Becoming the best is about getting the most out of yourself as a coach and as a person. It’s about learning. On this week’s GAINcast we explore the nuances of learning and some overlooked methods to learn and improve.
At the Brooklyn Hammons (Grant County, Dry Ridge, KY) and Jalen Graham (Liverpool, NY) were both winners at the Adidas Track Nationals this past weekend.
This week on the podcast we’re going all in on the shot put. The World Indoor Championships took place over the weekend and we break down the results, compare different starting techniques for the rotational shot put, discuss recent trends in the event, how to make competitions more fun for athletes and fans.
Where do you start when training athletic development for a new sport or athlete? Vern Gambetta’s athletic development paradigm gives coaches a 4-pronged analytic tool to make sure you develop a plan that fits the sport, position, and athlete. On this week’s GAINcast he breaks down all four elements with examples from his experience working in a variety of sports at the highest level.
After a huge performance last week that moved him to 5th all-time and a win at Nike Indoor Nationals on Friday, Tarik Robinson-O´Hagan (Woonsocket, RI) returned with another 80 foot throw to easily win this year’s New Balance Nationals in the weight throw on Saturday. Robinson’O’Hagan led six throwers over 70 feet. Local thrower Michael Pinckney (HS For Construction, Ozone Park, NY) took second, and Gary Moore Jr. (Hillhouse, New Haven, CT) launched a personal best to claim a close third place. In the girl’s competition Kosi Umerah (IMG Academy, Bradenton, FL) throwing a personal best to lead from start to finish. Olivia Campbell (Pittsfield, IL) and Zoe Carter-Konate (MICDS, St. Louis, MO) claimed second and third.
After a huge performance last week that moved him to 5th all-time and a win at Nike Indoor Nationals on Friday, Tarik Robinson-O´Hagan (Woonsocket, RI) returned with another 80 foot throw to easily win this year’s New Balance Nationals in the weight throw on Saturday. Robinson’O’Hagan led six throwers over 70 feet. Local thrower Michael Pinckney (HS For Construction, Ozone Park, NY) took second, and Gary Moore Jr. (Hillhouse, New Haven, CT) launched a personal best to claim a close third place. In the girl’s competition Kosi Umerah (IMG Academy, Bradenton, FL) throwing a personal best to lead from start to finish. Olivia Campbell (Pittsfield, IL) and Zoe Carter-Konate (MICDS, St. Louis, MO) claimed second and third.
Swedish speed skater Nils van der Poel was one of the most impressive athletes at last month’s Winter Olympics. After obliterating the field and setting records at both the 5000 and 10000m events, he released a free eBook detailing his training plan and philosophy. One important point he made was in what tools he choose. There is a role for nearly every tool in training, but you have to choose the right tool for the purpose at hand. He used the analogy of a sculptor to get his point across:
When Åsmund Martinsen began working with a young Andreas Thorkildsen in 2001, they set about making the “most athletic javelin thrower in the world” in order to develop a special talent. They developed a program based on the balance of strength, speed, flexibility and gymnastics, to create a “superathlete” that happened to throw the javelin, and remain healthy enough to contest for all major titles over a long career. On this week’s podcast Martinsen breaks down the training of two-time Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen with guest interviewer Shaun Pickering.
Recently James Marshall wrote about the need to develop general throwing skills before specific throwing skills. The topic of general throwing skills is worth diving more into. Thankfully this is a task that GAIN faculty member and award-winning physical education teacher Greg Thompson has to deal with every day at the primary school level. Watching his teaching progressions can help coaches of all levels in several areas. Below I show two key lessons we can take from Thompson: how advanced coaches can improve their understanding of movement by breaking it down to its basics, and how to balance constraints and cues in teaching movement.
A big improvement by Tarik Robinson-O´Hagan (Woonsocket, RI) helped him break the meet record, Rhode Island State record, and move up to 5th all-time in the country.
