22/05/2022
The WHY?
The recent post about drop-in accelerations gave me much more WHY when using them.
I've used them as part of my ACCELERATION preparation after my Altis Short Sprints Course.
But, yesterday I added the WHY & it added important context for these young, inexperienced athletes.
The WHY we spoke about was how this works on steps 3, 4, 5+ without having to generate the same FORCE & PROJECTION needed from a standing start.
The WHY is very important.
19/05/2022
Congratulations:
I'm very pleased for this DETERMINED, TALENTED & HARDWORKING young player, being selected for the England u18s training squad after a difficult year.
I'm certain this is only just the start of her rugby journey & I feel privileged to be a small part of it.
Very well Done Maria.
15/05/2022
Breaking Rules:
This try yesterday was superb and IMO much better than one scored last week and shared all over social media.
There is so much SPEED & MOVEMENT to admire but my favourite is this picture where he steps off the "WRONG" foot.
steps off his left leg to move sharply to his right. Usually it's easier to use the right foot (to exert force outside COM) to step to the left.
What I love most is how he lifts his left arm to counter balance that DYNAMIC but UNSTABLE position.
Without lifting his left arm I'm certain he would've fallen over.
This skill isn't acquired through coaching. It's his movement ability and body awareness that probably comes from lots of unstructured PLAY as a kid.
π π π π π π π
03/05/2022
Are you COACHING?
ANYONE can do the following:
* Time runs
* Tell people to run 5 x 300m
* Set up drills
IMO COACHING is TEACHING
If you're not challenging an athlete/player's understanding and knowledge of what they're doing then you're not COACHING.
You might be timing or setting up practice but it's not the same.
29/04/2022
Be CONTRARY:
"What if I do the OPPOSITE of everyone else?"
This audiobook was an excellent reminder that It's important to constantly ask WHY.
Just because EVERYONE is doing it doesn't mean it's the best way.
- Run on your toes.......
- 90Β° locked arms........
- Go to ground.............
- Run straight...............
EVERYONE = AVERAGE
Don't be AVERAGE.
12/03/2022
Rugby Speed Course:
Only 2 Spaces left!
Monday 4th April
1:30 - 4:30pm
09/03/2022
CHARITY LAUNCH - 12th April 2022
- Middle Distance Group
As Head Coach of
Juniors I am very excited to be starting a Middle distance training group this Summer.
Please join us for this FUN launch event on the 12th April where we will be raising money for the charity.
05/03/2022
Easter Rugby Speed course:
* Only 3 Spaces left!
* Book Now.
03/03/2022
UNIQUE SKILLS:
EVERY athlete/player is UNIQUE in how they solve problems.
* Don't try to coach it out of them.
* Don't coach clones.
Instead, try to understand how they can find their own solutions.
The Coaching skill is trying to do this within a framework that allows them to be successful.
No point allowing someone to do something that will HINDER performance!
01/03/2022
Transfer: Teaching - Coaching
Privileged to share my thoughts on my own journey from TEACHER to COACH with from .
IMO they are the same thing.
My aim is to INSPIRE young (& old) people to strive to be the best version of themselves.
Simple.
But finding out what MOTIVATES individuals isn't!
https://altis.world/articles/coaching-chat-1-coaching-developing-athletes-lessons-from-the-classroom-field-track/
24/02/2022
Having a GO!
Not everyone is "brave" enough to try new skills learnt in training in a game.
I love hearing how my players tried a LEFT FOOT STEP or a SPIN in a game.
It won't look like it does in training but that's ok.
A game environment is constantly changing and players have to learn to ADAPT how they execute their skills.
23/02/2022
Talk LESS:
"Too much EXTRINSIC FEEDBACK dulls a players ability to develop their own FEEDBACK abilities"
I'm consciously trying to Speak less during my Coaching to allow my players/athletes to discover their own solutions.
This is a lot more difficult than simply instructing & giving solutions.
This is an excellent podcast which has influenced me to purchase 2 books.
16/02/2022
Rugby Speed Course:
ANY players 14+
Learn how to:
* Accelerate effectively
* Step off BOTH feet
* Run at Top Speed
Places are limited & there are only 7 available.
16/02/2022
Easter Rugby Speed course:
* Open to ANY young player 14+
* Limited places - ONLY 7 left
Learn how to:
1 - Accelerate effectively
2 - Run faster with less effort
3 - Step off BOTH feet
Book:
Email - [email protected]
Phone - 07887 567997
19/01/2022
INTENSITY v VOLUME:
So many great points made on this fantastic podcast with all of them confirming my philosophy on the INTENSITY v VOLUME debate.
Here are my favourite points:
- Great coaches NEVER think about Volume only Intensity.
- Fatigue based runs are only helpful/relevant if tempo is specific to the performance you are training for.
- ANY coach can make someone tired. It's not clever.
- 35% of 400m is AEROBIC - Why do coaches spend 90% of their time training this system and not ANAEROBIC??
- Profound Commonalities - find these in the great coaches and base your training on them. Then add your own personality.
06/01/2022
Technique v Skill
I really enjoyed another podcast today in which reminded the difference between TECHNIQUE & SKILL.
TECHNIQUE - is practising the movements required for a skill without context.
SKILL - is executing the movements in a game/competitive context.
I do this with ACCELERATION & my rugby players in every session.
We always warm up with TECHNIQUE work thinking about Projection of COM ahead of feet, force application and alignment of Head, Hips & Feet.
We then add some context to make it more SKILL work. I will always add a ball in to catch from a variety of situations.
The challenge for my players is to demonstrate TECHNIQUE within the SKILL.
30/11/2021
DON'T WASTE TALENT:
Sometimes a coach with a lot more experience gives you confirmation of your methods and thought processes.
Listening to this episode was almost like hearing my thoughts out loud!
Too many notes to list here but my highlights are:
* Don't waste talent.
* Ex*****on under pressure is much more difficult than training under pain.
* Build a base of Skill ( Speed & Technique)
* Don't kill the desire of an athlete.
So many "experienced" coaches would benefit from listening to this although I'm sure they won't!
17/11/2021
SIMPLICITY:
Last week I needed to confirm something I was doing so watched a Derek Evely presentation on Altis.
This confirmed my position but also lead me to find these podcasts by him.
What I found most interesting was the common theme of trying to keep both programmes & coaching as SIMPLE as possible - whatever the level of athlete.
KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid
I've loved them all and will continue to work my way through the rest.
12/11/2021
New Zealand π³πΏ
- Beware Early Specialisation
So the Black Caps of NZ will play another major sporting final on Sunday in the T20 Cricket World Cup.
How does a country with less than 5 million people achieve consistent sporting success?
Current NZ World Rankings:
Rugby - 1
Test Cricket - 1
Netball - 2
Americas Cup holders.
One strategy the employ is to discourage Early Specialisation so sportspeople can develop as much Athleticism and Movement patterns as possible BEFORE Specialisation later on in life.
They have an excellent website about this called " Balance is Better" and I think our sporting decision makers in the UK could learn a lot from this approach.
Every week I read about another 7 year old signing a contract with a professional football club.
Madness.
coaching
19/10/2021
Trials - a rant:
I had the misfortune to witness firsthand young children (8/9 years) being "trialled" to join an athletics club on Sunday.
They were all sat nervously with their allocated number, waiting to be JUDGED on their running, throwing & jumping abilities.
Why can't they just have a waiting list and allow ANYONE to join? So much damage can be done to a young person who's told:
"YOU ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO JOIN OUR CLUB"
I have a good number of young athletes I currently coach who've "failed" this process 2/3 years ago and are now starting to develop into very talented athletes.
Talent Identification isn't as simple as a one off trial at age 8!
Beware Athletics Club - your cast offs will join me, whatever their current level and I will help them improve and one day return to haunt you!!
RANT OVER!
18/10/2021
Tennis Speed & Movement: πΎ
Or just SPEED & MOVEMENT applied to Tennis!
It was a real pleasure to coach these young Tennis players from Tiger Tennis yesterday.
We looked at the key Principles of:
* ACCELERATION
* CHANGE OF DIRECTION
* MAX VELOCITY
As well as...
* 1- HANDED THROWS (L&R)
* 2 - HANDED THROWS (forwards & backwards)
I believe it's really important to understand the BASIC PRINCIPLES of all of the above BEFORE applying them to Tennis πΎ or any sport.
In the future we will look at specific Tennis scenarios and how we can best utilise these PRINCIPLES.
fitness
14/10/2021
Reflection on my experience of coaching Team Sport players is that they get very little or no coaching of the following:
1 - MAX VELOCITY
Lots of 20m shuttles are used but this isn't the same as running 35m to work on Top Speed. This Doesn't take in to account the lack of technical knowledge of this too.
2 - ACCELERATION TECHNIQUE
As above, lots of shuttle runs but almost no understanding of how to PROJECT COM ahead of Feet, HEAD and TORSO positions and SHIN ANGLES required.
3 - COD
Not coached at all. Even in Rugby where we encourage players to step. Technical knowledge of COM position and LEAN and PROJECTION is very limited.
4 - JUMP MECHANICS
This includes JUMPING & LANDING technique & especially how to apply FORCE into the ground, use of ARMS in raising COM and how to BRACE the body before landing.
This isn't a dig - I coached RUGBY, FOOTBALL & CRICKET for many years without thinking about the above.
22/09/2021
Rugby Defence - Get up FAST
If your defensive line wants to get up quickly, there are ACCELERATION principles to apply.
Here are the 2 main ones:
1) Projection of COM ahead of feet.
2) Positive shin angle when applying force.
Last night made some great progress in the above - especially when under fatigue.
Great intensity and attitude all session - pleasure to coach.
15/08/2021
2020 - GB 100M Success:
This has been GB''s most successful games for the 100m since 1992 when won Gold.
We had a Finalist in both the Men's & Women's event.
That compares to this:
1996 - No finalists
2000 - No finalists
2004 - 1 finalist - Chambers (4th)
2008 - 1 finalist - Kwakye (6th)
2012 - No finalists
2016 - No finalists
2020 - 2 finalists- Hughes (disq) Neita (8th)
Is there any reason why we simply can't produce 100m runners on the biggest stage?
Genuine question not a dig.
women #
04/08/2021
Coaching Myths:
Sprint coaches -
If you still coach any of:
* Run on your toes
* Keep arms at 90Β°
* Drive arms forward
* Drive knees up
Go and find out what the top coaches in the world are doing and how they're coaching Speed.
OR - just watch the winners at the Tokyo Olympics and see what they're doing.
Sounds obvious but many people are still actively cueing ALL of the above myths which will almost certainly have a negative effect on their athlete's speed.
#
15/07/2021
"Tackler"COM:
Here we can see how moves the defender's COM to his advantage.
1) Defender shifts weight (COM) to his right as he thinks Kolbe will step off his right foot.
2) Kolbe lands on his left, Defender shifts weight to his left foot in reaction BUT his COM is still to the right.
3) Kolbe accelerates, Defender tries to respond BUT because of the position of his COM he can only use his outside leg (Right) & can't PROJECT enough to accelerate.
The left leg is in the air and thats the big problem as he can't use it.
4) Gone. By the time the defender finds a position to accelerate it's too late.
I am always talking to my players about changing speed to move a defenders COM before taking advantage.
This guy is the world's best. I doubt the Lions will be kicking much to him in the tests!
14/07/2021
Dribble, Dribble - Gone!
Dribbles are a great way to reinforce MAX VELOCITY mechanics.
In these pictures you can see the following:
* Great upright posture
* Dorsiflexion of ankle throughout
* Arms reflecting "shape" of opposite legs.
Today's session was intensity low to reflect the amount of training is currently doing.
Her movement is developing really well as she's starting to understand how to manipulate her COM to change direction.
Just wait.................