Why the 24 hour athlete

I will hold to mybelief that the concept of the 24 Hour Athlete is a valid concept thatwe should not comprise on. Conceptually and in reality we need to getour athletes to lead lives that are conducive to athletic excellence.You can?t be excellent two hours during training, or just twelve hoursduring the day and do things that are counterproductive to excellencethe rest of the time. We must raise the bar, not lower it. I agree thatthe young athlete of today has more going on in their life ? so what!They need to be taught to focus and commit. They expect the samerewards, don?t they? We as coaches must set the example and getathletes to commit to an approach to excellence that involves all hoursof the day. I know I am getting old and these ideas seem old fashioned,but I know they work; I have lived it as an athlete and a coach. When Ifirst started coaching I was training for the decathlon, coaching trackat two schools, also coached basketball that year, taught a fullteaching load, was married and had a bit of life. We must teach theyoung coaches and athletes that it takes total commitment; excellenceis not a passing fancy. You must strive to win each workout, before youcan ever bear the fruits of victory. If we give into this generationthen it will only get worse going forward. Is it work, you bet it is.Does it take energy, it sure does, but we must do it!

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Vern Gambetta

Director at Gambetta Sports Training Systems

Vern is the Director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems. He has been the a conditioning coach for several MLS teams as well as the conditioning consultant to the US Men's World Cup Soccer team. Vern is the former Director of Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox and New York Mets. He has lectured and conducted clinics in Canada, Japan, Australia and Europe and has authored six books and over one hundred articles related to coaching and sport performance in a variety of sports. He has a BA in teaching with a coaching minor and an MA in Education with an emphasis in physical education from Stanford University.