Hundreds of athletes, dozens of sports, and just one coach. Nick Garcia is a master of building an efficient and effective athletic development program. He joins us again on this week’s GAINcast to walk us through his setup at Notre Dame High School, how he started the program, its critical success factors, and all the nitty gritty logistics of coaching.
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Every quarter we take a deep dive into the latest research in sports science. In this edition we look at the latest research on wellness the placebo effect, talent transfer in sport, gait retraining, velocity-loss and strength training adaptations, predicting ACL injuries, and nutrient timing.
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Championship track and field returned to Tokyo over the last week as they hosted the World Championship. Rather than the empty stadium at the 2020 Olympics, huge crowds cheered on the throwing events and led to some amazing performances. Beyond the individual stories there are some interesting stories at the country and regional level as well. Below as some of the most interesting trends we have identified after crunching the numbers.
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The world championships in track and field kick off this weekend. There is some thrilling action ahead in the throwing events, and University of Georgia coach Don Babbitt joins us on this week’s podcast to talk about trends in the throwing events, what we’re keep an eye on next week, and the future of American throws development.
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The 100-meter dash is the blue-ribbon event within track and field (and yes, I am aware I’m saying that on an historically throws-orientated website). Over the years, we have been wowed by phenomenal performances in this event; Usain Bolt’s Olympic win in 2008, followed by his World Record in Berlin in 2009, or Sha’Carri Richardson’s 10.65 in 2023, having only made the final as a non-automatic qualifier. These performances continue to inspire the next generation of athletes, enthralled by watching their heroes dominate on TV, to test their talents on the playground or at the local athletics club. As a result, the 100m final at a major Championships’ is often the most widely watched—and spoken about—event. Even before the championships everyone starts to discuss what we can expect, and some new research has even tried to predict the upcoming results using statistical models.
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Alex Hutchinson is well known for his writing on sport science, but his new books goes in a different direction by taking a detailed look at exploration: why humans explore, how much we should explore, and methods of exploration. The topic might not be directly about sports, but it is directly relevant to coaches. Coaches are often weighing the question of when to try something new, and when to keep with the old ways. Hutchinson joins us on this week’s podcast to look at how some of the concepts in his book can apply to the world of coaching and high performance.
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Canada gets a lot of headlines for their recent dominance in the hammer throw, but there are aren’t the only ones making their mark internationaly. Over the last decade, coach Richard Parkinson has been building several world class shot putters out of his group in Toronto. This isn’t just by chance; it’s by plan. Planning is key to Parkinson. It seems so simple, but is often overlooked. On this episode Parkinson discusses his planning philosophy, as well as technical training.
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According to coach Dale Stevenson, technique is overrated. Technique is a tool, just like strength is a tool. We need tools, but we can’t forget that tools are there to help us accomplish a task. On this week’s podcast Stevenson joins us to look at his approach to technique in training, how that translates into session design, and much more.
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Today is Father’s Day and it has me reflecting on how parenthood has shaped my views on developing young athletes. My wife and I never set out with a plan, but when I look back at a decade of parenting there are some key values that really stick out. Before I share them, let me start with a disclaimer: I’m not an expert on long term athlete development. My official academic title is simply dad. What I lack in expertise I compensate for in a passion to see my kids lead an active and healthy lifestyle. You can ask me in a few decades if our approach worked or not, but below I share the principles that have guided us so far:
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After a successful launch in 2024, we once again put together the Halle throwing conference at the 50th edition of the international throws meet. The theme this year was “behind the technique.” I kicked things off with a presentation on factors to consider in defining your athlete’s technical model. Then coaches Dale Stevenson and Dylan Armstrong gave practical examples of how they approach the topic, including a breakdown of the technical approach for Olympic champion Ethan Katzberg, Olympic medalist Matt Denny, and world champion Tom Walsh. Video from the technical analyis and roundtable are now online for Plus members and below are three key take aways from Dale Stevenson’s talks.
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