not part of the sport.

   Fencing, badminton, tennis, hockey, soccer, netball, basketball and squash, to name a few, require fast, agile, coordinated athletes (The d and t of the power equation).

   If you are training young athletes, then think of how they can improve their speed, coordination, agility and range, often at the same time. How does putting them in a cage help?

   Free the children, free your mind. Break the shackles of groupthink.

   Further reading: force, power and acceleration. A summary of Jack Blatherwick’s presentation at GAIN

4. The Joy of Movement

   25th November 2019 11:51 am Leave a Comment

   

   Jumping for joy; when was the last time you did that? What about Jogging for joy? Hardly sounds the same does it?

   

   I recently heard two people talking about their exercise regime. Everything was counted. They count calories, they count steps, they count miles and they count lengths in a pool.

   Their measure of progress was to do more of the same, count it, and then share it on Strava. They can then compare themselves with all the other hamsters.

   Were they happy? Sure didn’t sound it like it, they used phrases like, ‘I dread it, but feel better afterwards.’ Or, ‘I don’t want to do it, but I think I ought to.’

   ‘Where do I sign up?’ I didn’t ask.

   The daily grind

   

   Commute, work, commute and then relax by spending time on the treadmill.

   Compare that to a dog in the park. Endless energy, running around, chasing balls, leaves, cats and sniffing things. Children do that, without the sniffing. They are playful and happy, if given the chance.

   Bastards- let’s stop all that ‘larking about’ as one parent said to me. She wanted her 12 year old daughter to grind out tough strength and conditioning sessions because she was trying to climb up tennis rankings (another pointless measurement).

   Let’s drive our children to school and then give them fitbits to measure their steps. Let’s foist our adult insecurities onto our playful children.

   Let’s stop physical education and replace it with a ‘Daily Mile’, let’s turn them into mini adults.

   

   Alternatively you could explore the joy of movement with your child or dog:

   • Go upside down
   • Go backwards
   • Climb things
   • Go over and under things
   • Skip, jump, hop and leap.
   • Pick things up and carry them or throw them.
   • Forget competition and comparison; try to explore what your body can do.

   Fun is what seems to be what is missing in life ( I have put some ideas on a YouTube playlist, ‘The Joy of Movement’ have a look.)

   If you concentrate on making shapes and changing shapes, you will never have to worry about getting in shape.

5. What is Athletic Development?

   1st November 2019 4:09 pm Leave a Comment

   Athletic Development is a combination of planned, unplanned, organised and chaotic events that lead to a person’s overall physical and mental abilities to perform a variety of physical tasks, often within sport.

   

   Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) is a model that highlights different stages from infancy to adulthood and what types of activities are best suited at each stage.

   As each human being grows up and develops in different environments, with different experiences and with different adaptations, there is no such thing as ‘The ideal pathway’. There are as many paths to the top as there are peaks.

   Athletic Development is a concept that applies to all children, and for many adults who want to continue physical activity.

   The ability to throw, catch, evade, slide, dodge, skip, run, jump, climb, duck, hop, roll and balance is often summarised with the term ‘Physical Literacy’.

   If a child is physically illiterate, then it is unlikely, but not impossible, that they will be unable to participate in a sport successfully. They may get hurt, injured, be unable to keep up, or bend down to pick up the ball or flinch when a ball is thrown at them.

   Physical Literacy can be developed through parenting

   I am often asked to provide sessions for young children- 3 year old’s in gymnastics or 6 year old’s in athletics.

   If I wanted to be rich, I would organise sessions for these age groups and fill the sessions. Yet, these children do not need organised sessions at these age groups.

   They need opportunities to crawl and roll on soft surfaces (sand, grass, carpets) to strengthen their limbs and discover movements themselves.
   For the budding track stars, I tell the parents to treat their child like a dog. Take them down to the park and throw their child a ball, let them run around maniacally and at their pace. They will set off like a berserker and then rest for a bit.
   That is what dog walkers do, and with children you don’t have to pick up their mess afterwards.

   

   But, the parent has to put down their smartphone and interact. They have to sack the ipad babysitter.
   The child needs the opportunity to get dirty, fall over and get up again. They need the chance to play with other children without it being a ‘playdate’.

   That is why I asked Willand Parish Council to improve the parks in our village four years ago. I gave them advice on what equipment would benefit children and give them the chance to play.
   They have been very responsive, taken a punt on my suggestions, and have seen the popularity of the equipment since.

   

   I was frustrated with parents not hanging around long enough for their children to play. So I suggested park benches and picnic tables to encourage families to stay. They have proven popular too, with all sorts of residents enjoying peaceful moments in the fresh air (I have yet to see any National Governing Body put in its ‘Talent Pathway’ plan the incorporation of benches under oak trees in parks).
   Our Parish Field has become a park that people from outside our village want to visit.

   
   Athletic Development for All

   Most things written about Athletic Development come from Sporting NGBs looking to increase medal counts or from academics promoting their model to gain speaking engagements and publication credits.

   Little of what they do has any relevance to George who is 6 years old and likes playing football in the playground and climbing onto the park benches. George has no idea what a ‘Talent Pathway’ is.

   For him, ‘Long Term’ means waiting until lunchtime to go out and play.

   I set up Excelsior Athletic Development Club five years ago. It was in response to my observations of young people who were keen, enthusiastic sports people, but were unable to perform simple tasks well.

   Examples being:
   • A 13 year old boy who was part of a swimming ‘Academy’ but he did not understand how to play piggy in the middle with a bean bag.
   • Rugby ‘Academy’ players who were given loaded back squats in a Smith machine, but were unable to stand up from a low bench without using their hands.
   • Track and Field athletes who could not skip sideways.
   • A 14 year old county cricketer who could not throw overhead.

   These children were given specialised activities in their sporting environment, but lacked the underpinning skills and basic movement patterns to help them reach a very high level.

   My work with National Governing Bodies and the Sport England “South West Talent’ Project brought me into contact with a lot of children whose parents ferried them from organised session to organised session, but had little time to play.

   The so-called ‘Talented’ athletes were just normal children whose parents had the time or money or both to take them to training sessions.

   Since I have been coaching at Excelsior ADC, I have seen first-hand how ordinary children, somewhat clumsy, sometimes tubby and lacking in confidence, can achieve a great deal given time and opportunity.

   I am often contacted by parents who tell me things like, ‘My daughter’s got a body in a million’ (can’t make this stuff up) or ‘He’s an extremely talented tennis player and you will be amazed by his physical ability.’
   I give the poor kid the benefit of the doubt and welcome them to our club session.

   I have yet to see any child come in and be better at the ordinary skills than our top twenty most regular attendees.

   

   Our unsung heroes aren’t county players or internationals (yet), they just come in and get on with the job of learning gymnastics, athletics, strength and co-ordination training.

   In short, they are developing as athletes. Our aim is for them to be healthy, happy and participating in physical activity for the rest of their lives.

   That is the definition of Athletic Development in my mind.

6. The Quest for Ultra Performance

   3rd April 2019 7:58 am 3 Comments

   “Each man delights in the work that suits him best”

   Homer, The Odyssey

   Odysseus had his 10 year journey home to Ithaca, Jason his search for the Golden Fleece, Percival his Grail Quest and Frodo had to destroy the One Ring.

   All these Heroes had to:

   • Travel long distances
   • Enlist the help of allies
   • Defeat enemies
   • Overcome obstacles
   • Make many sacrifices

   Does this sound familiar in your training or coaching? 

   (Female quests are under represented in literature: Dorothy trying to get back to Kansas is one example.)

   “If you give them silk pyjamas, they won’t get out of bed”

   Rob Gibson, Rugby Coach.

   Whilst all of these Heroes had a destination in mind, it was the journey, the struggle, the life changing process that was the real story.

   (I always question why Frodo walked when he could have hitched a ride on an Eagle).

   As an athlete, having things laid out on a plate for you may not always be the best thing. Giving players underfloor heating in a changing room may be nice, but what happens when they have to play away?

   

   Nice facility, but coaching matters more

   “Talent needs trauma” by Dave Collins is an excellent piece on why obstacles and hazards are needed as part of Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD).

   I see athletes I have worked with moving to “Institutes” and becoming Institutionalised: they start moaning if they have to fill their own water bottle, or that the wrong music is played in the gym, or that they had to wait for an hour in between training sessions!

   A smiliar problem occurs with coaches who want to gain experience at a “bells and whistles” facility. They become fascinated by kit and use that first, rather than thinking about the athlete and the process.

   Put them in an empty room with 30 kids and say “Get them fit“ and they turn round and ask “Where’s the force platform?”

   Earn the Right

   I have a philosophy of coaching that the athlete has to “Earn the Right”. I can show them the way, but they have to take the steps. Rather than turn up to the Athletic Development Centre and get some fancy stash, they have to start working and assessing their own ability.

   Young rugby players ask “when are we going to do cleans?” I answer “you have to earn the right” that means being able to move well and efficiently first. Can they do a single leg squat? Can they do 50 hindu press ups and 100 hindu squats? Can they do a dumbbell complex first? Can they overhead squat 50% of their body weight?

   It is easy to get popular in the short term by giving away kit and jumping on the latest training bandwaggon.

   Will that approach help the athlete when they are face down in the mud on a cold December night with a hairy-arsed monster stamping on them? Will it help them as they try and apply that power in the open field?

   The same applies to coaches, you have to “Earn the Right” to work with athletes: at any level! 6 year old kids deserve the same amount of planning and preparation as does an Olympian.

   Someone said to me this week that they couldn’t use their knowledge and techniques on kids that age. I said he had to “Earn the right” to work with those kids by improving his knowledge and learning different techniques.

   Ultra Performance

   Feedback from a recent speed workshop with coaches included “I reckon that you are a hard taskmaster”. Perhaps, but I was emphasising the quality of execution and precision of movement before progressing.

   The Quest for Ultra Performance is about the journey, the struggle and the process for coaches and athletes alike. There are no shortcuts.

   “It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.” Winston Chuchill.

   • We can learn from other people: mentors, senior coaches and fellow athletes to help us along the way: we then have to practice implementing that information.
   • We can enlist the support of allies (parents, friends, coaches, teachers): we then have to step onto the pitch, mat or court ourselves and have a go.
   • We can attend conferences, workshops and courses that help accelerate our learning: we then have to Plan, Do Review. It is called the Coaching Process rather than the Coaching Destination!

   No one can input the passion and desire though, the opening quote from Homer is important to understand as an athlete or coach.
   

   The only way we can attain Ultra Performance is by undergoing the Quest.

   (Thanks to Rob Frost for the Headline)

7. Helping athletes to grow.

   10th March 2019 8:30 am 1 Comment

   

   Who knows how the athlete will grow/

   Can coaches help athletes grow?

   At Sunday school many years ago I was taught a parable about a man who was given corn. He scattered it carelessly around. Some fell on dry earth, some fell on stones. Some fell in fertile land and was either eaten by birds or strangled by weeds. Some fell in fertile land and received the right amount of sunshine and water and grew into healthy corn.

   I was reminded of this when talking with Phil and Julie, two tennis coaches I work with. Phil was talking about how much we can influence players- he reckoned that they were born great. He asked “how much can we actually influence things?”

   I then used the corn analogy to describe how I see our role as coaches.

   The athlete is the corn– they are born a certain way. That can’t be changed. Whether they become fully developed and successful depends on many outside factors. The fertile earth is the environment they grow up in- supportive parents, good schooling, influential peers.

   As coaches, it is our job to provide the sun and the rain– the knowledge and experience and motivation that will help the young athlete grow and develop.

   Often we will provide the sun and the rain and discover we have grown a weed- but we can’t know that until we try.

   Who are we to judge before giving our best effort for all athletes we work with?

   Further Reading

   Helping your child become happy and active within sport.

8. LTAD: building young people

   31st May 2018 8:00 am 1 Comment

   “Life is a process, but it’s hard to get through to the kids”

   Finn Gundersen, GAIN VII.

   “What is LTAD?” has been demoted to a project question for students, a scientific discussion, or a pdf issued by National Governing Bodies (NGBs).

   But, in my opinion, it’s about people: coaches, parents, teachers and, most importantly, the children.

   Gundersen really brought this to life in this excellent seminar, based upon his work at Burke Mountain school in Vermont.

   It starts with a foundation of:

   • Trust.
   • Honesty.
   • Respect.

   If you trust the athlete, then you can give them some freedom to act. Gundersen has no “leaders”, instead, everyone is a leader: everyone takes responsibility.

   I like this aspect, I see far too many youngsters walking around with “sports leader” or “physical leader” t-shirts: what about everyone else?

   With no peer groups, no heroes, no rewards and privileges “everyone is responsible for the community“. The kids have to do chores such as washing up straight away.  There are no gradings of ability such as ABCs, labels are avoided.

   “Never underestimate your intellectual and athletic ability”

   is what Gundersen tells the kids. He tells the coaches “You’re not there to pick out a winner, you are there to coach all of them.” He told us “Don’t let teachers get away with it.” NO LABELS, we have to give HOPE to every kid in the programme.

   (Compare that to a teacher who said I would never produce a good school gymnast because I was “working with the dregs“: how to write off 7 year olds.)

   Coaches have to be patient, have belief in what they are doing and be non-judgemental.

   This may sound a bit soft and cuddly, but the work at Burke Mountain was designed to teach the kids desire, andhelp them to go after things they wanted.

   This requires Hard Work in:

   • Community
   • Academics
   • Athletics

   Some of this came back to PTA (Pain, Torture, Agony): they had to run in the rain and cold. They learnt how to suffer. The harder the better, not the line of least resistance.

   If you think that is harsh, think about the new medical term “Exercise deficit disorder” where kids are put in front of a screen for 3-6 hours a day with no play time.

   The reality of LTAD

   Gundersen highlighted some of the LTAD issues they face: it’s as much a management strategy as it is a science.

   • Sport vs sport conflict: sports trying to get the best kid earlier and earlier, competing with each other.
   • 25% of kids in high school do NOT like to compete, 50% like to, 25% can take it or leave it. This must be accounted for when planning physical activity.
   • Everyone has a different genotype, everyone therefore has different needs.
   • Early vs late maturers: there is an arms race within certain sports such as skiing with a smaller pool of athletes and fewer clubs being able to support good competition levels. This can result in over investment in the early maturer, when all evidence shows that late maturers do better.

   The Profession of Developing People

   With his vast experience, Gundersen has realised that he is in profession of developing people: it is not about the facilities. Whether the people are the coaches or the athletes, that is where investment and development must take place.

   He looks for certain personalities: do the coaches have an operational mindset? Are they interested in continuous improvement? Do they accept responsibility? Are they accountable? Is there role clarity and acceptance of that role?

   If the coaching structure and set up works, then the young athletes will get a better experience.

   This was a great seminar, and Finn was available to talk the whole week, so I was picking up lots of tips from him. A very genuine and engaging individual: a lot of sporting bodies in the country would benefit from his advice.

   Further reading:

   • The Australian Talent ID Myth
   • The Talent ID Bun Fight

9. Over coaching – let the kids play

   1st May 2018 1:17 pm Leave a Comment

   Do you let your kids play?

   Do you allow them to be free spirited and learn and experiment? Do you have excessive structures and control over sport? You could be stopping your kids from developing into creative instinctive athletes.

   This has been shown in teaching under 5s here. It equally applies to motor skill learning and skill acquisition (including making warm ups fun).

   This article on brain centred learning shows the relevance in football of allowing decision making and allowing athletes to develop all round.

   Too much structure and organisation could inhibit learning.

   Free play and chaos can actually enhance development in the long term.

   Have the confidence in your coaching to create environments that encourage individualism and expression.

   Parents, try putting the smart phone down and just play with your kids: let them lead and see what fun you can have. This isn’t about “coaching” it’s about letting children be children and play on their terms, rather than just trying to please adults.

10. LTAD- USA versus UK

    27th March 2018 8:48 am 1 Comment

    How many matches should be played in a year?

    

    Train to play

    I had the pleasure of meeting Mauro deGennaro, Director of Athletics at Hoboken High School, last week. We were talking about his schedule of training for his football team this autumn, and he was saying that they were going to be training easy in the week because of the amount of contact in the game. How many games a season do they play?

    9. That’s right 9. His 14 year old Freshman play 9 football games a season, then move to another sport next term.

    Speaking to another Coach in the UK last week, whose 14 year old son plays rugby for the school, club and district teams, he said if all the matches go ahead, then that child will play 50 rugby matches this season.

    50, that’s right- FIFTY.

    That is a prime example of why Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) is just another acronym or poster presentation in a folder on a shelf somewhere in this country.

    The research is out there, there are rules in place, but coaches and parents will always find a way to ignore these- until the player breaks, or quits at 16. Those that survive will then be put onto a sagittal plane hypertrophy programme and told to put on 10kg each off season (about 5 weeks currently here).

    This is not some secret that no one can understand, but it does seem difficult to implement.
    Why play our junior players to death, (but don’t do weights under -16 because of the likelihood of injury) and then expect them to cope with a barbell lifting programme designed for adults, that reinforces all the negative movement patterns they have developed from overspecialising at a young age?

    Here are some pointers for parents and coaches alike:

    • Have a quick check as to whether this is happening in your governing body, club, district or school.
    • Have a look at who is delivering and designing programmes for your youth athletes. Are they experienced, knowledgeable and conscientious?
    • Is the programme designed for development?
    • Is there a long term approach? What will your child be looking like and how they will they be moving in 3 years time?
    • Will they still want to play the sport and be healthy at 18?
    • Is someone co ordinating the overall plan for your child- between all sports and all teams?

    Don’t wait until they are broken.