Try, if you will, to imagine an athlete seeking to improve their speed, strength, ability to compete. Imagine they are sent out into the wild world of today's environment of "sports performance" and it is their job to gather all the necessary information for finding a qualified trainer and they are to bring that information back to share with others. What would that experience look like and what exactly should they be looking for? Good questions to be sure, so let's try to answer them.
There are numerous people in the sports performance industry that demonstrate on a daily basis the expertise, the quality and knowledge to be considered "professionals" or "experts". These people have dedicated their lives to learning, listening and adapting and then sharing their love and experience with the athletes they work with. They spend numerous hours and days and even months working to gain knowledge and use it appropriately, effectively to enhance their athletes' ability to compete at the highest of levels.
These professionals are not driven by ego or special recognition, but rather by the success and achievements of the athletes that they work for. They design and perfect programs that are tailored towards the specific athelete and their needs and spend time with the athlete working on the "pillars of success" both on and off the field. These folks seek out the opinions of others and eagerly search for opportunities to learn and collaborate. These professionals have a network of referrals that respect the knowledge base and critical thinking that can be brought to the table and are always looking for opportunities to solidify these networks by demonstrating a results driven, scientifically founded method of improvement and development.
These professionals do have certifications and specializations that take time to achieve, but they don't look to throw that on the table at first meeting. They prove it. Athletic development is an umbrella term that should encompass the physical, social, psychological and yes the physical advancement of our athletes. Not every one can nor should they try to do this. I have seen a number of "coaches" putting their athletes through "speed" training, but taking no time and having no foundation to teach proper technique for speed. Therefore, what you get is a bunch of seemingly cool looking drills, but little improvement and definitely a path towards potential injury. What you get is the very real potential of limited improvement and the athlete plateauing at a time when they are seeking best results.
Remember the athlete we sent into the wild to seek out information to gather and share with his peers? What if they come back sharing information that is wrong? What if they share information that is potentially leading their teammates towards injury? What if they think that this information they are sharing is the example of how and what sports/athletic development should look and feel like?
Athletic development and the subsequent success of our athletes is and should be based in fact and science. It is a process that should be planned out over time and should be monitored so that improvements or not can be addressed approriately. Athletic development is not easy and it shouldn't be. It should be left to those of us who spend the time to learn and perfect and adjust to what the science tells us.
I mentioned some specific areas that need to be included if you are going to jump into this arena. The physical development, the mental or psychological development, the social needs, the technical development , the nutritional needs and finally the sport specific aspects of athletic development all need to addressed if one is going to be successful in working with athletes. Let's discuss the technical development aspect as an example. If you are wanting to improve the overall speed of an athlete, then you will need to consider the flexibility/mobility, strength or ability to generate power, the phases of sprinting and if the athlete can demonstrate the proper technical aspects of sprinting as well as addressing the nutritional aspects of generating energy to sprint. How many times do you see a "trainer" taking an athlete through speed drills and the athletes looks as if they are a baby giraffe running for the first time? Arms and legs going every which way and yet the lions are gaining ground.
Athletic development is all about expertise and knowledge and then having the ability to teach and share that information in a method and program/plan that actually positively impacts your athletes. It is about trusting that the professional you are working with has the experience and knowledge base that is grounded in science and proven over years of working with athletes. Athletic development is about starting with an actual plan that evaluates its athletes and changes according to what the athlete is showing you and is modified as needed to accomodate training, school and game schedules. The ELITE should lead those wanting to be elite. Achieving ELITE LEVEL status is all about finding ELITELEVELPT.
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