I‘m responsible for more than a dozen teams at Notre Dame High School. A lot of universities would be jealous with the facility we have, but no matter how large the space or fancy the equipment, the biggest constraint in session design is time. We typically get a group of 30+ athletes for just 45 minutes. The biggest question for us is: how can we accomplish the most in this time? It all comes down to organization.
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The best sports scientists bridge the gap between theory and practice. They bring coaching experience to the table and help help solve the real problems athletes are facing. This describes Esa Peltola. His diverse experiences in coaching, physiology, talent identification, and sports science helped him drive athletes to the next level, including coaching the first Australian to break 10 seconds in the 100 meters. On this week’s GAINcast he shares his journey.
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As we enter the final month in the year, it’s a good time to look back and share some of our recent thoughts about training and coaching. On this week’s GAINcast we cover a wide variety of topics including coaching and athlete specialization, finding a process, tips on organization, athleticism, sprint technique, and more.
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It’s the holiday season. That means it’s time for us to share what we are thankful for, as well as let off some steam. On this week’s episode we talk about some of our recent ideas on training, how to do more with less, a few timely rants, and organizational ideas for technical training.
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A teams success during the season is often tied with how effectively they prepare in the preseason. Integrating the tactical, technical, and physical preparation can be an art. Recently James de Lacey shared an 8-week preseason rugby training plan on our site. On this week’s podcast, he dives deeper into his principles of preseason training and discusses how they can be adapted to different environments and different sports. Read more
Physical education is a hot topic in the athletic development world recently. Simply put, kids need more quality physical education. But what exactly does a good PE class look like? On this week’s episode coach and PE teacher Andy Stone takes us inside how he designs PE class, what coaches can learn from PE, and tips on teaching movement. Read more
As sport starts to return to training coaches will need to monitor social distancing, sterilization of equipment and the wearing of protective clothing. This is in addition to all their usual planning, booking, managing, communicating, reflecting and, somewhere along the line, coaching. Whereas team building and social identity could previously be built through normal sports training and extra-curricular activities, the new rules of social distancing means that players may well feel emotionally as well as physically detached from their team mates. Read more
In many parts of the world, the lockdown is coming to an end and training restrictions are slowly being lifted. The same is true for us. On this episode the podcast we look at how we are returning to training with our athletes, including what logistical and programming changes we’re making.
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Circuits are often seen as a tool for beating an athlete down, but when used properly they can be an effective tool for developing specific qualities. As many athletes are now confined to their homes, understanding and utilizing proper circuit construction is more important now than ever. On this week’s GAINcast, Vern dives into circuit training, best practices, and examples of different types of circuit construction. Read more
Skill acquisition is the science that underpins movement learning and execution. In other words, skill acquisition is what underpins sport. There is not performance without skill acquisition. On this week’s GAINcast we explore some simple ideas that can help coaches improve skill acquisition amongst their athletes. Read more
