continuing advancement for the premier coaches of today Volume I, Issue X May 2010  

Focus on the “GET TO”, not the “HAVE TO”. ~Jon Gordon

LEADERSHIP 101 “The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it- so fine that we often are on the line and we don’t even

know it. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson Often times we are faced with challenges that have a very small margin for error. This razor thin line is what separate success from failure in many organizations, teams and businesses. Whether it’s a new project from our Head Coach or an assignment from our Athletic Director, we must learn to act without hesitation. Nothing but an entirely focused effort will yield the results we desire in this field. While we may make mistakes, there is no room for second guessing and doubt, especially in front of our athletes and co-workers. Whatever the case may be, a great leader speaks with conviction and passion and inspires a team to follow him/her without any hesitation.

While some coaches may have already beat me to it, I wanted to take the time in this month’s issue to highlight some of the great points made by our peers at this year’s CSCCa National Conference in Orlando. I cannot be thankful enough for all the great coaches, vendors and friends who make it out and spend time with us during this important time of the year. Many thanks to Coach Stiggins and his staff for the great line-up of speakers this year and providing us true value and education as a college strength and conditioning coach. Here’s a brief “2-minute drill” of important points made by some of the best coaches in the nation.

Day 1 Dueling Football Strength Coaches: Kevin Yoxall (Auburn) and Tim Socha (Boise State) Coach Yoxall

• One of the major goals of the in-season program is to increase lower body strength compared to camp numbers NOT winter records.

• A great coach watches his/her veteran players and makes changes when needed. • Give your players a range to work in for intensities and exercises. • Any athlete that has a lower body injury should have an alternative workout with more volume and higher intensities because of

the lack of repetitions throughout the week. Coach Socha

• Get your players as strong as possible while using as little energy as possible. Remember, in-season is their time. • Instill work ethic and discipline into your redshirt program so they become successful collegiate football players. • Study the field of mental performance just as much as strength and conditioning. It’s more than sets x reps. • Don’t confuse routine with commitment!

Nutritional Recommendations for Pre/During/Post Exercise- Jackie Berning (University of Colorado)

• Pre-exercise meals should be high in carbohydrates, low in fiber and fat and moderate in protein. • We cannot put diesel fuel into a Porsche engine. Athletes need high quality fuel for high quality performance. • 30% of athletes skip breakfast. 25% skip breakfast. Over 80% eat fast food on a regular basis. • Don’t introduce new foods to the athletes close to competition. Foods should be familiar to them and not cause anxiety.

 

 

  

continuing advancement for the premier coaches of today Volume I, Issue X May 2010  

Focus on the “GET TO”, not the “HAVE TO”. ~Jon Gordon

BOOK OF THE MONTH

The No Complaining Rule Jon Gordon

Did you know that the #1 cause of office stress is coworkers and their complaining? One negative person in our office or weight room can create a miserable working environment for everyone. It is important to always remember how lucky we are to have a career that has so many positives attached to it. Stop complaining about the long hours, low or no pay, sore feet, lack of time and negative relationships with athletic training, administrators and coaches. Remember that we GET TO develop athletes, establish relationships, assist with projects and MAKE A DIFFERENCE in people’s lives. It’s easy to get caught up in all the things we “HAVE TO” do. But when it’s all said and done, we are here for a bigger purpose and our kids need every ounce of positivity.

• Those who eat more at the end of the day burn more muscle in the morning and gain more fat at night. • Only 10-20 grams of protein are needed to stimulate protein synthesis! We don’t need excessive protein.

Speed Enhancement Philosophy and Training-Tom Shaw (CoachTomShaw.com)

• Fingers are not the issue. Just don’t tense the fists when running. • 90 degree arm action should be over the shoulders and behind the hips. • Higher knees equal more force. More force equals more push. More push equals a greater stride length. • Keep your resistive running loads less than 20% of bodyweight. • The 20-40 yard segment is the most important part of the 40 yard dash…not the first ten. • If you do more than two reps over 100%, you are working speed endurance, not absolute speed.

Lessons Learned- Johnny Parker (2009 Legend in the Field/Former NFL strength coach)

• Always take time to reflect back on your day and ask yourself what you could’ve done better. • Do what you say you are going to do! • Set your standards high and your kids will respond. • You can never rest. There is always someone hungrier than you. Someone that is looking for your job, your position, your title. • There is greatness in everyone. Make them feel special. • Coach kids not weights!

Periodization-The Reader’s Digest Version (Dr. Mike Stone- ETSU)

• There is no substitute for being strong. • Linear periodization does not exist! • Sometimes as coaches we forget about the framework of our program. We focus on the numbers and models instead of the

proper strategies needed for optimal sport performance. • Conjugated-successive, phase potentiation and block periodization are essentially all the same thing. • Don’t train to failure. You only end up with inferior strength gains, and low RFD and power development

Effective Leadership and Motivation- Dr. Jay Stack (Peak Performance)

• Exceptional achievement results from internal convictions not from external circumstances. • You have an option of becoming a thermostat or a thermometer. Do you set your standards and mood at one level or do you

allow outside variables control who you are and how you respond to situations? • Character is when you keep the promises you make to others. Integrity is when you keep the promises you make to yourself.

  

continuing advancement for the premier coaches of today Volume I, Issue X May 2010  

Focus on the “GET TO”, not the “HAVE TO”. ~Jon Gordon

TIP OF THE MONTH

Examine Your Body Language

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what does our body language picture showcase? Are we speaking more with our body movement than lips? When faced with a problem, we must look towards the solution. When an extra project gets dropped on our already full plate, view it as an opportunity to prove to our fellow coaches that we are strong and will excel when times get tough. If we’re asked to mop the floor, treat it as a time to increase the property value of our facility. As coaches, we always tell our athletes to watch their body language during challenging workouts. We tell them to stand up when they are bending over and to keep their hands off their knees when they are gasping for air. Shouldn’t we be more conscious of what our body language displays? Whether we are interns, GA’s, assistant or head coaches, how we physically react to a statement or situation displays what we are really thinking more so than by words.

• See things how they are. Feel deeply about the situation. Then see it the way you want it to be. ~ W. Disney

Day 2 The second day of the conference is always tough because there are various breakout sessions with multiple presentations going on. I tried to catch a little of each, but was unsuccessful. Here are a few points from some of the presenters, either from their slides or presentations. Solving the Concussion Crises- Mike Gittleson (Former Head Strength Coach for 30 years- University of Michigan)

• The rules of concussion management and return to play need to be reevaluated! • If you are going to perform manual resistance on athletes, you better know how. It’s more than just contracting and lowering. • A collision in sport causes whiplash. If you want to reduce the amount of bend, train the neck. A bigger cylinder causes less

bend. • There are seven different movements you must train to fully train the neck. It’s more than just shrugging.

Bridging the Gap Between AT and the S/C Staffs- Ron Courson (University of Georgia Sports Medicine)

• Both staffs must work together to share information, training and skills between team members. • A team is more than a collection of people wearing the same t-shirt! • We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now. ~MLK Jr. • Know the difference between various heat illnesses and symptoms so you can protect your athlete. • In order to bridge the gap, we must use the seven C’s: Communication, compromise, cooperation, common sense, composure,

caring and character. Step Approach to Teaching the Snatch, Clean and Jerk- Tom Cross and Ethan Reeve (MidAmerica Nazarene University/Wake Forest)

• Every Olympic lift begins with a vertical jump. • Where you receive the bar may have more correlation to sport performance than the actual pull phase. • When the elbows bend, the power ends. Beat the bar down. • Too much knee bend equals not enough hip bend. • If we always do what we always did…we will always get what we always got.

  

continuing advancement for the premier coaches of today Volume I, Issue X May 2010  

Focus on the “GET TO”, not the “HAVE TO”. ~Jon Gordon

COACH’S CORNER ● Always have a back-up plan for your

activities outside the weight room. Between scheduling of practice gyms and in climate weather, make sure you have similar drills or movements that can be performed if you’re faced with a sudden change situation.

● Always keep a hard copy of your budget

expenses. You never know when the IT department will just come in and replace your computer or your flash drive becomes corrupted.

● Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Every

head strength and conditioning coach was an assistant at one point and remembers the struggles of making it in this profession. Communicate with the best in the field and learn what they’ve learned.

● Meet with your head coach weekly.

He/she always has something to say.

Special Exercises for Special Needs- Russell Patterson (Middle Tennessee State University) • A great coach modifies his style of training to fit his head coach’s style of play. Specifics must be accounted for. • Do not have a cookie cutter approach to training injured athletes. What can you still do to keep functional and explosive

strength in those areas? • Kickers and punters have specific training methods as well. • Cover all your bases. Make sure you include the important “little things” like shoulder stability, hip mobility and extra core.

Winter Football Strength and Conditioning- Ron McKeefery (University of South Florida)

• Don’t bash it until you try it. Jim Wendler’s 5-3-1 Model for strength development works! • Organization is extremely important when you have 8 coaches on the floor. • Incorporate a draft into your winter program to give players ownership and the competitive spirit. • Incorporate position specific drills at the end of your workout. The goal of USF’s staff is for the football staff to take one of their

strength and conditioning coach’s drills • Add variety to your program. Implement themed workouts. Train them outside the walls of the facility.

The Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball- David Deets (University of Missouri)

• Always have a plan. You can change the plan, but you can’t change what you don’t have. • Don’t assume the athlete knows anything. Start from scratch and work with them from the beginning. • Don’t be a cheerleader. Coach with enthusiasm, energy and purpose. • Sound basketball athletic performance requires a review of the game, each player, the coach and his/her philosophy and every

position’s specific demand for the game. Maximizing University Resources for Developing and Effective Strength and Conditioning Program- Meg Stone (ETSU)

• If you don’t understand the science, you are setting sail without a compass and have no idea what direction you are going in. • Monitor how your athletes respond to the workouts. This leads to a better understanding of the complete training process. • Begin tracking individual data freshman year. Focus on the long term development instead of the quick fix. • Check out the ETSU Center of Excellence for Sport Science and Education (www.sportscienceed.com) for research, science

and service for the field of sports performance. The Missing Link-Stress and Its Effect on Performance- Baylor Athletic Performance

• Stress impacts everything! Short term performance and long term health are compromised when we are unable to deal with stress appropriately.

  

continuing advancement for the premier coaches of today Volume I, Issue X May 2010  

Focus on the “GET TO”, not the “HAVE TO”. ~Jon Gordon

ANNOUNCEMENTS

● We are looking to expand on the topics presented in this newsletter and enlist other coaches to write on other aspects of our personal and professional development. If you would like to be a monthly contributor, please let us know.

● Many thanks to Coach Stiggins and the CSCCa staff for posting our newsletter on the association’s website. Also, a HUGE thank-you for all the coaches at the female strength coaches breakfast for acknowledging our newsletter and its current role in our coach’s development.

SPN

• • •

•

• It is our job to apply stress to our athletes to achieve maximal sport performance. However, we must do so in a systematic fashion.

• Stress is never identified by the event, but rather the response to the event. • Review the General Adaptation Syndrome by Hans Selye. Learn how you can manage fatigue with your athletes. • Proper stress management is a balancing act between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. • Great coaches prepare for the upcoming stress response. Remember, athletes not only have to train, but they have to go to

school as well. The start of the new school year, mid terms and final exams all initiate a stress response. Coaching, environment and scheduling strategies need to be modified to suit the athlete and time of year.

• Strength and conditioning coaches must control stress for their own well being as well. • Alter the structure of your staff so that each member is responsible for his/her department. • Focus on the problems you can control instead of the ones you cannot!

I just want to sincerely thank all the great coaches who took the time to present and provide us with some new material to think about as we prepare for the upcoming summer months. Thanks again to all the coaches for their support for the YSCCa and its further development in this field. It was great to meet and catch up with all of you and I wish you nothing but the best this next year.

Adam Feit Head Sports Performance Coach

Eastern Michigan University afeit1@emich.edu