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| Well,
we’re all back at it. The 2001-02 year is well under way all around
the country, and we are already too busy. But there’s so much information
out there that can help us be better coaches.
Some of the sites described in this issue address a concern that
many of us may have: Coaching female athletes. Is the process different?
What should I worry about? What new issues will I face? I’d really
not intended to take this direction, but it seems that several of
the sites I visited just forced this issue.
On another topic: Evaluating coaching and coaches. This seems to
be an important topic that gets relatively little attention—at least
on the Web. Therefore, two things will occur as I address the subject
over the next few issues. (1) Your input will be critical! What
have you found? What do you do? How has your coaching been evaluated?
Who actually evaluates coaches in your setting? (2) My thoughts
will appear and hopefully you will give me feedback. Let me know
if what we have done is on the right track. Does it make sense?
Is it something you can use?
Please, contact me with your thoughts and suggestions.
Mike
Clark
Coaching
& Sports Section Editor
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If you have ideas, comments, letters to share, or questions
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Probably no single topic gets more discussion and is less understood
than weight training for the young athlete. The very term can cause
problems--especially for a coach who wants players to start working
out.
The parents--and the athletes themselves--will have all sorts of
questions. And they will have heard all sorts of arguments for and
against weight training.
To add to the confusion, a Web-search comes up with a lot of sites.
Most of them are overtly commercial, or they are threaded discussions.
In either case, it probably is a good idea to be skeptical of the
content. What you--the coach--needs is sound information that you
can share with everyone concerned! So in this follow-up to Gib's note
from last issue, here are some resources.
Some suggestions:
Begin with the American Academy of Pediatrics position
statement. This one is VERY specific in certain areas.
Follow this with a consideration of what is in the National Strength
and Conditioning Association's position
statements.
A quick response to concerns can be based on Lyle
Micheli's comments in a Boston Herald article.
Once you've decided to get involved, you need a good sources of information.
A one-stop site MIGHT be Sports
Coach. There are several topics of interest, including
"Conditioning," "Mobility" and "Strength." One plus, is that each
section includes references.
The best ONE-STOP source of solid science is Coaching
Science Abstracts. Go to the various issues, and you'll
find any number of articles. A GREAT source of info on a variety of
topics. Fortunately, in many cases, the author--Brent S. Rushall at
San Diego State--gives you the skinny. But there's enough detail for
you to get the entire article, if you want.
Two additional points: One I found it only in a site advertising
services is that athletes generally need to be at least 4'10" to begin
using resistance training. (Evidently this recommendation comes from
equipment manufacturers. The machines are just too big for smaller
people.) The other is that "resistance" has replaced "strength" or
"weight" in many cases. If you do your own search, use this word as
well.
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...So I wonder how she'll do in a game. But when the ball jams into
the gap, she runs it down, whirls, takes a step and throws it, a sharp,
hard liner that goes back the same way it came out, and the girl playing
second doesn't have to move the target of her glove; she tags the
runner for an easy out: And I think how my daughter throws like
a girl —
my girl — and with an arm like spring steel.
. .Last night at practice when my man slipped by me for a lay-up,
Coach threw down his clipboard, ran right up into my face, slapped
me behind the head, and yelled, “What the hell are you doing? Get
in front. Take a charge. You on this team or not? How are we gonna
be ready if you don’t play tough defense!"
Jack R. Ridl
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This site has been considered before, but there's enough new, thought,
provoking material to make it worth another visit. It’s the
Coaches
Information Services site from the International Society
of Biomechanics and the University of Edinburg (Scotland).
The information in the "Strength and Conditioning" area
has been up-dated. Look especially at the Summaries
of specific research of interest to sport coaches section. Some
of the writings may be heavy going, but the key outcomes are highlighted.
Usually they are of importance. One caution: there is a summary
of a paper on creatine use among COLLEGIATE football players that
might be seen by some as implying that creatine usage by young athletes
does not pose a risk, at least as far as kidney function goes. It
IS NOT safe to draw this conclusion. There still is no reason to
believe that creatine supplementation is safe for youth and scholastic
athletes.
Also at the CIS site, you'll find a discussion titled, "Should
Boys & Girls be Coached the Same Way?" This look at
the thoughts of athletes is revealing—especially to the coach who's
never considered some of the issues before.
Of additional interest to those working with adolescent females
are a pair of sites dealing with eating disorders. (Evidence suggests
that this is a MAJOR problem for many female athletes!) A good overview
and a gateway site is The
National Women’s Health Information Center. This begins with
a very brief introduction and follows with a list of resources including
" Concerned
Parents, Friends, Teachers and Coaches: How to Help Someone With
an Eating Disorder" and "Information
For Friends and Families of Sufferers: What Should I Do?"
Aimed at younger (9 to 14) females, there’s the Girl
Power site. It includes areas for both the young person and
adults/parents. Using the site’s search function brings up a large
number of resource links.
And while we are on the topic of females and their sports involvement,
there’s an interesting resource titled, "Women
Writing on Women's Sports." This really is a resource page.
It has two extensive bibliographies. One deals with fictional and
first-hand accounts of women in sports. The other lists more analytical
looks at the place of sports and female athletes in society.
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Evaluating coaches is a huge issue. So let's consider some "givens."
(These are in no particular order.)
- Even in youth sports the "Win-Loss" record may be the only
measure of coaching success that people apply.
- Without being meaningfully evaluated, coaches will not know
how they are doing. Or what they might do to improve their coaching.
- Athletic administrators - of both youth and scholastic programs -
are busy people who have little time to spend on evaluating coaches
- The quality of programs depends directly on the quality of the coaching
- The quality of the athletes’ experience relates directly to
the quality of the coaching
- Nothing more critically affects retention/drop-out rates (among athletes)
than coaches
- Youth program administrators almost never evaluate coaches. They
are simply happy to have someone to do the job
- In the scholastic setting, coaches are evaluated essentially like
teachers. Since administrators often have done a marginally successful
job of evaluating teachers, at least in the past, claches have seldom
been evaluated well.
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I realize that this media is essentially electronic. The information
refers to Web sites and the information to be found there. However,
over the summer I came across several books by/about/for coaches that
I think might be worth your while. (It just happens that they all
relate to basketball. But their meaning is broad.)
The first two fall into the category of books by successful coaches
aimed at business people. The third is just a great opportunity
to read the reflections of a life-long coach who has become something
of an icon.
Begin with "Be Quick But Don’t Hurry," by Andrew Hill
and John Wooden. The key here is the former being an athlete for
the famous coach. Much of the book relates Coach Wooden's well-know
"Pyramid of Success" to managing (leading) people. But
there's a bigger story at work the relationship between coach and
player that lasts long after (and maybe in spite of) the playing
days. The final two chapters are the player's views and the coach's
simple response. An incredible look at the real world as it intersects
with coaching.
The second book is "Russell Rules" by Bill Russell and
David Faulkner. Again, the focus is on the coach as a leader. Russell
summarizes his thoughts in eleven lessons. Probably the most important
one is #11—"Everyone Can Win." The main idea is that people
can learn to be successful on their own terms. The key is understanding
the realities of what it takes.
The last book is "Trial by Basketball," a biography of
Tex Winter by Mark Bender. For those who don't follow basketball
closely, Tex is the 79 year-old guru behind the success of the Chicago
Bulls and LA Lakers. He has coached basketball his entire adult
life and has a lot of interesting thoughts to share with the reader.
Much of it is down-home humor and insights into the game, people
and events. But there is much to be gotten from Tex's reflections
on a life in coaching.
In terms of their applicability to active coaches, they probably
follow the same order. The Hill/Wooden book is probably the best.
But all three will cause any coach - not just a basketball coaches
- to stop and think! Great reads, great ideas.
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As pointed out before, there exists a set of National Standards for Athletic
Coaches—describing what coaches should know. In conjunction with this
effort, there exists a move to accredit coaching education programs. This
involves reviewing educational activities to determine whether they incorporate
the Standards at the appropriate level. The last few months have seen
the recognition of three such programs.
The first fully accredited program is oneoffered by Special
Olympics International. Following close behind were coaching education
programs offered through the American
Youth Soccer Organization and Clarion
University (Pennsylvania). Of course, these were not all aimed at
the same level of coaching. But they all have met rigorous Standards in
order to gain approval. Check out their Web sites for additional information.
More information about the National Standards and accreditation is available
from NASPE
(NCACE).
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