Insights from the US Track and Field Coaching Certification Course: Day One
Last weekend I was fortunate to participate in USA Track and Field Coaching certification. The instructors included the 2015 National High School Track and Field Coach of the Year, Tom Millbrooke, USOC delegate and University of the Pacific Coach Matt Lydum, and veteran National and International Coach Peter Thompson. Though I didn't participate in Track and Field as an athlete, I felt that there would be some good information on acceleration and top-end speed, as well as a different approach to jump training from what might be encountered in the Strength and Conditioning world. What I found very refreshing however was the amount of time spent on coaching itself, especially coaching youth, rather than the simply the events themselves. Though a lot of the information will be familiar to anyone who has coached, as well as many athletes, I thought that it would be worth it to revisit some of these lessons.
Athlete 1st, Winning 2nd: How hard to keep this in mind sometimes. Perhaps it means sitting your star player to reduce the risk of injury. Perhaps it means sitting your star player because they missed practice, or didn't go to class, or were disrespectful. One of the wonderful things about sport is how it is a microcosm of life, and that outcomes stemming from actions (positive or negative), are both more immediate and of less long-term importance than many consequences in real-life.
Which brings us to the difference between success and the final result. One of my favorite quotes on this comes from John Wooden:
Easy, right? Of course, only the athlete, patient, or client knows if they did this. Does this mean that if they have not given 100% of their physical and mental energies to every task set forth in every practice session that they have failed? In the real world, truly doing your best, giving 100% mental and physical effort at all times, day in and day out can be a significant stressor and can lead to burnout (note here that I am not talking about competition). How then to ensure that one is giving sufficient effort to improve? Furthermore, in a cross-country race for example, there will only be one first-place finisher among dozens of runners. Did everyone else fail? This is where it is helpful to Define Each Athlete's Success. For a runner it may be a certain time that will take them nowhere near the winner's circle, it could be executing a proper handoff in the relay, or maintaining the appropriate pace for each portion of a race. For a martial artist it may be maintaining a calm demeanor during a competition. For a personal training client it might be making 8 trips to the gym in a month, and for a patient it could be to perform their home exercises as prescribed more than 90% of the time. As smaller benchmarks of success are met, additional ones can be set. This is where "a functional progressive training model can aid in improving one's self-efficacy by providing for consistent improvement." Sometimes in courses there is textbook-speak.
Coach Millbrooke spoke about when he was a new coach and he didn't have a proper field. Instead, they used to chase away the cows from nearby pasture and use it for practice. I was reminded of Daniel Coyle's The Talent Code and how Coyle found that many 'hotspots' renowned for developing experts in skills as diverse as singing, sport, and math were low-tech, no-frills spaces. While it may have been necessity or frugality at the root of this, Coyle postulates that spending time in a more luxurious environment subconsciously implies to a trainee that he or she has already 'arrived'.
Most athletes get better grades in-season than off. As many of us know, when we have a lot of free time, we are less likely to use it wisely. Again, this can apply to scholastic athletes, people going to the gym, or patients in Physical Therapy or one of the other allied health professions.
Negative self-talk follows the iceberg rule, ie, if you see/hear someone putting themselves down, you can be reasonably sure that there is a lot more that is below the visible surface. This may be especially true with females. Some studies have shown that females generally underrate their abilities, while males overrate them.
The coach is The Weather. Just like the weather, the mood or environment created by the coach's attitude is a huge part of what will determine the mood of the athlete, client or patient. A client's or athlete's positive attitude is unlikely to survive for long when the trainer or coach doesn't want to be at practice and shows it.
Going through my notes on the first day I can see just how much great information was actually presented. There is some more good information just from day one, which I'll put in another post before getting to Saturday and Sunday.