Update
The Coaching Methods blog address is changed. This is the new URL address,
please change it on your bookmarks, RSS readers, and so forth. Sorry for the inconvenience, but this way i have the ability to make the blog more functional and hopefully better resource.
I will keep this blog alive to simply redirect people who stumble upon it over the new month or so.
Thanks
Basics of program structuring
Hi Reader,
Recently I have had the pleasure to observe a variety of team programs, some successful, some just starting out. During my visits, I got thinking about the different training programs I saw and how they differed, their pros and cons, and what I do. It suddenly became obvious that there is a lack of a unified agreement upon what a program should really consist of. I would like to discuss in this post what I feel is a good program structure. To me a good team program should have specific focus for every part of the program, with special consideration for what the team needs, and what individual gymnasts need, and covers a broad range of training aspects. The basic structure of any program breaks down as such (assuming 4hrs practice):
Warm-up (5 min)- Dance / Dance preparation (Girls) OR Special physical preparation (Boys) (30 min)
- General Physical Preparation / Conditioning (30 min)
- Apparatus I (50min)
- Break — Most gyms allow a small 5 -10 min break
- Apparatus II (50min)
- Apparatus III — if time allows in program another apparatus can be done (50 min)
- Flexibility (15 min)
Total Time: 4hrs
Based on this basic structure, each component needs to meet the criteria listed above : Has a focus, address a demand of the team, and individuals, and has multiple benefits. For example, the most standard method of warm-up is the jog around the gym floor. Even though its effective, it really serves no purpose, other than raising internal muscle temperature (which is the training point of a warm-up), however is this effective use of this, does it have any real focus, does it address the needs of the team? In most cases, the answer to the former questions is no. An alternative that i favor is jump rope warm ups. Focus: Develop plyometrics ability, ankle strength, coordination, good rebound technique. The focus can change in many ways, from number of jumps, to height, style of jumping (tuck jumps, single leg, in various directions etc). This is a time when the coach an teach gymnasts how to correctly punch of the floor, which serves the whole team. The warm-up falls short of meeting any specific individual needs, but it can serve as good rehabilitation.
This is just one example of how effective program structuring can have an influence on what is taught. Another great use of a warm-up is to do vault running drills, instead of during vault, or in combination.
Another area often neglected is the inclusion of the Dance or Special Preparation for guys. Dance for girls is critical, and should be done in some form daily, to develop confidence in performance, aesthetic look, and develop the greater active flexibility necessary for leaps and jumps. This can involve actual leaps/jumps training, or a floor barre, or Balletic training. Guy in particular depending need to from early start considering special preparation for rings (shoulder flexibility, and injury prevention), pommel wrist injury prevention, and technique. This can also serve as a good time to work on basic floor skill for compulsory levels, static strength skills, etc.
Conditioning and Special Physical preparation are similar and overlap in many ways for boys, but depending on the time of year, this 30min can be of great! benefit. Especially for Handstand training. Where time is devoted to developing the handstand on all 5 events for boys.
Something that is often completely neglected is the flexibility training program. Specific time should always be devoted at the end of practice for flexibility. At this point in practice the CNS is fatigued providing less resistance, hopefully the gymnasts internal muscle temperature is high, facilitating the muscles elasticity and so forth. In the last decade it has become widely acknowledged that static stretching at the beginning of practices is not an effective injury prevention tool, as well as it having a negative effect on muscle force production and power generation post stretching (for an acute period of time, but still significant, especially if your program has floor or vault following the warm up).
The scope of the post is not so much as to provide a detailed explanation of what a full program consist of, but rather to breakdown the basic components that are necessary on a training day basis. This is of course only one proposition, and within its framework there is a fair amount of room for adjusting of components.
How do you structure your program? Do you know where your program falls short? and where its strength in planning are? Interested to hear from others
Effective communication for effective results
Hi Reader,
In this post I would like to talk about what I would consider the most important aspect of the coaching method, COMMUNICATION. Much of my discussion here forth is as a result of self evaluation influenced by H.A Dorfman’s book Coaching the Mental Game
If you have ever tried to get an idea across to another person, you will undoubtedly know the possible frustration, that can arise from ineffective communication. This is particularly true, in coaching, and even more so when coaching prepubescent boys. In the previous post ” Formula to success ” I mentioned that effective communication is at the heart of teaching/coaching/motivating athletes to success, which leads the reader to ask the obvious question
How can the coach most effectively communicate with the athletes to get them to follow his/her lead?
The answer as you might imagine is not a clear one. I would say that for every person you ask, you might get a different response, but if you ask enough people you will undoubtedly start to notice similarities in all responses. These will be discussed below, but first lets examine the actual process of communication briefly.
At the most fundamental and basic level, communication requires a sender, (speaker) to send a message to some intended recipient (listener), whom upon receiving the message interprets it and respond back (feedback) [1]. (fig 1). Close examination of the model in fig 1 revels that despite its simplicity, there is inherent room for error/s to arise (this represented in the model as ‘ noise ‘), which leads to degradation of the original message (miss communication). Errors arise as a result of:
- The message itself (poorly structured, inappropriate to the receiver, poor timing etc)
- Environmental distractions (team mates distracting the listener, environment is make it hard to focus on message, noisy surroundings, etc)
- The receiver interpretation (semantics, syntactical)
To picture how ‘ noise ‘ effects the communication process, consider how in a game of Chinese whispers a seemingly simple message can become completely distorted. The same effect often arises between coach and athlete. The more cycles of sending and receiving messages, without taking into account the potential sources of ‘noise‘, the more likely that with each cycle of communication, some form of distortion will arise, until at one point the conversation is completely irrelevant to the original message and all meaning of the communication is lost. So how do we overcome this, how can we filter out the noise so that our message, instructions, directions are followed and understood?
H.A Dorfman states in his book, that as a coach, it is our responsibility to be certain that “those we speak to are ready, willing and able to listen to us “(p.52). Aside from knowing what we are talking when we speak, we need to know, who, when, where, why and how to present our message.
WHO
The first thing to consider in any communication is the, ‘ who ” are we addressing? Just like we communicate differently between our social peers and our family, we need take into account the individual differences of each athlete when considering out message, and delivery. Its important to take into account the athletes make up, his/her likely to reaction to the situation and message, his/her goals, and values, all so that we can identify his/her needs best for the given moment.
WHEN
The receiver of any message as stated early needs to ready, willing and able to listen, thus as a coach you need to be sensitive to the timing of your delivery. You need to be aware of the moment when your message will have the most long lasting impact. Poor timing at best will lead to the athlete pretending they are listening, at worse, they will lash out because they feel backed up into a corner. Pick your battle moments. Make sure you are acting rationally rather than emotionally to a response.
WHERE
When having taken into account the who and when, the coach should carefully consider the conditions most suitable for delivering his message. Depending on the message the coach needs to consider the ‘ where ‘ if his/her message is to have the desired impact, this is also very much dependent on the message. For example giving a motivational talk in aloud distracting environment, will likely not have the same effect as, if the talk was given the in the locker rooms away from distractions.
WHY
I could sit here and write the obviousness about why! its important to communicate effectively with your athlete, but since someone else has already said it best, and I can’t top it, i am just going to steal from them. H.A Dorfman (p56)
” The coach uses his communication skills to establish common goals, to express organizational credos, to teach, to discipline, to encourage, to eliminate false perceptions, to air grievances, to ensure, appropriate focus, to review and correct mistakes, to motivate the athlete to “play the game hard and play the game right” – to compete”
That is why.. can you do all of the above with every athlete, effectively? If you answer is no, then you have something to work on.
and finally the…
HOW
The content provide is not an exhaustive list of effective coaching strategies to effectively communicate. Mainly because communication is a skill, something that requires work. Its as simple as following a recipe. But you will do well to think carefully about the recommendations listed below and your own communication methods.
- Listen – After having spend considerable time thinking about my personal and coaching communication style, I have arrived at the conclusion that Carl Rogers [2, 3
- Ask Questions – “It’s and arrogant and presumptuous coach who things he always knows the athletes’ motives for doing whatever it is that displeases him/her” (p59). Take the time to get to know your players (the who’s). Let the athlete know that thinking is allowed before they response. The right answer is the thoughtful one, the intelligent one, not the reflex response they have in their head. Hold them and yourself to that standard.
- Be objective and in control of emotions – Whatever displeases you, think about it rationally and objectively, avoid taking it personally. ” the best immediate response is to think first and speak later. Rationality needs time, emotionality needs opportunity” (p.59). There is nothing wrong with taking your time to respond, or speak.
- Tonality and body language – ” the tone is based on that needed, not the emotional need of the coach” (p.60). Consider your tone carefully, because much of the impact of your message is dependent on it. It really is not always about what you are saying but very much also how you say it. Consider all emotive speeches in history that you have heard, and imagine if the tone was inappropriate. What they have had the same impact? very unlikely. Great communicators find the right tone for the message. ” A coach with a touch is a coach with a tone that’s consistent with his thoughtful intent” (p.60). Your tone is also very much embodied in the way you present in your body language. Be aware of it, especially when communicating with younger athletes. They will pick up on it far more than your words. Yelling, shouting, anger is hardly ever the best way to be heard, a whisper at times can be resonate louder in an ear than the sound of yelling. Avoid it, it shows a lack of control and emotions taking over.
- Language – Words have power, be careful which words you use, because you will be measured by them. Talk in specifics not generalizations, use positive language rather than negative. Tell the athlete what TO DO, rather than what NOT to do, address solutions rather than problems, speak about the behaviour rather than the person. Talk about the task, rather than the result, about what can be controlled, rather than what cannot. Avoid sarcasm, sarcasm is powerful it conveis a message of contradiction, of criticism without correction. Avoid promises, especially of things you cannot control. “Promises make fools happy” (p.63).
- Silence – Silence can be a powerful tool, so coaches should use it for specific purpose, “when silence becomes a state-down contest, it is time for the coach to speak” (p.62)
- Address in person – Its always best to address issues and communicate matters of importance in person.
- Communicate only the necessarily information – Keep your conversations with your athletes professional and about what they need to know, they do not need to know about your personal life, or unrelated information. You need to keep a professional balance between athlete and coach, its a fine balance.
- Avoid assumption – Avoid making assumptions about what the player knows or does not know. Make certain that the athlete/s know what is expected of them. Avoid making assumptions, this is a lesson well learned as early on as possible. If you need to know something from an athlete ask, if you need the athlete to know something, tell him/her.
- Be persistent – If one method does not work, assume that it is worth the effort to find others, and keep working on it. One day that may have a greater impact than it did in the immediate.
Effective communication between you and your athlete is highly dependent on both parties ability to listen to one another, as well as sending out clear, simple constructive messages. This is best summarize by
” Look athletes in the eye. Be clear as to what the motive is behind the mandate. Speak at a slower rate so the athlete is able to absorb information without a tense, defensive stance. Be brief and to the point. Talk about the desired, rather than about the athlete. Be optimistic about the eventual outcome. Be encouraging. Be persuasive. ” (p.65)
Communication is a process, it takes time, practice, and patience. Learn to recognize causes for noise, and find way to transmit your message, words are not the only method to communicate, you just have to be willing to work at it.
I hope that the following advice give you some food for thought, and please share any idea, suggestions, comments about methods you find effective.
Formula to Success
‘ Success ‘ is a quality every coach/person should striving to achieve.
Let me say it right away, that if you are reading this in the hope that I will reveal some magic formula, you might end up disappointed. There is no magic bullet, or direct path, only a starting point.
Let me quickly tell you what I think I have figured out about success so far in life.
- The first thing, about becoming successful that you need to realize is that ‘ wishing ‘ , ‘ hopping ‘,’ wanting ‘, ‘ dreaming ‘ are all pseudo actions that in NO way will ever help you achieve success. They are what I would consider counter productive directives.
- Success is the final result of a long journey. The earlier you commit yourself to the journey the sooner you are likely to arrive at your destination. If you expect immediate success, you are setting yourself up for failure. Progress towards success can be quantified and accumulated, but success is purely the sum of all progress, its a final product. Thus focus should be on daily progress, rather than the total current sum of your progress. This is where the ambiguity in the definition success arises. Not all success is viewed as equal.
- Essentially it all comes down to WORK. In thermodynamics, work is described as ” all energy changes in a system ” (excluding heat) [1]. The same apply’s in life. Only the the effort you invest in a task (the energy put into the system) , will have an effect on the final state of your objectives success. Thus if you want to be successful you will need to work HARD! for it, and it will not happen overnight. Just like any other event in the universe, it takes some degree of time, which varies between person and activity, but as an estimation, this has been approximated to 10,000 hrs of deliberate practice, known as the 10,000 Hour Rule [2]
- It all starts with motivation. Without having the drive or the passion, the likelihood of reaching a success is very unlikely. If you want to achieve or inspire others to success, you need to motivate them want it more, than the total sum of all fears and excuses.
Given all this, how does it relate to the coaching. At the end, it is the gymnast that needs to do the work and have the passion and motivation to do it. How can we as coaches influence a young mind, or an already developed mind to find meaning and purpose in what they are doing, and instill motivation?
The only answer to that question is COMMUNICATION. Only when the coach understands where success comes from can he/she communicate the necessary messages to the athlete/receiver, and for to be able experience success.
At this point I direct your attention to two videos. One I posted on the The Gym Press facebook page [this one] earlier today (it to has an important message), the other I saw a few months back, but at the time when I saw it, I didn’t really hear the message. Now I have been fortunate enough to be reminded of it again, and this time i heard it and understood it.
I feel that the narrator communicates the message far better than i can on this blog so i won’t comment on it. However i feel that the words he speaks have a lot of weight and meaning, and so i transcribed the video for those that want to read and see the words. I cannot stress enough, that once you understand the message, its your job as a coach to communicate and instill this level of motivation, passion, and understanding in your gymnasts and yourself as a coach, if you want yourself and your gymnasts to embark on a journey to success. How to go about communicating at this level will be something to be discussed in future posts
TRANSCRIPT OF VIDEO
A lot of people in this world… search endlessly for some complex, magical formula, to understand why some people are successful and others are not. But it really just boils down to this concept of, PRODUCTIVITY, that you are going to apply the most amount of effort to the best of your ability, in the alotted time that you have. And all successful people realize that, time is the most precious commodity that’s out there. Its the one thing that you can’t buy or ever buy back. So these successful people realize, that they have an allotted time to perform a given task so they have to give it their absolute all to doing that task. Because going through the motions, is the most disadvantegous thing that you can do. That often, when, you do something wrong the first time, you have to go back and do it right the second time. Were if you did it right the first time, you never have to do it again…..
And all successful people realize that, that they’re going to give their absolute all and putting their heart and soul to any task that they do no matter how small or how large it is. That they are going to be the best person they can be, while they are doing it. That they are going to do it right… And the major difference is that, the successful people do every single task right, while as the other people who are not successful do it wrong. You can look at all the profesisional bodybuilders… Jay Cuttler, Ronnie Coleman, Dexter Jaxon, Flex Wheeler, Shawn Ray, Dorian Yeats, Arnold Schwarzenegger….
These guys are the best in their sport. And, a lot of people just disregard it as, they have the genetics to be there, or, they will play the steroid card that they cheated to get to where they were. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that, these people gave it their heart and their soul, throughout every single rep.., throughout every single set…, throughout every single gym session…, every single day, for weeks, for months, for years, for decades to get to where they were. That they weren’t just gonna to go through the motions, but they were going to break through ALL!.. mental barriers to get to where they wanted to be……..
And that’s the difference between the successful people, and those that are not… You know a lot of people think that what they do in life is beneficial, and than they get frustrated when they don’t see the results that they want, that other people are getting. You know, you can say to yourself, oh i went to the gym today, so i am better off because of it. But the Question you have to ask yourself is, what did i do in the gym today.? You know, what did you do in the gym today and how did you do it. You can complain that you can’t build up your calf muscles or you can’t get a nice set of abs, or you can’t burn set, or you can’t build muscle, and its your genetics that is preventing you from getting it. But…its really about the genetics as its it about the effort, and about doing the activity right. And this transfers throughout all facets of life. Whether it is working on your school work, or whethere it is working on that buisness proposal at your job….You know, or.. it is even the small things in life. Like clearning dishes or clearning the house. Because, if you can’t clean the house right, how are you expected to run a fortune 500 company right. And all successfull people understand that, that they are going to give it their all throughout every single task that they have to do. Because time is so precious….and that they are going to do it right . So i hope you understand this concept of PRODUCTIVITY a little bit better, and you need to ask yourself, what are you going to do today?.. but more importantly you need to ask yourself. How are you going to do it!??..
Coaching the Mental Game
Hello everyone,
Almost 5-6 years ago, i was given a book called ” Coaching the Mental Game ” by H.A.Dorfman, by my former mentor, and the person who got me involved in gymnastics coaching. She always knew that the mental game sooner or later plays a critical role in any athlete, and coach’s performance. She probably did me the greatest favor by giving me this book, as i remember when i first read it, it completely opened up my eyes to a whole new way of looking at coaching. In the long term many of the wisdom’s and knowledge (knowledge that all coaches should want, should have, should work to have) have escaped me, and i have also paid the price in turn. However the beauty about it, is that re-reading it again, has once again! rekindled my passion and motivation, to re-examine my coaching style and communication.
To quote a few passages from the book that i have once again rediscovered:
” A coach should always remember: leaders effect the behavior of the would-be/ should-be followers. .. Players follow the coaches lead “
I have seen far to often lazy coaches, coaches that expect and demand perfection, and discipline, and yet they show mildly any in their own actions. The quote i feel really strikes at the heart of that. I for one tell my athletes, ” you can sit, when i sit, when i stop working, you can stop working, when i rest you can rest “, and i stick to it.
“….. the coach is loosing his credibility at the top of his voice. As much as he might wish it, his might will not make it right “
I will admit that i have fall pray to this great mistake many times. Many times frustration has builds up to the point that it feels like the athlete is not listening. This i have identified within the book, that its my first mistake, louder does not mean they will hear you any better. Through the book, there are plenty of areas where i have identified my weaknesses.
” Keep things simple and positive. Clarify your expectations as necessary, accentuating your belief that they facilitate the achievement of team goals… Elaborate rules are often “made to be broken” ”
I have found that much if not all the advice given in this book is very applicable, to any athlete and coach. Even though the author uses examples from great coaches in baseball, football, and basketball. The advice is still just as relevant. I was talking to a coach once about how they structure their programs, and he told me that they starts from Level 4 to encourage and expect the kids to act like a team, at meets and at the gym during practice. The goal being to simulate the collage experience, so that for the few that do make it to collegiate or higher level gymnastics they know what team work is. Ontop of that it makes the whole gymnastics experience that much more satisfying for the remaining athletes who might never make it. And you know what, that coach has a good formula. The kids seemed happy at meets, they looked like a team. Even though in the end in gymnastics it always boils down to the individual, there is MUCH to be said about the team aspect of the sport.
With this I will end my review on this book. All i can recommend is that you purchase a copy of this book, because if internet reviews are to be trusted, than it seems that no one that has read this book has been disappointed. I promise you if anything it will make you reexamine your coaching, teaching, performance, business, well being.
Purchase a copy of this book : Coaching the Mental Game: Leadership Philosophies and Strategies for Peak Performance in Sports and Everyday Life
How effective is your pre-team program?
Yesterday i read an interesting study published in the
Science of Gymnastics Journal
” Changes in gymnasts motor abilities during the nine month training process of female gymnasts 5 – 6 years of age. ”
This article got me thinking, about how effective my pre-team program is. The article followed 6 female gymnasts, aged 5 -6, with 2 years of previous gymnastics (most likely pre-school) experience, who for the duration of the study trained six times a week for 3 hrs per practice. The article presented a very interesting area of research, and that is, the effects of different training programs on motor abilities (learning skills), in this case with very young gymnasts. ( the article explains in greater detail the program).
If you are coaching pre-team, or young gymnasts, you should most definitely be always thinking about how you can maximize your program. At the very least you should be asking yourself the question of ” how can i prepare this kids optimally for formal gymnastics training “.
The authors of the article in question propose that:
” The success of each gymnast is directly dependent on the level of her motor abilities, in particular strength. Strength occupies the highest place within the hierarchy in relation to other motor abilities ” (pg 46).
What this says is that according to the authors, strength training should be the main focus of any program, the article actually mention specifically that
” inconsistent strength training can explain the decline in performance, or at least the stagnation of athletes… Strength training in artistic gymnastics is closely linked to the gymnastics skills ” (pg. 46)
As a coach, i agree, based on my experience, that ‘ strength ‘ seems to be the single greatest separating factor between kids, and i am sure this also applies to the higher level gymnasts also. This leads to what i believe is the first fundamental part of any pre-team program, # 1 train for strength first (*physical preparation), and skills after.
Indeed the gymnasts examined in this article, spent 36 % (65min) of their total training time on physical preparation. Greatest emphasis was placed on power development due to its specific and relevance in gymnastics. At this point its important to mention that power, is directly proportional to strength, this should be always considered by coaches (don’t ask kids for more power, if you are not working on developing strength). I for one personally would even go further and devote upto 50% of my training time with pre-team to physical preparation, with the remaining 50% of time on events (but this is another discussion all together).
Not surprisingly the findings of the study show statistically signification improvements for all motor abilities tests, except explosive upper body strength (measured by rope climb, and horizontal jump). These improvements were attributed in large part due to the specificity of training. For anyone not familiar with the principle of specificity in strength training, the principle tells us that
” conditioning should involve similar movements as those commonly found in gymnastics skills… this includes specific ROM of limbs, the speed of movement, type of movement, duration of movement, tension type, and so forth” (pg. 51)
However a good point to note by the authors is that adding resistance to skilled or not perfected movements is not usually a good idea. This is because it this additional weight alters the mechanics of the movement.
To generalize the findings of the study, it is interesting to note that strength gains in all motor tests cycled periods of improvement (approximately over 2 months), followed by a longer period of plateau (approximately 4 months). Especially in the 2.5 months of practice some motors tests even showed decrease in performance. This was was attributed to entry into competition season for this kids. This shows that kids who are transition into competition should do so progressively in order to have sufficient recovery time to adapt to the greater training volume demands.
The authors of the article explain their findings in more detail, but i think the message is pretty clear. Young kids should focus predominantly on developing the level physical 
preparation, without to much emphasis on skills in the beginning. For me personally my goal with pre-team is to focus on strength gains, and use apparatus time to include the necessary level of fun in order to make training more enjoyable and productive, and more importantly developing confidence. All the while though proper form is adhered to.
This article presents some interesting research that i for one be very interested to see done in clubs around the US. It is important to mention that even though the authors present some interesting results, these results should only at best be considered from a general, and theoretical prospective, as the results can hardly be applicable to your average pre-team group, who most likely does not train 18hrs a week.. This in itself raises further issues for discussion, but for another time.
Readers are encourage to submit their approach to developing pre-teams. What is you focus? how do you go by achieving it?
Look forward to further discussion
* physical preparation refers to the training and preparation of all fitness training components necessary in gymnastics, including, handstand training, flexibility, anaerobic endurance, strength, power, etc..
Coaching Methods 