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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in coaching

In school we do what we are taught, in the real world…we do what works.  Today there are countless resources at the disposal of the strength and conditioning practitioner.  Books, DVD’s, lecture series, podcasts and programming manuals all designed with the coach in mind.  Through countless hours of education and enough coffee to kill a small farm animal I have found that many times the real world can be the best teacher of all.  You can have all the scientific reasoning, research and peer reviewed literature behind your program, but if you don’t have the time, resources and athletes’ to carry out your plan, your results will be dead in the water.  Through trail and error, here are three lessons the real word has exposed to me with regards to program design that cannot be found in the pages of a book. 

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Posted by on in Coaching Development

I wish I knew fifteen years ago what I know today.  Not just pertaining to my craft as a Strength Coach, but the valuable life lessons I learned along the way during my career as an athlete!  The importance of realizing inner potential, the necessity of utilizing all resources to their utmost capacity and that “intangibles” are just as important as physical attributes in the journey to success. In fact, the more I look into the process, the more I envision one big assembly line producing specialty vehicles.  The assembly workers (Coaches) ensure that all parts are strategically placed in order for the car (Athlete) to run effectively and efficiently with minimal pit stops.  Each car is different so each worker (Coach) has an important job in the final construction.  Care, concern, and attention to detail are just a few qualities of a good line worker (Coach).  Nobody wants a car that constantly breaks down, is missing an engine or won’t start. 

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Posted by on in Coaching Development

“There is no progress without change, but not all change is progress.”  (Wooden) There have been many advances over the years in the field of strength training: new technology, cutting edge equipment, advanced recovery tools, means, methods, published studies, internet “experts”, technical cuing, progressive motor learning and an ever-changing “ideal” of the perfect program.  With all of these variables, have we forgotten the Coach?  After all who is it that controls them?  Which means, methods, equipment, and recovery need to be used under differing circumstances?  Most importantly, who has the ability to change lives through discipline, motivation and realization of potential? 

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Posted by on in Programming

According to the dictionary a machine is “an apparatus using or applying mechanical power and having several parts, each with a definite function and together performing a particular task.” Strength and conditioning programming is a “machine!”  It has multiple moving, adjustable, parts all working to enhance performance, reduce sport injury and provide measurable gains for the athlete/client.  From my experience, the best machines are the easiest to use!

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Posted by on in Programming

I’m a sucker for strength training information: from Eastern Block methodologies (Verkhoshansky, Issurin, Bondarchuck, Roman, Drabik and Medvedyev), to Westside Methods (Louie Simmons), and Tommy Kono’s Olympic lifting information.  A plethora of excellent resources exist for the strength and conditioning professional.  Amongst all the resources, data, personal bias, and program layout, a few questions need to be answered prior to commencing the training process:

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Another year has passed in the confines of the weight room.  A time for Strength Coaches to look back on gains, set backs, dos, don’ts, attitudes, dreams and life experiences.  It may be filled with free weight, chalk and sweat but the more I think about it, the weight room is more of a life-sized classroom that every youngster should experience.  For inside I have learned more than any textbook has ever taught me.  The value of hard work, attention to detail, sacrifice, paying dues, persistence, positivity, courage, team work, discipline, determination, dedication, adaptation, programming, methodologies in practice, what works, what doesn’t and BELIEF!  The most rewarding is belief!  A young athlete that gains confidence and believes in himself/herself through training is more rewarding than PR’s, weight pulled and record boards.  My goal for 2013 is that more people can experience this atmosphere, this magic, this special place where work meets reward, where passion meets persistence, where pride meets iron, where life lessons are ingrained in the fabric of our being for the rest of our lives, the weight room!  I hope 2013 brings more to experience this classroom.

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A system in “neutral” is desirable for physical activity.  It allows for efficient, alternating, reciprocal function in performing daily and sporting activities.   In other words, great fuel mileage with less wear and tear in the long run.  Taking the car analogy one step further, what would happen if we didn’t have neutrality, if we drove for miles and miles with our tires out of alignment?  Chances are we would end up on the side of the road sooner or later.  Well, our bodies are not designed for “neutrality”.  As humans our thorax, along with vital organs are different from right to left.  This affects our “alignment” and may cause us to use our fuel (a.k.a. oxygen) inefficiently.  Lets take a look at these differences.

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Posted by on in Coaching Development

The older I get, the more I realize that attitude and work ethic trump talent and natural ability. How we react to the cards that are dealt is more important than the hand it represents, and that character outlasts fame, money, Twitter followers and Facebook likes. There is nothing worse than the sight of wasted talent. I have played with some Junior/College hockey players that should be making millions in the NHL, and I have coached youth athletes that have struggled to reach their inner potential with the preconceived notion that the world owes them something. It was never about goals and assists, penalty minutes, weight lifted or one rep max totals. It was and still is about attitude! It’s about being on time, never being outworked, honesty, integrity, embracing the grind, pushing your teammates and relentlessly perusing a “One Day Better” mentality. As my older brother would say, “It’s about being an “Everydayer”.

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I miss the good old days! A time where hard work, commitment, discipline and positive attitude were expected, not rewarded, failure was not final and earning meant sacrifice. These lessons have stood the test of time. Growing up in Canada, I never played AAA hockey, I got cut from most of the teams I tried out for. I knew at an early age that hard work; desire, dedication and discipline were the keys to success. My father never responded by formulating a new league, moving across town, getting involved in “politics” or buying me something to ease my self pitied state. By doing so, he taught me a very valuable lesson that would pay off later in life: In the real world not EVERYONE GET’S a TROPHY.

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Posted by on in Programming

At Donskov Strength and Conditioning we are always trying to find ways to improve our current programming. Our Athletic Development Programs run year round (Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring) and cater to the competitive high school athlete. Many times our programs are a mix of returning/new athletes, which can pose to be an arduous task for accurately proving loading parameters for athletes with varying training experience. Our programs incorporate undulating stress levels that are manipulated every three weeks (ex. 4/week split program: Athlete gets 6 exposures to the stress, than it is changed). Below are several of the many loading choices that coaches can incorporate into their programs dependant upon training status.

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