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There are so many more reasons to love and appreciate working at the high school level and, in particular, on a high school campus, but the one that I feel is often overlooked is the colleagues we work with. I’m lucky not only to work on a collaborative campus with some of the brightest teachers in Florida, but I have numerous teachers in close quarters who I call family. Working in near proximity to teachers has not only changed my outlook on the “how’s” of coaching, but also the “why’s” of doing it. There is so much we can learn from teachers and the principles of education; admittedly, they are resources that I ignored for far too long in my own coaching experience.

As the saying goes, coaching is teaching, and teaching is coaching. Although some of these principles directly apply to programming strategies—i.e., an emphasis on motor learning and teaching movement patterns—the more important ideas run a little bit deeper than that. It’s important to note that although not all of these ideas are universally accepted, they are principles that I’ve absorbed and practice as a result of learning from the teachers around me.

The Student Comes First

This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t look out for ourselves and each other as professionals, but as educators, we’ve agreed to an unwritten oath of unconditionally putting our students and their growth first. As a result of this idea, we’ve adapted our training program to a more autoregulative and autonomous approach. Readiness reports and surveys let the students know we care about how they feel and value their feedback. Accepting their feedback to adjust their training creates a sense of identity and ownership in the program, just the way it does in the classroom.

Every Student Matters

In the team setting, sometimes we get lost in the sauce of wins and losses, trends and standards. I love working in a group setting because I get to see a large number of young people come together around a common goal. However, when we’re caught up in “getting with the program,” we can sometimes outcast the outliers.

I think it goes without saying that it doesn’t matter how much a young person contributes on the field; they should still be coached with the same attention given to a future Division 1 All-American. I suppose the more controversial thought would be that this is especially true for us as high school coaches because we are not hired or employed for the sole purpose of bringing more wins. I could be nearsighted, but I have yet to hear of an administration-hired high school strength and conditioning coach being fired for losing games.

We encourage every student to participate in our strength and conditioning program, especially those who are resistant at first. I think the diversity of participants is the most enjoyable part about being a high school strength coach. There’ll be times in our room when we have kids from every sport and non-sport, with different abilities and individualized learning plans on campus. The differentiated progressions and regressions they find in the weight room are similar to what they experience in their classrooms.

Parents Are the Ultimate Support Staff

Most strength and conditioning coaches, and coaches in general, considering a start or move to the high school level have concerns with eventual parent interaction. One of my unfortunate thoughts was that I didn’t want anything to do with parents because all I read were the headlines and all I heard were the horror stories. This led me to avoid parents like the plague during my first couple years working at the high school level. As a result, any time I heard from a parent it was because of a concern they had or bad news. Full disclosure: It was usually a failure on my part to communicate with them!

Midway through year three, I decided that I would over-communicate with parents, and instead of being reactive, I’d be proactive and include parents in as much as possible. What I found was parents who wanted to participate and contribute, and students who heard echoes of what they heard on the weight room floor at their dinner table. If you want the ultimate “buy-in,” start with the parents—the students will follow.

Never, Ever Give Up on a Child

Children are not miniature adults and, thankfully, are still growing and changing. One of my greatest regrets as a high school coach is holding on to a first, second, or even third impression of a few students for too long and allowing that impression to get in the way of instructing and mentoring them. I think it’s a standard rallying point for strength coaches, especially in a college environment, to form a “get with it or get lost” mentality, and that was something I clung to for my first few years.

What I’ve realized now, after a few years of experience, is that some of the most strongly forged mentorships with young people start with or include some form of early conflict. If you write off a high school student every time they act up or fail to follow orders, you’ll be left with nobody to coach. In a voluntary training environment like ours, my hot-headed self was not nearly as productive in building a program as I am now, coming from a position of patience and understanding.

Stress Is Stress

 One of the great things about being a high school performance coach is being able to be around 14- to 18-year-old kids all day. On one hand, some of their “problems” are laughable—the relationship stress, the worry of getting a B+ instead of an A on a test, Instagram shutting down, etc. On the other hand, some of our students have faced circumstances and seen things that I couldn’t fathom, putting some of my own “problems” into perspective.

These stressors, no matter how big or small, captivate the young high schooler’s mind and are often all they can think about. From a training standpoint, it’s important to realize that any stress we might add to a young person’s plate is likely magnified because of their emotional state.

Inspiration Is the Most Potent and Contagious Tool

We’ve all seen the movies that depict two types of classrooms: one that’s lifeless and unmotivated, with an uninterested teacher; and one that’s vibrant and full of passion, with students from similar walks of life who are lucky enough to have a teacher who’s optimistic enough about young people that they create a classroom climate and culture of positivity. One story comes from a place of pessimism, of “the teacher’s always right,” of disregarding circumstances and faulting “kids these days.” The other features a teacher who sees the classroom as a student-centered place of growth and problem-solving, not just for the students but for themselves.

Walk down any high school hallway and you’ll see classrooms just like each of these, side by side, with the exact same students at different times. It isn’t the room number or the decorations on the wall; it isn’t even the subject matter that’s inspiring or failing to inspire the students—it’s the teacher. Similarly, walk by the sport practices after school and you’ll find similar contradictions in inspiration, fire, and excitement. We challenge kids to never take the easy way out and tell them there’s no easy button in life, yet as coaches, we hit the easiest easy button of them all by using the “kids these days don’t care” excuse as cover for our own lethargic programming.

Some of the Most Successful People Were the Worst Students. Some of the Best Athletes Are the Worst ‘Workers.’

More likely than not, a main reason we get into teaching and/or coaching is because we’ve been personally influenced by a teacher or coach in the past. I can say with even more certainty that we serve in the role that we do because we believe in the value of the classroom and/or the weight room and probably worked hard in them when we were our students’ ages. Not all of our students will become teachers, just as not all of our athletes will become strength coaches, and that’s all okay.

Everyone’s interests will be about as different as their genetic gifts, and although once in a while the highest performers are the hardest workers, this is far from always the case. Just because a young person doesn’t “get it,” it doesn’t mean they lack drive or motivation; it doesn’t mean the child doesn’t want to succeed. Albert Einstein dropped out of school at 15, and I haven’t read too much about his “laziness.” I’d be equally surprised to find that the 20 American dropouts who became billionaires did so without some semblance of motivation.

There are plenty of athletes, especially young athletes, who have excelled without the weight room or with minimal work in the weight room. That’s not to say that their luck won’t run out or that others won’t eventually catch up as a result of their own hard work, nor is it to say that the weight room and the classroom are unimportant. Instead, I mean to bring perspective to a young person’s beliefs for why they might (wrongly) think the classroom or weight room is “not for them,” because they’ve had success without it.

The weight room needs high performers as much as high performers need the weight room, so it’s necessary to inspire both the student and the team to see the direct benefit. I’ve found many of the students who’ve outperformed their weight room work ethic have done so due to a motivation on the field/court that’s not lacking. The student has it in them, and nine times out of 10 wants to succeed in their sport; their means of doing so is what’s misconstrued.

The fulfillment and direct mark of improvement with a ball in their hands or on their field of play seems closer than the gains made in the weight room that are just one step away from what they feel on the court. With time and experience, students will undoubtedly see the benefit of a long-term strength and conditioning program, but to get there it takes a passionate, understanding educator to turn on the switch for them.

Failure Is a Necessity

In my competitive years, I had frustrating tendencies that didn’t bode well for my “bad” practices. Whenever I had a practice that didn’t run without a hiccup, I’d get frustrated and, in the words of Tony Holler, I’d (mentally) “let today ruin tomorrow.” That meant not only would I be frustrated and mentally captured for the rest of practice, I’d try harder the next day and think somehow that would fix things.

One of the benefits of studying sports psychology in graduate school was being around classmates who were smarter and a lot more level-headed than me. A classmate of mine pointed me toward a better approach to practice; what he called a “no bad practices” approach. If you had said this to me before that day, I would’ve assumed it was a rally cry from my high school coach demanding perfection at every practice. Instead, it was an ideological outlook and approach to practice that would change my own perspective when things didn’t go “right.”

Instead of thinking “I did something wrong” at practice, I began to think “I found something I can improve on” instead. When all of our practices go so well that there’s nothing to improve on, I’d hope our team is winning because the ceiling is a bad place to be in a losing locker room.

If You Don’t Enjoy It, They Don’t Enjoy It

Children are really good at sensing and modeling energy. Weight rooms often reflect the energy of the coach just as a team usually takes on the mentality of their coach. That mentality could be reflected and presented in many different ways, and no two people have the same demeanor. However, one absolute non-negotiable is that, as educators, we see the value in what we do and there is enjoyment in what we do. Not every atmosphere is easygoing—that’s not the point—there are programs that are successful on both sides of the coin. The enjoyment is found in the outcome.

In education, students (and teachers) usually find joy in the acquisition of new information. In training, athletes (and coaches) usually find the joy in acquiring new skills or bettering old ones to aid development on the field of play. If teachers/coaches and students/athletes don’t share this joy, then there is a very low likelihood for success in their arena. For coaches, it doesn’t matter where the lack of enjoyment stems from, the kids will sense it and mirror it. Much like some of the previous points on inspiration, this is largely the responsibility of the teacher or coach.

Teachers Benefit Us All

The benefits of working on a high school campus are endless and, of course, begin and end with the kids. However, working alongside teachers has been a tremendously rewarding experience not only for me personally, but for how I coach, interact, and program for our students. There are thousands of ways the teachers of our community have helped our strength and conditioning program; unfortunately, I couldn’t list all of them in the confines of this article. Teachers are generally loyal, honest, and goodhearted people who make great colleagues, but their greatest quality of all is their absolute selflessness and sacrifice for the betterment of our children.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

By Jason Feairheller

In any sport, players and coaches are always looking to improve speed. Training solely in the weight room, however, will not result in anywhere near the same improvements in speed as participating in a well-thought-out speed and change of direction program. As coaches, we always hear about good speed programs, but what does that mean? What are the main components?

Throughout my years of coaching, I’ve created and modified my speed program to help my athletes gain speed as quickly as possible. One of the reasons I’m writing this article is because there are many resources to find good strength programs and progressions, but there are not nearly as many speed programs available. Just as different athletes need different strength programs, there are also different needs for speed training based on the athlete and the sport. This article will go in-depth with each component that a comprehensive speed and change of direction program should include.

Three Types of Speed Training

Athletes need to develop speed in all directions, not just linearly. This is especially true of field athletes. Since speed is the most sought-after element of sports, at Function and Strength we make sure our athletes get a half hour of focused speed training every time they come into the gym. We separate our speed training into three different categories:

• Multidirectional
• Acceleration
• Max speed

Throughout the month, we set up a schedule to make sure all of our athletes get a variety of speed training. The first day has a multidirectional focus, which may include any type of change of direction, lateral movements, and backpedaling. The emphasis is on efficiently stopping or changing direction, as well as learning how to accelerate out of any turn or change of direction.

Our second component is an acceleration day, which includes linear running with a change from a slower speed to a faster speed. This may include static starts, walking-to-sprint transitions, or even a light jog to a sprint.

The last type of speed training we do is our max speed day, which focuses on front-side mechanics and sprints reaching top end speed. We do this by using a non-motorized treadmill. Training in the winter can be tough because low temperatures don’t permit us to go outside. This treadmill has been a game changer with our athletes, as it has allowed us to develop top end speed year-round.

Warm-Up: General to Speed-Specific

As we prepare the athletes for the training session, we begin with a dynamic warm-up that goes from general to specific. The warm-up is specific to the type of speed training taking place that day. A multidirectional day should have a different warm-up than an acceleration or max speed day. Just like you warm up for squats by squatting, we should do specific speed drills as part of the warm-up. A max speed warm-up consists of more hamstring work than a multidirectional day, which has more lateral movements.

Sample General Warm-Up:

• Banded shoulder dislocate – 10x
• Heel walk – 10 yards
• Toe walk – 10 yards
• Spiderman stretch with rotation – 10x each side
• Narrow stance squat – 10x
• Lateral lunge + crossover lunge – 6x each side
• Banded adductor walk out and back – :20 each side

Following the general warm-up, we get into specific warm-ups for the type of speed work we will perform that day.

Sample Multidirectional Warm-Up:

• Side to side line hops (over, back, and stick) – 5x each side
• Lateral skip – 10 yards each direction
• Crossover skip – 10 yards each direction
• Side to side line jumps (rapid fire) – 2x :03–:05

Sample Acceleration Warm-Up:

• Front to back line hops (over, back, and stick) – 5x each side
• A-skip – 10 yards
• Fast feet – 2x :03–:05
• Falling starts – 2–3x 5 yards

Sample Max Speed Warm-Up:

• Snap skip – 10 yards
• High knees (progressively faster) – 10 yards
• Single leg buttkicker (progressively faster) – 10x each side
• Fast claw wall drill – 10x each side

Address Strengthening the Feet in Every Workout

At our facility, drills promoting ankle stiffness and strong feet are one component all athletes do every day—regardless of the speed work. Marv Marinovich, a pioneer in the strength and conditioning field, began to understand early on the role that strengthening the foot played in improving performance. In his book, ProBodX, he writes, “When you exercise barefooted, the nervous system and musculoskeletal systems are more likely to be engaged than if your feet were sleeping comfortably in high-tech shoes.” He continues, “Working out barefooted will improve your abilities in sports, such as running faster, jumping higher…or changing direction.”

Improve the Quality of Movement

As a coach, my No. 1 goal is to improve the quality of movement of my athletes. Simply improving mechanics is one of the easiest ways to improve speed. I want my athletes to understand how they should be moving when doing every type of speed drill. Just like any other movement or exercise, I first look to eliminate the gross faults of the athlete and then fine-tune their mechanics to get them moving as efficiently as possible. Improved efficiency means improving speed.

A good quality of movement means the athlete has proper posture as well as an effective position of the hips and a good shin angle. When performing any drill, think about the purpose of the drill and how to perform it as efficiently as possible. For example, if I have an athlete performing a side shuffle, there are a few things I’ll look at before the athlete even starts the movement. Do they have proper posture, or are they overly rounded in their back? Are they in an “athletic stance”? By that, I mean are they low enough with their hips, and do they have a positive shin angle to keep pressure through the ball of the foot?

If the setup is not correct, I cannot expect the athlete to do the drill properly. Then I’ll have the athlete perform the exercise, and I’ll continue to look for quality positions and mechanics. This whole time I’m educating the athlete on what I want to see and how it can help them become a better athlete. If I just have my athletes go through drills without actually teaching them, then I cannot expect them to get better.

For acceleration training, I want athletes to master proper posture and focus on producing horizontal force to build up speed. Athletes who are too upright have a more vertical shin angle. This is not conducive to efficient acceleration. When the shin is vertical, the force into the ground is more vertical, which forces the athlete to stand upright instead of keeping a good lean for acceleration. To become more efficient at accelerating, I utilize a variety of drills, which may include:

• A-skips
• Starts from various positions
• Resisted sprints with a harness

I’m personally partial to using a shoulder harness because I’ve seen too many athletes lose posture and bend too much at the hips with a waist harness. Our maximum speed training still stresses good posture as well as proper front-side positioning of the hip, knee, and ankle. Backside mechanics include an emphasis on quick turnover by focusing on hamstring activation. Building a solid foundation of mechanics from the start sets the athlete up for success as they continue to train. If you don’t address mechanics, an athlete will quickly top out their ability to improve speed in all directions and distances.

Field Athletes vs. Track Athletes

Field sport athletes and track athletes have different needs when it comes to improving speed, due to the primarily linear nature of track sprints. Field sport athletes are constantly stopping, starting, cutting, and changing direction. Rarely in sport will you see an athlete sprint in a straight line without having to change direction or slow down at some point. This is the reason acceleration plays a more important role for field sport athletes.

Let’s look at basketball players, for example. If they can’t stop, start, and accelerate quickly, they’ll easily become exposed on defense and will have a hard time creating offense. At no point in a basketball game will an athlete reach top speed—the court is not long enough. All field athletes still need to train top end speed, but it should not be the only focus of their speed training. Their training should primarily emphasize acceleration and deceleration of movements. I’m a big proponent of the resistance drills Lee Taft uses with the band.

You can use the band as resistance to promote more strength through the movement, or you can use the athlete to pull the athlete into a change of direction, which will focus more on deceleration. You can do a number of variations of sprints, backpedals, side shuffles, and lateral runs with the band. Track athletes, on the other hand, still need to work on acceleration, but top end speed is more important due to the distances of the events.

Rehearsed vs. Reactive Speed Drills

A popular topic in articles and podcasts is transitioning from rehearsed drills to more reactive- based speed drills. In the book, Training for Sports Speed and Agility, Paul Gamble writes: “Alongside the acquisition of component movement skills there is a need for the athlete to be progressively exposed to an unpredictable environment to allow them to develop the ability to execute these movement skills under reactive conditions.”  

Reactive drills can include reacting to another athlete or a tennis ball, or even sprinting to a specific colored cone. There is good reason to make sure both of these elements are part of a speed program. Just like hitting a baseball or kicking a soccer ball, running is a skill. If we think of running and changing direction as a skill, we need to make sure the athlete can perform the skill properly before transitioning them into a completely reactive-based program. If you have someone who wants to play ice hockey but has never skated before, will you have them just play games and expect them to reach their potential? No, you will go over all of the fundamentals to teach them how to stop, turn, cut, and transition from different positions, along with playing games to maximize performance.

The same principle should be applied to any type of speed drill. When looking at how skill acquisition occurs, it first begins with a conscious thought of how we want to move. As more practice of the skill takes place, execution becomes a subconscious thought until it happens without consciously thinking about it.

In our typical speed session, we cover the technique and mechanics of different movements, and then we utilize those movements in reactive-based drills toward the end of our speed work. Since sports involve the cognitive component of the athlete reacting to other players, the ball, and the speed of play, we make sure to get in some type of reactive speed work every session. While an athlete is focused on the cognitive components mentioned, they will not be able to think about any of the mechanics of sprinting such as posture, leg drive, or shin angles. This is why we reinforce good technique and eventually look for some carryover in the reactive-based drills.

Don’t Mistake Speed Training for Conditioning

A mistake many coaches make when it comes to speed development is not allowing ample rest between speed drills. This will compromise the quality of the speed work you are trying to do and will turn the session into conditioning.

If you truly want your athletes to get faster, you need to focus on the quality of work you are doing. This means allowing time for the athletes’ ATP as well as CP (creatine phosphate) to be restored. Strength coaches need to do their homework on understanding energy systems and the rest periods needed when the goal is improving sport-related speed.

• When doing speed drills, an easy rule of thumb is to allow one minute of rest for every second of max effort work for complete recovery.
• For technique drills or drills done at submax speeds, you do not have to rest as long before starting the next drill.
• If the athlete starts to look slower or the mechanics get worse, allow them more rest.
• The time between drills is a great time to review a video of the athlete performing the drills.

How to Utilize Speed Drills for Conditioning

Conditioning for most sports should look to improve the repeated sprint ability (RSA) of the athlete. Very few sports require a steady state of output; instead, you may see the athlete walk, sprint, walk, jog, and sprint. This is typical as an athlete assesses the play and picks and chooses when to make a play and sprint. For this reason, athletes need to get used to doing lots of short sprints and recovering between them. Improving this quality is known as improving RSA. As an athlete gets closer to season, we like to use different drills as conditioning to help prepare them for the demands they will face once the season starts.

Let’s use a basketball player as an example, again. Instead of having them do repeat 60-meter sprints, I may have them do a multidirectional drill that is the same duration as their 60-meter sprint. This way I still work the energy systems the same way I would, but it’s more specific to the sport of basketball where they’ll have to change direction a lot more. This is a time coaches can get creative and pick conditioning drills based on the athlete and the sport.  

Choose Drills That Address Deficiencies

The purpose of this article wasn’t to tell you what drills to do, but to provide a template of how to develop an effective speed and agility program for athletes. Look for the positions and mechanics you want your athletes to achieve during drills and pick drills to address the deficiencies. More challenging drills are typically longer in duration, include a form of resistance, or involve more acceleration and deceleration by adding in more changes of direction. Be sure to take these factors into account when developing a speed and agility program for your athletes.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

References

Gamble, Paul. (2012) Training for Sports Speed and Agility: An evidence-based approach. New York, NY: Routledge. p. 151.

Marinovich, Marv and Heus, Edith. (2003). ProBodX. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc. p. 23.

By Cedric Unholz

Velocity-based training (VBT) is a popular current topic in the strength and conditioning (S&C) industry and has gained approval as an important tool that helps support both coaches and athletes improve performance. Measuring velocity can be highly valuable to the practitioner for many reasons, including its strong demonstrated correlations with both strength and power levels. Assessing individual velocity profiles also provides a wealth of information and relative trend markers for areas such as training readiness, physical progression, and fatigue states.

It’s important to highlight here that VBT is not necessarily a training system per se. It’s a supporting methodology that allows more precise training prescription and adjustments and helps drive socio-behavioral and socio-environmental factors related to improving performance (e.g., intent and competition).

While VBT and velocity measurement have received substantial coverage in both academic and general training literature, there is far less information depth available on how current platforms can help the practitioner solve a multitude of challenges inherent to the realities of modern sport performance training. Moreover, sophisticated use of these platforms may help unlock the full diversity of practical applications that these concepts can offer, and allows the practitioner to construct creative coaching solutions specific to their circumstances.

Success as an S&C coach in the modern era requires a highly intricate combination of developmental vision, training knowledge, and communication skills, all while navigating immensely dynamic environments. An integral component of this is efficiently managing the multitude of organizational and logistical demands these environments pose. This includes the ability to implement and monitor a comprehensive yet adaptable training system across a given set of athletes and squads.

An added challenge that’s becoming an increasingly common requirement for coaches but not often discussed is the training management of remotely-located athletes. These athletes may spend most of the competition calendar traveling nationally and internationally, have lengthy off-season and holiday periods, or experience multiple consecutive on-the-road games, to name a few examples.

The PUSH Portal was designed specifically with all of the above in mind to provide a truly coach-centric platform that streamlines administrative work demands and maximizes the already limited resources of coaching and personal time available to the practitioner.

This article aims to walk you through an overview of the PUSH Portal platform and its key sections and features, beginning with real-world use case examples that highlight the solutions it can provide for planning, training, monitoring, and reporting.

Case Examples

As mentioned, the PUSH Portal system is designed with the coach in mind to provide the toolbox needed to allow efficient, successful integration across the complete spectrum of training environments you may face. The following two case examples highlight the Portal’s versatility and show how two coaches use the system with the PUSH Band across settings that represent highly relatable environments.

Case Example One: High School Setting

Chris Delimont

La Crosse High School (Kansas)

First and foremost, the PUSH bands and Portal have served as an educational tool for our students at La Crosse High School. With the spirit of education in mind, PUSH has allowed our students to move the needle toward a better understanding of multiple subject areas. The current focus of education is to create greater exposure to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). As for my department in physical education, the entire PUSH system gives us a greater foothold in the STEM curriculum.

Our students naturally want to know the “why” in what they’re doing. The entire PUSH system drives our conversation about the “why.” For example, our physics teacher conducts labs in multiple areas, such as power, velocity, and speed. We can package what he’s doing in physics with what I’m doing in physical education. And this brings more subject matter teachers into the conversation at our school.

We’ve had discussions as educators about how we can accommodate multiple levels of learners among our students. There is something for each student that’s appropriate to their learning progression. The data drop from the Portal is endless. I can have students collect data from the Portal, which gives them another area to explore. Students can also use the data to accompany other projects they’re doing in school.

The Portal has been transformative for me as an educator and coach. I can now create a database of training programs that can be modified in real-time to accommodate multiple training levels in our student-athletes. I no longer have to print and reprint training cards for each athlete. The competition piece that accompanies the Leaderboard feature has been paramount in creating our weight room culture. Our students enjoy seeing their performance quantified against others. And we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg of where this technology can take us.

PUSH technology has given me a shot of adrenaline as to what is possible for our classroom. We can better make the educational matter available in our setting “stick” with the features PUSH gives us. And it’s what excites me the most about using the PUSH bands and Portal. We have the opportunity as educators to create peak moments in the weight room that have a lasting impression on a student’s educational journey. For further insights into Chris’ system and how he implements technology in the daily training environment, read this excellent blog post.

Case Example Two: Elite Professional Setting

Ryan MacDonald

Lead S&C Coach for Beach Volleyball Canada

The sport of beach volleyball (even at its highest level) has a nomadic nature to it—athletes travel around the world for the better part of six months (April to October). Frequently, our athletes travel and train without onsite S&C support. Until recently, that meant they depended on accessing Dropbox or carrying a hard copy and praying it didn’t get lost, water damaged, ripped, torn, or covered in food. Regardless of these approaches, our precision was limited for knowing sets, reps, and loads even in the best scenario. 

To enhance our ability to be more precise and agile in our programming, we partnered with PUSH to support athletes during periods where we may not be able to supervise training sessions directly. This lets athletes access their training via the PUSH app and input and track metrics on their key lifts. Staff members use the Portal to monitor training and discuss any adjustments necessary based on the interaction of objective (training loads, training velocities, etc.) and subjective (session RPE, daily wellness, etc.) information.

Leading into this year’s World Championships (June 2019), our ability to integrate readiness monitoring (via weekly CMJ & 1RM testing) and wellness and workload information gave us a greater ability to adjust training loads and modify weekly plans—regardless of whether the athletes were in Toronto, California, Asia, South America, or Europe. During the final lead up, our integrated support team had a 12-day window to hit the ground running when we came together with the athletes in Germany.

Combining this information with our daily wellness and workload information maximized our team’s ability to make data-informed recommendations when consulting with coaches on how to optimize peaking strategies. This agility also created stability; having actionable information on how an athlete was trending leading into a competition removed uncertainty over what we needed to do daily. The knowledge that they were on the right path created calmness and quiet confidence.

Has it been perfect? Like coaches, nothing is perfect. The PUSH Portal and band allowed us to implement a system to help support athletes more precisely using better information than any other solution given our sport’s demands.

PUSH Portal Overview

Home Page

The Portal Homepage is designed to provide the coach with a quick snapshot overview of their athlete group’s workload and schedules across a given time horizon. A group of athletes is called a Team in Portal. There are two tabs selectable in the homepage interface, Team Performance and Team Calendar.

The Team Performance section has two sections: Team Performance and Team Activity. Both sections give the coach the ability to gauge the workloads of an athlete or the entire team from various perspectives. In Team Performance, you can configure the graph report to represent daily and weekly breakdowns, and display workload in terms of traditional volume-load calculation or total work, which is a metabolic equivalent that factors in velocity outputs.

The selected loading metric then automatically charts the selected intensity parameter of choice (%1RM or RPE). The graph report also allows you to compare an individual athlete’s load to the team’s totals. Selecting an individual athlete will superimpose that athlete’s data points over the team’s graph for an easy overview.

The Team Activity section displays all the metrics mentioned above, but on an individual basis for a single day, which also allows inter-individual comparison. This view also lets you apply filters to see which athletes have been scheduled workouts along with the respective completion status of any workouts assigned. You can also toggle freely between the loading and intensity metrics displayed, as in the Team Performance section.

In Team Calendar, the coach sees a monthly overview of a team’s schedule. Toggling the filters provides the option to view both scheduled work and custom created events such as games or travel days. When viewing scheduled workouts, a coach can also see to which athlete(s) the workouts and events were assigned. Much like other virtual calendars, it’s also possible to copy, paste, and amend calendar item information.

Athlete Management

The Athlete Management section contains a full list of athletes in a given team and allows the coach to view all the athletes’ biometric and performance data. You can also manage one-repetition maximum (1RM) records here, and keep it up to date for accurate automatic relative loading prescription when planning and scheduling workouts (more detail on this below).

When clicking into an individual athlete’s profile, you see the tabs outlined below to access a complete overview of information about that athlete’s past, present, and future schedules as well as performance output history. All training and testing information can be exported to CSV if desired.

Schedule. Uses the same design platform as the previously mentioned Team Calendar, with exactly the same functions. This calendar only shows the selected individual athlete’s schedule, not those of other athletes on the team.

Session Data. The coach can select a single workout from the athlete’s training history calendar and view all output and loading data from that session. You can also filter exercise and output metrics using the dropdown menus, which will provide custom feedback graphs automatically.

Performance Review. This section provides a longitudinal reporting view of output and loading data. The coach can select a time horizon and view information for the same exercise and output metrics as in the Session Data section above. You can also filter by the load to display all data points about a desired absolute load, and the program will display each instance during the selected time horizon where the athlete performed repetitions with this load.

Training Volume. You can see the athlete’s workload over a given time horizon here with the same functions as the team display in the Team Performance section outlined above.

Test Trend. This graphic displays the results of any test performed in the PUSH VBT Mobile App (jumping variants or sub-maximal 1RM tests), as well as any customized tests (e.g., 40-yard dash). As with the other displays, you can toggle freely between tests and select the time horizon from which you would like data.

1RM. The coach can view and manage each athlete’s individual 1RM database in this section. This is also the data used to automatically calculate individual relative percentage loading when you create and schedule athlete workouts.

Builder

With Builder, the coach creates workout templates, schedules the workouts, and organizes them in a desktop-style directory. The templates cover resistance training, warm-ups, cool-downs, and speed-agility-conditioning. The resistance training component allows for fully customizable workout plans, including detailed prescriptions like absolute and relative loading, velocity work zones, rest times, and written coaching cues that are visible to the athlete before starting a set. The latter three template components are currently text-only based. An athlete sees their scheduled workout template (or a combination) in the PUSH VBT Mobile App workflow display.

A coach can schedule any of the components for selected athletes or an entire team, either as a one-off workout assignment or in repeating fashion. For example, you can assign a resistance training workout every Monday and Wednesday over three successive weeks. You also can create custom exercises and configure them with a custom algorithm to allow for output metric tracking using the PUSH Band. The exercises can be accessed at any time from the library and viewed and edited in the Exercise Database section, which is outlined below.

Programming

The Programming section lets the coach arrange previously created templates for each of the four workout components in the Sessions or Programs. Sessions are a cluster of training components—warm-up, resistance training, and cool-down, for example—whereas a Program is an entire progression of training components and Sessions. An example is a one-month training block with three Sessions per week and a single mobility warm-up component scheduled for every day of the week. Both Sessions and Programs can be scheduled for selected individuals or an entire team, and follows the same scheduling steps and interface used in the Builder section.

You can use each Session component multiple times and completely edit it on an individual basis during the program design process. A coach can create progressive workout sequences without needing to create a stand-alone template for each day. For example, you can program a 5% increase in load for the back squat each Monday over four consecutive weeks.

Exercise Database

The Exercise Database section provides a full overview of the PUSH default exercise library with over 400 exercises and any custom created exercises and tests. As in the Builder section, you can set up all custom created exercises to include YouTube videos, coaching cues and instructions, equipment designation, and algorithm assignment so an athlete can do the exercise with the PUSH Band to measure movement output metrics. A coach can edit each custom exercise at any time. You also can create their custom tests to track results and input an athlete’s test results for tracking. Coaches then can view the results in the athlete’s profile in the Athlete Management section.

Reporting

In the Reporting section, a coach can view the full spectrum of available metrics and statistics for each athlete as well as the entire team. All information can be displayed in spreadsheet or graph form and can be exported to CSV, except attendance statistics. The general reporting areas, along with a short description of their functionality are listed below, with Session Data and Test Data representing team-wide overviews of the same-named sections outlined earlier in Athlete Management.

Attendance Report. Provides non-output statistics such as attendance, adherence to scheduled workouts, and rest efficiency. These are then computed together to provide Training Effectiveness Score.

Session Data. Includes all output and loading data for each athlete from a single session, and allows the coach to compare individuals according to exercise and two output metrics (e.g., loads used and average velocity output at those loads) simultaneously.

Session Totals. A detailed overview quantifies every work-related metric (e.g., volume density and time under tension) collected by the PUSH Band for each athlete.

Test Data. Shows all test results for each athlete from a single selected testing session for both custom tests and those found in the PUSH VBT Mobile app.

Leaderboard

The Leaderboard provides real-time feedback to an entire team at once by allowing any coach to create a personalized combine-style setup. It’s intended to display on a big screen where any measurable metric can be chosen and displayed in a continuously updating ranking table—for both exercises from the general database and any PUSH VBT Mobile App test. A key purpose is to help drive athlete intent and competition within the training environment, while also providing the coach with a high-level overview of all training outputs performed at a given time.

Closing Thoughts

A hallmark of effective training management is time-efficient processes that help promote meaningful communication between coaches and athletes while allowing planning flexibility for ever-changing circumstances. This concept is the central framework of PUSH Portal platform and inspires the continuous development and refinement of the system.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

We typically think of a warm-up as a means to prepare for an event or sport, but wearable resistance (WR) has brought a new dimension to this activity. In a new study out of Argentina, a group of provincial soccer players that warmed up with WR improved many key athletic qualities (speed, power, and repeated sprint ability) more than the group that performed the warm-up unloaded.

I want to share this program with you as a practical example of how to program with WR to improve speed, as it is an evidence-based approach. Before I unpack these findings and discuss the training program used to make these changes, however, I want to back up the bus a little.

The finding that using WR in a warm-up improves speed does not come as a surprise, as my previous articles on this site explained that WR is a form of movement-specific resistance training. The innovation around this technology is that resistance training is part of what you do, and not separate from what you do. Therefore, it’s not surprising that a well-structured warm-up will result in physiological adaptation when you bring WR into play.

The Argentine study, “The Effects of Warming Up with Lower Body WR on Physical Performance Measures in Soccer Players over an 8-Week Training Cycle,” will be published in a forthcoming edition of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

SAID and Redefining the Function of a Warm-Up

The SAID principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) provides insight into how the human body adapts to the stressors placed upon it, whether these are mechanical, metabolic, neural, etc. In the case of a warm-up, if we add load to certain movement patterns, the body will adapt accordingly.

One of the interesting observations of the loaded versus unloaded groups in the study was the between-group differences in the horizontal jump but not the vertical jump. Guess what? The warm-up involved concerted doses of horizontal jumping and very little vertical oriented jumping (i.e., SAID). In short, applying the principle of specificity, movement choices in your warm-up determine adaptation.

Recognizing the SAID principle in tandem with the addition of WR in a warm-up means that we can redefine the function of a warm-up, if we so wish. This is important when we are in-season and time-poor, particularly for sports with congested schedules such as baseball, basketball, European soccer, etc.

We may now have the means to improve, or at the very least maintain, important athletic qualities in-season—speed, power, stamina, change of direction—by simply engaging in a well-structured warm-up.

What Is a Well-Structured Warm-Up?

In general, we think of a warm-up adhering to the RAMP protocol, where exercises are chosen to raise heart rate and muscle temperature, activate and mobilize the musculo-articular system, and potentiate and prime athletes specific to their event or sport. Very little changes when players use WR, although you might want to pay more attention to the movement patterns you want to improve.

WR as a strength training tool has another important differentiator: you’re training movement more than muscles, which is typical with more traditional gym-based resistance training. Case in point, if you’re seeking improvements in lateral ability, you need to ensure that the exercise, drill, or movement selection for your warm-up includes a solid dose of these resisted movements. If you want to improve change of direction (COD) ability, include COD movements specific to your sport in the warm-up.

The Argentine Soccer Study

The first thing to note is that the study used an on-field warm-up protocol, applied with elite soccer players who had won the National U17 competition the previous year. Players were baseline tested on speed (5m and 10m sprint times), vertical and horizontal leg power, and repeated sprint ability. Next, athletes were matched in pairs based on speed. After that, the researchers randomly allocated players either to a WR-loaded group or an unloaded-control group (a matched-pair, randomized control design).

The loaded group warmed up with Lila Exogen calf sleeves. From this point, both groups did exactly the same warm-up, only one group was using WR. After eight weeks, the players were retested. As a side note, it’s very easy to do WR research as it becomes part of what you do.

The protocol that effected statistically significant changes in speed was the one that used WR calf sleeves only. Why calf sleeves? For the answer, please refresh your grey matter on how load and placement of load effects rotational inertia. As a quick recap, the further a load is from the axis of rotation (e.g., the hip), the greater rotational inertia or the greater resistance to angular motion. When loads are further from the axis of rotation, the muscles across the hip and knee must work harder to accelerate and decelerate the limbs.

Also, calf sleeves were chosen because the players’ average weight averaged ~70 kg (154 lb), and you can get up to 2% body mass (1.4 kg or 3 lbs) on the calves quite comfortably (i.e., 700 gm or 1.5 lb per leg). For heavier players, however, you need to consider using WR shorts and calf sleeves to achieve the required loading of the neuromuscular system.

In the study, the loading protocol involved a periodized schedule where magnitude and placement of load systematically increased over eight weeks of training. Researchers increased loads from 200 gm (7 oz) to 600 gm (21 oz-1.3lb) per leg. Also, load placement progressed from proximal (close to knee) to distal (further from knee). You can see proximal loading (400 gm-14 oz) of the calf sleeve in Image 4.

You can see that there are two different patterns, and both are proximal, or near the knee joint. Image 4b, however, shows more of the load closer to the knee and hip joint, offering slightly less overload.

Image 5 shows distal loading of the calf sleeve, with Figure 5b more distally loaded given the orientation of the weights and therefore offering slightly more overload.

Finally, note that the load has been placed on the calf, or the rear side of the lower leg, and therefore is called a posterior loading pattern. The correct terminology is posterior proximal (Image4) and posterior distal (Image 5) loading patterns.

Taking Results to the Pitch

Table 1 below shows the loading protocol used in the warm-up for the soccer players. Progressive increments in weight are coupled with changes between proximal and distal loading over the eight weeks.

Also, note that there is some unloading every four weeks to coincide with testing in this case. Regardless of testing, however, standard practice with most forms of periodized planning recommends unloading every 3-4 weeks.

You also can see that the players in this study used the WR in their warm-ups three times per week, a decision based on their training status. With less well-conditioned athletes, consider reducing the frequency to two times per week until you’re sure they’re handling the additional overload.

The on-field warm-up program used a typical RAMP approach consisting of 4-6 minutes of low to moderate running exercises combined with active stretching. This was followed by 10-15 minutes of technical drills with the ball and then 5-8 minutes of high-intensity accelerations, decelerations, changes of direction, plyometrics, and sprint exercises. Acceleration and speed were emphasized in the last exercise block.

Some of the locomotor patterns used in this block included:

• Cone zig-zag drill for 5m then 10m cuts left then right
• Sprint 10m, change direction, sprint back to start
• Fast feet 5m then 20m straight sprint
• Fast feet 5m, 10m sprint to a cone, change direction, sprint back to start
• Straight sprints for 20m gliding through cones
• Three bounds then 15m straight sprint
• Horizontal jump forward, backpedal 5m, sprint 20m
• Cone zig-zag 5m-H-jumps x 2-backpedal 5m-sprint 10m, change direction, sprint back to start
• Jumping over tall cones for 5m, sprint 15m, change direction, sprint back to start

As you can see, most of these exercises involved sprinting over 10-20m, with many changes of direction. As mentioned earlier, and according to the SAID principle, it’s no wonder the players experienced significant increases in their sprint times—they performed resisted sprint training 3 x 8 mins a week.

The players were typically in groups of five to six, which meant rest periods of 30-45 seconds between drills. At the end of the warm-up, players removed all loads from the calf and completed the practice with the sleeves on.

Most players will say they don’t notice the additional load and ask for more. In fact, RPE differs minimally between those using WR and those who do not. But trust me, if players move these light loads at speed (as they should toward the end of a warm-up), there will be considerable stress on the neuromuscular system. Therefore, stick to a systematic method of loading and unloading the important movements with WR to ensure adequate rest and recovery via a well-planned loading schedule.

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Anibal Bustos and Gustavo Metral for sharing information on the training of their soccer players

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Many of us in the world of athletics have become so consumed with instant gratification and finding the “quick fix” that we sometimes forget how to be patient, be present, and be happy with fragments of improvement each day. When it comes to athletic performance and training the human body, the slow cooking or “Crock-Pot approach” is often the safest and most effective means for making positive physiological changes in the tissues that comprise the human body.

Another favorite analogy of mine is to think of training as venom: a highly toxic and potentially lethal substance when encountered or administered in large doses. When repeated small doses are administered over longer durations of time, however, the same venom can become a catalyst for growth, resiliency, and performance as the body adapts to the stress being applied. Conversely, the “Fryalator” approach, or too much stimulus all at once, can fry the athlete and their central nervous system, muscles, tendons, and ligaments, as well as their drive to train and compete. Don’t fry your results! Get the Crock-Pot out, turn it on low, and understand that greatness will take time to achieve.

‘How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything’

This is a line we use quite often when athletes are training; in fact, it’s on the door when you walk into our facility. Be sure athletes carry this mindset with them from the time they first step foot in the gym to the last second they spend in their cool-down or recovery, and you will see measurable results. This summer we made a few changes to our athlete’s warm-up protocol that did just that.

Their warm-up is the one thing they do every day they train. As a result, we have the opportunity to make some awesome performance improvements when athletes are intentional and purposeful in their approach to their warm-up each day. We use the warm-up as an opportunity for success rather than something that has to be done before they can start training. We help athletes understand that the warm-up carries the same emphasis as the rest of their training each day and should not be taken lightly.

Making a Change

What did we change to help make our athletes faster this summer? Quite simply, we went outside, as this was a reasonable solution to our problem of needing more distance to run. Like many private sector performance facilities (or even some public gyms), we don’t have 100 yards to run on inside—or even half of that. This means we were spending zero time at top speed in our running mechanics work.

For the most part, our athletes don’t reach top speed until 20–25 yards, which is about the time they would run smack into the wall at the end of the turf. When preparing athletes for the speed of sport, this top end speed work is vital to developing tissue durability and actually getting faster. We recognized that we were not effectively covering this in their training, and we needed to, so we went outside to a designated strip of approximately 75 yards in the parking lot.

Athletes did half of their warm-up inside, consisting of dynamic flexibility, joint ROM, and tissue prep work, and then went outside to run. We kept it short and sweet, as it can be very easy to overdo it on volume of ground contacts on an asphalt surface if we are not careful. For some of the older athletes, this warm-up took place three days a week. Considering that it was our first year implementing the new protocol, it was important to closely monitor their feedback each week and gather intel on how they felt both during and after each warm-up. Here’s what we did.

1. Straight Leg Run Outs– 2 x 20/20 yards – Straight leg run for 20 yards and then run out of it for 20 yards at a “tech speed.”

Tech speed is the fastest speed they can attain at perfect technique while maintaining proper focus and intent on what they are doing. The “run out” was also focused on being more elastic with their posterior chain and really feeling how their feet strike the ground with every stride. These straight leg runs also provided some much-needed durability for the hamstring muscles and tendinous junctions in the posterior chain while at higher speeds. We feel strongly that in order to help decrease injuries to the posterior chain we must apply regular stress to these structures at high speeds as found in upright running drills or a straight leg run.

1. Wicket (Hurdle) Run Outs– 2 x 8–10/30 yards – Run through 8–10 wickets with a focus on upright posture and foot strike under the body. After exiting the wickets, maintain the same posture and mechanics for approximately 30 yards.

We mostly utilized 6” wickets and a spacing of approximately 4’9” for the first three wickets with a 4–5 step run in, 5’ for the next three, and 5’3” for the last two wickets. Each day, our beginner high school athletes started at this spacing, and then, as the older high school and college athletes came in later in the afternoon, we adjusted by adding approximately 3” to each wicket. Leg length and running experience both play a role with wicket spacing, and a keen coach’s eye and experienced intuition will recognize when distances need to change. Do not be afraid to make changes if athletes are not obtaining the correct flow through the hurdles.

New and veteran coaches alike should use video analysis as often as possible to help slow it down and start to develop that eye for posture and technique. The last thing you want is for athletes to feel uncomfortable and muscle the foot over the wicket or cast the lower leg out front as they move through them. In these situations, it may be helpful to use dowels or lay the wickets down to help athletes feel the correct positions without forcing or impacting the harmony of their movement.

1. Technique Runs– 2 x 75 yards – Here we put it all together and have the athlete run at the highest speed they can for approximately 75 yards, then rest and repeat one more time. The speed is dictated by their technique, and because of this, speeds typically float somewhere around 90–95% of their true top speed due the cognitive nature of the drill.

Even though we ask them to run at the highest speed they can, we also ask them to still think about their technique, such as foot contact, posture, bounce, etc. It was so cool to watch athletes improve over the summer and really begin to feel the changes and adaptations during the longer distance runs. Some reported that it felt like they were floating and not having to work as hard to move quickly. This feeling can sometimes be attributed to the foot striking the ground more effectively in relation to the athlete’s center of mass and, thus, improving their timing. It also can be attributed to a stronger, more reflexive posterior chain.

When their timing improves and running becomes more elastic in nature, it becomes fun to feel the body gliding over the ground. It was not uncommon for us to stop athletes from taking extra reps later in the summer because they were having so much fun “feeling” and moving faster. There was also feedback from parents at the start of fall sports, as they could see their kids moving with more fluidity and bounce on the field.

Key Performance Indicators

When it’s all said and done, the athletes using this warm-up get approximately 250 yards of high speed upright running each day that is brief, intentional, and highly effective. For some of our college athletes, this approach added approximately 9,000 yards of upright running to their training this summer that they otherwise would not have been exposed to with our prior warm-up protocol. Our younger high school athletes saw closer to 5,000 yards by the end of their summer training.

We also believe this impacted their conditioning and energy system development, since they were able to safely add upright running volume to their summer training that they otherwise would not have implemented. A gradual ramp-up in running volume during the pre-season can help reduce soft tissue injuries when athletes move into competitive seasons.

Key performance indicators we observed were athletes learning how to bounce and use tendons in their running versus a more muscle-driven and tight running strategy. This bounce I keep talking about is what will lead to the “floating” sensation mentioned above. In my experience, muscle-driven running is sometimes found in athletes who spend too much time in the gym and not enough time actually running, as they do in sport. The gym can be helpful for athletes in many ways, but too much gym time or lifting weights can also have adverse effects on a highly coordinated skill, such as running, that should be very natural and fluid. Performance coaches also need to spend as much time as possible studying sprint mechanics and running technique so that they practice effective coaching strategies.

Another observation was the athletes utilizing their “front side” mechanics more effectively, which allowed for a more efficient forefoot strike to the ground underneath them instead of a heel strike too far out in front of their center of mass. Athletes also learned what it was like to have some “flow” and be more elastic in their running, which became fun and something they looked forward to doing with their new confidence and technique. This confidence in their technique is vital to opening up new doors in their speed development.

If an athlete truly believes they are getting faster and also believes in the process or program they are following, you have just empowered a lifetime of speed development. It is my opinion that drills such as running through wickets could provide the most bang for your buck in terms of long-term development when approached in this way. These drills just are tools, and you should use them as such when trying to enhance speed development. If you can use tools and provide drills that will help athletes “feel” it more often, you will be more effective as a coach.

‘Show Me and I Will Forget. Teach Me and I Will Remember. Involve Me and I Will Learn.’

We did not test longer distance times, as our facility has a parking lot that we share with four other businesses, so setting up timing gates would have been a nightmare amongst all the traffic. However, the changes were visible to our staff and observed and felt by all of the athletes we trained, which was valuable feedback for first year implementation even without test scores to back it up. College athletes have reported feeling faster than ever since being back on the field with their teams this fall, which is more great feedback.

Ten-yard acceleration times were faster for the entire population of athletes in post-testing at the end of the summer, which may or may not be directly linked to the upright running warm-up we implemented. The 10-yard test is descriptive of an athlete’s acceleration, and it is much more tissue-driven and powerful in nature than upright running. If any correlation exists between the warm-up and the athlete’s 10-yard acceleration, it would most likely be in their confidence in their running ability due to the added volume in their training over the 10–12 weeks of camp.

I will say that I recognized less compliance or squish at the foot and ankle upon impact with the ground in their acceleration phase of running. We viewed this with slow-motion video clips and made sure the athletes were able to see and understand it as well. These healthy improvements in stiffness could also play a role in the 10-yard testing improvements.

We also learned that allowing the athletes to run at higher velocities each day is a highly effective addition to their warm-up protocol. Athletes responded fantastically to this simple speed-enhancing approach, which requires nothing more than 8–10 short wickets or hurdles, three cones, and a length of parking lot, grass, or turf of 75–100 yards. It also acts as a highly effective means of potentiating the system prior to a gym-based workout.

You are hard-pressed to find a faster athletic movement than sprinting, and if you want to get an athlete’s nervous system firing on all cylinders prior to a workout, then go sprint! When it comes to preventing soft tissue injuries during high-speed running, you will also be hard-pressed to do this without actually spending time running at high speeds. Don’t let the four walls of your facility represent the limits of your athlete’s programs—there’s an opportunity for some really awesome results just outside those doors.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Oh, how recruiting has changed for college coaches since the birth of social media.

Before Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat were all a thing, recruiting was a matter of identifying and scouting high school athletes, vetting them by speaking to their coaches and family members, and then ultimately hoping they choose to continue their athletic career and studies with your program.

Today, however, high school athletes regularly tweet about the schools that have made them offers and the schools they’re still visiting. They receive input via comments—both positive and negative—from fans and their peers based on what they posted on social media. They’ll share highlight packages of themselves, retweet, and like anything positive said about their game by others. Many will go as far as announcing their eventual commitments exclusively on their social media channels.

Throw all of this in with the fact that these are still 16- to 18-year-old kids who also enjoy life outside of the sport that they excel in, and an athlete’s social media accounts can mirror the inappropriate language and antics often heard and seen throughout the halls of the high schools they attend Monday through Friday.

Instead of just vetting players through game film, in-person scouting, and speaking with coaches and family members, college coaches and recruiters now also keep a close eye on their prospects’ social media accounts. They want to ensure that if they continue to recruit them, they’ll be pursuing a person who will represent their university and athletic program with class and dignity.

Just as an adult can be punished (or even terminated) by their employer for posting inappropriate or offensive content on their social media channels, high school athletes can lose opportunities if they slip up on social media. Their dream school may pull a scholarship, and they risk schools not recruiting them that otherwise might have shown interest.

High school athletes can argue that they’re entitled to freedom of speech protections as defined by the First Amendment, and this is true. However, high school student-athletes also need to remember that free speech isn’t without consequences. And posting inappropriate, controversial, or offensive content on social media channels—or maintaining connections with questionable individuals over various social networks—can have a huge impact on their future.

In this post, we’ll dig further into the social media channels that your players likely are on today, good and bad social media posting habits, and examples of standout high schoolers who’ve seen recruiting change drastically due to the content they’ve shared on social media.

Here’s a closer look at what you should be telling your players about their behavior and posting habits on social media.

The Big 7 Social Media Platforms

Today’s high school athletes most often frequent seven popular social media platforms:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Snapchat
• Instagram
• Tumblr
• TikTok
• Pinterest

This isn’t to say that all high school athletes use every one of these or use them equally. But you can bet if a college program is recruiting them, the coaching staff will know exactly which platforms they’re on and will monitor all of them.

What Posts About Off-the-Field Behavior Suggest About You

So what does a high school athlete’s social media behavior imply about them? It can often represent an unfiltered view into the life and character of an individual. Someone who conducts themselves professionally and appropriately on social media networks will help reinforce a college coach’s decision to recruit them. However, an athlete who uses foul language, racial or ethnic slurs, or engages inappropriately with others or shares offensive content will draw pause from college coaches. And rightfully so.

When college coaches recruit for their programs, they not only want exceptional athletes who fit their mold but also upstanding students. Exceptional athletes with poor character can potentially lead to more trouble than they’re worth if they continue poor social media behavior while attending the university. Also, if the athlete plays a revenue sport of interest to the public, these posts will be seen and possibly published by members of the media.

We’ll ask the question again: Just what can poor social media posts say about a high school athlete? Here’s a look at some of the conclusions that coaches may draw from questionable posts:

• The player is involved in drug and alcohol use (or abuse).
• The player doesn’t tolerate others with different religious beliefs or those of different ethnicities or races.
• The player doesn’t take academics seriously.
• The player is involved in other trouble or possibly illegal behavior.
• The player crosses the line of being confident to portraying arrogance or cockiness.

Social Media No-No’s

If your players don’t know these, they should. You absolutely want to advise them to refrain from posting these things to the social media platforms we mentioned earlier.

Plagiarism. Students can share, retweet, and repost as much as they like, but saying something or taking work that’s clearly not theirs and giving everyone the impression it is constitutes plagiarism. Do not encourage this behavior. It’s a simple one to avoid—make sure there are proper attributions and citations associated with anything shared on social media.

Any illegal activities. We get how high school is usually a time when young people begin to attend parties and perhaps engage in recreational drug use and consume alcoholic beverages. We can pretend it doesn’t happen, or we can be honest and accept the reality that it does occur. As coaches and mentors, we prepare kids the best we can and hope they make the right decisions when faced with certain situations.

We’re not saying anyone is a bad person if they do engage in these behaviors occasionally, but they certainly should not post it on social media. The bottom line is that it’s illegal. And anything illegal not only may land a student in hot water with the authorities or their school but also with coaches who may want to recruit them at the next level.

Fiery emotions. The pause then post guideline comes into effect here and will become a recurring theme in this post. Many times after tough losses or emotional wins, athletes are apt to log on to their social media accounts and sound off about what happened. And while posting something like Big Win! is fine, taking things too far—in victory or defeat—can have detrimental effects.

Bottom line: advise your players not to let their frustration, anger, or jealousy boil over online. Showing true emotion is natural, but what they say needs to be appropriate—not something they’ll regret after emotions have cooled and they’ve had more time to think.

Negligent behavior. This one should go without saying. Posting about a lack of care or ambition can do a lot more harm than help with recruiters—especially when your players are working hard to get the big offer they’re waiting on.

We understand that nobody is perfect, these are 16-, 17-, and 18-year-old kids, and mistakes happen on social media. You remember what it was like to be a teenager, right? (Though you likely didn’t have to worry about looking bad on social media in your day). Mistakes may happen, tempers flare, and kids might post something they later regret even if they follow the pause then post rule.

How to Remedy Social Media Mistakes

So what can a high school athlete do if they’ve posted something inappropriate? We have a few recommendations.

Delete the post. Although screenshots may still exist, deleting the post can prevent it from spreading beyond what has already occurred. On a similar note, if you have a heavily-recruited player, advise them to scour old social media content and remove anything that may be controversial. Removal can reduce the risk of something from their past coming back to bite them when it matters.

Address the post. If an athlete is being recruited, they’ll likely be asked about the post the next time a coaching staff contacts them. We suggest they address it beforehand in the form of an apology post. Something along the lines of this usually suffices:

“Last night, I used poor judgment in posting something that I should not have. I’m very sorry to anyone I may have offended and to my friends, family, and teammates for representing them that way. It was a mistake, and I will learn from it moving forward.”

Learn from the post. After following the two steps above, the athlete needs to practice what they’ve preached and make sure they don’t make the same mistake twice. Making a routine mistake once will often not hurt their standing when it comes to recruiting. Making the same mistake over and over again likely will.

Social Media Best Practices

Let’s now take a moment to focus on some ideal topics for posts that will help a player’s position with coaches and recruiting coordinators.

Support and encouragement. Instruct your players to use their social media accounts to support and encourage others, whether it’s their teammates, fellow students, or community members. When players make an effort to offer public support to a worthy cause or a worthy person, it reflects well on them.

College coaches aren’t only looking for exceptional talents; they’re looking for exceptional leaders and teammates as well. Though he’s a professional athlete, Houston Texas star JJ Watt excels in using social media for many charitable efforts, including the awareness and funds he raised for victims of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Highlights. Players can use their social media accounts to market themselves to recruiters and college coaches in a tasteful manner by sharing highlights from a big game they had, personal mixtapes, or any published features from newspapers and magazines. Players shouldn’t be afraid to advocate for themselves a little bit on their social media channels, yet it’s important to do so in a humble and gracious way to avoid appearing arrogant.

Inspirational quotes. Everyone has their favorite inspirational quotes from sports figures or historical icons. Sharing them in a way that reflects a player’s situation or offers some commentary on current events can be a tactful, classy way to communicate a certain point.

Personality. Last but not least, make sure your players know it’s okay to flash some personality online. It’s fine to chime in on the hot new pop single, vent about who got voted off The Voice, or add their two cents about a professional sporting event. Personality is a good thing.

It’s never bad for your players to shine on social media the same way they excel on the field or court. The above examples can help them do just that.

Privacy Settings: Public vs. Private

One of the common excuses for poor social media behavior, whether from a high school athlete or anyone, is that they’ve set their account to private so it’s not accessible by everyone. Another excuse we hear is that they’ve posted on their Twitter profile that “retweets or likes aren’t endorsements,” which is somehow perceived as a “get out of jail free card” for sharing questionable or offensive content on Twitter. Spoiler alert for the latter example: it’s not.

In this section, we’ll focus on the public versus private debate. To that, we ask: Is anything said or shared on social media private anymore? And while, yes, you can restrict the people who follow you and see your content, screenshots don’t lie. Someone who takes and then shares a screenshot from a high-profile high school athlete can do real damage.

Furthermore, it behooves a standout player to make their social media accounts public and use their real name. It’s a great way to increase the reach of their network and connect with more potential colleges and coaches who may have an interest in extending a scholarship.

How NCAA Coaches and Recruiters Vet Student-Athletes

Per NCAA recruiting guidelines, college coaches aren’t allowed to contact recruits over social media channels publicly, engage in a public conversation on social media with recruits or about recruits, or post photos of student-athletes until the student has signed a Letter of Intent with the university.

However, social media guidelines have loosened for college coaches when it comes to recruiting. Specifically, the NCAA permits Division I college coaches to directly contact recruits through a social media platform’s private messaging function, typically after a student has begun their junior year of high school.

So, we could say that college coaches are allowed to “slide into the DMs” of the high school athletes they’re most interested in. These guidelines offer a nice recruiting tool for coaching staffs that know how to properly use social media as a tool. It allows them to pop in and wish a recruit good luck before a big game, congratulate them on a big performance, or touch base about life.

It’s also worth noting that the NCAA doesn’t specifically state that college coaches must monitor their recruits’—or even their current players’—social media channels. The big-time programs, however, have coaches on staff who are specifically tasked with this duty and contact recruits via the messaging features when appropriate.

Just as exceptional high school athletes are already under a microscope by the opposition when it comes to game planning on the field or court, their social media accounts are under a microscope by the programs that are recruiting them to play at the next level.

One misstep could result in athletes losing scholarships that have already been offered, or programs could completely stop recruiting a player. It’s happened before, and surely it will happen again. Are the players that you’re coaching today prepared to behave appropriately when they login to their social media accounts?

It Can Happen to You

Think one little tweet or Facebook post can’t hurt you? Especially when there’s a delete button that can remove the post from the Internet forever?

We have three words for you: Screenshots are forever.

As we said, athletes have already lost scholarships—and it will surely continue to happen if high school athletes don’t approach their social media accounts as a professional, ethical medium. A good rule of thumb to follow is this: don’t put anything on social media that you wouldn’t say to a beat reporter. Another good rule of thumb to follow, and we’ll say it again, is to pause before you post.

A pulled scholarship or reduced recruiting interest could happen to any high school athlete over inappropriate activity, regardless of how much talent they possess on the field or court. Here’s a look at two high-profile examples where this happened:

• In 2012, a highly ranked wide receiver playing at a prep school in New Jersey garnered interest from the University of Michigan (U-M) and his home state Rutgers University football program. But a series of graphic tweets resulted in his expulsion from school, and U-M and Rutgers both stopped recruiting him. He eventually went on to play Division I football, but not at his preferred universities.
• In 2017, a Virginia high school running back started a YouTube channel, on which he frequently used foul language. He also posted a video of himself trespassing. The player, who was committed to playing football at Old Dominion, received a phone call after several of his inappropriate videos went viral and learned the school had pulled his scholarship as a result.

These are high-profile examples of inappropriate social media coming back to bite a high school athlete. But don’t think for a second that similar situations haven’t happened in non-revenue sports like golf, volleyball, rowing, swimming, tennis, and track and field.

Proactive Solutions

What’s the best way to nip poor social media behavior in the bud, regardless of whether colleges are recruiting your high school athletes? Simple: explain that their words hold power and influence. As their coach, you need to remind them that when they tweet or post to Facebook and Instagram, potentially anyone can see what they’re saying. And remind them that they represent more than just themselves—they represent their team, their school, and their community.

Studies indicate that most students begin using social media during their junior high school years. In high school, even if their popularity changes and their athletic ability grows, their behavior may not.

We’re not saying that high school coaches should prohibit their players from having fun. Instead, encourage players to focus strictly on the positive when it comes to social media behavior.

High school athletes should congratulate their team after a big win rather than tweeting about how hard they’ll be partying to celebrate it. They should publicly thank college coaches who recruit them and extend offers on social media, rather than voicing favoritism for one school over another or sharing posts from others regarding their feelings for a program.

And yes, it’s okay for them to share highlight reels and personal mixtapes as a means of amplifying their recruiting profile as long as they do it in a grateful and not overly boastful manner.

With offers and scholarships potentially hanging on a single tweet or post, it’s important to train your players on how to use social media. When used correctly, it serves as a nice marketing tool as well as an ideal complement to athletic ability for college coaches to see. When it’s not, it can become a case study of what not to do for future exceptional high school athletes.

One thing is certain, social media isn’t going away anytime soon, so your players will continue using it. Make sure they have the right information and proper use guidelines so they can excel in high school and at the next level.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

By Alan Bishop

As a college athlete, my love for the weight room was greater than my love for the game it was preparing me for. When it came to strength training, it was the process that got me hooked. Being able to drive the human body’s progress with something as simple as percentages, sets, and reps was incredible to me. As I learned more about the intricacies of the human body and the principles of physical development, strength and conditioning became my passion.

There is a great quote from the character Bane in the movie The Dark Knight Rises:

“Oh, you think the darkness is your ally, you merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t see the light until I was already a man; by then, it was nothing to me but blinding! The shadows betray you, because they belong to me.”

This quote speaks to me on many levels, but from a training standpoint, it touches my soul. I get emails regularly from kids who believe S&C looks fun and are thinking about getting into it. My advice to them is to do something else.

You’ve got to be built a little bit differently to thrive in this environment. You’ve got to absolutely love the process, and the grind is part of that process. I don’t know a single aspiring coach with hesitations or reservations who ended up lasting very long. Most people spend years interning and most never get a full-time job. Those who do have a high divorce rate, typically make a salary well below their education level, and rarely retire as a coach.

Then there are the coaches who do get full-time jobs but can’t ever seem to find a “work-life” balance. Work-life balance is a fallacy because there is no such thing as “work-life.” There is only “life,” and coaching is a lifestyle.

There is no glory in poverty, and there is no honor in neglecting your family. Many coaches have found great success “balancing” their work, finances, family, religion, etc. Many haven’t. You better be absolutely convinced you can make it all work before diving into this profession.

Going back to the Bane quote—for me, every aspect of being a strength coach makes sense, and it is probably because I was born into the iron game. I was doing military-style PT tests (push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, etc.) when I was a kid. My dad is a retired 30-year Army veteran, and as far back as I can remember, I mimicked his training. He had a policy that we’d get baseball cards if we improved our totals by five reps on push-ups and sit-ups. I remember him teaching me to do push-ups against the wall when I couldn’t get any more reps on the ground. Looking back, I’d consider that the most simplistic introduction to mechanical advantage drop sets in the history of training.

When I was 10 years old, I saw guys Olympic weightlifting. I started sneaking onto my neighbor’s back porch to use his curl bar to mimic what I saw. At 12, I was sneaking into the fitness center on base to use the dumbbells and bench press. In high school, we had a small weight room with a whiteboard that our football coach wrote workouts on. Every day started with what he wrote, but we turned it into a 1 rep max contest before the hour was up. Our 1 rep maxes went through the roof because we worked our asses off in a highly competitive environment, but we weren’t training, we were just lifting hard and letting puberty do its thing. Newbies can make progress doing just about anything, but once you get a few years under your belt, you need structure.

Once I got into the collegiate setting and got a taste of real programming, progressive overload, periodization, and coaches who were absolute savages at teaching kids how to train, I was hooked. Every semester I’d train with the earliest lifting group of the morning so I could start my day in the weight room. I had coaches who put together great programs and coached their faces off.

I made incredible gains as a collegiate student-athlete, and that is a credit to the coaches because, looking back, I made that progress in spite of what I did off the field, not because of it. Everybody has a story about why they didn’t make it to the next level. For me, I just wasn’t good enough at the actual game of football for anybody to pay me to do it. I was a very average athlete with an above-average work ethic. That combination was just enough to help me occasionally see the field.

My biggest “regret” from my playing days is that I was so beat up by the time I finished, my progress in the weight room and my development on the field stopped. Not only did it stop, I regressed.

Injuries are multifaceted, and make no mistake about it, I was beat to hell from years of playing football, but I didn’t do myself any favors from a career longevity standpoint with my approach to training or my off-the-field habits. I’m not talking about drugs or alcohol; I’m talking about really poor recovery and nutrition. Experience is the best teacher, and my mistakes as an athlete have greatly influenced my teaching philosophies as a coach.

The biggest takeaway from mistakes in my own training as an athlete that has shaped my approach to training student athletes is: “Health drives performance.” As long as you’re following this advice with every decision you make, it’s really hard to go wrong. I could write an entire book on what not to do, but here are four big things I messed up as an athlete that I now preach with solutions as a coach.

Chasing Quantity, Not Quality

This is the biggest mistake I made in my training. I was so concerned with putting up big numbers that I sacrificed range of motion and rep integrity to stack more plates on the bar. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve put up some big numbers, but I never got great at training. I got great at stroking my ego.

A wise man once said, “Show me a man who constantly cheats technique, and I will show you a man with joint problems.” By the time my senior year hit, I was sputtering to the finish line. Five years of college football had taken its toll. My feet, knees, groin, hip flexors, and low back were in constant pain. This, coupled with years of chasing numbers, left me beat up. When I hung up my cleats, it took me about two years to finally feel “good” again.

When you cheat technique, you create structural imbalances and compromise connective tissue integrity. Check your ego at the door and get great at training. When you chase quality, the numbers will always follow.

Failing to Listen to My Body

This is one that I still struggle with. The way I was raised, you put your nose to the grindstone, you shut up, and you get the work done. If you’ve got problems, you outwork them. As an athlete, it didn’t matter how banged up I was from practice, how little sleep I’d gotten while working on a paper, or how badly my knees hurt during a team run—I showed up early, I put my head down, and I got to work.

The problem with this approach is that I had some of the best S&C coaches in the game, and I didn’t let them help me manage the stresses on my body or in my life. If I’d have pulled any of them aside and explained that I’d been walking down stairs backward for the last two years because my knees were in constant pain, or I was working security jobs at night because I couldn’t pay my bills, they wouldn’t have thought I was soft, they would have adjusted my training.

Instead, I kept my mouth shut, took a few more scoops of pre-workout, and popped a few more ibuprofens to manage the pain. By the time I finished playing, I was taking at least 400 milligrams of caffeine (and who knows what else) before every lift and a minimum of 1,600 milligrams of ibuprofen daily. Masking the problem in the short term increased the problem in the long term.

I once heard a coach say, “Before 30, guys train with their balls; after 30, they train with their brains.” While crude, it is true. I was a dopamine-driven meathead, and I loved every minute of it. BUT training is a marathon, not a sprint. The athletes who stay consistent in their training will have the best long-term results. Getting injured or constantly being banged up is the quickest way to derail training and ruin results. Quit fighting through injury and take care of your body.

You need to know when to back off. Athletes are built differently. We love the grind and aren’t afraid to put in work. But sometimes the best thing to do is take two weeks and recharge the batteries. As an athlete, I never took training sessions off during Christmas or summer breaks. Not once. It was a huge mistake. The physical and mental benefits far outweigh missing a few days in the gym.

Valuing Body Weight Over Body Composition

At 13 years old, I was 155 pounds. At 23 years old, I was 295 pounds. I embraced weight gain and I ate every meal like a man who just got out of prison. I loved every second of getting big and strong. Looking back, though, I was chasing numbers on a scale, and I should have been more concerned with my body composition. Fat don’t flex, and after 275–280 pounds, the weight gain didn’t have any carryover to the field. In fact, I performed worse because I was just getting fatter, and my knees always hurt.

Again, I’m a firm believer that health drives performance. Caloric intake is really important if all you’re worried about is gaining/losing weight. But if you’re worried about packing on muscle mass, your hormonal profile, staying healthy, and most importantly, PERFORMANCE, then food quality, nutrient timing, and avoiding chronic inflammation become a huge part of the equation. Numbers on a scale are not indicative of health.

When gaining weight, all calories are not created equal. If they were, 3,000 calories from Oreos and Pepsi would give you the same results as 3,000 calories from steak and sweet potatoes. When it comes to food, chase quality, and the scale will usually take care of itself.

When it comes to gaining weight the right way, start with a minimum of 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, get 20% of calories from healthy fats, eat vegetables and fruits at every meal, and then fill in the rest of your caloric needs with quality carbohydrate sources.

As an athlete, I went through 8–10 RTDs a day and ate pizza and ice cream at night because I was “burning so many calories and really needed the fuel.” I gained a lot of weight, but I also left college as a pre-diabetic. To quote another movie (Dodgeball), “It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off…”

Body weight, especially in a game like football, is important, but it should never come at the expense of health.

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

When I was an athlete, I lived off of five hours of sleep (three hours if I was working security that night), trained like a maniac, took an average course load of 15 credits every semester, took six credits every summer, and had a part-time work-study job. After five years of school, I was two semesters away from a master’s degree, and I was debt-free. However, I felt physically and mentally drained to the point that I was no longer productive at anything else.

Being so far ahead in school was great, but I was there to play ball, and that is something I can never get back. Being good at school and good at sports are not mutually exclusive, but there needs to be an intelligent approach. That approach needs to start with eight hours of sleep every night.

The top two predictors of injury are previous injury history and lack of sleep. It is no coincidence that I was constantly dinged up and constantly sleep-deprived. Sleep is the greatest performance-enhancing drug on the market, and it is both free and legal. We need to drive this message home to athletes constantly.

If you’re training hard, you need to recover. Getting ahead in school and paying your bills are important, but you need to be smart and adjust your day accordingly. Get some sleep and train later in the day. Catch up on sleep over the weekend and on off days. Turn off the TV and go to sleep.

Health Drives Performance

As coaches, we have the benefit of drawing from past experiences to help shape our training philosophies and influence our interactions with current student-athletes. For me, I was an athlete who loved the weight room and wanted to do everything the right way. But I often got in my own way because I didn’t understand how to approach training, nutrition, and recovery in an intelligent manner.

There are many principles that guide my philosophy on training student-athletes, but at the heart of it there is one standard I refuse to deviate from: Health drives performance. Sports are not inherently healthy pursuits. The body breaks down and injuries happen. But one thing that will never thwart your training progress is emphatically chasing health in and out of the weight room.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Over the course of my 40-year career in the related professional fields of orthopedic and sports physical therapy and the performance enhancement training of athletes, I have been fortunate to work and associate with many outstanding, successful, and unique medical practitioners, strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches, and business professionals. Many have become lifelong friends and mentors, some have cultivated me over brief periods of time, and all have imprinted some form of valuable experience upon me.

These many lessons have been instrumental to me, whether during the training of an athlete, the physical rehabilitation of an athlete, researching and publishing scientific subject material, or assuming the role of a department head or chief executive officer (CEO) of a large health care business. I frequently find myself contacting these professionals, as well as relying upon my past experiences, to assist in many of the crucial decisions that have occurred over the course of my career.

This is a tribute to all of those individuals (there are too many to mention all of them) who were kind enough and willing to “take me under their wing” and spend the time to educate and refine me. As an expression of my gratitude toward all of them, I’d like to share some select experiences in this blog post. It’s a way to “pay it forward,” especially to the young S&C coaches and rehabilitation specialists, as there was a time when I was also in their situation. I hope that other professionals reading this dialogue may benefit from these lessons as well. As the SimpliFaster website is related to athletics, I will attempt to be consistent in describing these experiences in that context.

USA Hall of Fame Strength and Conditioning Coach Johnny Parker

Coach Johnny Parker has won three NFL Super Bowl World Championships, many other championships, and numerous professional awards. I first met Coach Parker at Giants Stadium in 1985. At the time, I was a physical therapist in the Sports Medicine, Performance, and Research Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York.

I was establishing a platform to introduce the squat exercise as a component of the postoperative anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction rehabilitation process. Dr. Russell Warren, the head of the HSS Sports Medicine service and NFL New York Giants head team physician, suggested I meet with the NY Giants Head S&C Coach Johnny Parker because he was a big advocate of the squat exercise. I met with Coach Parker at Giants Stadium and spent the day with him. After that, he invited me to work with him and his New York Giant players for the next seven years (his remaining tenure with the team), during their off-season physical conditioning and training. We remain very close friends to this day.

“Remember that we coach the kids, not the weights.”–USA S&C Hall of Fame Coach Johnny Parker

Coach Parker instilled in me that we are in the coaching profession for our athletes, and not the other way around. We must do all we can for them, regardless of the required work hours, our personal concerns, or any other “outside” distractions. Our concern is for our players, to make our best effort every day, to be the very best professional we can possibly be. We are to be leaders and hold our players accountable, as their dreams are in our hands.

“Opponents admire talent because you’re born with it, they respect strength because you have to work for it, but they fear toughness.”–USA S&C Hall of Fame Coach Johnny Parker

Coach Parker taught me that “toughness” is the ability of the athlete to establish and maintain their composure throughout high pressure situations. Toughness is ignoring poor weather conditions on game day, not jumping offside when your opponent has the ball and it’s third down and two yards to go, not hitting a player when he is out of bounds, not roughing the passer. Toughness is performing your assignments optimally to achieve a much-needed win.

Toughness is representing your institution or team appropriately, waking up on your own accord and attending class, achieving proper grades, and maintaining proper conduct both on and off the field. It’s assisting your team in a positive, not negative, manner both on and off the field. It’s the disciplined ability to repeatedly control all of the variables that are controllable and to ignore all of those variables that are not.

Toughness is NOT working your athletes so hard that they reach the point of vomiting into a bucket, collapse on the practice field, or become too exhausted to fully recover for the next training or practice session. Anyone can exhaust their players and bring them to the point of illness—there is no coaching talent requirement for those achievements.

NFL Hall of Fame Coach Bill Parcells

While working the off-seasons with Coach Parker at Giants Stadium, I was eventually introduced to New York Giants Head Coach Bill Parcells. Our relationship continued through the time he became the head coach of the NFL New York Jets, as he referred some of his Jet players to me to rehabilitate. As our relationship evolved, I found that not only was Coach Parcells one of the most intelligent leaders I have ever known, but he was certainly one of the wisest men I’ve ever come across in my career. That holds true to this day.

At the time, our physical therapy company was going through a restructuring of senior management. I was placed in the role of CEO, along with my partner George Papadopoulos, until a new CEO who would be appropriate for our business model could be located and employed. I spoke with Coach Parcells during this 12-month period, as he was a key resource for me. I’ve always believed in the strong connection between the roles of a successful head sport coach and the CEO of a large business. Both are ultimately responsible for their “team” and face many similar decisions.

“There is a big difference between routine and commitment.” –NFL Hall of Fame Football Coach Bill Parcells

No truer lesson has ever been stated. Similar to the head coach and leader in charge, all assistant coaches and players must consistently display their best efforts both on and off the field. Athletes are motivated, we all know that, so why would a coach select someone who is not motivated? They must be provided with the environment, knowledge, and tools to hone their craft—yes, craft, not job (there is a big difference). A football team needs football players, not athletes who happen to play football. There is a significant difference between the two.

In many careers, there are individuals who at one time arrived at their work setting with motivation and enthusiasm, but eventually fell into the trap of arriving to work, performing their duties, and then leaving for home, only to return the next day to display the same lackluster effort for the “daily routine.” Unfortunately, this is all too common. Just like the head coach, staff and players must be continually challenged to evolve and improve themselves. The head coach must ensure that the staff and players are also provided with the environment and tools necessary to positively grow and succeed.

The staff and players must also be held accountable for both their professional responsibilities and personal conduct and rewarded whenever appropriate. They often must be pushed outside their “comfort zone” to adapt and grow, and to attain the confidence to strive when placed in unfamiliar and, at times, high-pressure situations. Until such a “culture” is established, the risk remains for an environment of “routine” to rear its ugly head.

Coach Parcells would also state that football players who play the game for money and fame will likely achieve neither, but players who play for championships will likely achieve both. Only the avoidance of routine and the culture of commitment will lead to championships and the achievement of fulfilling the athlete’s dreams.

“Potential means you haven’t done anything yet. You lose with potential; you win with performance.” –NFL Hall of Fame Football Coach Bill Parcells

This statement certainly doesn’t mean that athletes with great potential are discounted; on the contrary, they are recruited, taught, and mentored. However, over time the athlete must eventually convert their “potential” to “performance.” An athlete is rewarded on performance. A team wins based upon their performance. A coach is judged on their performance. If this is not true, why then do we keep score during athletic competition?

USA Strength and Conditioning Hall of Fame Coach Al Vermeil

Coach Al Vermeil is the only S&C coach to win world championships in two different professional sports leagues (the National Football League and National Basketball Association), as well as add seven world championships to his resume. Coach Vermeil has been retired for more than a decade; however, in my opinion as well as the opinion of many of my peers, when it comes to the combination of knowledge and coaching abilities, he is still the best S&C coach in the country.

My initial contact with Coach Vermeil was through our mutual friends, S&C coaches Al Miller and Don Chu. Ironically, Coach Vermeil and I remained in consistent contact for years through many phone conversations before finally meeting face-to-face. He has taught me so much about coaching, working with athletes, programming, etc. It’s too long a list for this article, but his following brief statement left a strong impression upon me that will last my lifetime:

“There are no absolutes.” –USA S&C Hall of Fame Coach Al Vermeil

Coaches and athletes today have various educational, coaching, and equipment merchandise available to them to enhance their professional knowledge and coaching proficiencies, as well as the physical and psychological development of their athletes. There is a staggering number of conferences, print publications, certifications, internships and mentorships, data collection, and training equipment available. However, the most utilized resource at every coach’s and athlete’s fingertips is the internet.

This high-speed network of information provides the user with an infinite amount of data, including coaching and training information, along with instant gratification. The internet is also a venue where robust claims of coaching prowess and athletic physical enhancement are guaranteed, often at a price. Frequently, these “guarantees” come without substantiated scientific evidence and, thus, are based solely on opinion. This is not to imply that there are not some dependable and valid products and information available, but products should not be considered “one size fits all,” as athletes are individuals.

Some sound advice for all coaches and athletes would be “caveat emptor” (let the buyer beware) and examine all information for both validity and substance. I should also note that the only “secrets” are the ones that can be bought. The reality is there are no secrets, as desired information is always available to those who invest the time to search for it.

Athletes are individuals both psychologically and physically. What is appropriate for one may not be what is ideal for another, as their specific needs are likely different from many of their peers. There is no one “cookie cutter” method for success; there are no “absolutes.” If there were, we’d all coach with the exact same philosophical training methods, utilizing the same programs and exercises during our athletes’ training.

USA Strength and Conditioning Hall of Fame Coach Al Miller

I first met S&C Coach Al Miller when Coach Parker and I flew to Denver, Colorado, to meet with him and his staff. Al and Johnny are good friends, and at the time, Coach Miller was the head S&C coach for the NFL Denver Broncos. He had arranged a weekend seminar on strength and power development to be taught by Coach Dragomir Cioroslan, a former Romanian weightlifter who was at the time the head coach for the USA National Weightlifting team. The weekend was quite an educational experience, and it initiated what came to be a long friendship with Coach Miller, a great man.

“Don’t ever condemn ignorance, educate it.” –USA S&C Hall of Fame Coach Al Miller

Coach Miller, like many S&C coaches, was employed on the football staff of many prestigious head football coaches, but none was greater than the legendary head football coach at the University of Alabama, Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. I used to ask Coach Miller and all my coaching friends about the various experiences of their careers, but I had a special interest in hearing the stories and lessons of Coach Bryant.

One lesson that Coach Bryant passed on to Coach Miller was not to become frustrated if a player did not comprehend a lesson or was unable to perform a training technique, as the confusion might not be the athlete’s fault. Poor coaching, poor communication, or the lack of the necessary tools (equipment, facilities) and environment to accomplish the assignment may actually be the culprit(s). When coaching athletes, instead of becoming frustrated, take a step back, look in the mirror, and discover the missing piece(s) of the puzzle. Find the solution and, if necessary, adjust the teaching methods and concepts to a simpler level via improved communication so the athlete can comprehend and perform the task at hand.

USA Strength and Conditioning Hall of Fame Coach and National Athletic Trainer’s Association Hall of Fame Athletic Trainer Dr. Donald Chu

I first met Coach Don Chu at a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) National Conference in 1984. I approached him after his presentation to ask him a few questions about it. I also asked if he had time to discuss his career, as I was interested in the same professional pathway. Coach Chu asked if we could get together later that same day.

Coach Chu was kind enough to meet with me for two full hours, providing me with any bit of information that could possibly be beneficial to me. At the end of our meeting, he looked directly at me and asked if I would be interested in working with him in his physical therapy practice in California. I thought about the offer for a couple of days before ultimately declining it, but I requested to remain in contact with him. We’ve remained good friends to this day.

For those of you who don’t know of Don Chu, you should. Don Chu has his Ph.D. in physical therapy and is a NATA certified athletic trainer, a noted strength and conditioning coach, and a track and field jumps coach who has coached both Olympians and All-Americans. He was also a professor of kinesiology and biomechanics at the school where he coached, California State University at Hayward.

He is the only S&C coach and athletic trainer in history to be inducted into both the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame and the NATA Hall of Fame. Although he coached at Cal-State Hayward, a Division II level college, there was a time in his career when Coach Chu coached more 7+ foot high jumpers than anyone else in the country! Although retired, he is still the foremost authority in the country with regard to plyometric training.

“Always have a plan and be sure to emphasize quality not quantity of the work that is to be executed. Too many coaches prescribe too many exercises just for the sake of including exercises. They want to include everything they can in their program due to the concern their competitor may be doing something with their athletes that they are not.” –USA S&C Hall of Fame Coach and NATA HOF Athletic Trainer Dr. Donald Chu

Coach Chu stressed the significance of focusing on the quality of an athlete’s training and the ability to segregate what is important from what is not. This not only results in enhanced performance, but helps the athlete concentrate on fewer versus too many training factors. The focus on quality also avoids overtraining by maintaining the workout volume and time at appropriate levels. Excessive training for the sake of training is a direct route to negative consequences.

Bulgarian Weightlifter and Bulgarian National Team Weightlifting Coach Ivan Abadjiev

In 1988, I traveled with a number of American strength and conditioning coaches to Bulgaria to study and observe the Bulgarian National Weightlifting team. We arrived in Bulgaria in the late spring, prior to the summer Olympic Games. We attended team workouts and had periodic question-and-answer sessions with various weightlifting team coaches, including head weightlifting coach Ivan Abadjiev. At the end of the day, we would return to our hotel for dinner and then, eventually, to our hotel rooms. One evening after dinner my roommate, USA Hall of Fame S&C Coach E.J. “Doc” Kreis, slapped me on the shoulder and said, “C’mon, let’s go.” When I asked where we were going, he stated, “Back to see the Bulgarian weightlifting team train.”

We took a taxi to the weightlifting center, and upon our uninvited arrival, we just stuck our heads through the doorway. Coach Abadjiev saw us and graciously waved us into the facility. Our one-on-one time that evening with Coach Abadjiev is an evening I’ll always remember.

“During our athletes’ training, we ensure the quality of our work while taking advantage of our athletes’ high testosterone levels.” –Bulgarian Weightlifter and Bulgarian National Team Weightlifting Coach Ivan Abadjiev

Like Coach Chu, Coach Abadjiev stressed the quality of his athletes’ training. In preparing for the upcoming summer Olympic Games, his athletes lifted weights three times per day for no longer than one hour per training session. He stressed how testosterone levels would rise for approximately 20 minutes and then remain at maximal levels for only an additional 40–50 minutes prior to the initiation of their decline. Thus, the reason for just one-hour workouts followed by appropriate rest sessions repeated three times daily.

The Bulgarian weightlifters performed only four exercises:

• Back squat
• Front squat
• Clean and jerk
• Snatch

No assistance weight exercises, period. Their executed exercise sets consisted of single and double repetitions, and their executed exercise weights were at least 20 kilos from their personal recorded best. They stressed quality of work and no additional exercises just for the sake of adding exercises. This information certainly reminded me of Coach Chu’s advice as well.

Soviet Coach and Professor Yuri Verkhoshansky

Prior to my trip to Bulgaria, in 1987 I traveled with a different group of American S&C coaches to the former Soviet Union and former East Germany to study the training methods of various national sports coaches and scientists, as well as observe various national teams during training. During our time in Moscow at the Central Institute of Physical Culture and Sport, we attended various lectures, some given by Professor Verkhoshansky. His main topic was “shock training,” or what American coaches termed “plyometrics.” Professor Verkhoshansky is often referred to as the “Father of Plyometric Training,” as he is credited with creating the shock method of training (plyometrics), along with inventing the depth jump. As a former sport coach, he was also very proficient in the methodology of special strength training and special physical preparation of athletes.

“I have had my share of great successes but have had my share of failures as well.” –Soviet Coach and Professor Yuri Verkhoshansky 

I had the honor to spend a period of time one-on-one with this brilliant man. During our conversation he admitted that he had his share of failures, and this certainly impressed upon me as a young coach that even the best have their share of mistakes. Professor Verkhoshansky stressed the need to have a well-thought-out program design that is substantiated with scientific evidence. His words echo in my head on the occasions when I sit down and design training and/or rehabilitation programs, as well as research projects.

My own personal experiences have taught me that throughout the course of a professional career, everyone makes mistakes. The key is to learn from them, don’t repeat them, and over time to minimize them.

Hall of Fame Basketball Coach Lou Carnesecca

I had both the honor and the privilege to serve as the head strength and conditioning coach at St. John’s University of New York for 10 years (1986–1995). The athletic department at St. John’s and I both had one significant thing in common: I was the university’s first head S&C coach and St. John’s was my first head S&C coaching position. I always felt we grew together, and a focal point for this growth was our famed ambassador of basketball, Head Coach Lou Carnesecca.

I felt very excited and privileged to be his basketball team’s S&C coach, and I was Coach Carnesecca’s only strength coach, since he retired in 1992 during my tenure at the university. Coach Carnesecca’s career collegiate record at St. John’s was 526–200, winning three out of every four basketball games he coached. During his entire collegiate coaching career, his St. John’s teams were never omitted from a post-season tournament.

Coach Carnesecca was very unique, as he was kind yet demanding, and he embodied intelligence, wisdom, and a wealth of coaching experience. His players, his university, and the city of New York all loved him. If Coach Carnesecca had run as a candidate for the mayor of New York City, he would have been elected in a landslide.

“60% players, 30% coaching, and 10% luck…but you make your own luck.” –HOF Basketball Coach Lou Carnesecca

One day at practice, I asked Coach Carnesecca who was more important to winning a basketball game, the players or the coaches? I presumed I knew the answer and expected him to provide me with a similar answer, but his response was something I did not expect and remains with me to this day.

After thinking for a short moment, Coach Carnesecca responded: “60% players, 30% coaching, and 10% luck,” and after a pause he added, “but you make your own luck.” He asked whether when our players succeeded in attaining key rebounds or loose balls on the court, were they lucky or was it a result of weight room, track, and on-the-court training? When hitting foul shots with no time left on the clock to win a basketball game, was that due to luck or the result of all the foul shots taken by our players at the end of each and every practice?

Coach’s message was clear. You make your own luck by working hard, paying attention to the little details, leaving no stone unturned, and having both the basketball staff and players work together to achieve unity, culture, and success.

Russell F. Warren, M.D.

When I arrived at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in 1984, I was hired as a physical therapist to work in the Sports Medicine, Performance, and Research Center. At the time, there were only two sports medicine orthopedic physicians/surgeons in the Sports Medicine Service: Dr. Russell Warren and Dr. Thomas Wickiewicz. Both are brilliant and skilled physicians presently still in practice.

Dr. Warren was the Chief of the Sports Medicine Service and the head team physician for the NFL New York Giants, and he would eventually become the surgeon-in-chief at HSS. He is considered one of the “Forefathers of Sports Medicine,” and under his tenure the sports medicine service at HSS grew to its present 39 physicians. To put things into further perspective, there are more head team physicians in U.S. professional sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) who completed their orthopedic and sports medicine training (i.e., residency, fellowship) at HSS than at any other institution in the United States.

“We have an obligation to our patients to do the best job possible, no matter how long it takes, or what the cost. If you’re not going to do the job right, get out of the way and have someone else do it.” –Dr. Russell F. Warren

This message was provided to me during a conversation with Dr. Warren when discussing a research project on which I was one of the investigators. As UCLA Hall of Fame Basketball Coach John Wooden stated, “If you don’t do the job right the first time, where will you find the time to do it again?”

Dr. Warren was noted for enforcing the academic and surgical skill requirements of his residents and fellows. It didn’t matter if it was the President of the United States or a person from a homeless shelter, no one left the operating room until the job was completed correctly. He played no favorites and brought out the best in all under his tutelage. My years at HSS taught me with the importance of academics, research, and patient care, as the patient always came first. To do the job correctly, if your personal skill set was not at the level of others when addressing specific pathologies, you should pass the patient to the professional best qualified to provide care.

My time at HSS also coincided with my time at St. John’s University. I had some pretty long days (early mornings and early afternoons at HSS, mid-afternoons and evenings at St. John’s) for more than 10 years, but I loved every minute of it. The combination of these two professions allowed me to bring the principles and exercises of S&C into the rehabilitation setting.

Drs. Warren and Wickiewicz were open to my ideas as long as I could justify my cause. They allowed me to initiate my ideas into sports medicine rehabilitation (e.g., incorporating the squat exercise as part of the HSS postoperative ACL rehabilitation protocol at a time where squatting was still taboo for many), and they were always available for discussions. I am very grateful for all of the lessons learned from Dr. Warren and all of the other fine physicians at HSS. I continue to spend time at HSS with these physicians to further my education.

Dr. Claude T. Moorman III, M.D.

Dr. Claude “T” Moorman III, or “T” Moorman, is the president of Atrium Health’s Musculoskeletal Institute as well as the Edward N. Hanley Jr. Endowed Chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. Dr. T. Moorman is the former head team physician for Duke University, the NFL Baltimore Ravens, and the University of Maryland. “T” was a Sports Medicine Fellow at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. During his time in fellowship, he and I developed a close relationship, and he immediately became one of my favorite, if not my overall favorite, HSS Sports Medicine Fellow during my years at HSS.

“You need to continually practice and hone your surgical skills, and you also need to get a callus on your butt by studying in the library.” –Dr. Claude T. Moorman III

One morning after CORE conference (i.e., Grand Rounds), I asked T what he thought becoming an outstanding sports medicine orthopedic surgeon would require. In addition to developing excellent surgical skills and decision-making processes, he included getting a callus on one’s butt by studying in the library. T is a brilliant physician and researcher. He (along with other HSS physicians) taught me the value of both research and academics in the medical, and frankly any, profession.

As an example, say a coach witnesses a different team’s athlete performing a specific exercise that they have never seen before. If they have no understanding of the purpose of the exercise and employ this exercise in their program design, how would they know the exercise is appropriate for their athlete(s)? If the exercise coincidently improves the athlete’s physicality, without knowledge of the foundation and purpose of the exercise, how would the coach know how to appropriately progress the exercise?

I certainly acknowledge the field of S&C and coaching, as with any other professional field, has a component that is “art.” But we also cannot ignore the scientific legitimacy component that is essential to the profession as well. S&C coaches need to not only acquire a callus on their hands from the barbell, they also need to acquire a callus on their butt from studying in the library.

NFL Super Bowl Champion Coach Dick Vermeil

Head football coach Dick Vermeil and I were introduced via a phone call initiated by his brother, and my good friend, Al Vermeil. Coach Dick Vermeil would call me occasionally with regard to his players’ injuries. Dick Vermeil has won the “Coach of the Year” honor at every level: high school, junior college, NCAA Division I, and the NFL. He is in multiple Halls of Fame and was the winning coach of Super Bowl XXXIV with his NFL St. Louis Rams team.

I finally met Coach Dick Vermeil in person when he hired his brother, Charlie Francis, and me as consultants in 1999, his third season, to work with the St. Louis Rams. Coach Dick Vermeil and I have continued our relationship through the years, as he is the ultimate professional and a very sincere and caring person. You’ll never meet a finer gentleman. Coach Vermeil has actually traveled with some of his dear friends to New York to have me assist in their physical rehabilitation. If you’re Coach Vermeil’s friend, you’re a friend for life, which speaks so much to his character.

“The players don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” –Super Bowl Champion NFL Coach Dick Vermeil 

Coach Vermeil reinforced the fact that we, as coaches, are in our role for the benefit of our players, period. We have the responsibility to make our athletes our priority, not the other way around. As mentioned previously in this article, we owe our players our best efforts, and we have to make our own commitment to be the best we personally can be. Throughout my career, I have often met the “me” type of individuals—the ones with the big egos (some who are also bullies) who believe that all success is due to them and their efforts. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Those who yearn for the spotlight have no idea that by doing their job well, working for the benefit of the athletes, and publicly giving credit to those who deserve it, they will place a bigger spotlight on themselves than they ever could have imagined. Have you ever witnessed a head coach who has just won a world championship publicly state that the championship win was all due to them and their efforts alone? Our athletes need to believe in us in our roles as coaches, and a significant part of that belief is for them to know and feel that we truly care about them.

Renowned Track and Field Sprint Coach Charlie Francis

As with coaches Al and Dick Vermeil, I first “met” Coach Charlie Francis via telephone conversations. Charlie was a good friend of Al’s, and Al placed us in contact with one another. I finally met Coach Francis in person during the aforementioned time we spent together with the NFL St. Louis Rams. My time with him and Al Vermeil exposed me to a level of coaching brilliance and foresight that I had rarely been exposed to before (or since). Charlie was very unique in his thought process, his ideas, and the way he viewed coaching situations.

Although Charlie and I continued to stay in touch, and we met each other on various occasions, my biggest regret in my professional career is not spending more one-on-one time with him. I will never make that mistake again, as I presently have a strong relationship and friendship with Charlie’s protégé, Coach Derek Hansen. Coach Hansen has been a great resource for me. He has taught me invaluable amounts of Charlie’s thought processes and coaching practices, as well as many of his own. I would highly recommend that coaches attend Coach Hansen’s running mechanics professional courses.

“It depends….”–Renowned Track and Field Sprint Coach Charlie Francis

On the occasions when I asked Coach Francis a question, he often responded with the statement: “It depends.” Coach Francis repeated this answer often enough that it could possibly lead to frustration for the person asking the question. I soon realized that he needed more specifics to provide the most appropriate answer to the question presented before him.

He reinforced the fact that no matter what area of professional occupation, every person is different, and every situation is different, and the necessity for a coach, or any professional, is to collect all of the information and conditions related to the question. Only then can a coach provide the answer that would best benefit the athlete. “It depends…”: those two words convey so much.

“95% effort is still submaximal.” –Renowned Track and Field Sprint Coach Charlie Francis

During our time together with the Rams, Coach Francis stressed the importance of sprinting during both the off-season and in-season not only for performance enhancement, but for injury prevention as well. Coach Derek Hansen has also been a proponent of this concept and has reinforced this to me throughout our time together.

Charlie espoused a point of view to which I not had been previously exposed. Loading at such high intensities was not only required for adaptation for improvement, but such high intensities were also safe to impose upon the athlete because they were still submaximal. The concern is not the high application of intensity, but how often (exercise volume) the high intensity is applied. How often should a coach apply such high intensities? It depends….

I have utilized “high intensity” in the rehabilitation setting since squatting our postoperative ACL reconstructions at HSS. However, that conversation with Charlie embedded further clarity and reasoning to the “why,” in my mind, to apply this concept during the rehabilitation process. The fact is that athletes need to return to play not just based upon limb symmetry index measures, which are both useable and significant, but by also meeting the physical standard requirement (i.e., strength, power, speed) of their sport of participation. The additional achievement of these physical requirement standards assists to ensure both a safe and optimal level of return to play. The athlete requires the application of high intensities not only during training but, when appropriate, during the rehabilitation process as well.

CEO and Business Executive Richard ‘Dick’ Parsons

Dick Parsons is one of the most brilliant, yet down-to-earth, business executives with whom I have ever been associated. More importantly, he is just a great person, period.

Dick Parsons is an astute attorney and businessman who also has a strong background in banking. He worked closely with New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and at the time Mr. Rockefeller was appointed Vice President of the United States, Mr. Parsons also worked closely with President Gerald Ford. Dick Parsons is the former Chairman and CEO of Dime Savings Bank, CEO of Time Warner, Chairman of Citigroup, and interim CEO of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers at a time when the organization was going through a difficult situation. He was also the interim Chairman of the Board for CBS Corporation when that organization was presented with some difficult times.

It’s not really relevant how I initially met Dick Parsons, but after spending some time with him, he asked me to train him. I agreed, as his offices were in the Time Warner building, where we also have one of our physical therapy facilities. Dick is the only “personal training” client of my career, and I trained him for three days each week during his years as CEO at Time Warner. His breadth of business knowledge and, more importantly, his advice on how to work and communicate with people are still invaluable to me.

“Don’t ever forget who you are as a person. Don’t allow money or power to ever influence who you are as a person because it’s who you are that put you into the position to attain success.” –CEO and Business Executive Richard “Dick” Parsons

Dick reemphasized this lesson; a vital lesson that my parents had also taught me when I was growing up in a lower income area of Brooklyn, New York. We started our physical therapy business 20 years ago in a small 1,600-square-foot facility in a small shopping mall in Queens, New York. Today we stand at 185 physical therapy facilities in five states, a 20,000-square-foot athletic performance training center, and more than 2,000 employees. A good support group of family and friends will keep you on the right path (i.e., prevent you from changing), and that right path will help ensure success.

I’ve always believed if you make the necessary decisions for the right reasons and remember to treat your staff as though they work with you and support you (because they do)—not work for you—everything else should fall into place.

CEO and Professional Physical Therapist Dan Dourney

Dan Dourney is a physical therapist by “profession,” but he has acquired many executive business talents throughout the course of his career. He has assumed the role of president, chief operations officer, and chief executive officer of many health care companies, including, but not limited to, those involving physical therapy, surgery centers, and electronic medical records. To this day, he continues to sit on many institutional and company Boards of Directors, chairing some of them as well. He is very skilled at developing and instituting process and establishing roles of responsibility, as well as holding individuals accountable for their role. He plays no favorites, yet is very approachable, open to dialogue, and fair in the management and evaluation of his staff.

“It is important not to confuse the enactment of process with the achievement of results.” –CEO and Professional Physical Therapist Dan Dourney 

Strength and conditioning coaches, sports scientists, athletic trainers, physical therapists, sport coaches, and other professionals may implement the best processes and program designs, collect data, etc., but the bottom line is that they must achieve success. The athlete’s physical qualities and overall performance must improve, injuries must resolve in a timely manner, and data must contribute to improved process and design additional benefits for the athlete, as well as reinforce present ones.

Ultimately, the staff, individual athlete, and team must be successful, and to state this candidly, they must win. It doesn’t matter how good a training program design, coaching skill, or sports science process may appear to be, if there are no proven achievements of success, they are unsubstantiated. As Coach Parcells would say, “You are what your record says you are.”

“Hope is not a strategy.” –CEO and Professional Physical Therapist Dan Dourney

It would be quite unrealistic for a head coach to walk onto the field of game day competition, thinking to themselves, “I hope our game strategy plan works today,” and expect to be victorious. There is no “hope” in the preparation of an offensive and defensive strategy against an opponent when so much time and effort was spent examining the competition and devising such a plan. There is no hope, only the substantiated belief in a concise and programmed plan based on facts both accumulated and reviewed in devising such a plan.

The same may be said of the training and rehabilitation of athletes. There is no hope, just a well-devised plan, based on the substantiated scientific and other related evidence and conditions (i.e., the number of athletes, the training age of the athlete, the training facility environment, the seasonal weather conditions, etc.), that is specific and appropriate for each individual athlete with regard to their current physical state. Then there is the addition of the art (skill and ability) during the coaching or rehabilitation of the athlete. When the science and art are brought together, a professional establishes their career “record.”

Learn From Everyone and Make Your Own Luck

I have had both the honor and privilege to work and be associated with literally hundreds, if not thousands, of medical, S&C, and business professionals and peers during the course of my career. All have influenced me in their own way, providing me with both experiences and lessons in what to accept and, just as important, what not to accept as a professional. I look forward to continuing to learn from them, as well as others, in the years to come.

With the exceptions of Mr. Dan Dourney, Coach Abadjiev, and Professor Verkhoshansky, I have had good 30+ year friendships and relationships with all of the above professionals, which I truly appreciate and treasure. During my career, my peers have often remarked on how lucky I’ve been. I always thank them for their compliment and agree that I have been fortunate throughout my career; however, I am also well aware, as a lesson bestowed upon me, that I worked diligently to make my own luck.

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