Sport Performance Coaches: Athletic Development vs Strength and Conditioning

I haven't been able to write in a while because I was in Yosemite and Northern California with a group of 10th grade students from my school. I was forced to go on a the trip to one of the most beautiful places on the face of the planet with 10 outstanding young adults, fellow faculty Emma, and our fearless leader Josh. We got rained on, hailed on, and attacked by a baby cub. No worries though, I'm a bear whisperer and was so intimidating that it ran away (picture to the right proves that).


Time to get to the post......

Three Examples of Athletes:

Athlete #1: 22 year old senior in college. He's going into his final season of hockey and most likely will not turn pro after the season.

Athlete #2: A 10 year old girl who enjoys soccer, lacrosse, and swimming. Long legs and very skinny.

Athlete #3: A 19 year old Red Shirt freshman on a division I football team. Needs to put on strength, power and size to be able to compete with the bigger athletes.

Obviously you would not train these three athletes the same. If you coach these three athlete's, what your trying to prepare them for differs drastically due to their needs and the needs of the sport. I like to break it down into what percentage needs of short term training, 3-12 months, and long term training, 1+years. Short term training is looking at preparing for upcoming seasons, matches, fights, etc. Long term is looking at Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) that will maximize the potential of the athletes when they reach a competitive phase.

No matter what athlete you are don't start this program...


Athlete #1- Probably 90-95% short term training. Since this is their last go round, all focus is on getting them as strong as possible for the season as well in the best condition possible.

Athlete #2- 100% long term training. You could care less about getting them prepared for their weekend soccer tournament. All your focus is how can I help this young girl become the best athlete possible when she's ready for tough competition.

Athlete #3: I would give this about 65% Long term and 35% short term. You trying to prepare them for their sophomore through senior year, and possibly a professional career. Your goal is not having them in top condition for the season but you do want them to be prepared for the practices with them team. Conditioning is a important aspect but you're still considering this athlete as a long term project.

What does this all mean? In the future we may need to break the sport performance world into two different coaches. Athletic Development Coaches and Strength and Conditioning coaches. Programs like TPI and IYCA have already started certifying and education those interested in working with 5-18 year olds. Strength and Conditioning Coaches are well established and work with ages 15-???. There is an obvious overlap depending on the sport, athlete, and schedules.

I propose this division of coaches because working with young kids has become very important due to P.E. classes being dropped, obesity/overweight problems (25%+ with youth), and technology causing increased lazyassness (trademarked). If you've been introduced by IYCA or TPI Junior Program to a LTAD model, you know that you can have a HUGE impact on developing athleticism from a young age. I've also seen very good strength and conditioning coaches who coach a group of young kids and do almost the same things they would with a college athlete. This can potentially be a big mistake. Children are not young adults!

The strength and conditioning world continues to develop with great coaches like Mike Boyle, Eric Cressey, Todd Wright, Dave Tenney, Joel Jamieson, and MANY others constantly pushing the envelope. Topics like energy system development, unilateral training, load vectors, and others continue to push the field into new ideas and better programs.

Can one person wear both hats? Absolutely, but I think specializing in one will benefit the athletes much more than trying to learn everything. Additionally, working with a 5-8 year old is a much different animal than a college football player. Learning to communicate effectively with each type of athlete will take years to master.

Below is a table I've developed that is a very broad diagram of how an average athlete may progress from long term development into preparing for particular seasons. This can change drastically due to the sport (think gymnastics vs golf), to an athletes goals, role on the team, and other variables. The blue area consists of Athletic Development Coaches and the red area is directed towards strength and conditioning coaches.

Long Term vs. Short Term Athletic Preparation

Applying Delibrate Practice to the Weight Room

There is a belief in the athletic development world that strength is a skill. I personally agree because strength is developed over long periods of time with LOTS of practice. No baby is born into the world strong or powerful. Developing skill takes practice, and also comes with frustration over how optimally to improve that skill.

If you're an experienced weight lifter you know all about the plateau. You try and push through by doing more weight, less weight, or try doing something a body builder told you about in Muscle and Fitness. We end up plateauing often because of poor long term programming, trying to much weight too early, or not adequately regenerating our body through diet, sleep, and recovery.

Our body also loves to adapt to what it's doing. That's why after living in San Diego for four years not, it's hard for me to go back to Vermont on the days when you spit and it will freeze before it hits ground. This (adapting not spitting) is called the SAID principle, Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands, fancy way of saying our body and mind try to adapt to our environment. That's why all the great strength coaches will changes phases with regards to volume, intensity, and tempo.

In Daniel Coyle's book The Talent Code, he talks about how great athletes, musicians, and performers go into deep/deliberate practice by either slowing the task down or speeding it up. This always for the brain and body never to become comfortable or completely adapted. By either slowing it down or speeding it up, one also becomes incredibly engaged and aware, focusing all energy towards improvement. Depending on what your trying to accomplish one might be better for the other, but for many skills, using both is a viable option that can be programed.

Lets apply this to the weight room. Even with guys who are trying to get stronger, many consistently stay in a comfort zone that labels them to their sport. Getting out of this comfort zone helps develop skills. In this case its strength and power, two concepts that all athlete's look to improve.

Deliberate Practice: Power
Power is often developed through Olympic lifts, plyometrics, med ball throws, and kettlebell swings. If we looked at the two options of deliberate practice, undoubtedly speeding it up would have to be the best option. You really can't move powerfully, slowly. It's so awkward that you can't even say it in a sentence correctly. A great way to make sure you bust through a power plateau is to reduce the weight and focus on the speed of the bar. Put your feet through the floor and make the bar move with purpose! Program this in early on, but don't be afraid to periodize a "light" week within a heavy block.

For example, in a 4 week phase that is going from 80-87.5% into another 4 week phase that goes into the heavier 90-95%, it might be smart to go back down to 60-75% in the last week in between phases. I heard Bill Hartman talk about how they accidentally stumbled upon this technique that works wonders for them at iFast (though their %'s may differ).

Deliberate Practice: Strength
We can use the same technique as above by reducing the weight and moving the load faster. Especially on the concentric phase, letting go of some of the weight and really working on the speed of movement has helped me and my athletes get through plateaus that we hit.

Another option is to slow the tempo of the weight, especially on the eccentric phase. Often coined eccentrics or negatives, be prepared for some serious DOMS. Again you must reduce your weight especially when going for 5-10 repetitions. Many strength coaches will include this as an eccentric phase for 3-4 weeks. Slow concentric movement is usually frowned upon, but if it's only for 3-4 weeks it might not be a bad idea to try controlling the bar on the way up as well.


What really makes this interesting is relating deliberate practice, which is proven to improve skills over time, to increase power and strength. These techniques that many strength and conditioning coaches use to progress physical tools, it also may be influencing cognitive connections as well with our ability to learn the movement more efficiently by focusing on it in a completely different way. I don't have any research to back this up (yet?) but my guess is we would see some pretty cool brain activity going from these different phases. That's just the geek in me.

These techniques can also differ from person to person. If a linebacker has been benching in the 85-95% range since they were in high school, I will put down a lot of money that taking some time in a lower percentage and speeding up/slowing down will improve there power and strength. If you took the opposite, a female XC runner, who only uses dumbbells under 20 lbs for 15-25 reps, it maybe time to change the speed or weight of the movement to create progression in the body and brain.

Note that these phases do not need to be long term, but are useful for creating new avenues in the body and brain for strength and power to be developed. Maybe I'll coin it muscle confusion......HAH!

"FedEx Day" in Sports Performance

I recently finished the book Drive by Daniel Pink. It's a great read that discusses how people are motivated in today's world compared to past generations. Three major points Pink emphasized were developing autonomy, mastery, and purpose. At the end he suggested some techniques that companies have used, which have increased production and profit. An Australian company called Atlassian came up with "FedEx Days" that were designed to give complete freedom for the employees on certain days and times to develop new projects, and work on ways to improve how they do their job.

Brian McCormick linked a post on his website, where a basketball coach let his players make all coaching decisions for an entire game. Pretty much a "FedEx Game." He used this to see how they would react to certain situations and what they've learned from him as a coach. I wanted to try this in regards to my sports performance class. So when the kids came in for their workout, I gave them a piece of paper and pen. I told them they could do whatever they want, they just had to write down what they did, and at the end write down some reasons why they did those exercises.

I did this to evaluate how much I've connected with this group over the past 10-12 weeks. I also wanted to see if they are starting to buy into my program.

The results????

I was pretty damn happy about the results. Here's some bullet points on things I took away. Total it was about 16-20 kids who did took part.

-Not one sit-up was performed. All core work involved rollouts, planks, pallof presses, etc. Even 2 girls did some Turkish get ups!!!-------- MAJOR WIN!

-About 60% jumped on the foam roller before they started to lift.----- 60% WIN. I really want all my athletes to value soft tissue work.

-2 of my girls did cleans. Other than that there wasn't much power work.----LOSS. Something I need to emphasize the importance of power, especially for athlete's.

-Lots of full body movements including push ups, pull ups, TRX Rows, bench press, goblet squats, etc.--------WIN.

-Only one male went back to isolation exercises----NOT SURE. I don't think the other boys have even read a men's fitness magazine. The only one who probably did was the kid doing flys, curls and "kickbacks" as he called them. Teaching them the value of movements vs. muscles for athletes is needed a little more.

-There really wasn't much lower body work. Almost no single leg work.------ LOSS. There were some goblet squats, which I loved. Something I need to work on is having my athletes value single leg strength and power. Something that I view of as a staple in my program.

Overall, I felt this was a great exercise that revealed a lot about what I personally need to work on as a coach. This can be translated to any sport or profession. A big tip, don't take anything personally and actually give them complete control of the day. You may be surprised at what your athletes do. It also gives them a break and lets them experience your situation in a completely different mindset. They might try something new you never thought of, or give you a new idea because instead on instructing, you're just observing.

Try it out if it works in your situation and let me know how it goes!

Here's a video about the book Drive

Mindset + Deliberate Practice= No Limits

Since my obsession with athletic development began in high school, I have repeatedly come across two names that everyone in the "talent" and motivational books seems to mention. The funny part is that these two people are research driven and don't train or coach athletes, which is not who I usually look to for coaching advice. However, their research and case studies have given ways to develop strategies and systems that can maximize potential of any skill or profession. These two people are Dr. Carol Dweck and Dr. Anders Ericsson. They each have dug deeply into a concept that are the building blocks of development, ability, and success. I fully believe that if you embrace and apply these two concepts that you can achieve almost anything you desire.

Dr. Carol Dweck- "Mindset"

If you read my blog consistently, you know I'm a die hard fan of Dweck's work. Her book Mindset is a must read that discusses the difference between a Fixed Mindset and a Growth Mindset. A Fixed Mindset is broadly defined as one who feels they have predetermined abilities, skills, and/or intelligence. This type of mindset believes improvement has a genetic ceiling. Growth Mindset is loosely defined as believing that anything and everything can be improved. Failure is looked at as apart of the process to finding a solution, rather than a result of your genetic predisposition.

Why is this important?
If you can name me one person who's gone through life without dealing failure, conflict, or challenges in their life, please let me know so I never have to have a conversation with them. Everyone comes across failures and problems. It's your decision whether to improve or to give up. Giving up is much easier and less work than the former, but improving has the advantage of making you a better person with more opportunities.

Dr. Anders Ericsson- "Deliberate Practice"

Dr. Ericsson has contributed so much to the world of athletics without even coaching or training a single athlete. His worked has helped figure out what the great ones in their respective fields have done compared to their counterparts. He discovered that the very best have practiced better and more than their competitors. Period.

If you don't believe me, go look at his article that describes research done in multiple fields including music, sports, and chess.

Ericsson defines deliberate practice as "a very special form of activity that differs from mere experience and mindless drills. Unlike playful engagement with peers, deliberate practice is not inherently enjoyable. It does not involve a mere execution or repetition of already attained skills but repeats attempts to reach beyond one's current level which is associated with FREQUENT FAILURES. Aspiring performers therefore concentrate on improving specific aspects by engaging in practice activities designed to change and refine particular mediating mechanisms, requiring problem solving a successive refinement with feedback."

David Shenk does another great job paraphrasing deliberate practice in his book The Genius in All of Us.

"Simply wanting it badly isn't enough. Deliberate practice requires a mindset of never, ever being satisfied with your current ability. It requires a constant self-critique, a pathological restlessness, a passion to aim consistently just beyond one's capability so that daily disappointment and failure is actually desired, and a never ending resolve to dust oneself off again and again and again" (pg. 55).

I couldn't say it any better.

Combining Dweck and Ericsson:
Looking at these two concepts, you can't have one without the other if you want to be great. The best part is both mindset and deliberate practice can be taught and created. Praising effort and encouraging failure as apart of a learning process can fuel our youth and ourselves to becoming better than the day before. These two concepts are the building blocks for success and greatness. It's hard to find someone who is great at what they do without having a growth mindset and have gone through thousands of hours (10,000+) of deliberate practice.

Taking action on these concepts is very hard work and with it comes frustration, humility, and sacrifice. It's your choice to be the person who is known for doing great things and pushing the envelope or being the person who says, "if I worked as hard as him I would have been just as good or better." You make the call....

Human Foosball

So we have developed a game at Pacific Ridge School that works on agility, quickness, acceleration etc. I also love this game because it simulates offense vs. defense from court and field sports. If you have read my posts on agility vs. change of direction, you know I believe games like this will help develop quickness and agility much better than running athletes through choreographed cone drills.

So here's the game. Think of one team as the players stuck to the Foosball handles. All they can do is move side to side on their line. Below is how I would typically start the game. Red's the defense and blue is trying to get to the other side. Red must stay on their line and is trying to tag the blue. Blue is trying to get by without getting tagged. They can wait for their teammates to move into their zone to help team-up on the defense.

In the video below you will see 1 person on the front line, 2 in the middle, and 2 in the back. At first, I started with sending one person at a time and then I switched to 2 at a time. Once a person gets through a line or gets tagged the next person can go. If you have a couple athletes that are far superior I suggest making their boundaries wider to have them cover more ground. I also like to switch defense from different lines as the first one is much busier than the back line.

This game is very new and very fun for us. I will probably adjust the rules as we figure out what works and doesn't. Try it out this week and let me know if you have any suggestions or things you saw that could be adjusted!

Nature vs. Nurture: Round 1-Kenyans

Over the past couple years my opinion on how genetics affect environment has changed greatly. Thanks to the infux of "talent" books from Daniel Coyle, Geof Colvin, Malcom Gladwell, Matthew Syed, and David Shenk, they have put together the research and case studies that can essentially prove that the environment and circumstances have MUCH more of an effect than what people think others are "naturally gifted."

I wanted to start a series of posts that I will do periodically that disprove genetics are the main factor into what makes athletes and others talented. My reason for doing this is to get rid of the excuse that someone is more gifted genetically, and look for solutions that can improve our athletic ability and give ourselves and the youth a chance to be great. The first step is to believe that anyone can be great.

Nature vs Nurture Round 1: Kenyans

Everyone loves to talk about how great Kenyans are at long distance running, especially marathons. There's reason for it as a Kenyan has won all but 3 Boston Marathons in the men's division since 1991, and the women have 8 winners since 2000. Not too shabby.

Most people think that area of the world has been genetically grown to run marathons. They all are built of slow twitch muscle fiber that is key for any great long distance runner. But is genetics really the reason why?

Matthew Syed in his book Bounce brought my attention to why they're so good. The Nandi District of Kenya lies at the heart of the running world. What has the Nandi District produced? Out of 11 of the Boston Marathon winners, 7 were from the Nandhi District. I tried fidning the other winners birthplaces but it was not listed from multiple sites. This area is roughly 1.8% of the Kenyan population. The average person would say that this area was mutated for long distance running.

Then you look at the other factors. Nandi district is at a high elevation, which is essential for any great marathon runner. It lies around 2000m or 1.2 miles above sea level. However, altitude isn't enough as we would have plenty of great marathon runners coming from Denver and the Rockies if that were the case.

Another major factor is public transportation. There really isn't any at all. Kids from a young age average 8-12 km per day, sometimes up to 20 km, to get to and from school. As Syed said, "This adds up to 80 minutes of running per day, more than 90 hours per week, five hundred hours per year, and in excess of six thousands hours before their sixteenth birthday"(p.273).

The last factor is also the cultural obsession with the distance running. This area isn't know for it's wealth and now with marathon winners coming back with more money from one race than an average person makes in a lifetime, it provides deep motivation to improve the standard of living. As well as become a local and national hero.

Combine these 3 factors and you get one hell of a long distance runner. I will leave you to reason if genetics still had a large part to play but ask your self this.... if we switched two kids at birth, one from Nandi district and another from the 'burbs in Denver, who would be better at marathons. Genetics would have to say the Kenyan, but my money is on the kid from Denver in the Nandi environment, and I would bet a lot of it. You can make your own conclusions though.

What does this teach us?
Notice what your child takes interest in a place a positive environment that can foster learning. Then praise effort.

Revisiting Jogging... Asking the Right Questions

I went back and read my post about jogging. Though I still have the same opinions I realized that article was more just a unorganized rant and my writing was all over the place. Since writing that article I have learned a lot about energy systems development (conditioning) and the bio mechanics of jogging (technique). I've also realized that pushing my thoughts in a sarcastic way also doesn't help people change. I'm learning rather than giving the right answers to ask the right questions. I wanted to ask two questions for coaches, runners, athletes, and anyone else who's interested.

First questions is.... Why do you jog?

Really think this answer through. I tried looking up the top reasons people go jogging and found nothing so I'm going to think of the top 4 reasons and then lets see if jogging is a good answer.

1. "To get in shape" i.e. Fat Loss and Feel better. Look at the research that proves nutrition, strength training and metabolic circuits have a much greater impact than aerobic work. Also look at a sprinter/anaerobic sport compared to a marathon runner and let me know whats a more appealing body.

2. Relieves Stress/Mentally Soothing: If jogging gives you this effect than by all means continue the cheap therapy (unless your getting injured). I actually think the people who get this euphoric feeling are very good at focusing on their breathing. Similar to meditation, it will clear your mind of the rambling self talk.

3. Build endurance for a upcoming season: I have changed my opinion on this slightly. I think there is a time for some aerobic work for field/court sport athletes but its for about 3-4 weeks of a year or long term training program. There's also other ways to get this similar affect without the pounding of joints on the pavement. A suggestion is to by a heart rate monitor and for a 3 week period do 30-60 minutes to where your HR stays between 120-150. Read Joel Jameison's book Ultimate MMA Conditioning for more info on efficient conditioning.

4. To compete in Running events: If this is what you love to do than you definitely will need to have a good amount of jogging in your training program. Staying healthy is key so time for the next question.


Second question... Do you run with correct technique?

So for those in categories 2 and 4 here is some info that can help you run better and without injury. Running with poor technique is the reason so many people (80% of runners per year) become injured. Another major reason I rarely program lost distance work. How can one have poor technique? It has to do with how your foot hits the ground and the type of shoes you wear. Sorry to say that the $120 special running shoes do more damage than good. Go to this website that breaks down running mechanics and technique.

Here's two videos from the site that show the difference.

vs.

One thing I don't suggest is to immediately go barefoot/vibram running. Again ask a question.. "Am I ready for this?" Probably not. My suggestion is to first switch to a shoe like the Nike Free and if you want to try barefoot/vibram running than go to a grass field and start shorten your stride. It will literally feel like a whole new way of moving, so give it time. See if there are running coaches in your area who teach this type of running. If so it would be a wise investment that will save you from physical therapy in the long run (no pun intended).