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April, 2009
Strength Training for High Performance Sport – An Overview
It was not all that long ago when the words “strength training” and “gymnasium” conjured up images of muscle hulks and Arnold Schwarzenegger – that is before he become the Governator!
However, in recent years, strength and conditioning has gained acceptance as an applied sports science and is respected as a profession in its own right in many high performance sporting systems around the world. It has become a fundamental and integral aspect of the training and preparation of elite athletes in a wide range of sports.
This article will cover some of the contemporary issues in strength training for high performance sport and suggest some practical applications for the practicing coach.
The basic issues: Strength training or no strength training? Read more
April 22, 2009 | Comments Off
Tags: AFL, American Football, Athletics, Baseball, Basketball, Coach education, Coaching, Cricket, Cycling, Diving, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Netball, Performance Science, Rugby, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Training, Triathlon
Sport Analysis and the Era of Negativity
Seems like every coach has a video, a camera, a DVD player and some analysis software these days.
Coaches spend more time behind a desk, staring at replays and performance analysis data than they do actually working and communicating with athletes and staff!
Modern analysis techniques and equipment have given us the luxury of detail- the ability to evaluate, measure and analyse performance in far greater depth than ever before.
Most analysis techniques used in elite sport evolved from research methods used in the academic world, where a wide range of analysis tools are used to systematically investigate technique, movement, skills, decision making etc as part of a the study behind a journal article, research project or thesis.
The problem with all this analysis is that analysis, by its nature is destructive. Analysis breaks down performances, techniques, skills etc into component parts or measurable events. It looks to identify what went wrong with an athlete or team and what problems, faults and mistakes led to a poor performance. Read more
April 21, 2009 | 2 Comments
Tags: AFL, American Football, Athletics, Baseball, Basketball, Coaching, Cricket, Diving, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Netball, Performance Science, Rugby, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Training, Triathlon
Running better meetings in football: too long, too much, too similar.
There are five key elements in professional football these days:
1. Training
2. Playing
3. Recovery
4. Life Activities – e.g. work, study, family life, business.
5. Meetings!
Teams are spending more and more time meeting and discussing past games, future games and all the other games, training activities, travel and logistics issues involving the team. Read more
April 7, 2009 | Comments Off
Tags: American Football, Coaching, Football, Rugby, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer
Improve your Coaching by NOT Coaching
You read right – improve your coaching by NOT coaching.
Coaching improves performance.
But too much coaching – over coaching – can have a negative influence on performance.
Who OVER coaches?
Typically five types of coaches OVER coach:
- Young, inexperienced coaches who are trying too hard;
- Coaches who lack real belief in themselves and who try to make up for it by giving too much information. These coaches will often want to be liked – and feel the more coaching they do, the more the athletes will like them;
- Coaches who lack belief in their athletes and feel the need to control every element of preparation and performance;
- Coaches who are being evaluated or assessed and aim to impress by being SEEN to control every element of the training session, i.e. they believe that great coaching is talking more;
- EGO driven coaches who see athletes / players as a vehicle to promote themselves and their reputations.
April 7, 2009 | Comments Off
Tags: AFL, American Football, Athletics, Baseball, Basketball, Coach education, Coaching, Cricket, Cycling, Diving, Gymnastics, Hockey, Netball, Rugby, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Training, Triathlon
The Jersey is Dead: Long live the Players
By Wayne Goldsmith |
The Jersey. The Strip. The Colors. The Jacket. The Jumper.
Doesn’t matter what you call it – the “jersey” is dead.
Gone are the days when a bunch of blokes could train two or three days a week, have a poor diet, skip training sessions, enjoy a few beers and then, come Saturday, suddenly get Amazing Super Powers because of the magic of putting on the “jersey”.
In those days, poorly prepared players relied on the emotion of the jersey for their performance. Putting on the old “black and green” colors – usually incorporating a “rev-up” by a former player about the “pride of the jersey” etc was enough to fire the spirit and inspire the soul.
That’s not to say that tradition is wrong or respecting and celebrating the past is a bad thing. The point is that the jersey is just that – a jersey – a piece of clothing (usually made in China) – and, as a performance enhancement tool in 2008 – it is dead.
Why do I say the jersey is dead? Read more
April 7, 2009 | Comments Off
Tags: AFL, American Football, Basketball, Coaching, Cricket, Football, Hockey, Netball, Rugby, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer
You can’t buy a Football Premiership.
By Wayne Goldsmith |
Read the title of this article.
Now read it again.
Read it one more time.
Now, just to be sure you get it – You can’t buy a football premiership!
Here’s why.
Many, Many Football Clubs all over the world in all codes have tried to “buy” a premiership over the years. In fact one the main reasons some football codes have put a salary cap in place is to ensure one club can not “buy” a premiership by recruiting the majority of the best players available.
However, if the Football Administrators did their homework and studied their history, they would realise putting a salary cap in place to stop one team dominating a competition is unnecessary – you just simply can’t buy a football premiership. Read more
April 7, 2009 | Comments Off
Tags: AFL, American Football, Coaching, Rugby, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer
Motivation….aint no such thing
By Wayne Goldsmith
Coaches are always talking about motivation and some make lots of money doing motivation talks, motivation lectures, giving motivational speeches, writing motivational books, selling motivational videos, running motivational courses and generally being motivational!
Here’s the funny thing: motivation - there’s no such thing.
April 3, 2009 | Comments Off
Tags: AFL, American Football, Athletics, Baseball, Basketball, Coaching, Cricket, Cycling, Diving, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Netball, Rugby, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Training, Triathlon
Who coaches the sports coaches?
By Wayne Goldsmith
There’s swimming coaches, running coaches, football coaches, strength coaches, fitness coaches, soccer coaches, hockey coaches, jumping coaches, throwing coaches, baseball coaches, cricket coaches, diving coaches, equestrian coaches, fencing coaches…
And then there’s gymnastics coaches, karate coaches, lacrosse coaches, polo coaches, rowing coaches, sprint coaches, tennis coaches, tackling coaches, passing coaches, defensive coaches, attacking coaches, specialist coaches, kicking coaches, scrum coaches, rugby coaches, power coaches, skills coaches, sailing coaches, recovery coaches, performance coaches…
It is estimated that at the current rate of increase in the number of sports coaches in the world, that by the year 2015, one in every three people walking the face of the earth will be a sports coach!
April 3, 2009 | 1 Comment
Tags: AFL, American Football, Athletics, Basketball, Coaching, Cricket, Football, Hockey, Netball, Rugby, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Triathlon
