Vern is entering his 50th year as a coach. On this episode he looks back at how his coaching has evolved. More specifically, he looks at when he started asking different questions during different stages of his career and how that helped him improve his coaching. Read more
GAIN is a community of professional’s eager to learn and willing to share ideas and information. GAIN is not about more exercises, sets, reps and training methods it is about passionate people who pursue excellence with honesty, integrity and respect to make a difference in the lives of the people we coach and teach. Read more
The basics are crucial in training. If you don’t get the basics right then everything that follows will be compromised. But with all the talk of basics, what exactly are they? On this week’s GAINcast we look in depth at Vern’s eight key components of the basics, and related training factors. Read more
When I was growing there was a TV program about two detectives on the LA Police department. It was called Dragnet, the main character was Sargent Joe Friday, Badge 714, his famous line was “just the facts” when talking to a witness. To paraphrase Sargent Friday in coaching athletes to be better it all comes down to “just the basics.” That being said I have come to the realization that there is often not a good understanding of what the basics are. Read more
Earlier in the year Lee Eldridge asked me to write down four simple coaching points to help advise young coaches. Eldridge, a English performance coach based in Geneva, put my input together with coaches like Nick Winkelman, Dan Baker, and more into a piece on the art of coaching for UKSCA members. You can check out my responses below. Read more
Sometimes it is the simple things we miss that can be the difference makers. On this week’s episode we share 5 simple training ideas that are often overlooked. From single-leg movements to planning backwards, we discuss how each one can help coaches and provide examples of how they can be quickly incorporated into training. Read more
We often talk about the importance of the basics on the GAINcast, but what exactly are “the basics”? And how do we implement them and keep them an integral part of training? On this episode we share some best practices on the topic and practical examples of how coaches can keep the basics as the central pillar supporting their program. Read more
It is no secret that I am a big fan of late 1980s NBA basketball. In my opinion, these days are the apex of the league and one team had an unmatched zenith of competency and dominance, the 1985-86 Boston Celtics. The main catalyst for this team’s summit of competitive greatness was their leader, Larry Bird. Today many applaud Steph Curry’s work ethic and skill proficiency. While he is very good right now we should remember he was influenced by Kobe Bryant, who was influenced by Michael Jordan, who was influenced by Larry Bird. Read more
An effective training program demands constant trade-offs. Every component of training cannot receive equal emphases. If one component is emphasized then another must be de-emphasized. Good training is often compared to a mosaic but in my mind that is much too static, it is more like a kaleidoscope, ever changing in a state of dynamic equilibrium. Read more
An athlete’s development is an organic process. It takes time and timing of the appropriate stimuli for the level of the athlete’s stage of development. My father was a gardener and I remember the first time he took me to work with him, I was probably ten or eleven years old. As any youngster, I was impatient and full of questions. I wanted to know why this patch of garden had no plants. Read more
