Lifting??

Lately I have been talking with different athletes about weight lifting. And it seems that many high school lifting programs are designed for football players. So that means, the tennis teams, the volleyball teams, etc..., are lifting like football players.

WHAT???

Most female athletes don't want to look like football players! Or at least thats what they tell me!

So why not spend some time and design lifting programs that are more beneficial to each athletic team? Yeah it takes a little extra time and thought, but I think the athletes are worth it, and deserve the best opportunity to reach their athletic potential. WE (athletes, and coachs) might have to go a little out of our comfort-zone of "standard" lifts to attain these goals, but at that point it is good for both the athletes and the coachs. We both can learn from this type of "Out of the Box" thinking.

Now don't get me wrong I think there will be plenty of cross over exercises from sport to sport, but we should design programs that are more in tune with the athletic goals of each individual team.

I don't need my tennis players to look like football players! The tennis player will never have to push around a 250lb offensive lineman on the court!!!

Mistakes?

I think we all make them?
And trust me I have made my share plus some of yours.
But at times I think we tend to think of mistakes as negative things.
And yes that is true if nothing is taken away from those mistakes. If nothing is learned from our mistakes and we continue to make the same ones then for sure a mistake would become a negative!
But I learned a phase from a good friend Mike Bolander, "Mistakes are just areas of Opportunity."
Wow, when he told me that a huge light went off in my head. I started taking a different view point on when I made mistakes. I no longer took it as such a negative thing, I took it as a challenge to myself of where I could make improvements in the ways I was doing things!
And trust me I am a guy who likes to learn things!!! Because like I said I have made plenty of mistakes!
Just ask my friends, and family I have had plenty "areas of opportunity" for myself!!! And I am sure many more in the future, but I also know that I will be a better athletic trainer, performance coach, dad, husband, friend for making those mistakes!
So the next time you think you have made a mistake with something or someone, step back and say, "How can I make this an area of opportunity in which I can become better?"

Goals and the Journey

A good friend brought up a good point to me.

We need to keep the ultimate goal in mind when setting out to develop athletes.
If we do not have goals then we will have no direction in which to design a program.
And with no direction to design a program we are more likely just to provide workouts that have no purpose other than to work them out, and for a majority of athletes that will not get it done!

Once the goal has been set then it is time to begin the journey towards long term athletic development. The journey will be the important part in the long run. The journey is where the athlete makes all their deposits in the "Athletic Performance Bank" to draw on in the future. The journey will include all the practices(both with the teams, and by yourself), working out in the gym, eating correctly, recovery, etc...

While on our journey there will be many road blocks, and distractions, and that is where keeping our eyes on the ultimate goal is very important. Keeping our eyes on the ultimate goal will get us through many of those road blocks, and distractions.

But don't forget to "stop and smell the flowers", at times this can give us a renewed look, and also helps refresh our drive to help our athletes reach their ultimate goal.

And in the end don't forget to "Enjoy the Ride", because if we are not able to enjoy the ride, then is it truly worth it in the end?

Barry Bonds?

Is Barry Bonds a case of Long Term Athletic Development or Not?

Age vs. Training Specifics?

The more I read about the developmental process and training, the more I learn I have so much more to learn and understand. In an article by Istvan Balyi called "Long Term Athlete Development:Trainability in Childhood and Adolescence windows of opportunity, optimal trainability" he discusses the 6 stage model of Late Specialization Sports. He discusses that the first opportunity to introduce in speed training for boys is ages 7-9, and for girls is from age 6-8. The speed that should be worked on at this time is Quickness and Agility less than 5 seconds.

So this makes me question if kids have speed training at those ages (6-9), then are they going to be more advanced with training and competition at later stages of training and competition? I would tend to believe that this will give those athletes that had organized training at ages 6-9 would have an advantage at that time. But as they mature into their later stage athletic bodies will they maintain those results from the early stages of training? Or by performing these specific athletic activities (ie.. speed training) that is providing an accumulative effect that will make them complete athletes when hitting the elite levels of competition?

What is the Answer?

As I talk with athletes each day it never fails to come up: "How do i get faster,or I want to get stronger, etc..." These athletes come looking for the magic workout, or the quick fix to get better, well here is the answer?

HARD WORK!

That is the answer.
It may not be the answer that most athletes are looking for, but that is the TRUTH! Most athletes that have made it to the elite levels of competition would tell you that they got there from lots of hours of practices when no one was watching, working out in the gym when no one else was around, watching game film, etc...

A gentleman named Istvan Balyi came up with a model called "The Five Stage Model for Late Specialization." His model states there are 5 stages to attain elite level of performance. And those 5 stages basically equal 10 years (or 10,000 hours) of athletic development. Which basically translates to slightly more than 3 hours of practice daily for 10 years.

So there is your magic workout: 10,000 hours!!!!

Excuses!!!

This is what I tend to hear all day!
Their new motto should be "NO Excuses"
While it is easier to give an excuse, it is harder to accept responsibility. But no one said the road to achieve great performances would be easy. If it was easy then everyone would be Micheal Jordan, or Lance Armstrong.
"NO Excuses" hangs above my door at work to help remind all those that enter, that if you want to achieve the type of goals that you talk about then "No Excuses" will be the path to follow to get there!

GO KU

Well Folks,
For all of you out there that thought that KU did not stand a chance there you go, they did it again!
KU 10 - 0!!!

Welcome to My Blog

Hello My name is Trevor.
This is my first official Blog!
Hope you all will enjoy all that will follow!