Though
only select few of our clients are world-class athletes, our philosophy
has always been that the same principles that work for the development
of the worlds best can be applied to anyone. We thought it would be
applicable to address the issue of athlete development (and development
of any kind for that matter) as often times we feel that our clients can
be confused with all the different philosophies out there. To clarify
there is no one correct way to exercise, you must always find what works
best for you! What we hope to do is clarify our stance on training and
why we feel it gives our clients the best chance to succeed.
It
seems today that the world and especially American culture is always
looking for the “silver bullet” or shortcut to success. Many times we
get people coming in two weeks before their season starts or their big
ski trip looking to get in shape. And even though it might be bad
business to consciously turn people away we always take the time to
explain to people that our philosophy is always focused on Long Term Development.
Specifically when it comes to the high school athlete often times we
observe parents and athletes getting frustrated as they feel like they
are not getting the “most” out of the time that they have. This article
hopes to explain in part why we feel that mindset can often times do
more harm than good.
Recently we were reading an article about Alberto Salazar,
who solidified himself as one of the best coaches in the world at the
Olympics in London this past summer. We could not help but laugh when
they asked about his approach to training because we were not sure if
they were interviewing Alberto or Yury their philosophies echoed each
other so closely. When Alberto was asked about his success developing HS
athletes into Olympic medalists he said the following: “The long-term
approach is that if you're going to be your best at 26 years old, it's a
10 year program. That doesn't mean they won't be [competing] at a world
class level way before that... Somebody else might want to get you
there in three or four years and you might get to a higher level in
those first few years, but ultimately, I don't think you'll be at the
same level than if you take a 10 year approach."1
Unfortunately
most high school or even college coaches do not echo this same approach
to development because they are limited to 4 years or less to get the
“most” out of their athletes. A study published in the Journal of Sport
Behavior defined burnout as “a withdrawal from [athletics] noted by a
reduced sense of accomplishment, devaluation/ resentment of sport, and
physical/psychological exhaustion.”2 The
problem we feel with a philosophy that starts with “We’ve only got so
much time,” is that it results in a training program that is more rushed
which can often lead to taking unnecessary shortcuts that lead to
injury and/or burnout.
Whereas
we feel that a philosophy that focuses less on time and more on correct
overall development usually results in consistent improvement, and a
healthy enthusiasm to do more that ultimately leads to a higher ceiling
of performance. Below is a great video of Alberto being asked about his
thoughts on developing high school athletes that we felt echoes our
philosophy pretty well (I recommend at least listening to the first 2
minutes, the rest is up to you!):
Again,
there is no one right way to exercise but our philosophy has always
been that the same kind of training methods the best coaches and
athletes in the world use can be applied to anyone to achieve successful
results. Whether that’s making an Olympic final or simply improving
your balance! So the question we pose to everyone out there is: If the
best believe in it and train that way, why wouldn’t it work for you?
~Sean
References:
- Kastoff, Mitch. "Alberto Salazar - Coach of the Year, Best of 2012." Flotrack. Flocasts, 30 2012. Web. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. <http://www.flotrack.org/article/16594-Alberto-Salazar-Coach-of-the-Year-Best-of-2012>.
- Understanding athlete burnout: Coach perspectives. Raedeke, Thomas D.; Lunney, Kevin; Venables, Kirk Journal of Sport Behavior, Vol 25(2), Jun 2002, 181-206.
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