Coaches can Celebrate Physical Fitness with More Vigor and with Greater Reach!

written by Bill Utsey, Director of Athletics, Greenville County Schools, Greenville SC

"One can improve his or her performance in any sport more significantly by improving his/her fitness level than by focusing on skill practice alone."

This axiom, bold as it may be, is one that can be supported by statistical and anecdotal evidence. This writer willingly takes this axiom to another level by claiming that dramatic improvements in fitness (strength, cardiovascular endurance, speed, power, etc.) will net greater gains in skill than actual skill practice - even if the athlete does no skill practice at all during a similar time period if compared with other sport athletes.

As this is being written, school coaches are now winding down and coming to the end of the school year. With the above axiom in mind, this is the time of year where coaches can make the most significant gains in the performance level of their athletes for their upcoming season next school year. Please allow me to share some stories - stories I am sure you can match - of how the above axiom has high credibility.

From on no one's radar to pro prospect in just eight months: One of our high school baseball coaches related a neat story about one of his pitchers. This young athlete made a decision after his junior season that he wanted to play baseball at the college level. Last summer he was 6'3" and weighed 175 pounds. His throwing speed was around 80 miles per hour. His coach explained to him that he would not get recruited nor have much chance of playing college ball unless his throwing speed got into the upper 80s.

Determined to play at the college level, the young man made a commitment to reach this goal. To accomplish the goal he joined a high performance fitness club (ASI of Greenville, South Carolina, directed by former major leaguer Darren Holmes). Starting in June, the young pitcher began a comprehensive strength and conditioning program that included a variety of routines and nutrition education. The results were dramatic. He showed up in February weighing 195 pounds, much stronger, with significantly more flexibility and with higher levels of cardio capacity and anaerobic power. His pitching speed was consistently at 90+ miles per hour and he went from not being on any college's recruiting radar to where every game he pitches professional scouts show up in high numbers.

From average to state finals with just two months hard work: I just finished reading Fearless (biography of U.S. Navy SEAL, Adam Brown). Early in the book is the story of his high school football team (Lake Hamilton HS, Arkansas) coming together in the summer and making a commitment to take their team to the state finals. To do this the entire team took it upon themselves to do extraordinary, intense fitness workouts over the summer. The coach tells the story, and claims that he never saw a team in better overall fitness than this team when they showed up in August for practice. The team did make it to the state championship game and, although they lost, surpassed every expectation the coach and community had for them. There is no better proof that overall physical fitness can make a real difference in athletic skill and performance.

A walk back into physical education history: I am reminded of my experience with a visiting instructor, Stan Laprotti, while at graduate school at the University of South Carolina in 1972. Stan shared his then famous La Sierra HS physical education program. It was mind-boggling to see film (back then real film) of this program with huge numbers of students doing not just push-ups, but extension push-ups along with pegboards, horizontal ladders, and parallel bar stations galore.

To write this I searched "La Sierra Fitness" and came to this site. This link takes you to a video clip of the actual La Sierra program in the 1960's and an article sharing its structure. There were no barbells or strength training machines. Functional movement, bodyweight-only resistance exercises were used exclusively.

For coaches reading this, if I remember correctly, La Sierra HS was an athletics power in California in virtually every sport during this time period. For you physical education teachers who are wondering why our young people are experiencing a near epidemic of obesity, visit this site - RossTraining.com. Look and read the comments on the La Sierra fitness program and do some serious thinking about where we are today about physical education in our schools.

Fast forward today: Today we are seeing a major renewal of sorts in the strength training profession incorporating a multitude of bodyweight-only resistance exercise regimens. The buzz phrase among strength coaches is now “functional movement” exercises. A driving force in this movement is the work of Gray Cook and Lee Burton with their Functional Movement Screen revolution along with their Functional Movement Systems concept.

Many of the high intensity commercialized fitness programs marketed today are based upon the principals of functional movement and bodyweight-only resistance exercises; not much different from what you will see in the La Sierra-Stan Laprotti program above.

Let's add another axiom, for all you sports coaches, with a quote from Pat Summit, the great University of Tennessee basketball coach: "Championships are made in the off-season." Let me assure you, she is not talking about shooting a basketball 500 times a day in the off-season. We are talking serious, high level strength and fitness regimens to get her young ladies to levels of fitness that are significantly higher than their opponents.

The objective of this article is to get you to focus on "out-conditioning" your opponents with a fitness program that will take your athletes to a significantly higher level of performance. Coaches have a direct interest in making their team and athletes successful. At the same time, coaches are also in a position of great influence over their participants. The information shared in the above paragraphs simply sets the table for you in developing a program that will raise the level of performance of your athletes and, at the same time, celebrate physical fitness with your athletes.

What value do you place on your off-season program? How much does overall physical fitness influence the goals and objectives of your off-season, pre-season, and in-season planning? If the axioms shared above made sense to you, then your off-season program is going to be the mother-lode of success for your team and athletes. When it comes down to how you can make the greatest difference in your team and athletes, you must recognize that the planning and execution of a highly organized off-season physical fitness program will be the most critical time you spend with your athletes.

One of our coaches is always saying, “If your team cannot push the other team around or run or jump with them, then the best play calling and scheming a coach can produce will not make much of a difference.” This coach is talking about “out-fitnessing” your opponents! As a coach, you are in a unique position of influence and leadership. Celebrate physical fitness! Do your research and develop a conditioning program that puts positive light on hardcore workouts for your charges. This article submits to you that such a program will bring true, meaningful enjoyment to their lives forever.

What will such a program look like? How can you energize an off-season program and, at the same time, make it much more effective, efficient, and enjoyable? Let's start with defining the most critical ingredients any coach would want in an off-season program. First and foremost a coach wants a high level of participation from his players (look at the La Sierra video and see for yourself what this looks like!). What is it, though, that any coach really wants when his or her athletes step into the weight room, field, track, or court for a conditioning workout? Is it effort? Intensity? Focus? Motivated athletes? If a coach wants these traits in his or her athletes, what specifically must be done to get this level of participation and effort? This article submits to you that to get the results desired, a program must have the below three ingredients:

EFFECTIVENESS: Effectiveness refers to routines, processes, and workouts that produce significant results. Are your workouts based upon the science of improving fitness and the principles of training (overload, progression, and specificity)? Do you AND your coaches know this science and have they been instructed in it? Have you adapted your workouts to your beginners (first time players/athletes or those with poor fitness levels or are obese) and the age groups of your athletes? Is the program data driven - based on scientific research and driven by recorded student performances? Do your workouts produce the "training effect" each time? Are you sending the message of the "training effect" to your players’ bodies and brains often and consistently enough?

Knowing how to send the message of the training effect to a player's neuromuscular system is the specific "change mechanism" that is needed to produce results. Not only must you know this, but your players need to know and understand how this works…this is the "Why" of fitness training. Most importantly, are your athletes doing all the exercises and drills the correct way and with the proper technique? The more perfect the technique, the better the results. Does your program emphasize technique in every exercise and drill? Are you providing your athletes with correct, real instruction along with lead-up exercises/drills that will result in better technique? Do you use videos and are the coaches well-versed in all the proper techniques?

EFFICIENCY: Efficiency refers to every minute, every second being used to produce the results you desire. Additionally, it means that routines and procedures are in place to maximize time-on-task (activity and/or instruction) from beginning to end with the least amount of wasted time. In your workouts, are you minimizing "standing around" time? Are you maximizing down time in workout periods and between sets, exercises, or drills? What are you doing to bring your athletes' heart rates up to the optimal workout level and what are you doing to sustain this level throughout the workouts? What are you doing to maximize your athletes' time within the workout so that other types of training such as flexibility, speed and power training can be done within the same time period you now have?

MENTAL INTENSITY: "Mental intensity begets physical intensity." You must have mental intensity up front before you will be able to get any kind of effort. By "mental intensity" we are referring to the attitudes of your players when they enter the weight room, field, or court for a workout. Do they know why they are working out so hard and why it must be done consistently? Is there a purpose behind their efforts? Do they have an "on-a-mission" attitude when they are working out? Do they have a goal and a plan? Do they know where they are going and how they are going to get there? Do they know the real value of high fitness (speed, strength, power, etc.) and how it impacts their ability to perform in their sport? How much emphasis have you placed upon the various fitness items, and how are you communicating this to your athletes? Does the environment in your weight room, court, or field promote mental intensity?

Of the three critical ingredients discussed above, the most important is mental intensity and you and your coaches are in control of the level of mental focus your athletes possess when they come to a fitness session. Great programs have athletes that are committed to the expectations set by their coaches for off-season conditioning. They show up to their workouts "on-a-mission" and they know where they are going and how they are going to get there. Their coaches have provided them with a plan and they are excited about working that plan. They have a sense of purpose. It is the coach's job to provide his or her athletes with a reason and a cause for them to show up at their workouts with this "on-a-mission" attitude. There are at least four things a coach can do to create this kind of attitude for your off-season program:

1. Set a goal or goals. If you have no goal or your athletes are unaware of your goal, do you think they will work very hard in any off-season workouts? If your goals are nebulous, gray, or not clear, do you think your players will work very hard to attain the goals? Use specific assessment items - fitness items of strength, power, speed, endurance, etc. - that establish measurable and crystal clear goals for each athlete or groups of athletes for each of your main assessment items. This writer suggests you group your athletes by body weight, age, grade level, position or event. Such grouping for young athletes will segment them into natural ability levels allowing them to compare their progress equitably. Put your group goals on your handouts to your players and post them in your weight room, workout area, locker room and/or team website.
2. Teach your athletes the "why" of conditioning sessions. They must have the knowledge of the “training effect” and know how to initiate it upon their bodies…teach them! Use meetings and down time in your workouts to teach your athletes about the three main principles in conditioning: overload, progression, and specificity. Take more time to teach them the critical value of each fitness item that will play a major role in their sport (speed, strength, power, agility, etc.). Emphasize these constantly to your players everywhere you see them and at every opportunity you talk with them - in the halls, in the lunchroom, in classrooms and on the street - by asking them about their performances.
3. Build, create, and grow ownership of the program within your players. The players must have a significant degree of ownership in the off-season fitness program. Sell your team goals! When they buy-in to the team goals they will "know where they are going."

   In addition to team goals, each athlete should also set personal goals in each of the assessment items in your program. This will build purpose behind their efforts. Teach them to understand this concept, "One of the main reasons they are working hard is to have their teammates see them working for them." Promote this concept constantly. Make this statement individually to your athletes and as often as possible. If you get them to understand this concept, then you have crossed a significant barrier in developing ownership and have taken your athletes to a higher level of commitment.

4. Create an environment in your conditioning sessions that is conducive to serious and intense hard work. Make your weight room or workout area a place of honor, discipline, and one where the "hard work ethic" is the expected standard. Signs, posters, pictures, neatness, cleanliness are all important in this endeavor. Most importantly though, you must have structure and discipline throughout. One of your rules should be to never allow anyone to sit down unless instructed to do so (including coaches!). Ban chairs and electronic devices in your workout area as these will compromise the discipline of your area. Safety rules are to be strictly followed. Most importantly, discipline of technique on each of the exercise or drill should be demanded..

In closing, this article should remind you of the myriad of "little things" that can make a difference. Look again at the three simple but necessary off-season program ingredients above, and just count the number of "little things" that are mentioned and discussed within each. All of these "little things" are ordinary things. If you remember anything from this article, remember this: "The best athletic programs simply do more ordinary things and they do them better than everyone else." In the end, when you achieve these characteristics being embraced by your athletes in your program, you will also see their joy and sense of accomplishment each and every day - the greatest of rewards. And, best of all, you will be celebrating physical fitness with greater vigor and reach.

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