2007 NSCA Presentation
The following is the introduction and summary of my presentation at the 2007 NSCA Conference. I will post my comments on the conference tomorrow.
Following the Functional Path
Everything that is old is new again
Goals
Challenge
Inspire
Provoke
Educate
Define the field of Athletic Enhancement
What I am going to say may not be particularly profound if you look at the individual parts of this presentation; but when you step back and look at the whole presentation you will learn.
Let’s use today as a jumping-off point. This is where we are:
The bottom-line tends to be the bottom-line
The focus is on “super” exercises and “magic muscles”
The means and the end are not connected
“Not only is the old becoming today’s new…most coaches do not know what the old was.” Kevin McGill
Yesterday is gone – the future is now
Learn from the past – Successes as well as failures
The Story
Following the Functional Path to Building and Rebuilding the Complete Athlete
Change is constant
Coaches lead change
Coaches = “Change engineers” Kelvin Giles
Building on Old Concepts
Are we limiting ourselves?
Is it evolution or revolution?
Back to the future – Very little that is new
Buzzwords, Fads, Myths, Half Truths, and Lies
Functional Training Core Training/Stabilization
Closed Chain Alignment
Stability Ab Obsession
Lactate & Soreness Need to “Feel the Burn”
Fit for what? Aerobic Base
Good Feet Fooling `em with the 40
Machines are safer Rotation is dangerous
Problems
Early specialization
Lack of fundamental movement skills and a general fitness base
Extended competitive seasons
Decline in quality of coaching
Dominance of equipment – Marketing
Explosion of injuries
Recommendations to Define the Field
Do not trivialize – Do not try to pick the fly poop out of the pepper
Seek knowledge rather than information
Specialize in being a generalist
Get a mentor not a guru
Achieve mastery
Be a leader, not a follower
Understand the spectrum of the demands in the sport you are working with
Training is more than exercises and training methodology – it is application of the principles of sport science and sound pedagogy
Beware of the “Sheep Walking” phenomenon
Think, Think, Think
Ultimately it is about the athlete – We must not forget that
posted by Vern Gambetta @ 7/15/2007 05:23:00 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Vern,
Your presentation was very entertaining!
Would love to get your thoughts on some of the presentations that you attended.
Would you share whose presentations you saw and your thoughts?
Vern, we were in town playing the Braves. I was able to attend your presentation Friday morning. As usual, I enjoyed it and took something from it. I have always respected your passion for training movements, your thirst for knowledge, endless work ethic, no fear of speaking your mind, and vision of what an athlete should be and how they should be trained. I first attended one of your seminars almost 10 years ago and you still preach/teach the same key point(s) (that I often use in my own talks). "Train movements, not muscles." I consider Steve Odgers, Tim Lang and yourself mentors of mine. I am only sorry I didn't get the chance to say hello in person. Thank you for all that you have done and shared with the profession of athletic development. Best wishes...FV
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