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CTG DEVELOPMENT
Training Philosophy

**The development of the person always comes first
Athletics is a fine and honorable pursuit. But athletics is nothing if the person doesn't develop character, honor, and a strong spirit. Sports are designed to entertain and to make us stronger. However, it is important to remember that youth athletics, in fact ALL athletics - should be FUN!

**Academic development and achievement precedes - but is a part of athletic success 
The athlete who competes in interscholastic athletics carries a double responsibility that many non-athletic students do not; that is to succeed both athletically and academically. Both of these pursuits require time, dedication and discipline. It is a scientific fact that healthier bodies help breed healthier minds. The ability to manage one's time and resources will bode well for that person's long-term development.

**Develop BASIC athleticism first, specific/competitive skill second
The first order of business should be to develop the BASIC Bio-Motor Abilities:

·         Speed - The rate at which the body and its parts can move

·         Strength - The amount of force that can be generated, regardless of time

·         Coordination - The person's ability to skillfully control their movements

·         Flexibility - In this case, the maximum range of dynamic or functional movement

·         Endurance - In this case, the ability to resist fatigue specific to the event or sport

Everything else is a combination of the above – which is why the above are basics.  One example is "power", which is simply a combination of speed and strength. The BASIC abilities are paramount to the development of the overall athlete. All of these qualities should be developed, as they form a solid foundation upon which to develop advanced skills later. To share a great quote attributed to an Air Force Pararescue Master Sergeant::

"The only thing that separates the elite from all the rest is the fact that the elite are better at the basics than everyone else." 

How true this is!  Athletics should progress through these basic phases (not mutually exclusive – as one builds upon those that precede it):

·         Having Fun

·         Learning Movement

·         Learning to Train

·         Training to Train

·         Training to Compete

·         Training to Win

·         Training for Long Term Health and Fitness.

I believe it is a BIG mistake to over-specialize athletes too early in their lives simply for the sake of short term success. I believe that is recipe for burnout or injury.

**Hard training is a good thing - Don't let short-term discomfort hinder long-term progress!
Competitive athletic training involves the planned application of overload – or stress, balanced by recovery (or rest).  This is much different than recreational "working out". The three keys in this application are "planned", "overload", and “recovery”.  If the body is not placed into a position beyond its comfort zone - where it is forced to adapt - it will not get better (faster, fitter, etc.). This must be balanced with rest and recovery so the system can adapt. One doesn’t become stronger while lifting weights – one actually becomes stronger during the recovery time afterward. It is important to remember "no strain (not pain), no gain. 

Athletes crave a challenge. Showing an athlete where his/her (perceived) limits are, and then teaching them to surpass them - is one of the greatest gifts we can bestow upon young men and women. This not only makes them stronger physically, but also develops them mentally and spiritually. These lessons will be of value long after their competitive days are done.

**However, Discomfort does NOT equal injury
Athletes who wish to improve must be willing to go outside their “comfort zone”. At times this may be very uncomfortable, if not downright painful. "No strain no gain", does not equal "no pain, no gain."  Discomfort does NOT necessarily equal injury. Competitive athletics (as in most beneficial life endeavors) entails risk and stress. However, this risk is manageable.  There is NO track meet, game, or match important enough to place an athlete - especially a youth athlete - in a position of unnecessary/unmanageable risk of injury or safety.

**The training principles must be based on scientific FACT, thus capitalizing on the body's known energy systems - The training must make sense!
There must be a rational basis for the athlete's training. Regardless of a coach's individual "style", the training must be based upon demonstrative, replicable scientific and biomechanical principles. Although coaching is an art – it must be an art based upon scientific facts. For example; although weight training is beneficial, a distance runner’s training should not center on it. Nor should a long jumper focus on the lactate-tolerance training necessary for the 400/800-meter runner. The energy systems required for success in these respective events are vastly different.

This doesn't mean these athletes should not touch on these skills from time to time.  I believe in a holistic approach to training ALL of the basic bio-motor properties simultaneously.  They key is knowing which ones to focus on at a particular time.  However, this is much easier said than done. The athlete's training should be specific to the event/sport. Not only is it damaging to an athlete physically and psychologically - it’s also a huge waste of valuable training time to overdo repetition merely for the sake of what is perceived as "conditioning".  There is one phrase that I coined (yes, even I have original ideas occasionally) a few years back:

"More is not necessarily better.  Better is better."

We have to focus on the BEST attributes of a particular bio-motor ability that we can, relative to the attribute we are training.  If you are training speed - then you have to run FAST.  If you are training strength, then you must lift heavy, etc.  ALL training should follow a rational pattern based upon the SAID (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) principle - after all,  you are what you train for.  If you train slow, you run slow, etc.  Training should utilize a planned periodization scheme incorporating work and REST in a way that prepares the athlete to compete at their best when it counts the most. Simply doing something because "we have always done it that way" is not enough. It has to make sense. You have to be able to "show the science". Otherwise, you are simply guessing.

**Within our area (and in most applied sports skills) TRAIN FOR SPEED and EXPLOSIVENESS FIRST, strength second, and applied endurance last; following the “Short to Long” and "Simple to Complex" principles.
It is not necessary for jumpers (soccer players, baseball players, etc.) to be able to run moderately fast for one minute. You would be surprised to see how many coaches still think that running long distance gives a person "strength" to run faster.  However, it IS absolutely necessary for a jumper, ball player (etc.) to be able to sprint VERY fast (maximum controlled velocity) for about 1-2 seconds and then produce a maximal jumping effort or perform a specific athletic skill. I don't care how good a soccer dribbler you are - it will do you no good if you are always a step behind when it comes time to sprint to the ball.   It is a proven fact that humans are only capable of generating maximal efforts for approximately six seconds via energy resources stored in the muscles known as CP (Creatine Phosphate) and ATP (Adenosine Tri-Phosphate). So it makes sense to make the training as specific to this biological reality as possible.

Endurance on a general level has its place, as it is a basic bio-motor ability and it is needed for basic conditioning. But for jumpers/sprinters (and most other field sport athletes), the necessary endurance training can generally be developed rather quickly (as in a few weeks).  The focus should be more on applied endurance geared toward giving the athlete the capacity to practice more repetitions of fast sprinting.  When the athlete can no longer produce quality efforts, the training should either stop or change to work on another bio-motor ability. That is where the "art" of coaching meets "science".  It is important to remember that an overly fatigued athlete is NOT working on maximal speed. They are working on endurance.  This may be appropriate for certain sports (e.g., basketball or soccer) or certain events (400-meters +) - but it is NOT "speed" work.

**AEROBIC TRAINING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MAXIMUM-SPEED SPRINTING!
I re-emphasize this because it is a very important point.  THIS is the area where a lot of coaches get into trouble (as it goes against the convention of many “traditional”/“old school” quantity-based training approaches). But the science and the results do not lie. 

"While endurance training is important to a small degree, overemphasis of endurance results not only in wasted time, but also can hinder strength, speed and coordination development." 
(USATF Coaches Manual)

General endurance should never be overemphasized merely for the sake of developing aerobic capacity or lactate-tolerance for the sprinter/jumper. More is not necessarily better.  Better is better.  Otherwise, why not just take your sprinter out and have her run mileage?  This is an exaggeration - but always remember that too much reliance on the long-interval sprint training (400 meters+) will not give you a faster sprinter - it will only give you a tired one. Tired sprinters don't run faster; they run slower - which is the opposite of what we are trying to achieve! So it is best to teach your runners to run fast first – then teach them to run at that faster speed for longer intervals. 

"Lactate tolerance work done by 400 runners would not be needed by a jumper." 
(USATF Coaches Manual)

The repetitions of sprinting, plus the intervals of hill running, stairs, weight lifting, etc., will give the jumper sufficient applied endurance for their event. The key to sprinting and jumping is to stimulate maximal contractions of muscle in a smooth, coordinated fashion. Then rest the athlete and have him/her do it again – only faster! 

Remember - you do not get stronger while working – you get stronger during the recovery. REST is the key. However, the physiological principles of recovery are different regarding the sprints and aerobic endurance. This is why they simply cannot be trained at the same time. So it is better to err on the side of speed as opposed to the side of aerobic capacity. Sprint speed simply has more relevance in almost ALL competitive sports. When was the last time you saw a baseball player run at a two-miler pace while stealing a base? Or how about a football receiver who runs at marathon pace while he runs a route? You will NEVER hear a coach say, "She is a great athlete, but she is just too fast" (or strong, or quick, etc.).  It simply doesn’t happen.

Very few (and no team) sports require a sustained sub-maximal effort for success. Even so-called "endurance" sports like soccer actually require repeated high-intensity bursts of speed while under a fatigued state.  So guess what, football coaches? Making your football players run repetitive miles in pads doesn't really help them be better at your sport.  This simply trains the wrong neural-muscular movement patterns and therefore "runs the speed out" of them. 

More running is not necessarily better running. Only better (meaning faster) running makes better/faster sprinters and jumpers. Remember: It is a mistake to base sprint/jump training around 400-meter lactate-tolerance – or worse yet, aerobic-endurance training. All track athletes move UP in distance - they never move down.  When was the last time you saw an elite sprinter who was a former long distance runner?  However, you see many milers who were former 400 or 800-meter runners.  If you want to run a good 200, you must be capable of a good 100.  If you want to run a good 400, you have to be capable of a good 200, and so forth.

***In short - DO NOT over run your sprint/jump athletes! 
All it will do is train the wrong energy systems, stress the wrong bio-motor abilities, and enhance the wrong neuro-muscular patterns and "psyche out" your athlete - possibly making them hate track.