Earlier this month the annual GAIN Swimming event took place. Over the past decade, GAIN has become the leading name when it comes to dry land training. On this week’s podcast Chris Webb and Vern discuss what GAIN Swimming is all about and how they are trying to reinvent dry land training for swimmers of all levels.
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LTAD has almost become a cliché. Everyone has an LTAD program and they all look the same. How can that be? Because the models assume a linear march to the top of the athletic achievement pyramid. In reality it is a very chaotic process at best, full of detours, false starts and redirection. On this week’s episode we look at rethinking long-term athlete development with some practical examples from yesteryear and the present.
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Just a short time ago, high school strength and conditioning coach was not a job. Now, across the US, more schools are hiring strength coaches. What makes a good program and how can coaches make the biggest impact at the youth level? On this week’s episode NHSSCA co-founder Gary Schofield joins us to look at these topics and more.
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There are few things in coaching as rewarding as helping a young person achieve something for the first time: a forward roll, a cartwheel, leaping over a hurdle or standing up with a weight above their head. Their enthusiasm is contagious. Conversely, there are few things in coaching as difficult as coaching a group of young people whose minds and bodies are going through the turmoil of puberty and school and socialization. In this article I shall outline some of the coaching and technical ideas that I use when coaching juniors.
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We’re changing things up on this week’s episode. Rather than sharing a coaching perspective, we’re looking at sport through the eyes of a former athlete, sports businesswoman, and daughter . . . not just any daughter, Vern’s daughter. Kristen Gambetta Anderson joins this week’s podcast to discuss her own under rated path through sport, her work in sports business, and provides a new perspective on Vern as a coach and father.
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Spotting the next major talent is big business in sports, particularly team sports, where youngsters are often scouted and signed to clubs at increasingly young ages. However, the effectiveness of these methods is generally considered to be very poor, with relatively few youngsters thought of as highly talented at a young age progressing through to play at a high level. How can it be that we invest so much into talent identification but have relatively little to show for it? Read more
There are dozens of long-term athlete development models out there that try to explain the best way to turn youth athletes into champions. The problem is that they incorporate much more theory than practice. In reality, success cannot be broken down into one pathway or plan. On this episode of the podcast, leading youth coach James Marshall talks about how the systems fail us and what he’s doing to make youth athletics better in his community. Read more
At North Shore Country Day School students range from age 4 to 18. As athletic director, Patrick McHugh has had a chance to put in place a truly long-term athletic development process. The key word there is process: long-term development is not a model, but a process that is never linear. On this episode he talked about his philosophy and more. Read more
Sergio Lara-Bercial had a simple question he wanted answered: what makes serial winning coaches so successful. As a senior research fellow at the International Council for Coaching Excellence he was able to sit down with coaches who produce Olympic champions and record holders time and time again. In this episode he talks about his background, the project, and what lessons he learned from talking with the best coaches in the world. Read more
Everyone laments about the current state of physical education, but what are we to do about it? GAIN faculty member Greg Thompson has put it upon himself to find a solution. As a USSF A-License coach and a primary school physical education teacher, he joins us on this week’s episode to discuss his methods for building athletes from the ground up in schools. Read more
