I was just working with a group of talented teenage athletes about what it would take to go from “talented teen” to world class athlete. Came down to these four tips:

1. Love what you do: then do what you love;
2. Don’t count the repeats: make the repeats count;
3. Out-prepare your competitors in every aspect: training, recovery, eating, sleeping, injury management….everything;
4. Winning comes from confidence and confidence comes from knowing…knowing you lived the first three tips every day.

Athletes are pretty smart. Teach them the “how” and “why” and they turn the “what” (i.e. the repeats, the sets, the gym work, the hard efforts) into solid gold.

Thanks again,

WG

You nailed it!!

The secret is…there is no secret. A secret by definition is something that few people know. Whereas the “secret” is something everyone knows: take advantage of every opportunity you are given and prepare better than anyone in your sport.

Shhhhhh. Don’t tell anyone.

WG

That was a very true story. I was working for Australian Swimming at the time and we were looking for (real, legal and ethical) performance advantages.

He (the “molecule” salesman) took it one step further and said if we added “molecules” to the water our swimmers trained in, they would all swim faster because they would absorb the “power” from the water.

You gotta love it!

WG

I believe that a coach’s greatest gifts are his / her human “gifts”: passion, drive, enthusiasm, empathy, honesty, imagination, integrity and so on.
I love all the gadgets that are part of this business; the heart rate monitors, the GPS devices, the new generation of gym equipment…it’s all great but ultimately it is the mind, body and soul (i.e. for soul read character, human-ness, personality) of the coaches and athletes that determine success in all sports, in all countries.

WG

I do realize that this is a short discussion on a MUCH!!!! greater topic. I do however have a few thoughts on the topic as discussed. For one working harder is not always better. The key as i see it is working ‘smarter’. It took me a while to figure this out as a coach. Being a gymnastics coach i am always comparing myself to those who train more, in better facilities, etc.. and yes i am disadvantaged by training less, with less, but like you have said in other articles. ” Quality”, not quantity, that is my goal as a coach.

I really like that example you gave about swimming coach that copied his note books. That is so true…

I don’t think that there is any one ‘magic’ products/formula sold that is going to ever result is anything extraordinary, however a good coach is a resourceful coach, and would most certainly make use of tool/idea/etc to help his athletes get the edge and be better.

Thanks again

Valentin Uzunov
TheGymPress.net

BTY, what the energized water salesman said about missing water molecules is all true. I should know. I’ve been hoarding all of the missing molecules and will soon have enough to cause a Worldwide water crisis. Even Al Gore couldn’t think up a scam this big.

When I look at my bank balance, I wish I could come up with a quick fix, super-fad, instant solution product that people would buy, they would become great coaches and in the process make me rich. But I don’t believe in anything like that.

I have seen it all! I had a guy from California try to sell me “energised-water” once. He told me that his company had developed a process which, in his words, “would put the molecules back into water”: molecules which he assured me had been removed during the process of purification from the storage dam to the household tap.

Seen everything, heard every promise, watched every promotional video…..and in the end, the coaches and athletes who consistently do well are those who know who they are, what they stand for, prepare better than anyone in their sport and keep things very simple.

WG