DREAMS HAVE EXPIRATION DATES
When I was younger, ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS MAKE AN OLYMPIC TEAM. It wasn’t a far-fetched dream either; I was pretty good. But I got slower, and I got less motivated, and I had other interests. Sooner or later, it became clear that it wasn’t going to happen. My dream of being an Olympian had an expiration date, and expire it did. [Read more…]
Each year about this time I have parent meeting outlining the upcoming year and looking back on last year.
To make it a little simpler this year I have included a handy translation guide for the parents.
Enjoy.
COACH SAYS
“Marches to a different drummer”
COACH MEANS
“your kid is NUTS. I am hoping to keep her from eating as much chalk this year”
COACH SAYS
“Needs to brush up on her people skills”
COACH MEANS
“We are all afraid of your daughter. We think she is going to be a serial killer.”
COACH SAYS
“Creative”
COACH MEANS
“Not too bright. The blank stare I often get when explaining stations baffles me. Sometimes she does not recognize her name.”
COACH SAYS
“Very Creative”
COACH MEANS
“We are amazed she remembers to breath on her own.”
COACH SAYS
“She is a Riot!”
COACH MEANS
“No one likes your daughter.”
COACH SAYS
“She’s doing just fine”
COACH MEANS
” What’s your daughter’s name again?”
COACH SAYS
“She will do much better at optionals”
COACH MEANS
“Your daughter can not remember the most simple compulsory sequence”
COACH SAYS
“What is she like at home?”
COACH MEANS
“How can you live with her? ”
COACH SAYS
“She has interesting tastes”
COACH MEANS
“She eats random things found on the floor. You may want to see a professional about this”
COACH SAYS
“She is very creative, and we need to find a way to channel that into something”
COACH MEANS
“She needs to stop kicking her team mates. We have been banned from most competitions already”
COACH SAYS
“She is a very affectionate little girl”
COACH MEANS
“Some parents outside may wish to talk to you also. “Kiss chase” is just not an appropriate warm up game”
COACH SAYS
“Thanks for coming, it’s lovely to meet you”
COACH MEANS
“Wow, you made it I didn’t think you’d be so together given what I see from your child each day, and amazingly you look quite normal!”
Have some that you want to share? Keep the MOMENTUM going. Send me your additions!
One of my favorite Blogs is Functional Path Training by Vern Gambetta. This post was largely taken from one he wrote.
If you don’t get the basics right then everything that follows will be compromised.
In my experience the difference between good and great gymnasts tends to be that that the great ones always pay attention to the basics and have flawless mastery of the basics. They never stray far from the fundamentals; in fact no matter where they are in their career they touch the basics everyday.
Sure it is mundane, some have called it boring, but to be the best requires mastery of the basics. Advanced skill and technique is built upon sound fundamentals. The most basic of the basics are fundamental movement skills – pull, push, squat, bend, extend, rotate, reach, step, leap, starting, stopping, jump etc. It may not be as exciting as trying to master a double back but it will serve you well in the short and long run. The great John Wooden felt that most mistakes under pressure in games was caused by weaknesses in fundamental basketball skills. Each day in each of his practices a significant amount of time was devoted to proper execution of fundamentals. You will NEVER really Rise to the occasion. You will sink to the level of training which you have mastered.
A base of fundamentals is the foundation for more complex skills and creativity in movement. Keep it simple, link and connect basic movements to achieve advanced skill and training. If you don’t know the alphabet you can’t spell a word, if you can’t spell you can’t write sentences, if you can’t write sentences then you can’t compose paragraphs or write an essay much less write the great American novel. Master the movement ABC’s and go higher faster and stronger.
Lets not fool ourselves to get better you have to do the work, that is a given. Make no mistake that everyone who achieves at a high level does the work. All that being said just doing the work is not enough, anyone can work it is work with direction and purpose that produces results. We have this mistaken notion more prevalent today because of the “10,000 hour” myth that all you need to do is to punch the clock, accumulate hours and somehow magically at 10,000 hours you will be a champion. No way! If that work is not mindful, done with a plan that provides specific direction then all you are doing is getting tired and getting tired does not make you better. It is not the work it is what you put into the work that counts I know that is a cliché but some clichés are truisms. I have seen nothing in my experience to disprove this. Plan your work, work the plan, evaluate the results, recalibrate and keep moving forward with direction and purpose. I had this discussion with a colleague the other day and she reminded of the words of a country western song that was popular a few years ago: “Work your fingers to the bone. What do you get? Boney fingers.”
YOUR EYES MAY BE LYING TO YOU
It is interesting to listen to coach’s talk about what they see when observing movement. Are they really seeing what they think they see? Human vision is incredibly acute and at the same time fundamentally flawed. The longer I coach the more I realize that more often than not we see what we think we see rather that exactly what is happening. Whether we recognize it or not we all have a tendency toward a confirmation bias. Consciously or subconsciously we have programmed our brain to look for certain things. In many ways viewing motion is like looking at a Rorschach inkblot test, the shape of the object does not change as much as our perception of the shape of the object. I heard a story once about three pitching coaches and three scouts watching a pitcher. Mind you six people watching the same pitcher throw the same pitch and they all saw something slightly different. Listening to them you quickly realize that what each of them had seen confirmed each of their biases in regard to pitching.
And in the world of gymnastics- Every “expert” is going to see what they want. A sport scientist will find a biomechanical solution. A strength expert will find a conditioning solution. A Psychologist will find a mental solution. What is the solution? Obviously today we have high-speed video and a myriad of analysis tools, but we still need to be able to effectively use our naked eye to provide instant feedback for correction and instruction. First recognize your confirmation bias and work to erase that mental program. Second a very simple correction that I learned from Muriel Grossfeld is to change vantage point. Instead of viewing Beam from the side watch from the end or get up in the stands and view from above. You will be surprised at how many different things you see. A third solution is to learn to use you peripheral vision. Turn sideways to the action and you will be surprised at things you see. Our peripheral vision is very acute but we don’t train ourselves to use it to its fullest extent. Just like any coaching skill training yourself to have an accurate unbiased coaching eye is part of improving your skills as a coach. In words of that sage biomechanist Yogi Berra “You can see a lot by watching.”
When you order a cake. You May want to be VERY clear with your order. Someone really just needs to try harder.
Once again I was reading Functional Path Training. A great blog.
Ideas on Being a Coach
Coaching is not something you do, it something you are with every fiber of your being, there is no half way you must be all in. The journey is long and rewarding because of the opportunity to guide athletes in their development athletically and most importantly as people. Here are a few thoughts and concepts that I have found to be valuable in my experiences from years of coaching. [Read more…]
The body is a link system; this link system is referred to as the kinetic chain. Functional training is all about linkage – it is all about how all the parts of the chain work together in harmony to produce smooth efficient patterns of movement. Most conventional academic preparation in Exercise and Movement Science focuses on studying individual muscles based on classical anatomy. This is where the confusion begins as to what is functional movement. First of all we must remember that we do not function in the anatomical position. The anatomical position is static; it provides us with the perspective of mental convenience to arrange of all the individual muscles for ease of study and observation. In many respects learning about individual muscles is easier than learning about movements because it is simpler. In order to truly understand functional training we must get away from the focus on muscles and focus instead on movements. It is important to emphasize that the brain does not recognize individual muscles. It recognizes patterns of movement, which consist of the individual muscles working in harmony to produce movement the desired sport movement.
In over ground movement like running and jumping gravity is a major player. In order to completely understand function we must understand the role that gravity plays. The fact that we live, work and play in a gravitationally enriched environment cannot be denied. Gravity has minimal effect on the body in the anatomical position, but maximum effect on the body in movement. It helps us to load the system. Therefore we must learn to overcome its effects, cheat and even defeat it occasionally. Over reliance on machines for training will give us a false sense of security because they negate some of the effects of gravity. Gravity and its effect must be a prime consideration when designing and implementing a functional training program to prepare the body for the forces that it must overcome.
Always carefully look at he movement that you are trying to enhance. What are the forces involved? What is the dominant plane of motion? Movement occurs in all three planes of motion simultaneously: Sagittal, frontal, and transverse. Therefore it is important to train movement in all three planes. It is imperative to understand the movements and then design the training program accordingly. How does that muscle fit in as a link in the whole kinetic chain?
If it is to be it is to be, it’s up to WE.
Success is not about me, it is about we, it is about collaboration, working together with other people to achieve a shared goal. You can’t do it alone. You need a support team. [Read more…]
In order to come up with a PLAN for your workouts and practices, each gymnasts should really take the time to answer these questions. [Read more…]
The other day I was able to step out of the gym and take a look as the Level 9s and 10s trained. It reminded of how important it is to learn how to train. It also reminded what a big step this is in the development of the athlete. The group ranged from first year Level 9s to some 10s who have competed at Nationals a number of times. The contrast in the workout was amazing to watch. Everyone did the workout. [Read more…]