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    I wish it was that easy

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    By on Vern Gambetta's Blog

    Designing and implementing a comprehensive training for an athlete in any sport is a complicated task on one level and a very straight forward undertaking on the other. First recognize that you must understand the demands of the sport, the event or position in the sport, the qualities of the individual athlete and you must address prevention in terms of common injuries that occur within the sport. Once this is accomplished you must devise a long term plan to systematically develop all qualities of athletic development in a manner that give the athlete the chance to compete efficiently in the competitive arena. The program must train all components of training all the time in a proportion dictated by the athlete’s stage of development and the competitive schedule. One component i.e. speed or strength is not emphasized to the exclusion of another. They are proportionally distributed to allow continued adaptation throughout the training year and throughout the athlete’s career. Within each component I like to think of training in a spectrum of development, just like there are visible and invisible bands in the spectrum of light the same occurs across the training spectrum. Even though you may not see the adaptive process at the time of the training it is occurring. Look at the spectrum aspects of strength for example; depending on all the variables I mentioned above the athlete could be training foundation strength, max strength, starting strength and ballistic reactive strength if those components fit with what is happening in the speed spectrum, the endurance spectrum, the skill spectrum and the flexibility spectrum. We cannot afford to look at components in isolation; all components are contextual and synergistic. This is the philosophical and methodological basis for my argument against centering all training in the hands of a “strength coach” in the weight room. I wish it were that easy.
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    Vern Gambetta

    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.
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