Tag Archive: running

1. Training young athletes part 4: Gil Stevenson, Denis Betts

   15th January 2012 7:23 am Leave a Comment

   There are many different ways to develop young athletes, all require some direction, support and encouragement. I am not sure what is the best way, but I am pretty sure there are less than ideal ways. This week we have heard from some great coaches on Training Young Athletes, here are 2 more. 

   First up is Denis Betts, Head Coach of Widnes RFL. I worked with Denis on a Great Britain Under -18s Rugby League camp, and was very impressed with his coaching style, organisation and rapport with the kids.

   “With regards to coaching kids I would stress the importance of the simple things. The fundamentals are the keys to any players success. Get a good catch and pass, work on small sided games to grow the understanding of space and awareness of his/her surroundings. Get them to have fun with a rugby ball in ther hands, if you can do that you are going to keep them interested.”

    Denis Betts

   Gilmour Stevenson is one of the founders of the UKSCA and is currently a Director. 

   “Here are a couple to add.

   The better you are at your sport, the more important it becomes to work even harder. As you progress eventually you will come across competitors who are as good or better than you. That is when the hard work will count.

   ‘All other things being equal strongest always wins’ Prof. Mike Stone.
   Developing your strength should be your first priority.
   Work hard at becoming strong

   Fastest always wins the race.
   To get faster you need to get stronger.
   Work hard at becoming fast.

   Once techniques and skills are aquired practice them quickly.Put them under the pressure of speed.

   Keep it fun
   Have fun working hard!”

   Gil Stevenson

   Thanks to all the coaches who have contributed, more to follow on Monday.

    

   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.
   

2. Stuck in a rut? A very simple solution.

   13th January 2012 3:55 pm Leave a Comment

   I have been taking my daughter swimming every week for over 4 years now. She loves the water and loves spending time with me playing in the pool. She can do her various styles of “swimming” but nothing that relates to lengths or widths. I have been struggling to get her to do more.

   She tried one swimming lesson, but she didn’t like the fact that her brother was playing at the other end of the pool with me. Rachel, her teacher, was great but Daisy does have a tendency to believe that she can do everything herself (not sure where she gets that from).

   Last week, as Daisy was doing her various self- taught variations, she bumped into Rachel. We said hi, Rachel was complimentary about what Daisy was doing, and then gave the most simple advice:

   “Get her in the big pool.”

   I was kicking myself for such an obvious solution. All the time, I have been waiting for Daisy to swim before going into the big pool, when she in fact was being constrained by the environment. 

   So, if you are stuck in a rut, changing the environment that you are training in may help put a different perspective on things.

   Or, seek out an expert in that area, who can save you hours of frustration through their experience

   We promptly went to the big pool where Daisy jumped in and swam a width.

3. Training young athletes: Part 5:Kelvin Giles

   9th January 2012 2:22 pm 2 Comments

   Strength and conditioning for children appears to be a popular topic. Unfortunately, short cuts are often desired (4 hour International Athlete anyone?). One of the common, if unpopular, themes from the guest Coaches this week has been fundamentals, process and detail. Today’s author is a great exponent of that.

   Kelvin Giles has a vast experience working with International athletes.  His “This isn’t a text book” is on my recommended reading list.

   These are probably best for coaches:

   • ‘Give them the physical competence to do the technical stuff and the technical competence to do the tactical stuff – in that order.’ 
   • ‘In the early stages let them solve movement puzzles in their own way. Don’t overcoach – let them work things out.’ 
   • ‘Progress exercises in a variety of ways – Static to Dynamic; Slow to Fast; Simple to Complex; Unloaded to Loaded.’ 

   For the Athletes:
   ‘This is a test of your patience – you might not get it right to start with.’ 

   • ‘Have you had your water bottle with you all day?’ 
   • ‘The best way to recover is to get a good night’s sleep.’ 
   • ‘It’s not whether you try hard today but whether you try hard all the time – tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, next decade.’ 
   • ‘Don’t worry about what the person next to you is doing – focus on what you have to do.’ 
   • ‘Be smart in training and more importantly be smart outside training. You are an athlete all the time.’ 

   Kelvin Giles

   Thanks to all of our guest authors who have given such great tips on training young athletes. It is very useful to hear from such a wealth of experience.

   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.

4. Training young athletes part 3: Paul Gamble, Simon Worsnop

   5th January 2012 7:26 am Leave a Comment

   If you want to get to an Olympics, or compete at the highest level, you need an early start on activity and all round athletic development. This week’s guest blogs by Frank Dick, Vern Gambetta and Roy Headey have given an insight into Training Young Athletes. Today, 2 more guest authors. 

   Simon Worsnop is the national fitness adviser for the England Rugby Football Union and author of Rugby Games and Drills

   “Train to be an all round athlete. Unless you are in an early specialisation sport this means participating in a number of activities.

   Strength: this can be achieved through various forms of appropriate age specific resistance training, but other modalities such as gymnastics, wrestling, judo and climbing are all very useful.

   If you want to build stamina via running or biking, then do them outside then you will also be working on balance and core stability.

   If you are a team games player DO NOT just play your own sport; instead play a variety of racquet and invasion games. 

   If you are talented, dedicated and lucky and do become a performance/professional player this will be when you at least 16; so until then try lots of activities, it will give you better life balance, potential interests for later in life AND you might discover you are better at or enjoy one of these more than your original preferred sport!!”

   Dr Paul Gamble is the author of “Strength and conditioning for team sports” and is currently based in New Zealand.

   ‘Be mindful when you train. Training is preparation for competition, and this includes attention and concentration aspects: if you are sloppy and unfocussed when you train you will be prone to the same lapses when you compete.’ 

    

    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.

    

    

5. Training young athletes part 2: Vern Gambetta, Roy Headey

   4th January 2012 7:25 am Leave a Comment

   In order to become a successful athlete, each individual needs to take responsibility for their own actions, whilst gaining the support of coaches, team mates, teachers and parents. This week we are looking at advice for young athletes looking to get better.

   Yesterday’s guest blog by Frank Dick set the bar high.

   Today Vern Gambetta and Roy Headey offer some insights into what a young athlete needs to do to prepare.

   Vern Gambetta is an Athletic Development coach based in the USA, his book “Athletic Development” is a must read for aspiring coaches in this field. He also runs the GAIN programme for coach development.

   • “Be consistent.
   • Have a routine.
   • Know your body so that you can test your limits.
   • Work smart.
   • Be great for 24 hours, not just the two hours you train because great people make great great athletes.”

   Vern Gambetta

   Roy Headey is the head of Sports Science for the England Rugby Football Union

   “Elite athletes are different – everyone knows that, but it’s difficult to define why and in what way. One difference though, has been proven; during their teens, developing elite athletes consistently get more out of their training than their less successful counterparts. They prepare for training, mentally and physically; they set demanding goals for themselves and work on their weaknesses, however painful or frustrating; they demand accurate, honest feedback from their coaches then reflect and learn from it.

   So my tip is this: make your coach work hard for you, by setting demanding goals for yourself and turning up to train with an intensity that means your coach has no choice but to be at the top of his or her game”

    Roy Headey

     

   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 it standing on the shoulders of giants.

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

6. Training young athletes: Part 1 Frank Dick

   3rd January 2012 2:20 pm 4 Comments

   I am starting this Olympic year with a focus on training young athletes. With all the hoo ha about the top end, it is important to remember how to get there. This week some expert coaches from Track and Field, Athletic Development and Strength and Conditioning have kindly donated some ideas.

   First up is Frank Dick, who has coached many of Britain’s best athletes, written several great books and is well sought after public speaker. If you get a chance to hear him speak, or meet him, take it up.

   “Back in the 80’s I designed a simple set of steps for development. It started with “Train to train” and subsequently Istvan Balyi used it as his LTAD basis.

   My reason for that starting point was that before you get into teaching young people techniques they must have the physical competencies to do so without building in compensatory movements. Otherwise you are building thereafter on a compromised foundation.

   The steps now I see as:

   1. Excite to practice
   2. Practice to prepare
   3. Prepare to participate
   4. Participate to perform
   5. Perform to compete 
   6. Compete to learn
   7. Learn to win

   Mostly people leave out step 6. This represents the years of learning how to get the final 1% needed to deliver personal excellence under pressure and on the day

   When deciding what to do and how to do it re a coaching issue, always go back at least one stage and make sure that is as it should be. The original thing you are looking at is a consequence of what has gone before.

   When coaching technique always look at the athlete’s performance from a distance first. This will give a clear picture of rhythm, flow etc and where this is fractured. Then coach from the ground or attachment to fixed equipment up or out

   Finally, when teaching or coaching young and early developing athletes fit the discipline/equipment to athlete then fit athlete gradually to the formal discipline/equipment etc”

   Frank Dick.

    

   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.

7. What do I actually do? South West Talent.

   31st August 2010 8:57 am Leave a Comment

   I am often asked “What do you actually do?” One of my contracts is with Bath University and the South West Talent programme. A case study of one of the guys I have been working with is uploaded here.

   The newsletter also highlights some of the Coaching programme I will be involved with.

   This programme is an excellent example of Administrators, Coaches, Parents, Physiotherapists and Athletes working well together. The ones that have been regulars are showing real progress.

8. PE Teacher Inset- Stanbridge Earls School

   1st July 2010 2:53 pm 1 Comment

   I did a 3 hour inset last week with the PE staff at Stanbridge Earls school.

   We looked at the principles behind LTAD and how physical development matched this model.

   We then looked at ways of identifying structural problems in the school children and how we could improve their structural integrity.

   For the last 90 minutes we highlighted ways of strengthening the athletes, looking at bodyweight, dumbbell and medicine ball exercises that used dynamic multi-joint actions.

   It was interesting to see the lightbulbs going off above the teachers’ heads as we linked the exercises to what their pupils can and can’t do.  I purposely got the teachers doing, rather than talking, so that they could see their own limitations and have more empathy with those kids who will find it difficult. 

   I hope to go back next year to do a longer workshop and use some case studies to help the teachers improve their overall delivery.

9. Tendon injuries in runners

   20th April 2010 8:29 am Leave a Comment

   With the London Marathon approaching this weekend, physio clinics around the country have been rubbing their hands with glee and enjoying bumper booking rates as recreational runners have been upping their training.

   Why so many injuries?

   • lack of proper planning from the runners- a sudden increase in the volume of training, without adequate rest.
   • poor footwear- either sticking to the same footwear as it wears out, or wearing the incorrect footwear in the first place.
   • age- tendon pliability decreases with age, and tendon muscle properties are slower to adapt than muscle function.

   This last point is often overlooked, but research shows that muscle hypertrophy occurs within 8-12 weeks of following a suitable programme, but it takes 12-16 weeks for tendons to adapt.

   That means that the runners who started training in January can expect to feel good muscularly by the end of March, but their tendons may not be adequately prepared for the long runs that take place around Easter.

   Not only that, but Men in their 30s have lower tendon strength than Men in their 20s- and it is often older Men who have the sudden inspiration to “do something”. If their tendon properties are weaker, and haven’t adapted, then they tend to run with poor mechanics. I see the “Sunday Morning fatty shuffle” every week in Willand, around the Devon Lanes.

   The solution?

   • Buy and wear correct footwear.
   • Get strong first, then start running.
   • Incorporate correct running drills including low level plyometrics to help develop tendon strength and reactivity.
   • Get a decent running coach to help you, rather than download the elite runners programme from the internet.

   Read our Marathon Tips of the Trade 

10. Training Future Champions

    10th March 2010 9:50 am 1 Comment

    I recently did a staff training session at Young Ones Nursery in Cullompton,showing them how to use equipment that I gave them for their toddlers and pre school kids.

    
    

     

    
    

    I needn’t have worried too much as the staff have a great understanding of letting kids learn and discover through play. In fact, aspiring S&C coaches would do well to work in this area to gain a knowledge of incremental learning and adaptation rather than “Death by Olympic Lifting”.

    
    

     

    
    

    http://www.youngonesdaynursery.co.uk/ 

    
    

    I always ask young coaches what their ambition is and often it is “to work with elite athletes” which I think is funny. Their ambition is not to become a great coach, or to help others, it is to bask in the reflected glory of other people’s achievements.

    
    

    Working with these highly motivated and professional nursery staff, and seeing the joy on the childrens’ faces was much more rewarding than dealing with overpaid footballers or rugby players who have forgotten about fun and athleticism.