Functional Path - One Year Later
It is hard to believe that it has been one year since I started writing this blog. I must admit that it is something that I enjoy and look forward to each day. Now I feel guilty if I do not post a blog each day. It certainly has stimulated me to think, research, and to look in depth at my own coaching. I had no idea a year when I started it that I would keep it going. The idea for the Functional Path analogy came to me when I was driving across country to return to Florida what was supposed to be my dream job. My initial motivation was quite simple – to use it each day a warm-up for writing my book. It was also a catharsis for me after a very tough two year period of my life. My dream job in the sport that I love, track & field, quickly turned into a bad dream. I found that the sport I loved had become totally corrupt with drugs and money at the elite level. I vowed after that experience to fight this trend in sport through education to raise the standard of coaching and overall awareness. I decided then to finish my book that will be published this November by Human Kinetics. I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep coaching and teaching, but I found that writing about coaching and reflecting on my experience reignited my passion.
As I start the second year I would like to get more feedback from you the readers what you want to hear read more of. Also I encourage you to contribute. Your comments really make the blog. Tell your friends and colleagues about the blog. If you have an idea you want to write about or something you want me to write about email at gambettasport@hotmail.com If I am off base tell me, it won’t hurt my feelings. Dialogue is good. I look forward to sharing ideas with you, to stimulate you to think. I have many exciting plans for the next year that I will share with you at the appropriate time.
posted by Vern Gambetta @ 8/30/2006 07:28:00 AM
13 comments
13 Comments:
I guess you are referring to the Oregon Project. I would be interested in your experience there, if you are at liberty to discuss it.
Vern: this blog is great. I look forward to reading it each morning. Your thoughts continue to be an inspiration to me and my work. I got a really nice note from one of my former athletes yesterday about how great an experience she had on our track team. So much of her positive experience is due to ideas you have shared with me over the years. I hope you know how many athletes that you have never met you have helped and supported.
Definately a great addition to the conditioning community Vern. The best part is that you lay out stimulus for thinking. agree with the thoughts or not, you help get people thinking and thus learning. May or may not have been your idea with the blog, but it is certainly a positive "side effect".
Ditto on what the folks who posted before me have said. I give you credit so often and this blog has done so much for me in stimulating me to think and hold myself accountable.
My favorite blogs are the ones that share your hands-on work (garage, breakfast club, etc.).
Thanks for the time on the phone in June. We are in our 4th day of school and many of the ideas we talked about are becoming reality in my classes. Off to a great start.
But in dealing with other PE teachers and parents in the community, it is still amazing the amount of misinformation out there. It feels a bit like fighting an uphill battle.
Thanks for all you do, Vern.
Thanks and congrats from me as well. I check it about 3x/day to read not only the post but also the comments. I could see you making a book out of this blog or maybe better yet a calendar with a new message everyday.
As I have mentioned to you before I would like to see your opinion on these school sports exams. It is my opinion that there needs to be a funtional portion as well which many Docs do not do. I really think a lot of injuries would be prevented and I know the functional screening (hops, push ups, single leg balance in all 3 planes) is 1 of my favorite parts of the exam I give.
Mark Day D.C. CSCS, DACBSP
Vern,
I will echo the sentiment of the rest of our colleagues who have replied to you, as well as many who haven't....we sincerely appreciate your generosity in terms of time and knowledge with whatyou put into this blog. I, too, look forward to reading your posts and have used the information and your point of view to help improve the work I do with my athletes.
Thanks for your continued dedication to the profession you love!
-bryan
It's not easy to find a person and a blog like this one. It has cleared my path and helped me understand my weakness and my strengths in a short period of time. I look foward to the book.
Vern,
Just one more person agreeing with the rest. I found your blog through a Google Alert and have been checking almost daily ever since. Thank you for sharing your time and experience with us.
Vern,
Your timeless wisdom continues to be a great source of inspiration.
Would love to hear your thoughts/advice for those young performance coaches just now entering into a field that is plagued with personal trainers and also physical therapists who have actually never coached!
Also, do you have plans to start your own forum?
The question from Anonymous about the young performance coaches entering the current 'minefield'is certainly topical. Vern has made many comments in this area and some of the recent Interviews on the Blog have answered or commented on this very issue. It all comes down to the 'network' of counsel that a young performance coach turns to. Recognising the false prophets is a difficult one but if the young coach is willing to be patient in their career development and not chase titles or dollars in the first instance, there may be the time to be mentored. The master and apprentice process is still a valid vehicle.
As a young performance coach I am constantly looking for ways to separate the substance from the junk in the sea of misinformation.
You help me sort through all the filler material and get down to what really works and help me focus on what is really important.
Your writings inspire me to take my knowledge of both coaching and training to levels I can only imagine right now. And I’ll never forget the advice you gave me when we first met when I was 17: “Never stop learning”
Great work Vern. Keep it up. You give the next generation of coaches a level of greatness to shoot for.
Vern, I read your blog every day, it is great, keep it up.
Kelvin,
I did not specifically mean coach development from a proficiency point of view but from job opportunities point of view.
It just does not seem that outside of becoming a personal trainer or pseudo-pt that there is significant opportunity for income.
Take a look at the NBA for example. There are teams out there right now looking for a new head strength coach but only offering a $45,000 salary with a prereq of a NASM cert. If this is as good as it gets (becoming a head S/C coach at a pro level) then maybe it's not that good. Why?
Being a slappy for the head trainer of a team who makes over six figures just doesn't seem that appealing.
Again, would love to get Vern's insights in the job opportunity market for those young coaches who want to make a career out of this.
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