The site theme in July was individualization. Throughout the month we shared a variety of new content looking at how, when, why to individualize training. Our archives have even more in depth content on the topic. Below we have links to all our new and archived content on the topic.
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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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Coaching is about meeting the needs of your athletes, and micro adjustments to meet special needs of individual athletes can make all the difference. What is described as the art of coaching is often just how we make decisions to individualize or not individualize a program. On this week’s episode Dan Noble and James Gardiner from GRIT Athletics Toronto explain some of the factors that go into their decision making, along with examples of individualization in practice.
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The expression ‘there is no I in team’ is often used in team sports to suggest that no individual’s needs, abilities or ideas should take precedence over the combined skills and efforts of the entire group. From a team culture perspective, I would tend to agree with this saying. However, the core principle of individualization also suggests that coaching and training should be based on the athlete’s actual state of training, experience, athletic potential, and characteristics. Research has clearly shown standardized training program will produce a wide range of adaptive responses, with the same training producing large, small or negative responses among different athletes. How is a coach to deal with these seemingly contradictory points?
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The site theme in June was Olympic weightlifting. Athletic development coaches often debate the role of Olympic lifting in athletic development. But there is one thing we can probably all agree on: athletes need power and Olympic lifting is one tool coaches can use to develop it. Throughout the month we shared a variety of new articles, videos, and podcasts on Olympic lifting looking at how to teach the lifts, programming, complexes, and alternatives. Our archives have even more in depth content on the topic. Below we have links to all our new and archived content on the topic.
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The site theme in May was medicine ball training. As one of the most versatile training tools available, there is a lot you can do with a medicine ball. Throughout the month we shared some practical examples of how top coaches are using medicine ball training, as well as programming tips. Below we have links to all our new and archived content on the topic, including 5 new articles, 2 new videos, and 2 new podcasts from 8 contributors.
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As with any type of training, there are lots of factors to consider when putting together a training session with medicine balls. Some are general training considerations, while other factors are specific to the demands of medicine ball training. Below are nine medicine ball training design considerations I put together for my book Complete Guide to Medicine Ball Training.
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The site theme in March was speed. This isn’t the first time we looked in depth on speed, with site themes from 2019 and 2018 also focusing on the topic. This time we tried to learn more from the world of sprinting with 6 new articles, 3 podcasts, and 2 new videos that looked at topics ranging from sprint mechanics to technical progressions to training methodology. Below we have links to all our new and archived content on speed.
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Look back at history and there are a lot of debates about strategies from sprint planning. PJ Vazel has meticulously researched centuries of training journals and joins this week’s podcast to look at one historic debate in particular: should sprinters train long-to-short or short-to-long? Learn about what the nuances of history tell us, as well as some parallels in throws planning.
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The site theme in February was microdosing. We took an in depth look at how small bouts of training can add up to produce big results. Throughout the month we put together 7 new articles, 2 podcasts, and 1 new video from 10 contributors with ideas on how to use this approach in different scenarios. Below we have links to all our new and archived content on microdosing.
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