How do you train the elite athlete?

Over the last decade, the face of sport performance has changed drastically.  The days of showing up to practice and games for increasing performance are all but gone.  For athletes from the development level up to the professional level and everything in between, requires the aid of strength and conditioning coaches, therapists, mental coaches and family/community support.  In this article I will explain the Level 10 Fitness philosophy for strength and conditioning and touch on some of the more popular methods of training athletes.  It is important to note, that there are many ways to skin a cat and all of them can be effective.  For the most part, there are thousands of strength and conditioning coaches out there and at the end of the day all clientele are seeking the same thing-RESULTS.  As a reader, it is important to understand that we may all have different training methods as strength coaches, yet we all yield positive results to varying degrees.  There are many strength and conditioning coaches using completely different methods than the ones we use and they still are having success.  We feel our methods are the best for the populations we work with, but it should be understood that we are very open minded in our approach because success should not be solely measured by data, but performance in your perspective sport.  We believe that an athlete should not get hurt in the weight room regardless of what phase they are in or what movement they are executing. 

In Canada, we do not have the luxury of having a team of doctors and therapists waiting to help our athletes.  We have to consider the safety of these athletes and understand that if we take them out of their sport because of something we incurred due to negligent programming, we are costing the athlete (in some cases millions of dollars) time away from training and competition.  I firmly believe that we can train athletes at high loads and intensities with minimal injuries if we are cautious of what we are prescribing them.  Too often, we get caught up in numbers (who can lift the most etc) and choosing exercises that we think or are told are the best without looking ahead to what the potential damage can be.  All of our athletes go through a comprehensive movement screen and physical testing regimen.  Our testing protocols are not necessarily designed to see who is the fittest and strongest or most powerful, but to see what type of deficiencies or imbalance we may need to correct along the way and what type of improvements they can yield from test date to test date.  We firmly believe that an athlete can be trained to increase power, strength, size, agility and conditioning while still working on deficiencies.   As strength and conditioning coaches, we must look at the bigger picture of long term success. 

There are 3 main methods that most strength coaches draw their periodization and program design from: Olympic lifting, Power Lifting and Bodybuilding.  With these, there are other subsections that include: core training, Pilates, yoga, physiotherapy, stretch therapy (there are others, but this will do for now) and with those there are some sports that utilize specialized methods such as track and field and gymnastics as a style of training.  At Level 10 Fitness Inc. We tend to use a combination of all of the above to fit the individual athlete or teams.  I will touch briefly on why some of these methods are chosen from other professionals in our industry along with why we tend to use the combination of all of them with our clientele.  It is important to note: As strength and conditioning coaches, it is our job to help build better athletes, not just better weight lifters or sprinters (unless they are weightlifters or sprinters).  We have to breakdown the movement of a given sport and identify the following: what is the athletes physical age and training age (how long have they trained for), physical capabilities, past injury concerns and common injuries of the given sport, sport position, physical and mental demands of sport etc.  Given every sport is different (although most athletes will have the same goals of becoming leaner, bigger, faster, more powerful, stronger etc) we cannot attempt to train them all the same.  Don’t get me wrong, for the most part I believe athletes in general need to do very similar movements, it is the intensities/loads and auxiliary exercises that may differ.  The body positions required to change elevation/direction, create force, jump, run etc are very similar for all sports.  It is also important to note that we do not want to just target an athlete’s strengths and weakness’.  We need to keep the strengths strong and bring their weakness’ up to speed.

Olympic Lifting:

Olympic lifting is based off of the Olympic sport “weightlifting”.  In competitions athletes complete 2 lifts: the clean and jerk and the snatch (highest total for weight class wins).  Their style of training involves high speed, ballistic style movements with complimentary exercises such as deadlifts and squats.  Olympic lifting is thought to be the fastest sport in the world.  There are not many athletes that can move well over their bodyweight from the floor to overhead in a blink of an eye!  You Tube Reza Zadeh if you want to see power (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FwIDwBDcnA)!

All of our athletes use some form of Olympic lifting in their programs.  The difference from using it as a weight lifter vs. athlete (field, court, mat, track or other) is in the loads and the variance of the movements.  We tend to use variations of the traditional Olympic lifting variety with hang and dumbbell variations.  These movements are extremely complex and require attention to detail from both the strength coach and the athlete.   The benefits of these movements are that they are extremely athletic in nature and require the entire body (multi-joint) to be switched on (fast twitch fibres and CNS), they incorporate a rapid knee and hip extension similar to jumping and sprinting, they incorporate acceleration and deceleration similar to that in sport (the foundation of speed development and change of direction ability) along with the rapid change of elevation of the hips.  For me, one of the most important aspects is that it teaches the athlete the motor pattern of developing force through the ground.  There are many strength coaches that discredit the use of Olympic lifting because of the technical demands and the fear of injury.   I have used Olympic lifting as an athlete and as a coach for over 15 years and have not had an injury occur as a direct result of these lifts.  To be fair, I have had the luxury of working under some great strength and conditioning coaches that have helped me to become a better athlete and coach myself.  Although these lifts may be dangerous, if proper instruction, progressions and time is taken to learn them, I feel the risk of injury can be reduced greatly.

Limitations:

 Although these movements are highly athletic, they must be coupled with other movements to compliment the specific sport.  The loads used in Olympic lifting can tend to be much higher for the weightlifter vs. athlete.  Many of our athletes are competing or training year round and the stress of both can lead to injury.  This doesn’t mean we will not take our athletes to a higher load, but we have to be cautious and pay close attention to where the athlete is with regards to their season/training loads.  The traditional movements involved in the sport require the athlete to move the bar from the ground to overhead (highly technical).  Many of the athletes we train are overseas or out of province and rely on programs being sent to them with unmonitored training sessions.  Most of our athletes do not have the flexibility or technique to safely execute these movements without supervision (this is why we use hang variations, deadlift variations, jerk variations).  For the “Jerk” (the lifting of weight over head from shoulders) we have to consider the sport.  Many of our athletes have pre-existing shoulder injuries or postural issues making this movement difficult to use.  We also need to consider the nature of their sport-High contact sports place a tremendous amount of stress on the shoulders and spine.   We will still use this movement, but in variations and during the off-season.  All of the athletes we train do utilize at least one of these variations in all of their workout sessions (both in season and off season). 

Purists of the sport of weightlifting may disagree with some of the modified techniques and variations we use, but it must be realized that we are training better athletes, not better weightlifters.  Some movements are modified for reasons such as: learning to extend the hips explosively, using cue words that may not necessarily correspond with traditional techniques but do correspond with how athletes respond to audible and visual cues (jump, explode, drive etc), generate force through the ground, accelerate and decelerate quickly etc.

Power Lifting:

Power Lifting, takes the total of the athletes squat, deadlift and bench press.  For the most part, these athletes train with their big 3 lifts along with a myriad of auxiliary lifts that will help supplement the major movements.  It is also important to note, that in competition, these athletes train with knee wraps, squat and deadlift suits and bench press shirts-See Kirk Karwoski with a ridiculous 1000lb squat for 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo1tU1YqPp0).  Like Olympic lifters, the sole goal is to increase your total of all lifts.  Again, we use similar movements as power lifters only we tailor them to suit the athlete’s needs. 

Limitations:

As in weightlifting, we utilize all 3 or variations of all 3 power lifting movements with slight modifications.  As above, the ultimate goal is to prepare the athlete to reach the highest total possible, not to build an all around athlete.  In general, the power lifting program like the weightlifters will use auxiliary lifts to enhance the major 3 lifts.  Although much of what we draw (even with auxiliary lifts) from these two strength and power sports are great, there still must be a balance to suit the sport and athletes individual needs.   Deadlifts have always been one of the great strength and power exercises since the dawn of time.  Who can lift the most weight off the ground was usually touted as the strongest!  Although it is a great exercise, we have to consider the loads involved, flexibility concerns of the athlete, technique and supervision and functionality of the movement.  Just like the Olympic lifting movements, the athlete is required to pick up a heavy load off the floor.  I prefer to use a rack or box deadlift or a Romanian dead lift unless I am assured the athlete has flawless technique.

Bodybuilding:

They build their bodies.  Bodybuilders are judged on their posing routines, symmetry and size of muscle etc.  All though these athletes may physically look great, the training regimen does not support the athletic nature of sport.  Strength and conditioning coaches have utilized many of the exercises popularized by bodybuilders for years; we have just modified the intensities and tempo of movements to support a particular sport.  

Limitations:

I firmly believe that all athletes need to have lean mass on their bodies.  Fat serves little or no purpose for the elite athlete other than in some power sports (football, wrestling, rugby etc) and even then, it should be limited.  I heard a story of an NFL lineman that had a trainer that felt he was overweight and wanted to drop his bodyweight from 310lbs to 275lbs.  I don’t have a problem with this, so long as the athlete is increasing his conditioning, strength and power to make up for the 35lb deficit.  We have to consider that some positions require large athletes to move other large athletes.  Giving up that type of weight may result in a negative performance, and in this case it cost the athlete a renewal of his contract.  We are not just in the business of building better bodies; our sole goal is to increase performance.  Watch an NFL game on any Sunday and you will see some chunky dudes doing the most athletic things you have ever seen.  I have trained many athletes that look like Greek gods and play like crap and I have also seen guys that look like crap but play like Greek gods!

It is also important to note that when training women, there is a stigma that if they weight train they will end up looking like a bodybuilder!  Part of our role as strength coaches is explaining to them that we are in the business of increasing performance and that in all likely hood you will increase your lean mass.  It is also important to mention to them, that there is zero probability of them looking like a female bodybuilder unless they decide to embark on a similar chemical regimen.

Track and Field:

Although track and field is an actual sport, much of their training is utilized by strength and conditioning coaches as a style of training (like the above 3).  For the most part, their weight training regimen is very similar to that of the Olympic Lifter.   One thing that all athletes benefit from with regards to their performance is SPEED and POWER (regardless of sport).  So, it seems natural that as strength coaches, we may draw from the experiences of the track and field coach.  Sprinters and jumpers are amongst the fastest and most powerful athletes in the world.  Track and field coaches tend to also act as the athletes sport coach as well as strength and conditioning coach (or are very involved in both) giving them a great deal of contact hours with the athletes both in the weight room and on the track. 

Limitations:

• Track and field events are all linear for the most part.  Most sports involve lateral and backward (multi-directional) movements.
• Track athletes increase their performance in the weight room!  You do not get faster just by trying to run faster-the same can be said for jumping and throwing events (unless you are improving your technique.  I am touching more on the elite athlete).  You must increase your strength and power for you to decrease times on your event or increase your jumping or throwing ability.  Unlike other sports, track and field athletes generally compete in events that do not have many external factors such as: contact with other athletes or the ground, lateral or backward movement, fierce weather conditions, intermittent burst and the use of multiple energy systems, long durations (throwing, jumping and sprinting events are done in seconds).
• Track and field has a very defined in-season and off-season allowing for the use of traditional periodization models. 
• Track athletes are measure in 100’s/per second!  As strength and conditioning coaches, we have to determine if it is more valuable to have an athlete run as a track athlete and shave a 100^th of a second off their sprint or to have them run as they would in sport.  The technique of running on a track is quite different than running in sport.  It is rare that you will see an athlete run over 10 meters in a straight line before they either have to change direction or make contact with another player.

My final thoughts:

            I wanted to write this article after reading many programs and many hours of meetings, emails and phone calls with other strength and conditioning coaches.  The fact is, it is impossible to determine that there is only one way to train an athlete.  To this day, I disagree with many of our competitor’s methods for programming, but they still are having success with their athletes, just as we are.  So how can we determine what is best?  I feel we need to work together with sport coaches, athletes, therapists, mental coaches and high performance directors to ensure the athlete is the one that is benefitting the most-not the coach.  Too often coaches get caught up in data and results, but lose sight of the bigger picture.  We need to have a blend of practical and scientific knowledge married with common sense and a common goal of winning.  We must draw from previous experience and make educated conclusions to make sure the athlete is getting what is best for them.  At the elite level, everyone’s head is on the chopping block.  Everyone in the chain of command all the way down to the athlete needs to be held accountable for performance.

Our success has come from using a combination of the above mentioned methods, with some of our own to help increase the overall performance of the athlete or team.  Over the last ten years I have learned that most coaches are forced to validate their positions by results in the gym or on the track.  As strength and conditioning coaches, specifically in Canada-what is most important for us to win?   Making a 600lb squatter squat 610lbs, or keeping his/her strength and power as high as possible but look at reducing the chance of injury and increasing performance and the longevity of their career?  Through combining all of the above methods of training along with corrective exercises we can help build an elite athlete and keep them at the top of their competition for years to come.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me at joe@level10fitness.com

Yours in Strength,

Joe McCullum

The male ego and why I am better than you

                Before I go on, I just need to make sure everyone understands that the title is a joke!  At 35 years old, I have come to grips with my masculinity and ego.  As an ex-athlete of 3 machismo sports (wrestling, rugby and football) I have had my share of encounters with the male ego.  I am at the point now where I am beginning to realize how egos have shaped this world.  I want to touch on this because I see it as cancer to our industry.  It is our job to help people achieve more in life and sport and it is being tainted by people that are so called gurus and industry leaders.   Obviously we all want to be successful in our endeavours, but the shameless self promotion and ego boosting is taking away from what is most important-our clientele.   At the end of the day we are helping people reach their goals (sport or other), not solving world hunger. 

                I started in this industry at the ripe old age of 25 as a strength and conditioning coach at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.  I was lucky enough to work under some great strength coaches and with over 16 different teams from football to gymnastics.  Being immersed in a setting where I was dealing with close to 250 different athletes and coaches on a daily basis gave me a better understanding of the athlete ego and psyche.  

Since returning to Canada in 2002, I have seen this industry boom!  I decided to write this because I feel it is important for people to be able to read through some of the hype that surrounds the professionals of this industry and shed some light as to what one should look for when choosing a strength and conditioning coach or personal trainer.

Degrees and Certifications:

                This is a funny industry when it comes to education.  It is not regulated by any standards that state one should have a degree or any “real” certifications, let alone experience with regards to the field.  I put real in quotations, because for the most part, I don’t think much of certifications (I appreciate the intended purpose, but feel it has turned into a cash grab instead of learning tools).  I don’t have a problem with people attempting to share and learn within the field (I actually really support the concept), but I have a problem with people that lead seminars and clinics just so they can pad their resume and hear themselves speak.  For the most part, I only know of one certification that requires the members to actually have some experience in the field.   This means, anyone can go in and write a weekend course and become certified.  The major strength and conditioning governing body does at least require that you have a degree to get their certification, but it doesn’t matter what it is in.  How does this tie into ego?  If you have ever attended one of these clinics, you will note the use of the word “I” more than anything else.  Instead of sharing useful information, it becomes “I trained this guy, I developed this system, and I am the greatest because my eyebrows are plucked weekly” and so on.  If one is to get a certification, I like to think it means they are actually learning something useful and keeping up to date on the most pertinent information as it ties into the industry, not hearing stories about how great the speaker is or was and what product they are trying to offer you.   From the attendee’s standpoint, there are generally 3 types.  The ones that put their hand up every minute to share with everyone that they do in fact know what the presenter is talking about, the one that doesn’t say anything and thinks the presenter has nothing good to offer because they know it all anyway and the one that just goes to learn the newest and greatest gimmick or fad.   I only pick on education and certifications because it seems like something people feel the need to brag about more than anything else.   Sure these are all great accomplishments, but if I am looking for someone to train me, I look for 3 things:

1.       Results!  When we sign up to work with someone in this field it is not because we are looking for a new friend to chat with.  Results speak for themselves.   Keep in mind results does NOT mean they have trained someone famous or a professional athlete.  If it’s someone famous, chances are; they have an unlimited budget and time to achieve their desired results (quite often it is part of their jobs to look or perform a certain way).   You are paying for a service and you have every right to ask your trainer what to expect and to talk to some of their clientele to see firsthand what type of results you can look to achieve. If it’s an elite athlete; chances are they were elite before they met their strength and conditioning coach (I am not saying that our role as a strength and conditioning coaches doesn’t play a part in their success, but if you take into account the years, months, days and hours a pro athlete trains, it does not compare to most of the population).  There are many great coaches out there that work with both pro and developing athletes, but don’t get caught up in the mindset that your training will make you a pro athlete because you are doing the same workouts. 

2.       Experience!  All the education and certifications available are important, but if they have limited time putting it to practical use, I would question their abilities.  I have worked with many interns and new employees over the years and all of them seem to agree that they have learned far more on the job than through school or certifications.  Granted, I do believe that you should at the very least have a degree in the field so that you can understand the basic concepts before progressing, but it should also be noted that there are many successful and great people in this industry from the most educated to those that have little or none. 

3.       Personality! You are going to be spending a lot of one on one time with this person.  It is important that you can tolerate them.  They are not there to be your cheerleader or drill sergeant. They are there to help guide you with your goals and hopefully help you achieve them.  If your trainer spends more time talking about themselves than dealing with the task at hand, it means they are not interested in you.    If your service provider is sipping on a protein shake, eating a meal replacement bar, checking his phone or constantly checking himself out in the mirror, you may want to look elsewhere.  Their concern is on them and you should not be paying for someone that does not care about you. 

Here are 3 things I would look closely at when looking for a professional in the industry:

1. The trainer’s physique!  I know what you are thinking here-this is coming from a 350lb trainer and he is covering his own ass.  One thing I love to look for is how many pictures they have on their website of themselves with their shirt off.  It’s usually a great indicator of who they are most likely to look out for.   I have to also note, as a strength coach I don’t believe we have to have competed in a specific sport to train a specific athlete.  But I do think we must have the ability or had the ability to perform what we are asking our clientele to do.  I know as an athlete, I would’ve had trouble with someone telling me to a million shuttles in the hundred degree heat then go to a weight session if they couldn’t at least say they have an understanding of how it feels themselves.  As a strength coach, we have to be able to relate to the athlete and client at all times.  It is not necessary that your coach has done everything that you will be doing, but they have to have an understanding of what the stress of these activities feel like before they attempt your programming.
2. Hyper Intelligence!  I am not trying to knock smart people.  Look for a balance of education with experience.  I would rather someone that is a professional than someone that is a professional student.  I am butchering this quote that I believe came from Albert Einstein-“ If you can’t explain what you are talking about so that both a 7 year old can understand it and an academic is not offended, you don’t know what you are talking about”.   I have found that a lot of academics have trouble portraying their message to their audience.  Most of their time is not spent in the field and tends to limit their personality and experience when dealing with athletes.  Most academics are great with research and data and for the most part are needed for us to do our jobs.  The problem is; a fair amount of the research being done has either already been determined by those in a practical setting for themselves or it is not practical for the majority of settings it is intended for.
3. Claims to fame! We all do this, but we tend to look up to people that have had their 15 minutes of fame and treat them like they are above everyone else.  There are a lot of great people in the industry that are great at what they do and they work with very high profile people and should be proud of this.  As a client, we should be looking more at the results as opposed to who they worked with.  Quite often I get parents and clientele asking about so called industry leaders because they have worked with professional teams or athletes.  The first thing I ask back is; did they have good results while that person worked under them?  Is it boasted worthy for me to say I worked for a professional team for ten years and in that time they never were successful or riddled with injuries?  Question everything and if you don’t like the answers, move on.   I listened to a great speaker in our field and he once said something along the lines of “believe nothing of what you read, and don’t read only things you believe”.   So if you go into interview a coach and you are in awe of what you have heard, everything he says is that much more believable.

My final thoughts:

                This industry should not be just about the people that work in it.  We are nothing without our clients and need to respect that.  There is nothing wrong with speaking highly of yourself or your company so long as it doesn’t take away from the client’s goals. We are all proud of our accomplishments, but at the end of the day the summation of our compliments comes from our ability to make our customers happy.  All of us boast an ego at some point or another, but if it is a major part of your life it takes away from your ability to learn.  I used to think we were the only company doing the “right” things for our client and negated everything I had heard from our competitors.  What I now realize is you can learn just as much by paying attention to the things you don’t agree with as you can from the ones that fit into your guidelines.  At the end of the day, we are not solving the world’s problems, be humble in your accomplishments both as a trainer and a person and most importantly-don’t forget, this industry is not just about you. 

                If you are offended by this article, maybe you should read it again.

Yours in Strength,

Joe McCullum

Coaching generation "Y"

As coaches, teachers and employers for that matter, we have all noted that each generation holds different attributes.  We can also note that every generation seems to blame the past and present for all of the world’s problems!  There are basically four living generations right now- The matures would be those born between 1925- 1945, the baby boomers between 1945- 1964, generation X between 1965-1979 and those born between 1980-1994 have been placed in the category of generation Y or the millennial.  You may have also heard the term “generation me” as coined by Jean M. Twenge, PhD (author of “generation me “and many published works on this matter).  For the sake of this article, I will focus on how it pertains to coaching athletes, but you will be able to see how it correlates to both the work force and education.  I am by no means an expert on this subject, but I have had thousands of contact hours with many different athletes across a wide variety of sports at all levels over the last 12 years. 

This is not meant to take pot shots at a generation Y’ers.  Every generation has faults including mine.  For us to be better coaches, we must gain a better understanding of them and learn to adapt to what we are dealing with.  We are at a time in sport where we have the biggest, fastest, fittest and freakiest athletes of all time, but many of us are struggling to find ways of dealing with the new culture that has come with this.  The way I see it, there are two options: Bitch and complain that this generation is useless, or learn from them and make yourself a better coach.  We need to embrace change, learn from our mistakes, leave our egos at the door and continue to get better at our craft every day. 

Characteristics and Possible Solutions:

1. Sense of entitlement.  It seems this generation wants what they feel they deserve right away.  With most teams I work with, athletes are not willing to be a spare or second string.  If they can’t be labelled a starter right away, they pout or look to move teams or quit.  The idea of “everyone has a role” on the team has lost meaning.  I do not want my athletes to be content with not starting, but would like to see them to accept it as a challenge to earn the spot they believe they deserve and to gain an understanding that hard work and paying dues is a part of life.  We also see this when athletes are asked to pay fees, or take on menial roles within the team.  Something as simple as asking the athletes to have the wrestling mats laid down, bringing out cones or balls etc.  When asked to “help out”, it is almost as if we are victimizing the athlete because they are above such tasks. 

·         Give your athletes feedback and clearly defined roles.  Sell the concept of “TEAM” instead of individual.  In individual sports we explain that champions must train in pairs.  Regardless of their thought process, they must understand they cannot be successful without the help of their team mates, coaches and support staff.  If you are on tour, travelling or are in a sport that requires set up and take down, organize your team into small groups and assign daily or weekly duties to ensure that the task is done.  At the end of the day, we need to instil the value that they are not there to do us a favour.  We are here to work together to achieve a common goal and advancement comes from the process of learning.   I mentioned ‘paying dues’, we must be cautious how we approach this.  Although it is an important aspect of sport, they have to understand that there is a purpose to this type of participation.  To these athletes, paying dues is like telling a business man he has to clean the toilet!

2. Dream big, whatever you want you can have mentality.  There are millions of self help seminars, crap books and advertisements that have given us a thought process that if you dream it you can achieve it.  Unfortunately they are written by people that don’t care about you so much as your money.  Couple this with parents, teachers and coaches filled with unrealistic expectations and we are setting ourselves up for failure.   Unfortunately, this thought process does not take into considerations many of life’s factors and has given people an unrealistic view of the world.  Dreaming is important for athletes and the general public alike, but it has given false hope to millions, and when success is not met, they do not have the coping skills to deal with it.  Disappointment is part of life, and we can’t just expect that our athletes will have the same mentality that we have to deal with this type of stress.   I realize the negativity in the statement, but these are just my observations over the years. 

·         Do not be afraid to set realistic process driven goals with your athletes and team vs. outcome goals.  Set daily and weekly goals, and as coaches ensure you have the correct coping strategies to deal with each goal.   I like to raise the standard as high as I think is attainable for my athletes to encourage a maximum effort at all times.  I find if you always set a goal that is easily attainable, they can get away with achieving it with a moderate effort.  If we set goals that are too high, the athlete’s ability to deal with adversity diminishes as they do not have the ability to cope with any type of loss.  If an athlete continues to struggle, I prefer NOT to adjust the level in which I’ve asked them to attain unless I feel they are physically incapable.  Instead, I talk them through it.  I challenge them with questions and work with them to ensure they are of the understanding that my goal is for them to be successful and that I am here to do what it takes to help them.  Athletes need repetition, process and progressions in coping strategies just as they would in any other aspect of sport (I know this may seem boring to the athlete, so we need to be inventive in our planning).   I know in my setting, not reaching a goal may not impact them in their sport, but disappointment is a fact of life and we need to help them understand this better and how to learn from it.  Having a short memory in terms of putting a loss or missing a goal is important, but unfortunately generation Y’ers forget it before they leave the field or weight room.  To me, this is an issue.  We do not want our athletes dwelling on something that cannot be changed, but they should have enough pride and self worth to "feel" some sort or dissapointment.  One of the greatest tools for dealing with disappointment is having good family and friend support.  Unfortunately, we cannot control what happens in the home, but as coaches and teams, we can have our own support groups of people that actually do care about the athletes well being. 

3. The ability to deal with criticism and conflict is non-existent.  For as long as I can remember, psychologists have told us we must use positive reinforcement to reach our athletes.  I disagree with this to an extent.  Although we should always be upbeat and positive, this generation has been told how great they are and that the world is their oyster since birth (So when anything doesn’t go their way, they have an inability to deal with it in an efficient manner).  When we continually stroke egos, the athlete loses sight of the bigger picture.  This also ties into dreaming big.  Parents, athletic directors, the media and anyone removed from the act of training, competing and practicing are often the ones driving this problem.  Their misunderstanding of the standards to which we hold our athletes quite often trickles back down to the root of this problem. 

·         We learn from our mistakes so we can get better from them.  If athletes are only used to getting positive reinforcement, what did we think would happen when they hit a bump in the road? Explain in detail what was done wrong or poorly and give positive solutions to fix it.  This is not coddling, this is coaching.  Find ways to see how your athlete will respond to this; do they need to be talked to as an individual, or addressed as a group?  Unlike other generations that require feedback once in a while, this age group needs it constantly.  They need to be re-affirmed and receive constant recognition.  With this, it becomes our role to ensure that it may not all be positive, such as life.  When I sit down with an athlete and their parents, I explain to them that I will challenge them more than anyone else and that they will be held to the highest of standards (I explain to them what is expected before we start so they can make a decision to stay with me, or go with someone else to ensure they understand that feedback is a part of our process-both negative and positive and it should be accepted as a challenge so they can get better). 

4. It wasn’t my fault?  This is one of my favourites.  I have never seen so many people blame external factors for any type of shortcoming.  We have all heard excuses that drive you crazy.  This has come from over nurturing.  If kids are not doing well in school, sport or at work, it must be a bad teacher, coach or employer.  If I were a parent, I would support my child in any way I can, but I have never seen so many parents help facilitate a behaviour that would have given me a wooden spoon across the back side 25 years ago.  We need parent involvement and support, but it is a fine line between not enough and too much.

·         For the most part, both parents are in the work force now.  Parents are not spending the same amount of time sharing meals, watching their child compete or having “family” nights as they have in the past.  They have also grown up in the most structured, programmed and nurtured time in history.  Each year I see more parental involvement, some of which is amazing, but when it’s bad, it is bad!  Parents confront coaches if their child is not getting enough playing time, but will call to tell you that their child can’t make practice or a game instead of allowing the athlete to do it.   If we allow for tardiness or unprofessional behaviour you are just reinforcing negative patterns.  Nip it in the bud and involve parents in what you deem accountability and hold both of them to it (parents should sign a code of conduct just as their kids and coaches should).  If you have the ability, try touring to different countries with your teams.  I’ve had the luxury of travelling to Cuba, Japan, Russia, Europe and all through the United States and have gained a greater understanding of how blessed we are.  By seeing  what the athlete’s peer group has comparatively (good or bad) gives the athletes a better understanding of both how lucky we really are and how hard we have to work if we want to compete with the best.

5. IPod, IPad, Lap Top, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Youtube etc.... If someone told you 15 years ago that your yellow Sony walkman would be substituted with a device that holds thousands of songs and is half the size of a credit card would you have believed them?  We are in the most technological age in history yet we still teach and coach like we are preparing for the industrial revolution.  I have read studies that have suggested that by the time males reach 21 years of age they will have spent upward of 10 000 hours in front of a video game screen.  As coaches, we are all aware of the fact that it takes upward of that amount of time to perfect a skill.  Consequently, being an all-star in John Madden football on the X-Box does not correlate to your performance on the field. 

·         If you are new to the internet like my father and still send stupid chain mail, this may be hard for you to swallow, but you may need to get with the times!  Most kids don’t even check their emails now, if the message is not sent through facebook or twitter, it doesn’t get received.  There are social networking tools that allow for teams to send information back and forth that can be only accessed by the team and support staff.  I would recommend that you let your athletes set this up if you are not tech savvy so that they can take some ownership in the program.  The use of projectors, power point presentations, smart boards and similar devices should be used in meetings as much as possible.  Most athletes are already desensitized to staring at a black or white board, and require this type of stimulation to stay engaged.  Try learning some basic editing skills for your training and game tapes so that you can share clips on your media page in a hope that they may even take an extra 10 minutes a day to learn something of value. 

How did this happen?

1. Our education system is not keeping up with the times.  We have students spending the greater part of their day in front of computers, TV’s, phones and other technologically advanced devices and we still expect them to be stimulated by reading a black and white text book written in the 1970’s.  There is so much information and stimulation in our daily lives, that sitting in front of a traditional lecture becomes punishing.  Why should we sit through this class when all of this information is at my fingertips?  Do you remember when research was done by reading books and encyclopaedias or going to the library?  If we have the ability to receive information this freely and quickly, we will continue to see patience and work ethic diminish.  I’m 37 and have high anxiety and little patience, but compared to this generation I am dead calm.  If they are complaining that it takes a minute for their lap tops to reboot, how can we expect them to have the patience to listen what we are saying?   Another concern I have is that our student athletes believe that their education will be enough to prepare them for the real world.  There is a bit of disconnect between having the ability to convert theory to practice.

·         With attention spans diminishing, I find that I need to do breakdown a process into 4-5 stages.  (We cannot assume that using lecture type of training and coaching will get our message across). Teach the first stage, let the athlete do it, then the second, let the athlete do it and so on.  Once the full movement is taught, let them do it.  Give small coaching points throughout and reiterate them as much as possible.  Give constant feedback and do not let technique slide.  If you are having trouble getting your message through to your athletes, you may consider having them fill out the VARK survey.  It is a learning tool to give us an idea of what type of learner we are-Visual, Aural, Read-Write or Kinesthetic.  It can be found online at http://www.vark-learn.com/english/index.asp.   In terms of teaching or coaching, “what works for one, works for one”!  We cannot assume that everyone will respond and learn the same way as what may have worked in the past.  We should also consider having our athletes watch and learn from others (in their sport or similar) at the highest level so they understand how the speed and execution of movement differs between levels. 

2. The media influence is higher than ever.  Advertisements are everywhere from where you go to the bathroom to where you eat (hopefully not both at the same time).  Traditionally the only advertisements were on commercials, billboards, radios, newspapers and magazines.  Now we find product placement in movies, TV shows, on our emails, social media and even in our schools.  This repeated over stimulus of products is shaping young minds to feel that they need to purchase whatever is being endorsed by their favourite celebrities or athletes in order to perform better.  Given the need for a quick fix and the lack of understanding that hard work pays off, we tend to believe everything we hear and see.  Believe it or not, there are some unscrupulous people out there just trying to make a buck and unfortunately it does not lead to a competitive market, but an undermining of the fundamentals we are trying to create.  Hero worshipping is one of the worst attributes that becomes coupled with this.   Parents and kids see their favourite stars doing something and assume that if they are doing it, so should we.  The process of doing the basics, then progressing and doing them well becomes lost. 

·         Explain to them the role distractions play on performance.  It’s ok to tell them that just because Michael Jordan wears those shoes and shorts, doesn’t mean that you will become Michael Jordan if you wear them.  They need to understand their role and need realistic goals.  I research and read what the latest “decent” sport role models have done to get where they are and I share it with my athletes.  As a proud Canadian, I talk about Steve Nash’s work ethic, or I’ll schedule their workouts at a time when we have Olympic Gold Medallist Maelle Ricker in working out the week after she won gold.  I use the following analogy-just because an expert carpenter uses a particular hammer and builds a beautiful home, it doesn’t mean I can do the same if I have that hammer!

3. Creativity is diminishing.  The need to think and formulate ideas on one’s own is no longer necessary.  If the answer to a question is as easy as clicking a few buttons, there is no thought process involved and we are taught that there is only one answer.  Creativity in sport is a fundamental skill that is lacking.  If the athletes are told to follow set plays A, B, C and D, with D being the end result, they lose the capability to think outside the box when C presents before B.  As we know, in most sports, very little is actually predictable.  We all have set strategies and plays, but for the athlete to gain a better understanding of what to do in circumstances that do not fit into those plays, they must possess some sort of flare and creativity to be competitive. 

·         Incorporate drills that force the athlete to think while still giving the capability to figure some aspects out on their own.   Once the athlete has the skill to perform given tasks, advance them by throwing in different scenarios that require them to think outside the box.   I would also suggest including non-sport games and scenarios that require some sort of creative thinking.  Having team challenges or games that are completely non-sport related and require the athletes to work collaboratively can show benefits to on field growth as well.

4. Social skills are diminished by the use of social networking.  Kids are reaching out to their “facebook friends” when a problem arises where no social interaction is apparent.  “I’m havin a ruff dayL” is posted on their wall instead of their parents asking what is troubling them.  Can you imagine what people did before we had emoticonsJ?  I find that kids that are currently in high school or younger even struggle to make eye contact when they talk to me but have no problem sending me a text message at 11pm telling me that they are sore from yesterday’s workout.  In my industry, we spend a lot of time one on one with our clients and we are really finding it tough to find applicants that have a personality that is needed to carry on a series of one on one conversation’s with our clients.  They are far more educated then I will ever be, but they don’t possess the ability to carry on a conversation, make eye contact or present in front of a group. 

·         I understand that the world is going in a different direction with regards to technology.  But when we set a time to meet or train, the athlete’s phone or other electronic devices should be in the locker room.  Technology is a useful tool in coaching and it is now a part of sport, but there must be a well defined time and place for its use.  I try to encourage face to face meetings with my clients that are of this generation to help them come out of their shell and actually see what type of personality I am going to be dealing with. 

5. Independent thinking is killing the “team” mentality.  Because they reach out to friends on social networks instead of actually physically talking to people, they have developed their own individual thought process.  This is not necessarily a bad trait, but you may have noticed they don’t handle being told what to do very well or handle any type of criticism.  If they are not treated as individuals, it is treated as a personal attack, feelings get hurt L and they move on to the next thing with no thought process of trying to figure it out on their own or actually work to a better situation that is mutually agreeable.   

·         Embrace the concept of individuals within a team.  A strong team is made up of completely unique mentalities and thought processes and it should be made clear that what drives the team concept is all of the individuals working  together to achieve a common goal.  Those that cannot fit within this model need to be dealt with as quickly as possible or the negativity will grow.  We are all familiar with the impact one bad seed can have within a group. 

6. Leadership roles are proving to be tougher and tougher to fill.  In the past, we have had the luxury of relying on athletes and employees to step up as leaders of teams and peer groups.  I have found now, that many of the athletes that I would think of as great leaders don’t want to handle the responsibility.  I am not sure if it is a fear of potentially having a conflict with a friend, or just the inability to actually confront someone face to face.  I am sure this ties into the fact that most communication is now done via text messaging or other forms that do not require any face to face contact or conflict.  Consequently, older athletes have become dismissive of younger athletes and younger athletes are dismissive of older ones.

·         Form small leadership groups with your athletes that you deem worthy of such a role in an attempt to build on its size and weed out the potential cancers.  I have found that this group does not necessarily need to be your star players, include a mix of all athletes.  Younger, older and even injured athletes should all have a voice.  Leadership roles do not just have to include on field duties.  Help with organizing your social networking pages, setting up film sessions, sorting out field set up and take down are all important aspects of this.  Capitalize on the athletes abilities-If you have one that is tech savvy, have them help set up film sessions or upload game films, if they are great speakers, include their input on field and in meetings etc.  If you have a team that has a large age gap, have the older athletes mentor the younger ones with things like technique, skill work, personal experiences and have the younger ones mentor the older ones in the same manner. 

7. We’re number 2!  Yay!  The acceptance of mediocrity coupled with hero worshipping is killing sport in Canada.  I am not saying that we need to win everything at all levels, but there has to be a desire created that raises the standards of these athletes.  If we want to further sport in Canada, we need to hold athletes to a much higher standard.  This does not mean they should feel terrible after a loss, but it does mean as coaches we need to ensure they don’t dismiss the feeling of disappointment.  The ability to learn from a loss or mistake is equally as important as learning how to win!

·         I have always been taught that once the film session is over, so is thinking about the loss or mistakes (If you do not have the luxury of using film as a tool, I would suggest you tell your athletes to take the next day to think things over and write a log) .  You may go back to the errors that lead to a negative only if you are using it as a teaching tool to get better.  We should be looking at taking the blaming of external factors (weather, officials etc) and excuse making out of the equation and try to instil ownership into your program.  At the rep level or higher, we need to instil the value that we are here to be successful, not just to be on a team.  Success does not always have to be linked with winning, but when we neglect the concept of competing to win, we are just left with accepting mediocrity.  Athletes at the highest levels are generally accepting of this mind set and ultimately want success, so demanding more of them should not be a difficult task for us. 

8. The need for constant feedback and appreciation.  They want to know why they are doing something and how fast it will positively reflect upon them.  Again, I don’t have a problem with this.  I believe we should give constant feedback, but we must ensure they understand it will not always be what they want to hear.  When I work with an athlete I try to explain every detail.  We are going to do this because we want it to help you do this.  I break it down as much as possible while leaving out small details so they have to figure parts of it out on their own.  It’s a fine line between not enough information where an injury may occur or negative patterning and giving too much information where all creativity may be lost. 

·         In university we received grades after every training session and game.  Considering most coaches are unpaid in Canada, this may be an unattainable goal.  Use your travel time, warm ups and cools downs etc to individually talk to players and positional units to give necessary feedback.

9. What happened to showing appreciation and being thankful?  I have noticed more and more, that getting a simple thank you from people for trying to help them is diminishing.  I have never done work for praise or thanks, but when you go out on a limb or spend valuable time to help someone, the least you should be able to expect is a simple thanks.

·         I am guessing this ties in with the sense of entitlement issue.  I have always been happy to help my athletes as much as I possibly can.  Lately, I have been asking more of them in terms of accountability and commitment if they would like something from me.  Generally, I donate programs to a fair share of our athletes.   Instead of just saying here it is and send them on their way, I will give them one week of a program, ask for follow ups and feedback and then update them based on how quickly they get back to me.  We can’t force people to be thankful, but by making them accountable we can hope that they realize that you are giving them your valuable time.

10. Sport governing bodies are often holding us back as a nation.  The bureaucracy of sport in Canada (at all levels) needs to be changed.  I believe we have some tremendous coaches and athletes in our systems, but they are becoming hindered by “the people in the office”.  I feel we would benefit greatly by meeting with or viewing other nations and teams set ups and learning from their mistakes instead of trying to adapt their model because it works for them.  Teams and associations have developed such a distain within their ranks, that it is a hard fix.  As both a coach and athlete that have worked in the U.S. collegiate system and travelled the world, I can tell you we can make some simple changes to our systems based off what I have seen.  I completely understand that our system is unique given our land mass, but there are alternatives that can be considered if we want to advance. 

·         We need more ex-athletes that have been both through the system and have international experience at higher levels in our sporting organizations (people that have an invested interest in the sport) coupled with academics and businessmen alike.  If you look at the most successful sporting franchise in the world (the NFL and no I am not comparing us to them), their coaches, office staff, therapists, strength coaches, media relations are made up of different races, ages and experience so that everyone on the team has people they can relate to.  Most importantly, they all have an invested interest in the team and the team’s success.  They are not just there to get a fancy blazer and say they are a part of something great. 

11. Education and certifications are so abundant that they have become redundant.  I understand the need for certifications in term of safety and ensuring that all coaches are following some set guidelines.  But when I go to a course and half the instructors are hung over, late or have less experience coaching than I do, is this money well spent?  I have a client that played in the NHL and grew up playing hockey his entire life and he has been told if he doesn’t get his level 1 certification, he is unable to coach.  His team is successful, the kids love their time with him and are doing what we as coaches want-playing!  As I mentioned, I understand the need for certifications, but I also understand that this parent has 4 kids and works full time.  If we have coaches that are talented, governing bodies need to work with them so that we are not losing any good coaches.  If kids are lacking motivation, work ethic etc. We need to keep coaches that are doing a good job.  I even know of coaches that have been hired at the national level just because they live in the area where the training center is! 

·         Athletes are not stupid.  If they respond well to a coach and his/her styles and are proving success, is a certification so important?  If we think that the coach has the ability to be great, like the athlete, we need to work with them.  Asking them to take weekends away or spend money on certifications, we need to take into account experience and ability and have the ability to potentially work outside the set parameters by the governing sport body.  If we start taking away these coaches or do not give them a chance, the athletes recognize this and may under perform.  If we select athletes and teams based off performance, should we not do the same with our coaches? 

As always, these are just a collection of my opinions and I am by no means a behavioural expert.  It is not my intention to take anything away from this generation.  We have all heard the slogan “those who can, can and those who can’t coach”.   I still look at my coaching and training as an athlete, just with a little different perspective.  It is my goal for my athletes to attain the highest level that they can possibly attain.  Writing this article was a means to look outside the box and attempt to come up with some different strategies to become better coaches. We need to look back on what helped us be successful and what has made us fail and learn from both.  We can’t assume that what worked for us ten years ago, will work for us today.   As always, I welcome any feedback or comments.  I can be reached at joe@level10fitness.com

 

“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”. –Albert Einstein