There are a few things bugging me about the fitness and
coaching industry of late. Im not usually a big moaner when it comes to work and
tend to carry on with my train of thought without really getting too involved in
the politics of training, marketing ploys and new fads, but there are 2 things
that have really got me frustrated lately…
Firstly... Check out this Youtube clip... This will only serve to highlight my point!
The first issue, which I initially thought was purely sport
related, is one of coaching. Having being involved with a good standard of
Rugby Fitness and Conditioning, swimming and Football, now using the skills I
acquired through recent courses from an insightful education provider and my
own general thought process, I am starting to see a pattern in UK based sport
which highlights why so many kids and even older members of the sports
community get injured, bored or lose interest.
The issue for me stems from poor education as part of the
backbone of courses that are provided for these so called ‘qualified’ individuals.
I am yet to meet a coach, in charge of health, fitness and recovery that fully understands
why they are performing a particular drill, conditioning aspect of training or
exercise. They often do not fully understand the outcome of the exercise or
drill in relation to the individuals body and mental capcity to perform that
sequence of movements and the most challenging part is that if an individual has
a moderate to high imbalance somewhere within their body, whether it is superficial
or hidden, coaches simply do not understand how to regress/progress a drill
which ends in injury or an individual lacking the physical capability to
perform the exercises components within a drill.
That’s the technical aspect of coaching that bugs me, the
other element is that of how coaches approach, teach and talk to clients, team
members, players etc. The Role of a coach should be diverse. Rugby, Football
Netball and even swimming are great examples… Every individual (individual is
the key word here) has their own role, their own thought process, their own
motivating influences and their own history. What one person understands, the
other person is confused by. What one person finds easy another person finds
difficult, the way in which one person moves mechanically is different from the
person next to them… The thing that annoys me the most, is single minded one
direction coaches that refuse to COACH an individual and learn how they respond
to particular stimulus, reactions, requests etc and there are a LOT of them out
there.
I don’t have an answer and to be honest, so this article is
a little one sided. Its not my place to right the wrongs as I see them, I’m
just saying that if more coaches adopt an approach that sees a team as
individuals with varied degrees of learning capability and personality, maybe
some of the talent that I see daily and educate themselves further on teaching
styles, perhaps great athletes wouldn’t be lost through low self-esteem, embarrassment,
exclusion and isolation!
Equipment courses - Really?
The other thing that really makes me cringe at the moment
are course providers constantly rattling on about new equipment and courses
that can teach instructors, coaches, trainers to use them… here is a thought…
If you cant look at a piece of equipment, think back to your basic movements patterns
and sequences in respect of the way muscles react and the body moves… YOU SHOULDN’T
BE IN CHARGE OF SOMEONES PROGRAM let along their health!
It’s a Piece of equipment, much like any other. Granted I
will admit that I do love a Vipr, a TRX a MED ball and YES it can keep a client
interested to use different equipment, but you don’t need to go on a course to
learn how to use it… use your imagination, put some time in, make sure the movement
is safe for the relevant individual and then try it yourself through a
variation of reps, angles, closed and open chain movements, plyometrically, ballistically
and so on!
I bet you will enjoy telling your client that you haven’t seen
anyone do the exercise they are doing!
The fitness industry is a lot like any other sector… there
are a lot of pretenders out there, laziness is rife, apathy is abundant and safety
really doesn't seem to be taken in to account as often as it should.
Fundamentally, all movements, drills, exercises should be related back to the
educational understanding or how the body moves, why it moves as action and
reaction and these should drive an instructors session with a client or team…
I will try and think of something a little more positive to
write next time! I welcome your thoughts and constructive debate!
From a parental perspective, supporting a child with recognized potential through a sporting system that promises much but in practice delivers little, has been a frustrating and heartbreaking experience. The sheer resilience, determination and self belief required to keep pursuing their dreams without personalised support being in place, results in many truly talented children giving up because of this lack of understanding of their individual needs.
ReplyDeleteFor success to be achieved at the top levels of sport, talent has to be nurtured from a young age. All too often at grass roots level there is little desire to recognise and support excellence; if anything this is often considered a dirty word. Policy tends to encourage the setting of a level playing field, often misunderstood by those who are involved in a coaching/training setting in the desire to ensure equality.
For fundamental progress to occur, this culture within sport has to change, and for someone in my position it can only be hoped that this will form part of our Olympic legacy.
If you are fortunate enough to come across a coach who understands the physical and psychological importance of an individual based approach, hold onto them; they are like gold dust.
I have an opinion---
ReplyDeleteToo many dads wanting the coach t -shirt.
Too little knowledge from the start
No attempt to up their knowledge base
The belief they can blame any problems on the kids
The inability to carry out a drill correctly
The inability to see when a drill is not working and the ability to adapt
Etc etc etc
Personally I blame the clubs and organisations that allow this practice to go on so the clubs/orgs can collect money from the parents while providing poor and ineffective coaching to the kids
Lastly I blame the parents for putting up with shit coaching in the first place---
A coach should be always be open to another opinion or view- right or wrong. This is part of the responsibility you take on when u get the t shirt
RANT OVER
The above is obviously personal to me and I hate it when I see it