Back to the basics

When I was visiting Portland last month I got a chance to catch up a few times with distance coach Jonathan Marcus. He has contributed to this site before and is co-host of a successful podcast on coaching, so our conversation naturally turned to online training information. Much of what you see online, this site included, is just about throwing a bunch of topics out there and hoping some ideas catch on. But if we actually want to help coaches get better, we need to create a deeper conversation about these important topics.

With that in mind, we are launching a new initiative at HMMR Media this month. We are going to choose a theme each month and dive a bit deeper into that topic. Not every article will be on that topic, but we hope to attack the topic from different viewpoints to help coaches improve and get new ideas.

October Theme: Back to the Basics

Vern Gambetta writes about the basics quite often and summarizes the topic the best:

“If you don’t get the basics right then everything that follows will be compromised. In my experience the difference between good and great is that that the great ones always pay attention to the basics and have flawless mastery of the basics.”

More to that point, when something goes wrong in training it almost always comes down to the basics. But what are the basics? Where are we losing sight of them? How can we do them better? Those are some questions we hope to look at this month.

We will bring you new viewpoints from all the avenues at our disposal:

  • Podcasts – Look for new guests on the HMMR Podcast including Bill Knowles next week. Tomorrow’s GAINcast will also dive into the topic with Vern Gambetta.
  • Articles – Our team of authors will provide unique insight on the topic, as well as new author such as Mike Bahn, former strength and conditioning coordinator for US Ski and Snowboard and the Arizona Coyotes.
  • Video lessons – Former University of Wisconin and San Jose Sharks coach Steve Myrland will share his approach to the basics on in an in-depth video lesson this month.
  • Online hangouts – At the end of the month, members can chat and share ideas in a live online hangout with our team, including Mike Bahn and Steve Myrland. Details will go out shortly

So stay tuned. There is lots in store this month and the months to come as we will explore a wide range of topics like adaptation, testing, recovery, and even Frans Bosch’s concepts.