Your seasons training plan
By the time you get this, your gymnasts will be back in school. Some of your lower levels may already be preparing for their first competition. It’s going to be a long seasons and you need be be prepared. You know all the basics. You know about about how many routines you would like them to do each week. You have your conditioning plan.
BUT WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO PUT INTO YOUR PLAN?
Start with the basics and never stray far from the basics.
No matter how many routines you need to do, hit basics every day.
Don’t try to replicate the stress of the sport in training, instead prepare for the stress of the sport.
Gymnastics takes a toll on the body and the mind. If everyday you go in and beat up the body and the mind, how long do you think the gymnasts are going to last?
Have a plan, execute it and constantly evaluate the plan.
Even the BEST plan needs to be tweaked as the season goes on. Have some TEST events. Pick a competition and a goal. evaluate your plan, tweak what is necessary and move on to the next test.
Coach the person not the athlete.
Each gymnast you work with is going to be a little different. You are coaching gymnasts, not robots. Along the same line, it doesn’t matter if a 10 year old is a level 5 or a level 10. What matters is that they are a 10 year old! Coach their age, not their level!
Teach skills not drills.
When you break down a skill into its smaller parts make sure YOU and the gymnast know each part. Make sure the gymnasts know what skills the drills are for.
Build on strengths and minimize weaknesses. (Favorite quote from Dr. George, “Take your worst event, make it your best, then take your worst event, make IT your best…”)
Train fast to be fast. You are what you train to be.
Adaptation is not just about time; it is the timing of the appropriate training stimulus to achieve the desired training response.
You compete the way you train. Understand the demands of the sport and train to exceed those demands.
Don’t try to replicate competitions in training, distort it.
Never allow equipment or facilities to dictate your training.
As you are coming up with YOUR Plan, here are some thoughts that make a difference.
– It’s not good enough to just show up you must be there in mind, body and spirit. Be PRESENT.
– Just talking about commitment is not enough; be committed through your actions.
– This year, try to Communicate by listening more and talking less.
– Take responsibility and use it to grow and expand your abilities.No excuses.
– Failure and adversity represent an opportunity to grow and learn. Failure is a prerequisite to success.
– Define yourself constantly don’t let others define you.
You want to really be the best? Don’t just Be the first there and the last to leave. Make the most of every minute.
Good luck with your season
Tony
