This game of athletic development is a long-term game and requires a long-term approach to become a fully developed and well-rounded athlete. The process of getting their entails mastering and developing the basic fundamental skill sets of athleticisms- sprints, agility work, plyometrics, medicine ball throws, strength training, power development, conditioning, and recovery being the main pillars of that athletic development.
There are a million ways to get the job done as there are endless methods to achieve the end means of whatever the athletes’ goals, wants, and needs are to transfer what we do to the playing field. The fundamentals are always tried and true, they are always reliable.
There is absolutely no need and it’s often negligent and foolish on a coach’s behalf to progress an athlete to a stage of physical development they are not fully prepared for. By no means will any athlete be perfectly prepared for anything that comes there way, but optimization and efficiency should be the main goal if the coaches goal is to keep them healthy and on the playing field.
Doing the so called “cool shit” that doesn’t have any efficacy, purpose, or specific goal behind it is only throwing a bunch of random shit at the wall to see what sticks approach. An approach that is destined to fail, and worse, lead to breakdown, pain, and injury. This is not intelligent, well- thought-out training and truly requires no level of skill to beat an athlete into the ground and consider a “productive training session.”
A productive training session takes into consideration the individual athlete and how we can personalize their training experience based on their goals, wants, and needs that leads to better coaching decisions and ultimately athlete outcomes. More importantly than that, it includes the athlete in the decision-making process to build trust throughout the process.
The ultimate goal as a coach is to teach my athletes to be self-sufficient, take ownership and responsibility for their athletic career. That’s what will lead them to making better decisions for themselves that will lead to better results in their future.
