Read PROGRAM PART 1.
PLANNING is the key to have a true PROGRAM. When I was still a very inexperienced coach who happened to be working with a group of incredibly talented gymnasts who were having a great deal of success on bars I was asked by a colleague what was my plan. I had a daily routine and a competition plan, but I realized that I did not really have a PLAN on bars. So I spent a few weeks writing down my plan for each event.
- What skills at what age.
- What technique I wanted and WHY.
- What conditioning skills to include to facilitate the skills
- What Progressions for common skill
- What was I looking for in Skill selection
- Expectations at each event for each level.
- Skills for now and skills for the future
For the last 25 years this plan has changed VERY little. It has served as my road map. Yes, different kids visited different towns on that map. Some took some side roads instead of the highway but very few have gotten lost.
I can spot a gym with a PLAN in about 2 minutes watching them train or compete. If I see 4 different techniques with 4 different kids, I am pretty sure that is a gym without a plan. If I see kids wandering around the gym waiting for practice to start and not sure what to do, that is a gym with out a plan. There will always be slight variations in technique depending on certain anthropomorphic factors but when I see completely different technique, I know that is not a road to success.
There will be always be exceptions, but you cannot make the exceptions the rule.
Variety may be the spice of life but it is also true that too many chefs ruin the soup. Each group you coach (and each individual you coach) will be different. Different coaches within a program will take a slightly different approach. In order for a program to work, all parts need to be be organized. Following the same path with accepted techniques and progressions. Like a marriage they need to share the same core values.
Technique and progressions need to be your Religion. You need to believe in them to your core. You can be a convert- (I have been converted with certain techniques) but it should not be easy. You need to stick with it for a while.
Drills are the variety. The Spice. But not the substitute for consistent technique and sound progressions.
The MOST consistently successful programs through out the USA are pretty tight and Top down.
- These are our expectations.
- These are the progressions we will follow from skill A to Skill B
- Here is the map you will follow, you can get off the main road, but do not stray too far
Think of your Program.
Is there just an overall plan with individual coaches free to bring kids up any way they want with any technique?
- Do you have a plan for what skills and progressions need to be taught
- What are the expectations and demands you want?
- What is the technique you want taught for skills?
