They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This is a picture of my ten-month-old granddaughter, Taylor at the California Academy of Science Aquarium. Her eyes tell the story. It is a reminder to us as coaches to see the movements we coach through a child’s eyes.
When working on writing projects I listen almost exclusively to two classic jazz albums: Time Out with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and Kind of Blue with Miles Davis. Over the years it is the rhythm, tempo, time, and phrasing that keep me coming back to these classics.
Injuries at all levels of sport are off the charts. Despite much hand wringing, bloviating, and elaborate injury prevention programs injures continue to rise. In the actual sport training, we are so concerned with “load management” that we not stressing the athletes enough to prepare them for the rigors of the competition. In short, we are reaping what we sow – we have a generation of fragile athletes unprepared for the demands of competition.
You have a bachelor’s and master’s degree in sports science. You know more scientific theories than Newton and Einstein combined. You can run a GPS tracking system and generate multiple spreadsheets; you know how to measure lactate. You can analyze sleep. You have done multiple free internships with professional teams. You are now applying for coaching jobs. Only one problem: can you coach? Do you understand the fundamentals of pedagogy? Can you make meaningful corrections based on the numbers you have gathered? Can you relate to the athletes you are working with in a language they can understand and apply?
It drives crazy to see posts that list the best exercises for ______ . . . you fill in the blank.
In the coaching profession it is said that the measure of a coach is the ability to have their athlete or team ready on the day. I can’t say enough about the job coach Brent Arckey did getting Emma Wyant ready for the 400 IM at Olympic Trials. Not only did she win but also swam a lifetime best – that is being ready on the day!
Why do we persist in prescribing exercises that isolate individual muscles? Instead, we should be focusing on the coordination of movements and muscle synergies that involve those muscles.
What is your filter for differentiating “sports science fiction” from valid & valuable sports science research & content?
Some thought about training and life.
I have been doing an unusual amount of reading lately. As many of you know I am a voracious reader but of late it has bordered on the ridiculous. Since April 28, when I went to California, through to today, I have read fifteen books.
