HOC*NSF Coaching Platform Congress – Day Two

I presented a workshop for team sport coaches in the afternoon. I was interesting. There were several vocal differences of opinion from my point of view. I think it stimulated some good discussion and solidified some people’s thoughts. The dissenter’s opinion was that you did not do anything outside of practicing and playing the game. The felt you could get as strong, fast, explosive and fit as you needed to be in that manner. Obviously that is not my point of view. Many people here feel that is one of the things holding back certain Dutch team sports at present time. The majority opinion was that we most work to better integrate more sport appropriate activities to achieve the desired end result. My main thrust was to reinforce this and to present some models on how to achieve this. It really requires a paradigm shift. It is a shift away from separate 90minutes workout to an infusion of various training modules designed to stabilize various physical qualities.

One other though hit last night when I got back to my room and reflected on the conference and the day. I am really lucky to have had the background of training as a coach in track & field. It really has given a broader perspective because I always had to deal with all components of the athlete’s preparation and performance. What has struck me here is that so many of the coaches I have met here have similar backgrounds and the same in England. (Example Luc van Agt was a hurdle coach and coached a decathlete who scored 8400+ points) Maybe everyone needs to go through the USA Track & Field coached education process –just a thought.

I meet with Bosch and Klomp tonight. Should be interesting. They are outside the loop of the national coaches. It should be very interesting. Probably no blog tomorrow as I leave here at 4:00 am.