Successful Coaching

What kinds of beliefs make for a successful coach?


This question has been on my mind of late. I work with professional and junior athletes' everyday, and  there is never a perfect match between what we prepare for in training and how a competitive match turns out. I have been personally disappointed with some performances (not results!) that we have had of late. However, I tapped back into some old sports psychology notes from 1998 and came up with the following summaries which offer the recreational or professional sports coach some solace as to what we can expect from our athletes' performances. Having re-read the notes, it makes perfect sense to me:


Irrational beliefs:

1. Players must always do what I want them to do.
2. Games must always turn out as I planned them to.
3. I must never disappoint myself or act contrary to others expectations.


Rational beliefs:

4. Players may/may not act the way I want them to: I don't have to invest my well-being in their behaviour.
5. Sometimes games will turn out in ways that I don't like: I don't have to invest my well-being in how games turn out.
6. I am likely to make mistakes now and then: I don't have to invest my well-being in being perfect.

Low back pain

It turns out that there may be a lumbar facet component to my injury, but the origin is the sacro-iliac joint which has become completely immobile.


Having been taken to ER yesterday morning, I am on a good dose of anti-imflammatories for the next three weeks and the pain has subsided as a result. Right leg still very stiff, no active translation of hip flexion through sacro-iliac joint as the joint just won't open up right now.


Day 2 much better than yesterday's one, but probably looking at a good 10-14days inactivity before commencing physiotherapy and returning to light training. Lots of work to do: priority is going to be stability and proprioception, then onto muscular and cardio-respiratory endurance.

Lumbar Facet Syndrome

Having suffered from an acute bout of back pain, I am close to concluding that it is lumbar facet syndrome. It's the second time i've experienced in three years.


It is minor inflammation of the facet joints, in my case in the lumbar spine. On a practical level, I would describe it as a very sharp local pain on the right lumbar side, very painful when extending either leg (particularly the right), no ability to handle loads in the arms, and difficulty going from sitting to standing and vice-versa.


Four days later it is feeling a little better and more mobile. Sitting down doesn't help at all, walking around is difficult for long periods: going to have to grin and bare this one. Hopefully it'll subside soon and the blog will be back in full-force.

Game number 3 U16AA

Tonight is game number three for us.


We are a U16AA team, one level below elite with the aim of playing U18AAA in two seasons. Physically we have made big strides and technically it is coming along between long & short passing, and mobility. We have scored three times, conceded once and our record is 1W, 1D, 0L. Let's hope we can pick up the win this evening.

The UEFA Injury Study 2011

The UEFA injury study recently published highlight's a number of observations for football coaches, and possible implications for training. The report concludes:


1. An average 8 injuries per 1000 hours of football exposure
2. The incidence of injuries is higher in games (27.5) than in training (4.1)
3. A player has an average of 2 injuries per season i.e. 50 injuries per team of 25 players
4. Thigh injuries are the most common injury subtype (17% of all injuries)
5. Re-injuries constitute 12% of all injuries
6. Re-injuries lead to longer absences among players than original injuries (24 v 18 days)
7. The risk of injury increases with time in both halves of a game
8. Hamstring injuries are most likely to occur in the competitive season


There are interesting questions that can be posed in light of the above. Given that a player is six times more likely to injure in a game v training, we can wonder if the training stimulus in training is adequately physical, intense, or of the required volume (or a combination) for a competitive game. Or is a competitive football game that much more intense in nature than training? Perhaps is a gap that can be bridged here between training and competitive games.

An interesting finding is that original injuries account for an average of 18 days absence. This could equate to absence for 5-6 competitive games, and perhaps a further 3-4 games needed before re-gaining match fitness. A worrying statistic for coaches is that fact that re-injuries occur 12% of the time, and can lead to 24 days absence. This means at least 8-12 game absence in the competitive season. This would represent greater than 25% of games in the major European and British seasons, making it almost impossible for a player to maintain his position in the team, or indeed stay match fit for an entire season.

Finally, given that hamstring and thigh injuries are most prevalent during the season, more work is needed on training these muscles for competition, and in helping players recover from training and competitive games.

Muscle power

What determines the power a muscle can generate? A number of factors including:


1. The position of the muscle relative to the length-tension relationship
2. Number and size of motor units i.e. #number of cross-bridges in parallel (ideal for force)
3. Length of the muscle fibres i.e. # of cross-bridges in series (ideal for velocity)


Architecturally speaking, quadriceps and calf muscles are well designed to generate force due their low muscle fibre:muscle length ratios and large cross-sectional areas. However, hamstrings tibial muscles are well designed for velocity by nature of their high muscle fibre:muscle length ratios and long muscle fibres.

Do brand new muscle fibres grow following resistance training?

Does muscle hyperplasia (increased muscle number cells) occur following resistance training in humans? Probably not.


Data suggests that when an average muscle area is divided by the average muscle fibre area (taken from muscle biopsy), the cross-sectional area of muscle is more related to the are of the muscle fibres than the muscle fibre size (MacDougall 1984). However, it is interesting to note that the subjects in this and other studies have noted that the subjects with the largest muscles also have the largest number of muscle fibres.


Interestingly, one study involved a resistance training programme for cats found a 9% difference in muscle fibre numbers in the trained v untrained muscles (Gonyea et al. 1986).

Can muscles get bigger with resistance training?

Does resistance training lead to an increase in muscle fibre size? It appears so.


The cross-sectional area of muscle fibres can increase by up to 70% following resistance training. Similarly, Seynnes et al. reported a 5% increase in the cross-sectional area of quadriceps (thigh) muscles after four weeks of resistance training.


It appears that a shift towards type IIa fibres is common in resistance trained athlete's, and that type II fibres demonstrate hypertrophy following resistance training.

Resistance training in children and adolescents

Should children and adolescents resistance train? The research says yes.

The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology have published a position stand on this topic and raise the following points in their abstract:

- There is no minimum age for resistance training in children
- Resistance training should include a proper warm-up, cool-down and appropriate exercises
- The intensity should be kept low to moderate and performed 2-3 days per week
- Olympic weightlifting techniques may be incorporated into the training programme

As long as the training and supervision is appropriate, safe, under qualified instruction and uses gradual progression, resistance training can lead to both health and fitness benefits in children and adolescents. 

Starting a new training programme II

How should training be planned?


First thing to do is always apply the principles of training to your programme (see original Starting a new training programme). You should also divide your training into both general and specific.


In your general phase (10-12 weeks), you should develop your fundamentals which are your strength and endurance. In strength training, aim to work on all of muscle endurance-hypertrophy, muscle strength and muscle strength-power. In endurance, try get some minutes on the clock with some distance runs and some interval runs with 1:1 work-rest ratios (periods lasting between anywhere from 2-5min).


Getting the fundamentals in place is essential before moving onto sports-specifics.

Fitness for soccer II

It seems that match location and match status has an impact on the distances covered by pro soccer players.


When winning, pro players cover more distance by walking and jogging than by high intensity running (>19km.hr). Similarly, when playing at home, the home teams cover more distance at low intensity. The reasons are unclear as to why this is, but coaches should be willing to consider match location and status when coaching their teams.


European Journal of Sports Science March 2010 10 (2): 103-109

May is muscle month

In this blog, the month of May will be dedicated to discussing topics which relate specifically to muscle physiology and performance. 

How long can a muscle work before fatiguing?

Can a muscle fatigue after 2-3min work, at sub-maximal loads? Indeed it can.



Muscle fatigue can be predicted by the tension time index (TTdi), a tool developed by Clanton & Grassino in the 1980's. A tension-time index of 0.15 can predict fatigue when a muscle works indefinitely. The TTdi is the product of normalised force * contraction time/contraction-relaxation time.

Is sports massage recommended after exercise?

Does having a sports massage help wash out metabolites and increase the speed of muscle recovery following exercise? Probably not.


Recent evidence from Queen's University (Ontario, Canada) suggests that massage applied to exercised muscles may impede blood flow and reduce lactate removal. The best way to remove lactate from exercised muscles is probably by performing an active cool down, whereby muscles continue to work and use the produced lactate as a fuel, or allow it to be transported elsewhere.

Can your muscles work anaerobically at 20% MVC?

When does a muscle start to work an-aerobically? Is it only 65-70% of maximum effort? No.


In some part, it will be determined by the ratio of contraction time to the total contraction-relaxation cycle. If  the muscle contraction is held isometrically or if the contraction-relaxation cycle favours more contraction time than relaxation time, your muscle could work an-aerobically at 20% MVC if held indefinitely.

Blog is underway

Dear readers,


My high performance fitness blog is now officially up and running. Hope you will follow, enjoy and contribute to my blog which will be updated daily.


Best,


Kieran

DOMS, or am I injured?

When you are de-conditioned i.e. have not been in regular training for a number of weeks or months, why do I feel pain in the muscles that I have started working again?


The answer is likely due to delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). It's the body's natural response to muscle stress, and usually peaks at 48hrs. It's nothing to worry about, just part of the process of getting back into shape.


Having had the experience of working with many athlete's and private clients who believe that they are actually injured having experienced DOMS, I find it incredible that DOMS is a concept which is still not fully understood or appreciated.

Starting a new training programme 101

Last time you started a new training programme, did you follow the principles of training?

1. Assessment: of the health and fitness variables you want to improve

2. Specificity: specifically design programme to improve your variables of choice

3. Overload: planning to train beyond your normal limit

4. Progression: the inevitable improvement in fitness when steps 1-3 are followed

5. Recuperation: did you plan an active recovery having completed a training programme

If the information above is too technical for you to follow, but you are interested in getting fitter, it is the right time that you consulted a fitness professional.

Fitness for soccer

I believe that specific fitness training is fundamental for success in any sport, soccer is a great example.

Two recent studies from Norway (world leaders in the field of soccer research) show that by adding 4 * 4min interval aerobic/soccer training to regular soccer practices, many performance variables improve i.e. distance covered on the pitch, aerobic endurance and ability to work at higher heart rate. Cue to coaches: adding fitness based soccer exercises to your team training will make them perform better on the pitch.

Br. Journal Sports Med. 2005 May: 39 (5) 273-277
Med. Sci. in Sports & Ex. 2001 Nov: 33 (11) 1925-1931

Test battery for U16 elite soccer

Pre-season football (soccer!) season started just under two months ago. I implemented a basic test battery to evaluate the team: the 1600m run, the 40y sprint, the agility T-Test, and a push-up with the aim of evaluating aerobic endurance, speed, agility and strength (although strictly it is muscular endurance). 

Is this a valid test battery for a U16 elite soccer?