- Train for consistency and variability. Executing a skill under pressure is vastly different from doing so on your own without time constraints, crowds, opposition etc. To really translate all the work you spend on drills into match play, gradually increase variations. Progression is key. Jump to fast and you'll introduce too many elements, hindering the learning process. Without progression, drills are idealistic attempts to make people do what X's and O's did in your imagination.
- There remains no substitute for getting to the by line and delivering a quality cross.
- Quantity can never make up for lack of quality
- Counter Attacks are pointless without speed
- Non-contact injury, like hamstring strains, are inexcusable. They demand the assessment of the training program. Are they affecting many players? Change the training program. Is one or two, repeatedly? They need more attention to make sure their specific needs are met by the program
- Train for speed endurance. The trick is to make sure that the quality of your work remains high. High volume with poor quality only leads to injuries. It's not a matter of if but when. Let's use sprint training as an example. Mindless shuttles will not produce fitness. After a few runs, a 40m sprint that was taking 4 seconds will take 7. After that, you're only training to be slow. Speed is a result of well trained type II muscle fibre types, which fatigue quickly. After that has set in, any more work utilizes type I fibres which are optimized for slower, longer duration like running marathon. Choose wisely
- Intangibles win games- confidence, instinct, intuition. A confident forward takes shots instinctively. One doubting himself thinks before shooting, looking for that perfect space for a clear chance at goal. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't but chasing the perfect goal often results in no goals at all.
- Discipline is the game-winner least practiced. Without it, you end up with players booked or sent off for avoidable incidences. It may not stick the ball in the back of the net, but it allows you to recover the ball without committing fouls. It gives you the opportunity to play with 11 players and trying to execute a drill you practices with 11 is easier than trying to do so with 10
- Patience is a virtue with or without the ball
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Random Thoughts: Technical and Tactical
Sunday, October 5, 2014
A Different Approach To Training and Coaching
Recently, I enjoyed a hike in the mountain surrounding Lake Moraine. The climb was steep right from the start- enough for me to notice how quickly my heart rate went up, and my breathing rate followed suit. Huffing and puffing, I recalled a lesson I have learned from Gray Cook, that of self-limiting exercise. Many injuries, and therefore delays and deterrents to performance/achieving our goals are the result of overuse. It's not hard to reach the point of overuse given our emphasis on more- quality over quantity. Self-limiting exercise could be the answer.
A self-limiting exercise is one that demands high levels of precision in technique, timing and alignment without which the you will experience failure of some sort. In essence, it does not allow quantity at the expense of quality. Think jumping rope- timing and posture are required. Walking on a balance beam. In his classic book, Movement, Gray provides this a of self-limiting exercises.
While I was hiking, I focused on my breathing. As the steepness of the slope continued to increase, I found myself breathing through my mouth, my chest heaving up and down. This is dysfunctional breathing as it makes use of accessory muscles. The sternocleidomastoid (SCM), the scalenes, upper trapezius, and other muscles of the upper chest and neck area assume the role of ventilation, a function largely controlled, under normal circumstances, by the diaphragm. The cascade of substitution and compensation that follows is very far reaching, as explained by the concept of regional interdependence.
In this article discussing cervicogenic headaches, the author expertly described this situation. "Diaphragmatic breathing allows the lungs to fill on inspiration by increasing chest volume. In patients with diaphragm dysfunction, the accessory respiratory muscles (scalenes and SCM) lift the rib cage to facilitate lung filling during inspiration. These secondary muscles are often tight and hyperactive in patients with chronic neck pain due to deep neck flexor weakness. In faulty respiration patterns, these tight muscles are readily activated and continue to facilitate the patterns of muscle imbalance with each breath."
With this in mind, one way to insert the concept of self-limiting exercise was to allow myself to breath ONLY through my nose. If I went at a pace that was too fast, I found that I ended up back to mouth or apical breathing. It forced me to slow down and believe it or not, I felt the tension release from my neck.
Recently, one of my clients missed several training sessions under chiropractic direction. Those very muscles I described as accessory were taped following a diagnosis of acute torticollus. It's certainly a fancy term- even I had to look it up. Torticollis (wryneck) is one of a broader category of disorders that exhibit flexion, extension, or twisting of muscles of the neck beyond their normal position (emedicine.com). What brought this episode to mind was that my client said she had no idea what she had done. She had just gone hiking over the weekend.
When I'm working with someone who has a medical condition, I make it part of my job to communicate with the medical professionals he/she may be seeing. I depend on their medical expertise and they on my movement, exercise and training specialty. For both of us, that the client progresses towards their goals pain-free is the top priority. In communication with my client's chiropractor, not only did she tell me the diagnosis, she mentioned the same stuff- dysfunctional breathing, accessory muscles. Because of the pain my client was feeling, certain exercises were no longer available as options in my programming. Push ups, planks, loaded squats. Balance was also a bit of an issue for my client so even though we tried to stick to lower body stuff, the need to throw the arms out every so often meant that even that selection was limited. And "cardio" was perhaps the worst option. Because my client was using those muscles unawares, any exertion to the point of 'feeling it' would undoubtedly reignite the problem.
In the end, we went back to lying on a mat and simply learning how to breath. Through pictures, videos, and hands on exercise instruction, I pointed out which muscles were working, which ones should have been working, how to inhibit the overactive ones and facilitate those that were inhibited.
A trainer's job is not just to burn calories. It's about being very knowledgeable and observant. The client's goal are important, so I listen. Their movement profile is important, so I listen to that too. And so we dance. I learn as I watch them move and pay attention to how they feel about the exercises and positions I'm asking of them. They learn as their feedback directs my decisions and short-term and process goals are consistently revisited and adjusted. Even if it means we lay on the mat and address something as elementary as breathing, educating the client is how they achieve their goals.
That is personal training.
That is coaching.
Phil Page, P. (2011) Cervicogenic Headaches: An Evidence-Led Approach To Clinical Management. The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy Volume 6, Number 3, Page 255
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Knee Valgus: Why You Should Care
Knee Valgus is medial knee collapse (or the knees coming closer together) during a squat or squating movement. Research continues to associate knee collapse with injuries as well as degenerative conditions of the lower extremity. You don't have to be an expert to see why it's considered a dysfunctional movement.
A Bit Of Science
During a squat, researchers observed increased neuromuscular activity of the adductors (the muscles on the inside of the thighs), the tibialis anterior (shin muscles) and gastrocnemius (one of the big calf muscles) in subjects with MKD. Conceptually, the increased activity in these muscles makes them stiff, resulting in limited dorsiflexion. This in turn leads to increased tibial internal rotation, talar adduction and calcaneal eversion. (These are discussed in more detail in this article.)
Note the lack of control in the knee. There is significant deviation of the knee medially as the client descends into the lunge.
Why You Should Care
Injury Potential
Although most commonly around the ACL (review that here), the three points above are all potential areas of injury, particularly when high forces are involved. Tibial internal rotation describes rotation of the bigger of the 2 shin bones. Grab a skeleton and you will see how little rotation you can coax out of it without popping it out of alignment. It is such a minuscule amount that the articulation of the bones forming the knee joint is very often describes simply as flexion and extension. So imagine a wringing movement- in Valgus, the femur (thigh bone) falls inward, and the tibia rotates outward. Now imagine that happening at speed, with a 100+ pounds. That's what the knee goes through when players compete for an aerial ball and return to the ground.
Power
Joint centration is an important concept. The body has an incredible capacity to create and distribute force, and the higher the force, the greater the demand for proper alignment. Ask anybody to jump as high as they can and the first thing you see is that they get 'shorter.' By going down, we tap into the power of the hips. The movement itself loads the muscles (potentiation) and the elastic energy thus created allows the explosive spring that gives us the vertical jump. To a degree, the lower you go, the greater the amount of energy stored in the muscles, and the greater the height. This is because there is an optimum level of muscle contraction for maximal force production. Either side of that point, whatever you are doing, you're leaving some of your potential on the table.
Not only can an athlete who displays MKD not reach that optimal range for force production, more often than not, the forward movement of the knees pulls the athlete forward. Introducing load to this type of movement pattern would be disastrous. And trust me, you want to add load.
According to a classic paper by Stolen, et al, (2005), "Physiology of Soccer" players sprint approximately every 75 to 90 seconds, with each sprint lasting 2-4 seconds. That's equivalent to about 40 meters or less. This means that when it comes to ASSESSMENT, knowing how fast you can dash 40 meters is nice but knowing if you can do it repeatedly is even better. The 40m dash provides valuable information about the athlete's power, acceleration, reaction time and anaerobic system. For it to be even more meaningful for coaches and players alike, it must be repeated. Several trials will give an indication of the athlete's capacity to sustain those qualities. How well do they recover? How many sprints can they run before there is a significant decrease in performance? These questions and others like them become a wellspring of data coaches can use to decide who is going to struggle if they are trying to employ strategies that rely on the hard graft of wing back; who would be most impactful as a substitute; when to make that substitution. Of course this too can be used as you observe the opposition- see a player struggling to recover? Play in that area. A lot. Chances are, you'll find plenty of success there. But what do repeated sprints have to do with knee Valgus?
In THIS study, researchers wanted to find out how lower body power variables would impact repeated sprint performance. Nineteen players were tested through several sessions. The first of these included the countermovement jump (CMJL) and the progressive full squat (FSL), both with external loads. Power in the CMJL and FSL was measured with each load that was lifted. In the second session, the repeated sprint index or RSI was calculated. The players had to sprint a timed 40m distance. They were allowed as much as 2 minutes rest before going again and continued until a 3% decrement in performance was noted. The results suggested repeated sprint performance was moderately correlated with power relative to body mass in the CMJ and Full squat demonstrated by differences in the RSI (9.1 ± 4.2 vs. 6.5 ± 1.6) and 10 m sprint time (p ± 0.01). That means the most powerful players ran up to 13 times before that 3% decrement was noted compared to just 7 in their weaker counterparts. Moreover, the more powerful players were 0.01 seconds faster in getting to the 10m.
The correlation between the performances in the repeated sprint test and the CMJ and squat are clear. Both the squat and countermovement jump are performed poorly with increased risk in an athlete with knee valgus. So why should you care? Speed. Power. Sprint ability. Because, unless your players are excellent compensators, this simple deviation in knee tracking can tell you who is likely to be added risk for injury; and, based on the study discussed here, who is likely to prove a weaker player during the course of a match. It is important to note that as a bio-marker, medial knee collapse is a predictor, not a given. On the other hand, strength, when all else is equal, pretty much guarantees who will be the better performer.
Brent Brookbush has a wonderful review about MKD as well as exercises you can do to address so you can get back to training hard and winning game.
Remember, injury prevention and performance enhancement are rooted in the same work.
Related Articles:
Reducing ACL Injury Risk
A Bit Of Science
During a squat, researchers observed increased neuromuscular activity of the adductors (the muscles on the inside of the thighs), the tibialis anterior (shin muscles) and gastrocnemius (one of the big calf muscles) in subjects with MKD. Conceptually, the increased activity in these muscles makes them stiff, resulting in limited dorsiflexion. This in turn leads to increased tibial internal rotation, talar adduction and calcaneal eversion. (These are discussed in more detail in this article.)
Note the lack of control in the knee. There is significant deviation of the knee medially as the client descends into the lunge.
Why You Should Care
Injury Potential
Although most commonly around the ACL (review that here), the three points above are all potential areas of injury, particularly when high forces are involved. Tibial internal rotation describes rotation of the bigger of the 2 shin bones. Grab a skeleton and you will see how little rotation you can coax out of it without popping it out of alignment. It is such a minuscule amount that the articulation of the bones forming the knee joint is very often describes simply as flexion and extension. So imagine a wringing movement- in Valgus, the femur (thigh bone) falls inward, and the tibia rotates outward. Now imagine that happening at speed, with a 100+ pounds. That's what the knee goes through when players compete for an aerial ball and return to the ground.
Power
Joint centration is an important concept. The body has an incredible capacity to create and distribute force, and the higher the force, the greater the demand for proper alignment. Ask anybody to jump as high as they can and the first thing you see is that they get 'shorter.' By going down, we tap into the power of the hips. The movement itself loads the muscles (potentiation) and the elastic energy thus created allows the explosive spring that gives us the vertical jump. To a degree, the lower you go, the greater the amount of energy stored in the muscles, and the greater the height. This is because there is an optimum level of muscle contraction for maximal force production. Either side of that point, whatever you are doing, you're leaving some of your potential on the table.
Not only can an athlete who displays MKD not reach that optimal range for force production, more often than not, the forward movement of the knees pulls the athlete forward. Introducing load to this type of movement pattern would be disastrous. And trust me, you want to add load.
According to a classic paper by Stolen, et al, (2005), "Physiology of Soccer" players sprint approximately every 75 to 90 seconds, with each sprint lasting 2-4 seconds. That's equivalent to about 40 meters or less. This means that when it comes to ASSESSMENT, knowing how fast you can dash 40 meters is nice but knowing if you can do it repeatedly is even better. The 40m dash provides valuable information about the athlete's power, acceleration, reaction time and anaerobic system. For it to be even more meaningful for coaches and players alike, it must be repeated. Several trials will give an indication of the athlete's capacity to sustain those qualities. How well do they recover? How many sprints can they run before there is a significant decrease in performance? These questions and others like them become a wellspring of data coaches can use to decide who is going to struggle if they are trying to employ strategies that rely on the hard graft of wing back; who would be most impactful as a substitute; when to make that substitution. Of course this too can be used as you observe the opposition- see a player struggling to recover? Play in that area. A lot. Chances are, you'll find plenty of success there. But what do repeated sprints have to do with knee Valgus?
In THIS study, researchers wanted to find out how lower body power variables would impact repeated sprint performance. Nineteen players were tested through several sessions. The first of these included the countermovement jump (CMJL) and the progressive full squat (FSL), both with external loads. Power in the CMJL and FSL was measured with each load that was lifted. In the second session, the repeated sprint index or RSI was calculated. The players had to sprint a timed 40m distance. They were allowed as much as 2 minutes rest before going again and continued until a 3% decrement in performance was noted. The results suggested repeated sprint performance was moderately correlated with power relative to body mass in the CMJ and Full squat demonstrated by differences in the RSI (9.1 ± 4.2 vs. 6.5 ± 1.6) and 10 m sprint time (p ± 0.01). That means the most powerful players ran up to 13 times before that 3% decrement was noted compared to just 7 in their weaker counterparts. Moreover, the more powerful players were 0.01 seconds faster in getting to the 10m.
The correlation between the performances in the repeated sprint test and the CMJ and squat are clear. Both the squat and countermovement jump are performed poorly with increased risk in an athlete with knee valgus. So why should you care? Speed. Power. Sprint ability. Because, unless your players are excellent compensators, this simple deviation in knee tracking can tell you who is likely to be added risk for injury; and, based on the study discussed here, who is likely to prove a weaker player during the course of a match. It is important to note that as a bio-marker, medial knee collapse is a predictor, not a given. On the other hand, strength, when all else is equal, pretty much guarantees who will be the better performer.
Brent Brookbush has a wonderful review about MKD as well as exercises you can do to address so you can get back to training hard and winning game.
Remember, injury prevention and performance enhancement are rooted in the same work.
Related Articles:
Reducing ACL Injury Risk
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Winning In A Nutshell
I was at the top of my game. I was playing for both of my school sides. We had an A and a B team, as well as a program that sought to promote activity for everyone at very age. This is what is called the House League here in Canada. The result, a different kind of league that featured up to 9 teams per age group. So strong were my performances week after week, I was tipped for the captaincy of my provincial side as well. With Rep, House, and Provincials, my week looked like this:
Monday: Practice: Provincials
Tuesday: Practice: Rep followed by Provincials
Wednesday: Rep Match
Thursday: Practice: Rep and House
Friday: Practice: Provincials
Saturday: Matches (Rep and House)
Sunday: Prov...
I woke up. I mean I was awake but the body that step off the side of the bed wasn't mine. The thing my mind was connected to was weak. It shook, refused to hold my weight yet it was taut with tension, ready to retch. It was not satisfied with lying on the cold bathroom floor, nor was there comfort in warmth of my bed. It was feverish, and the speed of movement that had always been my signature seemed to hurry me only into the darkness of unconsciousness if I didn't stop it.
There would be no practice for me that Sunday. No game. No spot on the provincial team. No captaincy. I have experienced first hand the punishing side of unrestrained passion. We had 2 hours of practice per session. That was almost 18 hours of soccer that week, in the punishing heat from above, with the hard ground offering no cushioning from beneath, and 2 orange slices during a 5 minute half as the pinnacle of nutritional replenishment. From my experience I have learnt that More is NOT More.
MEANS vs GOALS
To that end I have attempted to provide information on my blog about efficient and effective strategy. From Warm ups to off field training, from thoughts on using drills wisely to a better practice metrics, my goal is to give you what works so you can achieve your goals. And less works better than more. There is no doubt that practice, drills, running, "fitness" and strength training are important to success in soccer. But ultimately, these are the means not the goal. It's difficult to scale, but while mastering the elements of the practice plan and eventually executing that on game day falls on the players, the goal for coaches is to figure out the highest level of intensity, duration and challenge that will result in a residual increase in performance. Indeed, the ability to differentiate between laziness and doing just the right amount to get the job done is a mark of a winner.
Here are some principles to get you closer to that goal as a coach.
Practice should have a scalable, challenging goal. Challenging means that the task is difficult, sure to have mistakes. The key is that they are manageable mistakes, something Gray Cook calls the Edge of ability. Make it too difficult and you will only succeed in frustrating and demoralizing your players. Make it too easy and no learning happens. Remember, it is not in rehearsing the things you are already good at that you will grow. Strengthen your weaker areas.
• Focus on the quality of work, not its quantity. Any fool can smoke athletes with tough, exhausting workouts. Again, practice is not the goal, it's the means. And if it's true that a training session should put in you more than it takes out, what's the benefit of mopping your players off floor after doing laps and laps. Today's fitness motivation has things like, "I pass out, please record my time." "I don't stop when I'm tired. I stop when I'm finished." When they give a gold medal for passing out, and there are World Championships for fatigue, then we can celebrate the pinnacle of the fitness oxymorons. If you are passing out, vomiting and unable to function the day after, what are you for exactly? Focus on quality. Once it starts to decline, stop.
More will result in less learning and poorer performance. Bondarchuk made a stunning revelation that the harder you push the body, the more stubbornly it refuses to change: "In our practice, with each year we have become more convinced that the stronger our desires to significantly increase the level of achievement, . . . the less the effect. . . .This is explained by the fact that the stronger the complex of training effects, then the more harmony there is in the defense functions in the body. . . .This in every way possible creates barriers or prevents a new level of adaptation, where in the process of restructuring it is necessary to expend a significant amount of energy resources. . . .The defense function of the body systems in high level athletes is more “trained” than in low level athletes. From here a very “bold” conclusion follows, that the process of increasing sports mastery takes place at the same level as the process of developing defense functions. In the end result, the defense functions prevail over most of the time of sports development. . . . Up to this time, all of this is a “superbold” hypothesis, giving food for very “fantastic” propositions, but there is something in all of this....Today it is only sufficiently clear that in the process of sports improvement, the body always defends itself against the irritants acting upon it."
In case you missed it- as a coach, you hold stress in your hand. The right amount produces adaptation. Too much challenges the body to summon its defence systems and it's a battle you will lose every time. Remember how I felt on that Sunday morning?
These principles apply to the tactical coach as much as they do to the strength and conditioning coach. To the latter, the wording takes on more specific terminology:
• Stop your sets and your workout before you get fatigued. Strength training... must take up as little of your time and energy as possible—all in the name of leaving you as much gas in the tank as possible for practicing sport specific skills.
Strength Training
Strength training is the most under-utilized and the least addressed skill in youth soccer. Despite the evidence for Strength Training for Juniors, and the considerable risk for various injuries whose genesis is in general weakness or in specifics like Hamstrings or ACLs, there continues to be no structured weight training in the majority youth clubs. Many players with all the talent in the world fail to make it to the highest level because they haven't the strength to compete. The entire premise behind Easy Strength is that at any given challenge, if the competitors are equally skilled, the stronger will win every time. So why do your players not have a strength training program? I'm amazed at how many players 15, 16, 17 years old who cannot do proper push ups. Of those that can, an embarrassing percentage can match that number in pull ups and hold a proper plank for 60 seconds. And these are elementary, body weight exercises. By this time, they should squatting, deadlifting and pressing respectable amounts.
To paraphrase the great John Wooden, if we ever come up against a team with similar skill levels, we will win because we are better conditioned. I'm inserting that here to highlight that victory often lies beyond skill but is very much within the realms of strength and conditioning. Yet it would not be prudent to advocate for the benefits and therefore use of strength training without offering a warning there as well. I have already made reference to this, but it's worth repeating.
The strength regimen must deliver great strength gains without exhausting the athlete’s energy or time.
The late Dr. Mel Siff put it well:
To me, the sign of a really excellent routine is one which places great demands on the athlete, yet produces progressive long-term improvement without soreness, injury or the athlete ever feeling thoroughly depleted. Any fool can create a program that is so demanding that it would virtually kill the toughest marine or hardiest of elite athletes, but not any fool can create a tough program that produces progress without unnecessary pain.
To finish, some more great quotes from Easy Strength (By Dan John and Pavel Tsatsouline) Chapter 3
Sprint coach Charlie Francis never hesitated to cut back on the weight or drop the strength session altogether either when Ben [Johnson}] was tired from sprint training. Insists the coach: "If there is any degradation in training, stop. If there is any doubt about one more rep or run, don’t do it. If you are trying to learn with reps, you won’t get it later if you haven’t already. Leave it and come back to it.If the previous workout has been spectacular, I will pull back and force an easier workout as a matter of principle.The athlete will usually want to build on a spectacular workout and train even harder. . . .As this can lead to overtraining and injury, it is always better to err on the light side—do too little rather than too much. . . ." (More about Charlie Francis' coaching methods here.)
Tommy Kono has a powerful insight:
After each repetition, erase any flaw detected so the next repetition will be even smoother. . . . If you perform a total of 20 repetitions of snatches in a workout, your twentieth repetition should be the one most efficiently performed! That is productivity! If fatigue (of mind or body) is setting in by the twentieth, it is better to quit snatching, because you begin to fail in refining your technique.
In the mid-1990s, a curious book came out in the States: Body, Mind, and Sport, by John Douillard. One of his techniques was practicing a competitive sport without keeping score. In his words: “Focusing on the score attaches you to the result. Focusing on the process lets you access your greatest skill and increases your fun.” That rang true.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Measuring Up: How Good Are Your Athletes, Really?
I have coached for years and played for even more. In all of these situations, there was no testing/measurement/assessment. The closest thing was a "cardio test" that was no more complicated than running laps around the soccer field for 75 minutes. When I introduced it, I was taken aback by the response. The parents of the boys were excited- their kids had never been tested before. The boys themselves were curious- and buoyed by the opportunity to compete against each other. Fellow coaches thought it was a novel idea. Just don't do it before the season so we don't lose time to work on drills!
I believe that results come from focused on attention on player development. Testing is second nature. How else do you know if you are better than last season? The Win-Loss column tells the truth, but it's only a fraction of the story. In preparation for this year's World Cup, Spain beat Haiti 10-0. They were humiliated when the finals came. Good result, but hardly indicative of any progress the team had made since winning the last tournament, nor indeed what they would be able to do in the future.
Once more, every coach should get their hands on Easy Strength by Dan John and Pavel Tsatsouline. More quotes from them (italicized).
Until you squat double bodyweight, rock bottom in a “no-no-no” fashion and put up same league numbers in a few other key lifts, you should have no fear. Strength will not make you slow. Just the opposite. European research and in-the-trenches experience on both sides of the pond show that there is no simpler means to drive a kid’s vertical jump up to the border of respectable than pushing up his squat poundage.
Given the value of a vertical jump testas an indicator for soccer players, it is vital to squat to the level that Pavel and Dan suggest. Although not a strict vertical jump, those players we describe as having great aerial ability embrace this concept when they jump for headers. The flexion and extension of the hip in the movement are also helpful in developing speed. More on the SVJ coming up!
In my article, How To Make Yourself Indispensable, I discussed the value of knowing your strength every component of athletic performance has a compliment that, if developed, would increase performance. Likewise, in You are Ruled By Your Weaknesses, I pointed out that working on your strengths is good, but developing areas of weaknesses is even better. These are two sides of the same coin. Here's what Dan and Pavel have to say on that.
Discussing your strong points may seem obvious, but it is well worth the time...This, of course, leads us to the more elusive issue: what are your weaknesses. Like Inspector Clouseau might say: “There are ‘clews’ here.” Success and failure tend to leave tracks, clues, and it is possible to sort through them.
Cleau/Clew/Clue Number 1 What do you hate? You could also skip a component of training, or you might ignore a part of a game or sport that just gets under your nerves. There you go: There is a hint here. You have taught yourself to ignore something rather easily, because you hate it. A good coach will insist that this is what you focus on! There is a rule here that shouldn’t be missed: This weakness must be within the parameters of your sport or focus.
Cleau/Clew/Clue Number 2 If you are lucky, an honest, skilled observer will be able to quickly point out your technical and training weaknesses. There is often nothing better than “fresh eyes” to save you literally months of work in the wrong direction....So, how do you find these skilled observers? For many, a camp situation is often best, especially at a place that might not follow the same exact method that you are currently doing. A multi-day camp setting, with several sessions a day and many sets of fresh eyes, will help most people. Otherwise, clinics and workshops and even a private session or two might be helpful. Even your competitors might be able to give you insight into what glaring weaknesses you may not be seeing.
Cleau/Clew/Clue Number 3 Assessments are both over- and underrated. Often, the key factor that’s missed is the assessment of the assessment...The standing vertical jump is a great predictor of quickness in all movements, not only leg explosiveness. According to Russian coaches, 70 to 80 centimeters (28 to 32 inches) for young men and 60 to 70 centimeters (24 to 28 inches) for young women predicts success in speed-strength sports.
Improvement in quadrant IV is all about assessing and addressing weaknesses. For the QIV athlete, the most crucial assessment is simply this: Is my primary goal (and my only goal) improving? At this elite level, no matter what is tried—no matter how far fetched—any improvement is RIGHT. A whole battery of assessment tools that all indicate improvement will be tossed out if the primary goal does not improve. Such is the life of the QIV athlete. (See Easy Strength for a breakdown of what the quadrants are).
For a power athlete, the tests listed below seem to have some validity. But before you even try the movements, I strongly recommend having a full FMS screen. My first screening only took about 10 minutes, but the review took half an hour.
Screening your mobility is essential, as those tiny compensations made for injuries really add up over time. If you are “locked down” here and compensate there, you are not only risking injury, but in addition, these compensations are inhibiting progress in your sport.
I owe much of my success in recent times as a personal trainer for soccer players, golfers and hockey players to the Functional Movement Systems team. The FMS is invaluable as an injury prediction model and using it, I have been able to manage the risk of injury for my athletes. Curiously, for those that were already injured when they came to me, the FMS was also my go-to for restoring function, and getting my athletes from post-rehab to better that they were before they got injured. This case study, and this one show how it use it to develop my training programs. Visit functionalmovement.com to learn what the FMS is and how to use it. Back to the power tests.
So, GET SCREENED, and then test yourself [your athletes] on the following:
• One-minute plank: If you can’t do this, stop worrying about anything else until you can!
• Push-ups in a minute: Note how many at the 30-second mark, too. Real power athletes will do a lot in the first 30 seconds but not so many in the next 30. If you can’t do 45 in a minute, well maybe you need to do some push-ups.
• Horizontal rows in a minute: Again, note the 30-second number. Consider 24 as a minimum, or half the number of push-ups for most people.
• A flexibility test: I like the simple overhead squat with a light stick. Again, the full FMS screen probably has more value.
• Bodyweight bench press for reps: Up to 15. Anything more is just overkill.
• Bodyweight back squats for reps: Up to 15. Again . . .
• Pull-ups: Should equal the number of bench press reps.
• A measured jump: I suggest the three jump. If you can do over 30 feet, you are in rare air. Strive for at least 21.
• A measured throw: Anything is fine—med ball, kettlebell, shot, or whatever.
I believe that results come from focused on attention on player development. Testing is second nature. How else do you know if you are better than last season? The Win-Loss column tells the truth, but it's only a fraction of the story. In preparation for this year's World Cup, Spain beat Haiti 10-0. They were humiliated when the finals came. Good result, but hardly indicative of any progress the team had made since winning the last tournament, nor indeed what they would be able to do in the future.
Once more, every coach should get their hands on Easy Strength by Dan John and Pavel Tsatsouline. More quotes from them (italicized).
Until you squat double bodyweight, rock bottom in a “no-no-no” fashion and put up same league numbers in a few other key lifts, you should have no fear. Strength will not make you slow. Just the opposite. European research and in-the-trenches experience on both sides of the pond show that there is no simpler means to drive a kid’s vertical jump up to the border of respectable than pushing up his squat poundage.
Given the value of a vertical jump testas an indicator for soccer players, it is vital to squat to the level that Pavel and Dan suggest. Although not a strict vertical jump, those players we describe as having great aerial ability embrace this concept when they jump for headers. The flexion and extension of the hip in the movement are also helpful in developing speed. More on the SVJ coming up!
In my article, How To Make Yourself Indispensable, I discussed the value of knowing your strength every component of athletic performance has a compliment that, if developed, would increase performance. Likewise, in You are Ruled By Your Weaknesses, I pointed out that working on your strengths is good, but developing areas of weaknesses is even better. These are two sides of the same coin. Here's what Dan and Pavel have to say on that.
Discussing your strong points may seem obvious, but it is well worth the time...This, of course, leads us to the more elusive issue: what are your weaknesses. Like Inspector Clouseau might say: “There are ‘clews’ here.” Success and failure tend to leave tracks, clues, and it is possible to sort through them.
Cleau/Clew/Clue Number 2 If you are lucky, an honest, skilled observer will be able to quickly point out your technical and training weaknesses. There is often nothing better than “fresh eyes” to save you literally months of work in the wrong direction....So, how do you find these skilled observers? For many, a camp situation is often best, especially at a place that might not follow the same exact method that you are currently doing. A multi-day camp setting, with several sessions a day and many sets of fresh eyes, will help most people. Otherwise, clinics and workshops and even a private session or two might be helpful. Even your competitors might be able to give you insight into what glaring weaknesses you may not be seeing.
Cleau/Clew/Clue Number 3 Assessments are both over- and underrated. Often, the key factor that’s missed is the assessment of the assessment...The standing vertical jump is a great predictor of quickness in all movements, not only leg explosiveness. According to Russian coaches, 70 to 80 centimeters (28 to 32 inches) for young men and 60 to 70 centimeters (24 to 28 inches) for young women predicts success in speed-strength sports.
Improvement in quadrant IV is all about assessing and addressing weaknesses. For the QIV athlete, the most crucial assessment is simply this: Is my primary goal (and my only goal) improving? At this elite level, no matter what is tried—no matter how far fetched—any improvement is RIGHT. A whole battery of assessment tools that all indicate improvement will be tossed out if the primary goal does not improve. Such is the life of the QIV athlete. (See Easy Strength for a breakdown of what the quadrants are).
For a power athlete, the tests listed below seem to have some validity. But before you even try the movements, I strongly recommend having a full FMS screen. My first screening only took about 10 minutes, but the review took half an hour.
Screening your mobility is essential, as those tiny compensations made for injuries really add up over time. If you are “locked down” here and compensate there, you are not only risking injury, but in addition, these compensations are inhibiting progress in your sport.
I owe much of my success in recent times as a personal trainer for soccer players, golfers and hockey players to the Functional Movement Systems team. The FMS is invaluable as an injury prediction model and using it, I have been able to manage the risk of injury for my athletes. Curiously, for those that were already injured when they came to me, the FMS was also my go-to for restoring function, and getting my athletes from post-rehab to better that they were before they got injured. This case study, and this one show how it use it to develop my training programs. Visit functionalmovement.com to learn what the FMS is and how to use it. Back to the power tests.
So, GET SCREENED, and then test yourself [your athletes] on the following:
• One-minute plank: If you can’t do this, stop worrying about anything else until you can!
• Push-ups in a minute: Note how many at the 30-second mark, too. Real power athletes will do a lot in the first 30 seconds but not so many in the next 30. If you can’t do 45 in a minute, well maybe you need to do some push-ups.
• Horizontal rows in a minute: Again, note the 30-second number. Consider 24 as a minimum, or half the number of push-ups for most people.
• A flexibility test: I like the simple overhead squat with a light stick. Again, the full FMS screen probably has more value.
• Bodyweight bench press for reps: Up to 15. Anything more is just overkill.
• Bodyweight back squats for reps: Up to 15. Again . . .
• Pull-ups: Should equal the number of bench press reps.
• A measured jump: I suggest the three jump. If you can do over 30 feet, you are in rare air. Strive for at least 21.
• A measured throw: Anything is fine—med ball, kettlebell, shot, or whatever.
Let me insert here that some of these are obviously technical and therefore require some expertise, spotting, etc. We are trying to prepare athletes to play and injury during this process is unacceptable. It defeats the entire purpose of training. Take care then that risk is minimized as much as possible during testing.
Added Bonus:
Check out the following link:
Added Bonus:
- How fast is Cristiano Ronaldo?
- How does he compare to a professional sprinter?
- See what experts say about his running technique. Is yours the same?
- What is Ronaldo's vertical jump like?
- How does his mind work?
- And those feet- just how fast are they? Check out the really cool test that answers the questions about skill, technique and ball control.
Check out the following link:
Friday, June 6, 2014
Easy Strength: Because Strength Is What Every Athlete Needs
All else equal, the stronger athlete will win every time.
"Increase the number of QUALITY workouts/performances." (Emphasis mine). As coaches, we often fall into the trap of thinking that more is, well, more. So we make it that our athletes run more laps or sprints; they get more touches on the ball; have more practice sessions; try more drills. But we all know that 1 shot, 1 goal is better than having more possession, more corners, and more shots if none of them find their way to the back of the net. So it bears repeating:
Increase the number of quality performances/workout/sessions. "Not a bad idea, really, as many strength coaches think it’s their God-given duty to smoke the athlete each and every time. Certainly, it is fun to do, but it leaves the athlete a physical wreck."
How? Pick one skill or attribute and focus on it. Be the guy, and let your team be the one that, at the diving championships does nothing more fancy than a swan dive, but does it perfectly 10 times out of ten. Only then should you move on. (To be sure, the game has a lot of skills that need to be developed, but many cannot be maximally developed if addressed at the same time as specific others. More of that to come.)
I swear by Apollo, the healer, and Asclepius, Hygieia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and my judgment, the following oath and agreement: I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.
The Chinese have a saying: “A step in a wrong direction in the beginning of a journey takes you a hundred miles away from your goal.” Enter the idea of Periodization. What are you trying to achieve? Work backwards from there to where you are now. That's your plan, that's tour direction. Go that way. This isn't news to anybody though. The trouble is how we proceed when we do have a plan. Too many of us are easily swayed from our path by the flashy things other coaches are doing. Stick to your plan. The other issue is sticking so rigidly to your plan that you fail to adapt to what is right in front of you. Obviously, it's a fine art balancing the two- so let me make it easy for you. Have contingency plans. A sideways step when you are headed in the right direction is better than ploughing on when your current path is doing more harm than good to your campaign.
Concerning exercise
Professor Yuri Verkoshansky: Calf muscles are strongly involved in the shock absorbing phase of run and bounces. The preliminary enforcement of calf muscles, before the use of jumping exercises, is needed also to avoid legs injuries (calf muscles strain). Running barefoot on an uneven surface will strengthen the feet and ankles and develop a natural running style.
The kettlebell swing introduces the dynamic strength component, further preps the kids for jumping and landing, and builds conditioning. The swing is as athletic as an exercise can get.
Single-arm farmer’s walks will strengthen the grip, the traps, and the waist. Professor Stuart McGill is a big fan of this exercise, because it strengthens the quadratus lumborum—a pelvis-tilting muscle on the side of the spine... And Dan (John) dug out a study that concluded that QL strength prevents ankle injuries in girls, so we have a double winner.
Hetero means “different,” and chronos means “time.” Heterochronicity refers to the different time periods required for recovering and improving different qualities, different muscle groups, etc. For example, you will retain a good portion of your strength even after a month’s layoff, but you can kiss your anaerobic endurance good-bye. This means you need to carefully plot recovery from workouts focusing on different qualities. Finally, there is the interaction of workouts with foci on different qualities. For instance, a low-volume/heavy-strength session performed before a sprint session has a positive effect on the latter. Elite sprint coach Barry Ross adds: To do the opposite, running first then lifting, has negative effects. The reason for that is the amount of footfalls. A relatively slow runner would apply force at ground contact at two times bodyweight, or more . . . at every ground contact! Trying to lift sufficiently heavy weights to improve performance after a speed practice becomes very difficult.
Thus spake Verkoshansky and Siff: “It should be noted that cooperation between the cardiovascular-respiratory and motor systems is important for improving work-capacity, not only in endurance sports, but in all sports.” They added that aerobic training like cross-country running “improve[s] peripheral vascularization and recuperation after intense exercise.”
And don’t forget that a well-developed aerobic system will allow a football player or any other burst-and-rest athlete to recover faster between his anaerobic efforts. That means getting gassed less.
Under pressure, under stress, we revert to our training. If any aspect of our training is slipshod, our response to pressure will be the same.
Plyometrics are powerful but also dangerous, if misused. Make sure to get strong before starting them, and keep their volume very low. Performing overspeed eccentric swings and snatches with a light kettlebell offers an excellent powerful and safe alternative to plyos.
Verkhoshanky and Siff’s Supertraining offers another reason for such training: Research has shown that the transfer of strength developed in bilateral training (e.g., using squats or power cleans) offers specific improvement in performance of bilateral events such as the squat clean and snatch in weightlifting, while unilateral training (e.g., with dumbbells or split cleans) enhances performances more effectively in unilateral activity such as running, jumping or karate...The answer is to train both the bilateral barbell lifts and the unilateral kettlebell and bodyweight exercises, although not necessarily at the same time.
Among [Tim] Ferriss’s tools for getting the most out of life is Pareto’s law. The essence of the law is that “80% of al results come from 20% of the efforts.” Applied to strength, it means that if most gains will come from the three powerlifts, why waste your time and energy on curls and leg extensions? Faleev stresses that doing additional exercises is worse than worthless. It is harmful, because it drains valuable energy that your body could have directed toward spectacular gains in the big three. Get rid of the excesses and just do what is necessary. . . . When you give up the secondary . . . exercises you will feel that you are not training enough. You will be leaving the gym totally fresh. This is it, the energy for an increase in the load in the basic lifts. This reserve is what will enable you to “shoot out of the gate”!
It has been said that one cannot be healthy if one’s goal is not to be sick. One cannot win if his goal is not to lose... Dr. Judd Biasiotto, who squatted a world record 603 at 132 in minimalistic supportive gear of the 1980s, is a sports psychologist who has shrewdly used his knowledge that the nervous system does not operate in negatives. When a competitor of his would walk toward the platform, Judd would say to him, “Don’t miss, Bob!” Of course, the only thing that the lifter’s subconscious heard was “miss!”—which he often did while thinking that Judd was such a good sport.
Work your weaknesses first in a workout, or work your priorities first in a workout. Either method will do. In this example, do the most important thing for your training first.
After understanding this, I went out seeking ways to get stronger. Who better to learn from than Pavel Tsatsouline and Dan John. At the back of their book Easy Strength: How To Get A Lot Stronger Than Your Competition- and Dominate in Your Sport, these are shots from their bios so that you can understand who these men are and why their words and experience demand our attention.
Pavel Tsatsouline, is a former Soviet Special Forces physical training instructor, currently a subject matter expert to the US Navy SEALs and the US Secret Service.
In his athletic career, among many other championships and records, Dan has won the Master
Pleasanton Highland Games twice, American Masters Discus Championships several times, the
National Masters Weightlifitng Championship once and holds the American Record in the Weight
Pentathlon.
I have been so very bold in a adding a few thoughts to their, but I would gladly remove them. The book, unadulterated by my few words is a worthy read for coaches and players alike.
Increase the number of quality performances/workout/sessions. "Not a bad idea, really, as many strength coaches think it’s their God-given duty to smoke the athlete each and every time. Certainly, it is fun to do, but it leaves the athlete a physical wreck."
How? Pick one skill or attribute and focus on it. Be the guy, and let your team be the one that, at the diving championships does nothing more fancy than a swan dive, but does it perfectly 10 times out of ten. Only then should you move on. (To be sure, the game has a lot of skills that need to be developed, but many cannot be maximally developed if addressed at the same time as specific others. More of that to come.)
I swear by Apollo, the healer, and Asclepius, Hygieia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and my judgment, the following oath and agreement: I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.
The Chinese have a saying: “A step in a wrong direction in the beginning of a journey takes you a hundred miles away from your goal.” Enter the idea of Periodization. What are you trying to achieve? Work backwards from there to where you are now. That's your plan, that's tour direction. Go that way. This isn't news to anybody though. The trouble is how we proceed when we do have a plan. Too many of us are easily swayed from our path by the flashy things other coaches are doing. Stick to your plan. The other issue is sticking so rigidly to your plan that you fail to adapt to what is right in front of you. Obviously, it's a fine art balancing the two- so let me make it easy for you. Have contingency plans. A sideways step when you are headed in the right direction is better than ploughing on when your current path is doing more harm than good to your campaign.
Concerning exercise
Professor Yuri Verkoshansky: Calf muscles are strongly involved in the shock absorbing phase of run and bounces. The preliminary enforcement of calf muscles, before the use of jumping exercises, is needed also to avoid legs injuries (calf muscles strain). Running barefoot on an uneven surface will strengthen the feet and ankles and develop a natural running style.
The kettlebell swing introduces the dynamic strength component, further preps the kids for jumping and landing, and builds conditioning. The swing is as athletic as an exercise can get.
Single-arm farmer’s walks will strengthen the grip, the traps, and the waist. Professor Stuart McGill is a big fan of this exercise, because it strengthens the quadratus lumborum—a pelvis-tilting muscle on the side of the spine... And Dan (John) dug out a study that concluded that QL strength prevents ankle injuries in girls, so we have a double winner.
Hetero means “different,” and chronos means “time.” Heterochronicity refers to the different time periods required for recovering and improving different qualities, different muscle groups, etc. For example, you will retain a good portion of your strength even after a month’s layoff, but you can kiss your anaerobic endurance good-bye. This means you need to carefully plot recovery from workouts focusing on different qualities. Finally, there is the interaction of workouts with foci on different qualities. For instance, a low-volume/heavy-strength session performed before a sprint session has a positive effect on the latter. Elite sprint coach Barry Ross adds: To do the opposite, running first then lifting, has negative effects. The reason for that is the amount of footfalls. A relatively slow runner would apply force at ground contact at two times bodyweight, or more . . . at every ground contact! Trying to lift sufficiently heavy weights to improve performance after a speed practice becomes very difficult.
Thus spake Verkoshansky and Siff: “It should be noted that cooperation between the cardiovascular-respiratory and motor systems is important for improving work-capacity, not only in endurance sports, but in all sports.” They added that aerobic training like cross-country running “improve[s] peripheral vascularization and recuperation after intense exercise.”
And don’t forget that a well-developed aerobic system will allow a football player or any other burst-and-rest athlete to recover faster between his anaerobic efforts. That means getting gassed less.
Under pressure, under stress, we revert to our training. If any aspect of our training is slipshod, our response to pressure will be the same.
Plyometrics are powerful but also dangerous, if misused. Make sure to get strong before starting them, and keep their volume very low. Performing overspeed eccentric swings and snatches with a light kettlebell offers an excellent powerful and safe alternative to plyos.
Verkhoshanky and Siff’s Supertraining offers another reason for such training: Research has shown that the transfer of strength developed in bilateral training (e.g., using squats or power cleans) offers specific improvement in performance of bilateral events such as the squat clean and snatch in weightlifting, while unilateral training (e.g., with dumbbells or split cleans) enhances performances more effectively in unilateral activity such as running, jumping or karate...The answer is to train both the bilateral barbell lifts and the unilateral kettlebell and bodyweight exercises, although not necessarily at the same time.
Among [Tim] Ferriss’s tools for getting the most out of life is Pareto’s law. The essence of the law is that “80% of al results come from 20% of the efforts.” Applied to strength, it means that if most gains will come from the three powerlifts, why waste your time and energy on curls and leg extensions? Faleev stresses that doing additional exercises is worse than worthless. It is harmful, because it drains valuable energy that your body could have directed toward spectacular gains in the big three. Get rid of the excesses and just do what is necessary. . . . When you give up the secondary . . . exercises you will feel that you are not training enough. You will be leaving the gym totally fresh. This is it, the energy for an increase in the load in the basic lifts. This reserve is what will enable you to “shoot out of the gate”!
It has been said that one cannot be healthy if one’s goal is not to be sick. One cannot win if his goal is not to lose... Dr. Judd Biasiotto, who squatted a world record 603 at 132 in minimalistic supportive gear of the 1980s, is a sports psychologist who has shrewdly used his knowledge that the nervous system does not operate in negatives. When a competitor of his would walk toward the platform, Judd would say to him, “Don’t miss, Bob!” Of course, the only thing that the lifter’s subconscious heard was “miss!”—which he often did while thinking that Judd was such a good sport.
Work your weaknesses first in a workout, or work your priorities first in a workout. Either method will do. In this example, do the most important thing for your training first.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
12 Random Lessons From Moneyball
- Every player has something to offer.
- Teams that ignore player development are missing an opportunity to take themselves to the next level.
- The quickest road to success is through identifying your opportunities and improving on them.
- Are you asking the right questions? What is the problem you are trying to solve?
- Just as Jonah Hill's character believed there was a general understanding of where runs come from, I believe the same about soccer and where goals come from. That's why I believe in the engine room of a team. The ability to control the ball and complete a pass. That's where goals come from.
- Get back to basics. Master them. Execute them- consistently.
- Brutal facts are tools everyone who wants success should grasp. Brutal facts are a better guide to the top than dreams and aspirations.
- People will always be resistant to a different approach. But just because something has been done for a long time, it doesn't mean it can't be improved. It doesn't mean it isn't wrong.
- Don't be afraid to dispense with things that are not working.
- There is a difference between playing to win and playing not to lose.
- Sentiment can be a powerful ally and a treacherous instructor.
- One of the pitchers in the Athletics' story was overlooked because he threw 'funny', but he produced results. I'm sure, at some point, left-footed players were 'funny'. Different is not wrong, right or bad. If it produces the right result, it should be good enough.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Re-evaluating The Coaching Approach
How would you describe the environment of your last training session? Was it a learning environment? Did your players get the objective? How long did it take?
Are You A Gambling Man, Coach?
Indulge a completely unrealistic scenario, because this is what it's going to take to become a more effective coach. You have been called up to run ONE training session, and you have 30 minutes. Following your session, your team will play on live television. If they win, you will be venerated as the world's best coach, a million dollars will be prize money for the team and you can a managerial contract with any team you like for the next 10 years. If they lose, not only is the whole world watching, but you will lose your credentials and never coach again, not even as a volunteer. High stakes? Make them higher with whatever stipulations you like.
This proposition should get you thinking. Would you have the team run laps for 10-15 minutes to warm up, like you are doing? How about dribbling around cones? Coaches do not always maximize the time available. We spend a lot of time on things that are not important. But we've done them for years, so they must be right. Besides, they were part of practice sessions when we played. That shows how important they are. Right?
If you wouldn't have time for it in the 30 minute high stakes scenario I painted above, you don't have time for it now. Drop it and focus on those things that really affect the game. And not just the outcome either, but the process. Throw the team into a circle and have them pass the ball around, one touch. An inaccurate pass or two touches gets you in the middle. Work to get the ball back. Split the team into several circles so that everybody gets lots of touches. Turn up the heat by saying the ball must be won back in less than 10-15 passes. In a few seconds, you have set it up so that your team has to practice passing, control, marking, adapting, and a lot of running if you're the guy in the middle. Most of all, the team has a bit of fun while their at it.
NEVER PUNISH PLAYERS WITH "FITNESS." Running is a necessary part of the game and your players should never see it as a punishment. They need to associate running with improving their game so that they will run on their own. Instead use positive reinforcement. Reward the player who enters the circle the least number of times with choosing teams, the captaincy in the next game. Whatever works for your team.
Proceed to your situations:
Is It The Kids, The Way You Teach Or Where You Teach?
Because we are so concerned about our players mastering the drills, more often than not, we tone down the intensity of practice sessions. I want to suggest a continuum of intensity that all coaches should use. A safe, slow environment where we, as coaches can interrupt the game to manually move players and re-issue instructions is perfect for teaching new drills. It means the team can grow and develop injury free (hopefully), since nobody is flying about with two-footed tackles against their own team mates. In practice, the pressure we have have to deal with is nothing more than the 'learn from your mistakes' kind. We get do-overs. Training is absent the threat of losing the tournament if you miss your penalty. There is none of the emotion of playing when refereeing errors (whether intentional or not) are costing you the game. We all believe in building players' self-esteem, so we employ the psychological tactic of compliment- criticize (constructively!)- complement. We correct in the most positive way, giving supportive feedback, loudly applauding the willingness to learn.
On game day, on the other hand, the atmosphere isn’t as forgiving. When the result is on the line, coaches, parents and even the players don’t always display the same level of patience or forgiveness as they do in a training environment. In these situations, players suddenly find themselves uncomfortable and anxious. Stress anyone? In an attempt to alleviate their stress, they forget what they learned in training and fall back on the habits of their comfort zones. That's why the drills performed perfectly in practice breakdown. "We practiced that, didn't we?" To put it simply, they don’t know how to adapt their comfort zone to react to the situation while also applying the new skills they learned in training.
This discussion on the effect of safe, low-intensity practice vs. volatile, high stakes game situations is intended to highlight, the obvious fact that these environments are different. How coaches and players respond in each is different. So why do we fail to acknowledge this so consistently? Why do we not account for it? This is the art of coaching.
Here are some suggestions.
Internship. This is the whole premise of sending players out on loan. We've seen it countless times, maybe done it a few times ourselves- playing a team several classes lower (or years younger). A thrashing is guaranteed, boosting team morale. But that morale will collapse as easily as it came because the skill level is not developed. An equally matched opponent will not be easy to bully and team might win, but will struggle. A better skilled/conditioned opponent expose your weaknesses so blatantly you will feel as if you haven't done any work at all. To leverage the idea of internship, send two or three of your players to play with a team a level higher. Obviously, it helps of that team's coach shares your philosophy. The will come back with a greater sense of responsibility, and nuances of the game that are difficult to produce in a practice environment. If you chose well, they'll be better skilled too.
A second look at internship is to play against teams of better quality. Note that research suggests that if the difference in quality between the two is too big, the lesser will not be able to learn anything. The trick is to find an environment Gray Cook describes as 'the edge of ability.' That means the tasks at hand are challenging, and they produce manageable mistakes. The boost in morale that comes from winning, or putting up a good fight (even if your team loses) is matched with an increase in awareness and skill. The excitement is palpable when players discuss how they almost (or did) win a battle with a player they know to be bigger/stronger/faster because the difference between them is not overwhelming.
The last suggestion is the simplest. Most youth coaches have players that play the game, but have no interest in watching it. Yet as coaches, we make time to watch the pros. Next time you have a tournament, see how close to the time your practice session starts most of your players will arrive when they could arrive earlier and watch others play. The emotional ride of supporting a team through a penalty shoot out; of knowing Manchester United could not possibly beat Barcelona (I knew that in both Champion's League Finals) but pulling for them anyway; or being a Crystal Palace fan for 1 day, knowing that if they do the impossible- take a point or three away from Liverpool, then the old enemy will be denied the Premier League championship for yet another year; insert your own emotional roller coaster here- most young players haven't a clue what this is like. Encourage your players to watch more games. They might learn a thing or two.
Acknowledge the differences in practice and play environments. Acknowledge the differences in yourself and your players in the environments. Harness them. You might find everyone defining new comfort zones, under pressure or not.
Are You A Gambling Man, Coach?
Indulge a completely unrealistic scenario, because this is what it's going to take to become a more effective coach. You have been called up to run ONE training session, and you have 30 minutes. Following your session, your team will play on live television. If they win, you will be venerated as the world's best coach, a million dollars will be prize money for the team and you can a managerial contract with any team you like for the next 10 years. If they lose, not only is the whole world watching, but you will lose your credentials and never coach again, not even as a volunteer. High stakes? Make them higher with whatever stipulations you like.
This proposition should get you thinking. Would you have the team run laps for 10-15 minutes to warm up, like you are doing? How about dribbling around cones? Coaches do not always maximize the time available. We spend a lot of time on things that are not important. But we've done them for years, so they must be right. Besides, they were part of practice sessions when we played. That shows how important they are. Right?
If you wouldn't have time for it in the 30 minute high stakes scenario I painted above, you don't have time for it now. Drop it and focus on those things that really affect the game. And not just the outcome either, but the process. Throw the team into a circle and have them pass the ball around, one touch. An inaccurate pass or two touches gets you in the middle. Work to get the ball back. Split the team into several circles so that everybody gets lots of touches. Turn up the heat by saying the ball must be won back in less than 10-15 passes. In a few seconds, you have set it up so that your team has to practice passing, control, marking, adapting, and a lot of running if you're the guy in the middle. Most of all, the team has a bit of fun while their at it.
NEVER PUNISH PLAYERS WITH "FITNESS." Running is a necessary part of the game and your players should never see it as a punishment. They need to associate running with improving their game so that they will run on their own. Instead use positive reinforcement. Reward the player who enters the circle the least number of times with choosing teams, the captaincy in the next game. Whatever works for your team.
Proceed to your situations:
- 1 v 1, 2 v 2
- 2 v 1, 3 v 2
- Work on your drills/plays- whatever you have prepped.
Because we are so concerned about our players mastering the drills, more often than not, we tone down the intensity of practice sessions. I want to suggest a continuum of intensity that all coaches should use. A safe, slow environment where we, as coaches can interrupt the game to manually move players and re-issue instructions is perfect for teaching new drills. It means the team can grow and develop injury free (hopefully), since nobody is flying about with two-footed tackles against their own team mates. In practice, the pressure we have have to deal with is nothing more than the 'learn from your mistakes' kind. We get do-overs. Training is absent the threat of losing the tournament if you miss your penalty. There is none of the emotion of playing when refereeing errors (whether intentional or not) are costing you the game. We all believe in building players' self-esteem, so we employ the psychological tactic of compliment- criticize (constructively!)- complement. We correct in the most positive way, giving supportive feedback, loudly applauding the willingness to learn.
On game day, on the other hand, the atmosphere isn’t as forgiving. When the result is on the line, coaches, parents and even the players don’t always display the same level of patience or forgiveness as they do in a training environment. In these situations, players suddenly find themselves uncomfortable and anxious. Stress anyone? In an attempt to alleviate their stress, they forget what they learned in training and fall back on the habits of their comfort zones. That's why the drills performed perfectly in practice breakdown. "We practiced that, didn't we?" To put it simply, they don’t know how to adapt their comfort zone to react to the situation while also applying the new skills they learned in training.
This discussion on the effect of safe, low-intensity practice vs. volatile, high stakes game situations is intended to highlight, the obvious fact that these environments are different. How coaches and players respond in each is different. So why do we fail to acknowledge this so consistently? Why do we not account for it? This is the art of coaching.
Here are some suggestions.
Internship. This is the whole premise of sending players out on loan. We've seen it countless times, maybe done it a few times ourselves- playing a team several classes lower (or years younger). A thrashing is guaranteed, boosting team morale. But that morale will collapse as easily as it came because the skill level is not developed. An equally matched opponent will not be easy to bully and team might win, but will struggle. A better skilled/conditioned opponent expose your weaknesses so blatantly you will feel as if you haven't done any work at all. To leverage the idea of internship, send two or three of your players to play with a team a level higher. Obviously, it helps of that team's coach shares your philosophy. The will come back with a greater sense of responsibility, and nuances of the game that are difficult to produce in a practice environment. If you chose well, they'll be better skilled too.
A second look at internship is to play against teams of better quality. Note that research suggests that if the difference in quality between the two is too big, the lesser will not be able to learn anything. The trick is to find an environment Gray Cook describes as 'the edge of ability.' That means the tasks at hand are challenging, and they produce manageable mistakes. The boost in morale that comes from winning, or putting up a good fight (even if your team loses) is matched with an increase in awareness and skill. The excitement is palpable when players discuss how they almost (or did) win a battle with a player they know to be bigger/stronger/faster because the difference between them is not overwhelming.
The last suggestion is the simplest. Most youth coaches have players that play the game, but have no interest in watching it. Yet as coaches, we make time to watch the pros. Next time you have a tournament, see how close to the time your practice session starts most of your players will arrive when they could arrive earlier and watch others play. The emotional ride of supporting a team through a penalty shoot out; of knowing Manchester United could not possibly beat Barcelona (I knew that in both Champion's League Finals) but pulling for them anyway; or being a Crystal Palace fan for 1 day, knowing that if they do the impossible- take a point or three away from Liverpool, then the old enemy will be denied the Premier League championship for yet another year; insert your own emotional roller coaster here- most young players haven't a clue what this is like. Encourage your players to watch more games. They might learn a thing or two.
Acknowledge the differences in practice and play environments. Acknowledge the differences in yourself and your players in the environments. Harness them. You might find everyone defining new comfort zones, under pressure or not.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Why Stepovers Don't Work
I saw a 4-picture spread of the step-over that the Brazilian Ronaldo pulled out to score his fifteenth world cup goal. It was magical; it was effective and pronounced him the top goal scorer of all time. Stepovers were a feast for those who love them when the Galacticos Zidane, Figo and Ronaldo played for the mighty Real Madrid.
With time however, coaches and defenders have since learned to look at the ball, not the dancing feet. It's still a widely used skill, but it's just not as effective as it once was. Here's why it used to work and why it doesn't anymore.
According to Hick's Law, the more stimulus-response alternatives there are, the slower the response time. Not that Cristiano Ronaldo is going over Hick's law in his mind when he pulls a few step overs out, but what he's really tried to do is give you some questions to think about. Am I going to the left? The right? Through your legs? Maybe I'll go left and then right, and leave you on your backside! The sheer number of possible options is enough to make a defender stop. Which do I pick? As far as executing a movement goes, once the message has been delivered from the brain to go left, the body has to finish going to the left before going to the right if that is where the ball eventually goes. Whether that means the left leg starts to move, or the body shifts just a fraction, it has to finish doing that before it can execute the next neural command. This is why the step overs and other feints work.
Step overs don't work as well as they used to anymore because they have become pretty, a tool for humiliation. More often than not, the player executing them hasn't decided himself what he's going to do. You'll see five, six, seven of them. If you haven't sold the guy in two or at most three, you'd be lucky to escape without an injury. By then the defender knows that you DON'T have a plan. That's when they'll lunge in getting the ball, the man or sometimes both.
Like I said earlier, the number of options presented by the dancing feet is overwhelming. To put an end to them, simply focus on the ball. The debate continues amongst coaches as to whether you should watch the trunk or the ball. Let it continue. I used the step over here because I an in complete awe of guys like onlinesoccercoaching.com and topsoccerdrills.com. They have taken our lesson plans, converting our the X's and O's into something concievable for every players.
Let me insert here something I learned from three coaching movies I thoroughly enjoy. Denzel Washington, in the movie Remember The Titans declares that he has only 7 plays. The team ran those plays over and over again until they were...."PERFECTION!" I can still here him saying it. No trick plays. The basics made perfect. You will find the same ideas in Coach Carter. What I find thoroughly inspiring, as a coach, a player and a fan of common sense is the "Power I" play that Matthew McConaughey brings to his new job in We Are Marshall. After a few tries, he boldly declared, "I'm a fan of it; I love it but it's not working." Dramatically and effectively, he tosses it in the trash.
If you haven't accessed the two resources I mentioned above, I may go so far as to call you negligent as a coach. Get on it! But once you are there, remember the step over. Used with a plan, it's extremely effective because of the many questions it give the defender to think about, buying you time. Drills are much the same, whether offensive or defensive. Giving your team too many drills to work on is using step overs on your own team. They will be slow to react and you will miss chances and concede goals. Not every drill works for every team, that's why the guys are giving us so many options. If it's not working, throw it out. Go for something simpler. Too many players involved in a drill present too many variables for you to manage even in a controlled environment. Considering that the opposition on game day aren't in the positions you used during practice you team will run into problems all the time. Do you mark the space or the man? What if you choose to mark the man and, like Rooney, he goes deep to get on the ball? What about the increasingly popular false nine- how do you mark that? Or Frank Ribery, who keeps popping up on the right when he is playing on the left?
Whatever your tactics; whatever drills you choose, simplify as much as possible. Hick's Law applies every time. Respect it. Better yet, use it to your advantage.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
What Does Standing On One Leg Have To Do With Scoring Goals?
We take for granted the minutiae that contribute to a free flowing Messi or an extravagant Ibra. Yet we've all heard commentators talk about the incredible balance that the very best players have. So we run them more if we're coaches, doing all sorts of drills requiring a quick change of direction, and acceleration away. But as I have mentioned before, simply rehearsing your skill will not improve your efficiency at it if the requisite elements are not present to begin with.
Can you do this?
Years ago, with a team of three others, I measured speed and agility in a professional soccer team. We took 22 players through a simple light-gated test where they sprinted 20 meters, made sure they stepped over the line before turning back. The most interesting part was not speed so much as their turning ability. A feint, side step, the pass around the corner that sets up the one-two, even the small steps that get the keeper in position to make that goal saving dive- all have single leg stance competency in common. I found this demonstrated when eyeballing the data. The fastest players were not always the fasted players on both legs. There was as much as a 2-second differential between the turning off the left leg and turning off the right leg in SAME PLAYER. For others, the difference was not as big. I am not aware of any data that compares the two sides, making a certain amount of time between the sides advantageous or otherwise. I don't know if it's even possible for the two to be the same even in 2-footed players. These players only show an ability to use both feet but even then, one feels more natural than the other. So why discuss this at all?
- Because if you're a forward, you will win more often than not if you go to the defender's lesser side. If you're a defender, you'll show the defender your strong side because of your confidence on that side.
- Because if you sell a fake to the right well enough and go left, it will take the defender that much longer to recover from the dummy. Tell me, what could you do with an extra 2 seconds?
Balancing on one leg demonstrates the same motor control, in a controlled environment, that turning does, in a more volatile one. It demonstrates the sequencing of muscles to get into position, the timing and control of the whole body. The lunge is even more dynamic, taking the requirement from the stability in one leg while the other performs a dynamic movement to both legs having to work simultaneously. The hurdle step and the in-line lunge represent the qualities required to accelerate through a sprinting stride and cutting and changing direction respectively. The inability to perform in these two tests suggest that players are not performing as efficiently as possible. Efficiency removes the limitations to (but does not guarantee) maximal performance, and helps reduce the risk of injury. Inefficiency in a player who otherwise performs well suggests compensation. Athletes are some of the best compensators. Though patterns do exist, every body compensates differently. That means one athlete who fails stand on one leg may not run into any trouble while another who also fails may have recurring injuries that can be traced back to this one thing. If the goal is to reduce the risk of injury, both athletes need corrective attention.
Case Study
Frank is a diminutive defender, powerful and has really good awareness in the game. His movement profile is good:-
- Overhead Deep Squat- 2
- In-Line Lunge- 2's (Greater difficulty with left leg in extension)
- Hurdle Step- 2's (Also greater difficulty with left knee extended)
- Shoulder Mobility- 3's
- Active Straight Leg Raise- 3's
- Rotary Stability- 2's
- Trunk Stability Push- Up- 3
As far as the Functional Movement Systems model goes, load 'em up! Frank should be training hard in all the patterns. Correctives would only be to make things better. Unlike Steven's program that I outlined here, Frank's program does not need anything taken out. He would, however, benefit from unilateral training. Remember that running is pretty much an exchange of one stance to another (compared to walking which has a double support phase). For this reason, ALL players would derive greater benefits from going to unilateral training. In Frank's case, let's work work on upper body strength with some overhead presses, so he can do better when it comes to shoulder-to-shoulder challenges. But since we want to address the sloppy balance we saw in the in-line lunge and hurdle step tests, let's lift his right leg up onto a box. This will create a situation where he must react to the perturbation produced in the pressing movement with that left side. Without the help of the right foot, he will have to figure out his balance. I've highlighted before Why Soccer Players Need Abs, so Frank will do his presses one hand at a time- this will increase the load through the core.
Mountain climbers would be a great idea. I like to grab a tennis ball, bottle of water or whatever I can find and place it on the small of the back. Frank's task is to raise his knee towards his chest as far as he can go and back, WITHOUT dropping whatever I have on his back. This emphasizes control of the hip. Notice how, (apart from the hand position), the knee up is like the sprinting stride and like the hurdle step. Focus then on his performances when he lifts his right knee towards his chest. At first, it was slow here because he kept dropping it on this side. But with a little practice (more reps on that weaker side focusing on their quality), we were able to progress to faster reps. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE BODY IS STRAIGHT. A hiked hip defeats the purpose of the exercise.
In keeping with the unilateral approach, lunges with the weights in different positions are warranted. Below is a video I recorded just messing around with lunges and presses. Single-leg deadlifts are another of my favorites for developing a hip-hinge pattern critical for power through the glutes and hamstrings. The single leg component will also challenge that unilateral balance and strength.
Just messing around
In summary, Frank's program looks like this:
Single leg deadlift (unloaded)
Back lunges (unloaded, in place)
Ipsilateral (same side) shoulder press
Contralateral (opposite side) shoulder press- both with right foot raised on box or in half-kneeling
Mountain climbers
Single-leg deadlifts (loaded)
Lunges (unilateral load)
How many reps? As many as it takes to get it right! Once it's done right, I'll aim for 12-15 reps.
I was excited to see this video and thought I'd share it with you. It features Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger in individual training sessions on their return from injury. It features a great little clip that shows the demand for single leg stance in our game.
Enjoy!
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Training That Makes You Indispensable Looks Like This
Rooney and Ronaldo.
Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole.
Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo.
Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandes.
Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand.
All over the place, if you know what you are looking for, you'll find pairs that make the difference. They may not be the ones who score, but without them, the team does not tick the same way. Every now and then, the duo becomes a trio or more. I highlight these because they complement each other so well, one without the other seems just weird. You may not be part of a dynamic duo, but you can still make yourself indispensable.
What makes us say Zidane had great vision? Not only could he see the pass, he could complete it. The accuracy he showed when he made a pass was magical. I have not yet seen a player who can control the ball as well as he. Every player has a strength. To get to the next level, you need to identify a quality that complements that one, making it even more valuable. So what pairs go together?
- Speed and strength- think Wayne Rooney
- Power and presence- think Yaya Toure
- Attacking and tackling abilities- think Philip Lahm
- Size and agility- think Manuel Neuer
- And as I've already mentioned, vision and accuracy.
There are other examples of qualities that can be paired together as well as players that display them well. The point is to get away from straining the same things all the time. Like I mentioned in my article You Are Ruled By Your Weakest Link, working on your strengths is good, but working on your weakness is even better.
What do you do when you're a passer and your passes are off the mark? What about when a forward is having a goal drought? These are the outcome measures, but there could be more to them than just a lack of match fitness.
Steven is 17, tall, not quite done with his growth spurt and is hoping to make the junior team of one of the country's premier soccer teams. His FMS scores were symmetrical 2's on the hurdle step and in-line lunge; a 2 on the squat, push-up and rotary stability with 3's on the shoulder mobility. Big red flags: 1's on both side of his ASLR.
The 1's suggest that he has trouble when the whole limb is required in flexion and extension at the hip. Steven can't touch his toes. Some how, he has managed to get to this point without injuring himself. In my article, Evidence for the late swing, I presented evidence that the hamstring is more likely to be injured at that point. Both attachments of the muscle are basically in stretch during the late swing phase- exactly what is required in the active straight-leg raise. But the ASLR is not a hamstring test. Palpation, confirmed by subject information from Steven, there very little flexion in his low back- it 'really tight'. Again, I'd say, SOMEHOW he has managed to play to this point without major injury. Nothing more than a sporadic sprained ankle. But Steven is aiming to make it at a level that is tougher than the one he has been successful at so far. He's going to be pushed beyond his comfort zone. To make it, he will have to put more stress on his body and that dysfunction will come back to bite him.
How simple is an ankle injury?
It is misleading to assume that ankle sprains are minor. I called them that to throw them into sharp relief when, in the global game, metatarsals, hamstrings, groins problems and concussions are considered more serious. After all, the Question of Returning to Play is not even on the table. These others are more 'serious' because they result in missed games. Ankle sprains are patched up and sufferers are often in the line up for the next game. But think about it- isn't the system trying to tell us something if a player rolls his ankle in a contact situation? Research tells us that there is some inhibition of the glutes following ankle injury. Between the ankle and the glutes are the calves and the hamstrings. Above the glutes is the low back. Typically, the down regulation of the glutes means compensatory work for the low back and hamstrings. Calves tighten up too. How can we try an coax more speed out of this athlete?
The solution is simple- STOP doing what's causing the problem! Its elementary, my dear Watson. It's a huge problem when a soccer player can't run because running is exacerbating the injury cycle. This is where we must consider what I call energy system training. By now, I trust we have abandoned running laps around. The field as 'cardio' or conditioning. Instead, Steven could do kettlebell swings or medicine ball slams. Both elicit ridiculous cardiovascular adaptation if done properly as well as developing power through the entire stem. Try battle ropes. Again, lots of cardio, plenty of work for his upper body for those shoulder-to-shoulder clashes in the game and his feet don't have to leave the ground.
His training program is basically conditioning his strengths (3's and symmetrical 2's) - push ups, clap push ups, and pull ups. It also means approaching single leg stuff with caution. It also means deleting or at least putting in hold those exercises that exacerbate the problem. Previously, in The Best Exercises Soccer Players Are Not Doing, I mentioned that hill sprints (uphill) are great for working on stride length while going downhill is very useful for challenging stride frequency. Remember that speed = stride length x stride frequency. Steven however, SHOULD NOT be doing hill work. It will throw him up against his limitations and with the scores he has, they would be compounding the leg raise problem, if not downright getting him injured. Our athletes should be training to get better at the game. Players getting hurt in training is simply unacceptable.
Corrective for ASLR.
(functionalmovement.com)
The fact that Steven has had ankle trouble is significant. As are his 1's in the active straight leg raise test of the Functional Movement Screen. His back is tight for a reason- it's protecting him from further injury. Address these things, and you can reduce his risk of injury. A Movement Screen with no 1's or asymmetries does not mean his performance will increase, but it does mean that the physical limitations that could be getting in the way of him executing the play book, being better, stronger and faster are removed. That is the dynamic duo.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
How Athletes Get Stronger and Faster
Among the principles of training that I have written about in the past is the principle of specificity. When talking about the body, it is frequently referred to as the SAID principle- namely, Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand. In simple terms, the adaptations you see are consistent with the load applied. Sounds a little Newtonian doesn't it, although the reaction in this case is not necessarily opposite.
Nevertheless, narrow-minded thinking has taken this principle to main that training for soccer means that players need to have a ball with them all the time. We need to consider that game is movement. It's a very specific movement, and the skills required of us is unlike any other sport, but it is a movement nonetheless. With this baseline, here are different considerations for coaches and players:
Nevertheless, narrow-minded thinking has taken this principle to main that training for soccer means that players need to have a ball with them all the time. We need to consider that game is movement. It's a very specific movement, and the skills required of us is unlike any other sport, but it is a movement nonetheless. With this baseline, here are different considerations for coaches and players:
Because soccer is movement, one need only analyze the patterns involved in the execution of various skills.
Exercises NOT movement specific:
Sit ups and crunches of any sort (they have no transfer to performance. The only thing you'll get is becoming really good at doing sit ups!)
- Hip flexion and extension are involved in running. So too in the shoulder.
- The fastest sprinters have a strong core from which the appendages can move freely, quickly, and powerfully.
- Internal and external rotation are required for the in-step and outside of the foot passes respectively.
These are just a few of the requirements for effective running, cutting, turning, jumping, passing and shooting. Exercises that emphasize these are therefore appropriate for soccer players. These include:
WHAT ABOUT 'CORE' TRAINING?
- Kettlebell swings, cleans, snatches and presses
- Deadlifts (using both legs and both arms; single-leg + both arms; single-arm + single leg)
- Squats (I prefer front squats to back squats; single leg to double leg. Of the single leg squats, rear-foot elevated variations including body weight, weighted with arms on the side, or holding a kettlebell in the goblet squat position). Of course they are many others, but these form the back bone of my training programs.
Pavel performing the swing. Strongfirst.com
Exercises NOT movement specific:
Sit ups and crunches of any sort (they have no transfer to performance. The only thing you'll get is becoming really good at doing sit ups!)
Planks can be very useful but only the right context. Unless there is a new position where you have to be still for 4 minutes, a 4-minute plank doesn't mean anything. The science from Professor McGill's lab, and others tells us that beyond 7-8 SECONDS, those 'core' muscles will be starved of oxygen. Those players 'holding' their plank for extended periods are just really compensators.
So how is the plank movement specific? Learn this adage: proximal stability for distal mobility.
It means the core (transverse abdominis, internal and external obliques, multifidi, ) is the engine of the body. As long as it is good working order, the limbs will be able to move freely. Not only that, but since the core is the conduit for the transfer of power, the more 'solid' the core, the more power you can impart onto the ball. I use the word solid rather than strong to try to dissuade the thinking that you need a strong core. Once again, McGill and others have shown that the endurance of the muscles is more important that the strength. Remember that they run out of oxygen within seconds. So what we're after is what Prof. McGill calls superstiffness. It is a maximal contraction of the abdominals in the split second before kicking the ball.
Notice that the maximal contraction is time sensitive. It is in response to the timing demands of a powerful and accurate shot. Core training should be reactive in nature if it is to carry over to performance. The progressions of training start with the plank. (There are further breakdowns if we are rehabilitating a painful back.) The following exercises include and are built on a good plank:
These exercises follow a simple model of progression. There is a postural challenge and the athlete is to hold the position, resist attempts to throw him/her off (perturbation) as well as produce power from it. That is how the core works when we play and that's how it should be trained.
- Low (elbow) to high plank (push up position)
- Mountain climbers (from high plank)
- Shoulder tap
- "Stir the Pot" (McGill)
- Push ups
- Clap push ups
"Stir the Pot" on a Swiss ball
The benefits of these cannot be maximized without this off-field training. It is a mistake for soccer players to think skill alone will get them, and keep them, at the highest levels of play.
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