I’m sure the title of this post got your attention. I just saw this awesome video hosted by Tedx by Mel Robbins. Her presentation is called F— YOU – How To Stop Screwing Yourself Over and is perfect for everybody. Coaches, parents, athletes, loved ones, business executives, married couples, you name it.
Do yourself a favor and take 20 minutes out of your schedule to make yourself a little better and open your eyes to how you can get what you want. I’m sending this to all my athletes as it always helps when they hear the same message that I preach from another voice.
Enjoy.
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My good friend Art Horne mentioned to me the other day about a presentation that Angela Duckworth put on and absolutely loved her message and the research that she conducted. Do yourself a favor and check out what she has to say:
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I recently did an audio interview with Kyle Newell over at www.newellstrength.com which has some really good training information along with some other interviews from other prominent coaches.
Check it out here and just scroll down the page or you can download it here.
B
This is a great video that I shared with my athletes and want to share with you.
They all enjoyed it and were inspired by it and have often mentioned many of the quotes over the past 2 weeks. It’s definitely motivational and you have to ask yourself how bad do you want to be successful.
How Bad Do You Want It from Greyskale Multimedia LLC on Vimeo.
Enjoy
B
Do you push your athletes to higher levels or make excuses for them?
Is it Ok if your athletes miss workouts or miss reps because they are tired?
Is it Ok if your athletes show up a minute late or don’t record their loads accurately?
Is it acceptable if your athlete doesn’t follow the program strictly because they don’t feel like it?
Are you raising the bar for your athletes or bringing it down so they can achieve?
You as a coach have a personal responsibility to make your athletes better. Better can be in different ways…it can be physically, it can be emotionally, it can be mentally, it can spiritually, and it can be socially. Most of us as coaches, focus on the physical part but need to understand how we prescribe our training sessions, the environment we create, and how we hold our athletes accountable play a big part into making them better mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and socially.
For our athletes to achieve more in sport and in life, we as coaches need to raise the bar. Meaning we need to hold our athletes to a higher standard.
We need to try and get them to believe in achieving more and not settling.
We need to get them to understand how they think will effect how they perform.
We need to get them to understand that every little thing matters.
We need to get them to understand that not everything is going to go their way and it’s up to them to decide how to respond to the situation.
We need to get them to understand that if they have desire, effort, intensity and do it consistently that more times than not, they will be successful.
Are you raising the bar or bringing it down?
If you are raising the bar for your athletes; are you raising the bar for yourself?
B
My good friend Kevin Neeld has just put together an OUTSTANDING resource for all hockey coaches, hockey strength and conditioning coaches and athletic trainers that work with hockey. He has put a great lineup of audio interviews from some of the best in business….and the best thing is that they will be free starting June 1st.
So be sure to sign up at the link below to remind you when the interviews start playing.
I’ve recently been reading about mindsets and how that affects your behaviors and ultimately your performance. My first experience reading about fixed mindset vs. growth mindset was in a newsletter written by Brian McCormick. The notion of defining mindsets comes from Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford, who authored the book Mindset.
Dweck distinguishes those with a growth mindset and those with a fixed mindset:
Those with a fixed mindset believe that their talents and abilities are simply fixed. They have a certain amount and that’s that. In this mindset athletes may become so concerned with being and looking talented that they never fulfill their potential.
People with a growth mindset, on the other hand, think of talents and abilities as things they can develop—as potentials that come to fruition through effort, practice, and instruction.
These are Dweck’s Mindset Rules:
Rule 1:
Fixed Mindset: Look talented at all costs.
Growth Mindset: Learn, learn, learn!
Rule 2:
Fixed Mindset: Don’t work too hard or practice too much.
Growth Mindset: Work with passion and dedication—effort is the key.
Rule 3:
Fixed Mindset: When faced with setbacks, run away or conceal your deficiencies.
Growth Mindset: Embrace your mistakes and confront your deficiencies.
With those rules, it is clear to see why people with a growth mindset succeed while those with a fixed mindset often do not live up to their potential. The key to becoming great at anything is a willingness to learn, to work hard and to acknowledge your shortcomings/weaknesses to become better at whatever task you decide to take on.
These lessons can easily be applied to the athletes and clients we work with. There will be athletes who have a fixed mindset that they won’t be able to accomplish a certain task or a finish a certain drill/exercise, while those with a growth mindset realize that they may not succeed the first time but will keep trying and learn how to get better at the drill to make themselves better.
We have to teach and educate our athletes about these kinds of mindsets and encourage them to have growth mindsets to really achieve success.
What kind of mindset do you have? and what kind are you preaching to your athletes?
“The credit belongs to those who are actually in the arena, who strive valiantly; who know the great enthusiasm, the great devotions, and spend themselves in a worthy cause; who at the best, know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if they fail, fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” –Theodore Roosevelt
Strength and conditioning coaches develop athletes year-round. Improvement is within the daily grind. Training performed during the pre-season, in-season, post-season and off-season is critical for injury prevention and performance enhancement. Without it our athletes will turn into steaming piles of amphibian crap. In-season our athletes compete week after week. We must continue this competitive drive in the off-season. This concept was first brought to my attention during my time at Central College (Iowa) as both an athlete and an intern under strength and conditioning coach Jake Anderson. This same idea was also the topic of a presentation I recently saw by Brijesh Patel, strength and conditioning coach at Quinnipiac University. It inspired me to write this article and share this information with anyone who is willing to sit down and read this.
Human nature thrives upon competition. Since the dawn of time humans and animals alike have had to compete for survival. The athletes we work with compete for the thrill, the rush of the fight. It is your best against someone else’s best with the season on the line. There is nothing more gratifying than standing with your hand raised, victorious, after an exhaustive battle of guts and glory. You know you gave everything and that is why you prevailed. However, during the off-season how do you continue to instill this rush of excitement when training? Compete year-round! You can’t play a scrimmage against ‘Nobody University’, so go with the next best thing; create the competitive environment in training! I’ll cover how we divide teams, make a point system, devise the competitions themselves, and reward the victors.
Tug of War Can Be A Great Competition Event
TEAMS
With our competitions we will separate each of our sports teams into smaller individual teams. These individual teams will be selected by holding a public draft, a captain’s draft, or a selection draft by the coaches. The public draft is the most fun as well as the most intense. We have all the athletes sit in the middle of a large room. Much like the NFL draft we will have a moderator for each team. This moderator can be a coach or a captain who selects their team. Each round lasts one minute and the athletes are selected in front of the whole group, by their peers, until all have been chosen. We like to have the moderator write down on a piece of paper who is to be selected and hand it in to the strength and conditioning coach. The coach then announces who has just been select. Some sports teams may react more positively to a public draft than others would, so choose wisely.
A captain’s draft is held with apart from the team, with captains and coaches only. The teams are chosen through a draft scenario as well and then posted for all to see. A coach’s draft is held by the coaching staff only. Teams are chosen by the coaches to be as even as possible. Once the teams are finalized each chooses a team name to represent them. This name must be appropriate, agreed upon by all team members and hopefully clever. This helps each team identify with each other and build unity within the group. The next important factor is the point system.
POINT SYSTEM
You can develop any point system in which you feel will work best. What we do here is evaluate each team member individually and each team as a whole. During each training session every single athlete has the opportunity to gain a point for their team, or a big, fat zero. After each session we meet as a coaching staff and discuss how each athlete performed. If there were any problems with effort, attitude, execution, following directions, or punctuality, that athlete will not receive their point for the day. If there were any major issues such as arguing with a coach, fighting, not showing up at all, they will receive a -5 for their team (as well as additional punishment). No matter what team they are a part of, they must all learn to work together and be held accountable for each other’s actions. For example, if a player receives a red card during a soccer match it is the team that must suffer with only 10 people on the field finishing the game. We instill in all of our athletes that every single thing they do has a cumulative effect on their performance and their team. You skip a rep, miss your times, show up late…it all adds up!
The individual competition point system revolves around ranking, according to each athlete’s performance to others. For example, if there were 18 athletes who competed in the competition, the person who got first place will receive 18 points and the person who got last place will receive 1 point. We form spreadsheets that keep track of each week’s competition status and post them for all to see. At the end of the off-season competitions, each individual’s total will be added to the team’s total. Thus, the athlete’s individual success or failure will either help or hurt their team.
In the team competition point system the points received are also ranked according to the team’s performance. Again, if there are a total of 18 athletes on the team, the team who receives first will get 18 points, second will be 12 points, third place will be 6 points. Every week we post the results and the total scores for individuals and the teams. Again, you can solidify any type of point system you wish. It can be as complex or as simple as you would like, just help the athletes understand how they are being evaluated.
COMPETITIONS
Each week we perform one individual competition and one team competition. Some weeks may require more than the usual one of each, however that is for the coach to decide. We like to challenge the athlete individually because it forces them to compete for themselves and not rely on others. The young cub must fight for its dinner against the rest of the pack! For the team competitions, we like to involve scenarios that require them to work together both physically and mentally. Sometimes these competitions are not all about brawn, but brains and team organization. Many times it is not the strongest or fastest team that wins, but the team that is willing to work together. Sounds like life doesn’t it?
Below is just a small portion of the competitions you can do with your teams:
INDIVIDUAL TEAM
Broad/Vertical Jump *Puzzles
Push Ups for reps Team Sit Ups
Wall Sits **Move the Mountain
Jump Rope Fireman Carry
Strong Man Medley Strong Man Medley
Sled Push/Pulls for time Sled Push/Pull Relay
MB Throw for distance Tug of War
Tire Flips Wheel Barrow Relay
Bar Hangs Dodgeball
TUG (tournament) Trivia
Pull Ups/Dips Farmer’s Walk
Grip Challenges Towel Wrestling
Slideboard Slideboard
Tendo Unit Speed Squat/Bench Obstacle Courses
Sprint/Conditioning Drills Sprint/Conditioning Drills
*After taking a look at this list you are probably thinking, “Is this guy seriously having his athletes do puzzles?” I respond with a most definite YES! They are mentally challenging and will require each team to work as one to complete. They are great after a training session when the athletes are tired and have a short fuse. Puzzles, riddles, trivia, anything that requires clear, consistent thought!
Puzzles are way to make your athletes think under pressure
**Move the mountain is having each individual athlete move a stack of Olympic bumpers one by one for a certain distance (we usually do 10 yards). Each team member will have to move the stack on their own before the next team member goes to move it. The mountain must be moved by every team member at least once. If you have uneven teams, say a team of 6 and another team of 7, the team of 6 will have one person go twice.
The possibilities are endless! Use your imagination, but at the same time keep your athletes’ safety and health in mind. Just because it looks cool does not mean it is effective and rationale. Always have a specific goal in mind for implementing the competition. No athlete should become injured performing a competition. Always make them competitive but safe. The benefits must always outweigh the risks!
REWARD
Finally, a reward must be present in order to receive full effort every week. Athletes should be intrinsically motivated, but an external reward will aid as well. We have a Champions Club established, wherein the team that comes out on top at the end of the off-season is the champion. They will receive an exclusive dinner with the coaching staff and t-shirts upon completion. Also, on in-season road trips they will be able to be first in line during meals and bus loading.
If you haven’t figured it out by now I love competitions! I always tell my athletes that I think I enjoy this stuff more than they do. It puts your athletes’ character on display. It separates those who are stronger mentally, physically, and emotionally. It shows you who can lead as well as follow. Often times you will find a team or two that has too many Chiefs and not enough Indians. It also shows you how your athletes handle defeat. Can they pick themselves back up and rise to the top, or do they continue to dig themselves and their team into a deeper hole? Most of all it will build trust and unity within your program. As Vince Lombardi once said, “The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.”
Yes, this will demand more time and effort. As a fellow strength and conditioning coach, I know we do not have a lot of extra time. However, we must be involved and stay on top of what is going on. For your athletes to give you 100% of their effort they must receive 100% of yours. I will tell you this: the reward you will receive from involving competitions into your program will outweigh all the work you put in to setting it up and implementing them. Your athletes will give you everything they have to compete and succeed. Create the environment and they will respond! Also, I welcome any fresh ideas that you can come up with. Please feel free to contact me.
Brandon O`Neall is a strength and conditioning coach at the University of Maine. He holds a bachelors degree in exercise science from Central College, and a master’s degree in kinesiology from Western Illinois University. He is certified through the NSCA and the CSCCa. You can reach him through email at brandon.oneall@umit.maine.edu.
Don't Overlook Teaching Your Athletes How To Think
As a strength and conditioning professional we must wear many hats. In our roles we must train our athletes to not only be better physical specimens but additionally we MUST make our athletes better people! I can not even begin to tell you how many times I have had to help an athlete with something outside the world of strength and conditioning. I have dealt with athletes and their family issues, helped with job hunting and even been to weddings of some of my former athletes. As I tell you this understand that I see my job as an educator. I work for Robert Morris University which is an institution that educates students and I am just a cog in the inner workings of RMU.
When I began my career as a strength coach I truly believed that my job was to make my athletes stronger, leaner, more explosive and create less injuries in these athletes. I still believe that this is a major part of my job at RMU. As I have aged I have really began to appreciate how educating my athletes will make them much better in their sport as well as in their lives. An obvious question you might be asking yourself (other then why do I read Todd Hamer’s articles?) is what does any of this article have to do with critical thinking? To answer this question we must figure out what critical thinking is?
Sixteen seconds left. His grip starts to loosen along with his mentality. His facial expression displays his lack of confidence, his belief that he can’t do another rep. One finger at a time releases from the bar. His fatigued body comes crashing down on to the platform. The clock continues to count down. At this moment, he has given up. He has accepted failure.
But that’s not how it works here. That isn’t how champions are made. When the situation isn’t in your favor and the cards are stacked against you, winners don’t collapse under pressure. No. Instead true champions rise above adversity. True champions make that game winning shot. True champions get that final out. True champions push to grind out one more rep. True champions break to build.
As strength and conditioning coaches, we break our athletes down both physically and mentally. Our programs induce strength gains through muscle fiber disruption and microtrauma with intentions to improve performance. We break their poor movement patterns and muscular imbalances by addressing weaknesses and using corrective exercises. We implement open sets to incorporate all out efforts. Within failure, we don’t allow our athletes to accept defeat or bring negative emotions to difficult situations. We break them of all their bad habits, whether it’s exercise technique, nutrition, or their character and attitude. We must push our athletes out of their comfort zone and into unknown territories that they never believed they could reach. We hold them accountable for all their actions big or small. We put them in uncomfortable and pressure situations. We make them work to build confidence. We ensure that the intensity levels are always high. We push our athletes to lock out that extra rep or two. We are constantly trying to fire our athletes up. We are breaking them to gain mental toughness.
After breaking a new athlete into the Quinnipiac culture, I quickly realized the importance of mental toughness and motivation. The athlete expressed negative emotions every time the training got a little harder. I thought that through providing motivation, teaching work ethic, creating an environment with high intensity, and demanding perfection I was helping the athlete get better the best I could. However, while the athlete was breaking into this uncomfortable situation, Brijesh Patel, the head strength and conditioning coach, taught and showed me what I was totally forgetting.
We must instill motivation within our athletes and create mental toughness, but we can’t always break without building. Just like the muscle structures must recover and regenerate in order to get stronger physically, we must pick up our athletes mentally as well. We must break to build. We must guide them to find confidence within themselves. We must show that we care about them and not be in their face through every movement, repetition, and set. We must make our athletes overcome what is holding them back from success. We must make them feel like they are in control. We must make them believe. We must celebrate their great performances and promote a short-term memory of their failures. We must create a culture of confidence, focus, resiliency, and composure.
We need to find that fine balance between breaking and building our athletes. That is the art of a strength and conditioning coach. We must break to build.
“When you’re playing against a stacked deck, compete even harder. Show the world how much you’ll fight for the winners circle. If you do, someday the cellophane will crackle off a fresh pack, one that belongs to you, and the cards will be stacked in your favor.” –Pat Riley
