Tag Archive for: Balance

Balance first, individualization second

As a high school athletic development coach one of the first questions I always get when talking to a parent is if I individualize the program or do sport specific programs. It is also one of the most irritating questions. Just like the terms “activation” or “posterior chain” the terms “sport specific” or “individualization” have become buzz words the last number of years. I am not sure of the reason why. Maybe because the person I am talking to wants to sound smart on the subject or maybe it’s just because they heard others refer to the style of training they are doing. Regardless, I do not think individualization should be the first thing on an athlete’s mind when it comes to start a new training plan or working with a new coach. 

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HMMR Podcast Episode 215: Throwvallis (with Dave Dumble)

After leading athletes to 24 NCAA titles in 15 years, throws coach Dave Dumble packed up and headed north to take on a new challenge of building a program from scratch at Oregon State University. On this week’s podcast Dumble joins us to talk about the move, what he is building at Corvallis, his coaching philosophy, and more. Read more

The Giving Tree

Lately I have many discussions with friends and colleagues about achieving working and life balance. The discussions reminded of a book one of my athletes gave me almost forty years ago: The Giving Tree. I suggest all you coaches and athletes read it and meditate on it. How much can you give? Read more

Balance and the Barbell Strategy

Earlier this week I wrote about the new book from Steve Magness and Brad Stulberg and focused on one topic: balance. As Stuart McMillan pointed out on twitter, the word balance can be misleading as it doesn’t always capture the undulating-dynamic nature of anything. It’s true. When you think of balance, you think of something that doesn’t move or you think of taking the middle of the road approach. But balance can come in many forms. Thinking of the middle of the road ignores the dynamic nature of balance; all we get from the middle of the road approach is often just an artificial sense of balance. Read more