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Mar
08

Coaching Masters Athletes — Growing Part of the Coaching Field

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I, as a new masters track and field athlete, was overjoyed to find this new coaching resource, Coaching Masters Athletes, being provided by the Canadian National Coaching Certification Program.

In many sports in the US, the masters population of athletes is growing mostly due to the large numbers of baby boomers entering retirement or at least more time on their hands due to “empty nests.” Older athletes are seeking coaching guidance as they strive to learn new skills, improve their performance, or compete successfully. Coaching Masters Athletes, a new NCCP resource now available for coaches, offers an exciting opportunity for all coaches to have a positive impact on the lives of adults who want to lead a healthy and active lifestyle, and on society by encouraging more adults to be active.

Coaches, from all sports, should consider the coaching of masters athletes as a viable means of engaging in your sport and possibly an area in which to develop fee-paying clients for your services.

This new resource can be found online at NCCP’s website.

 

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Feb
24

New App for Coaches Worried About Sun Exposure

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Mollie’s Fund had developed a free app, for both Apple and Android smartphones, to aid in the detection of skin cancer and precursors to skin cancer. While not a substitute for appropriate medical monitoring and treatment, it does provide those coaches who work mostly outside a tool in which to reduce their risk for skin cancer.  Some of its uses include:

  • Learn how to give yourself a monthly skin exam
  • Tell if your moles are the kind that you should tell a dermatologist about.
  • Keep track of your self-exams with the Monthly Skin Check Log
  • Read essential tips to ensure that you are always practicing sun safety!

I lost my high school coach, Mike Landry, a few years ago to melanoma.  He fought the good fight but the cancer had a big head start on him. So take care of yourself out there as we don’t need to lose more good coaches like him.

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Dec
04

Sport Coaching Resource of the Month – December 2012

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I am continuing my exploration of free online sport coaching education with this month’s resource for sport coaches; Winning with Asthma.  Thanks to the Minnesota Board of Health, this online resource including a self-guided coaching education program and other resources  focuses on what coaches, referees, and physical education teachers should know about asthma, including:

  • Asthma basics
  • What medications are used and when
  • Ways to prevent exercise-induced asthma
  • Steps to take when athletes are experiencing asthma attacks, including suggestions for cold-weather sports

As an life-long athlete who has dealt with the challenges of asthma, I highly recommend coaches check this resource out as part of their professional development plan.

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Dec
01

Periodization of Psychological Skills Training

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I am firm believer in that psychological skills training (PST) (or mental skills training) are one of the means that athletes and teams achieve their dreams.  This part of coaching has been a serious interest of mine since the mid 1990s, and has been a part of my training plans since then. I have relied heavily upon Freeman’s Peak When It Counts, which is a guide to planned performance training for track & field.

One area I have been very curious about is how to synch PST with a periodized plan for athletic training.  I explored this area in a paper in my masters of sport science program but was never able to find any published work on the topic.  Until now.  Evidently I am not the great researcher I think I am.  I recently bought a copy of Tudor Bompa’s Periodization: Theory & Methodology of Training 4th Ed.  In it was my answer!  Of course this resource was published in 1999 and has been replaced by more updated editions which I need to investigate now for multiple reasons including the periodization of PST.  Oh, by the way, Bompa is one, if not, the leading sports authority of the periodization of sports training.

In the 4th Edition of Periodization (pgs 205-206), Bompa suggests the following periodization of PST:

Training Phase                                             Mental Training Objective

General                                                                Evaluate Mental Skills

Learn Basic Mental Skills in a Quiet Setting

Specific Preparatory                                        Adapt & Practice Mental Skills in Sport-Specific Situations.

Maintain Basic Mental Skills

Precompetitive                                                  Develop & Practice Focus Plan

                                                                                 Use Focus Plan in Simulations

                                                                                 Maintain Basic Mental Skills

Competitive                                                       Evaluate & Refine Focus Plan

                                                                              Use Mental Skills to Prepare for Specific Opponents & Competitions

                                                                            Use Mental Skills for Stress Management

Unloading                                                        Use Mental Skills to Aid Regeneration & Lower Stress

The best knowledge that I gained form this resource is Bompa’s discussion of psychological supercompensation.  I have never heard of this in writing but it does make much sense.  As athletes release stress, reduce mental fatigue and restore energy supplies, they feel more optimistic and confident as they ready for competition.

In summary, my point, and moreover, Bompa’s point is to include PST in your periodized athletic training.

 

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Nov
24

Coaching Leadership Part 2

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One leadership challenge many coaches have is how to bring their team to the next level (good to great, etc.) of competition.  The coach needs to develop a path in which their efforts will guide their athletes to a closer realization of their athletic potential.  In team sports , this can be a difficult challenge as the athletes are not all at the same level.

Another part of this challenge is that in many cases, the coach knows that the athletes are capable of so much more while the athletes are quite content with the status quo.  That is the leadership challenge.  Getting the athletes to push through a plateau to get to the higher level.

Recently, I came across a great coaching resource directly addressing this leadership challenge, Developing Sport Expertise: Researchers & Coaches put Theory into Practice.  This book is written by Australian coaches and sport scientists which gives a different means of looking at this challenge.  First published in 2007, a new update edition is scheduled to be published in last spring 2013.

What I liked about it was the combination of what sport researchers have discovered for successful means for coaches to use to get their players to the next level and the real-life documentation of coaches who applied those means.  Some of those means discussed in the earlier version include:

  • better practice planning & execution
  • dealing with performance pressure issues
  • sport skill learning & teaching
  • creating more committed athletes

Highly recommend this resource if you are looking for ways to change your coaching to lead your team to achieve better results.

 

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