pay it forward

After a very long period of neglect, I’m cleaning the cobwebs and dust off the coaching blog.

Since March of this year, I was swamped with preparing for my first major multi-sport games as part of my day job as high performance director for a Canadian Paralympic Team.  After all was said and done, man that was a big project!  So many layers.  So many interacting agencies. So many conflicting agencies!

The fact that the Paralympic were in Beijing didn’t make it any easier.  The distance, time difference, cultural nuances, laguage issues all made the preparations all that much more important.

I also attended a Sport Science and Technology conference and a Sport Leadership conference.  I’ll post some notes from these as I transcribe them.

Paralympics aside, I think the most valuable exercise of the year was preparing a report on the last quadrennial (a 4 year training cycle inherent in Olympic and Paralympic sports) and a strategic plan for the next two quadrennials.   That’s right, Olympic and Paralympic success is rooted in how well you prepare at the sport admin level than at the coach and leadership level.  Only then can you support serious World Class athletes in their pursuit of excellence.  I heard this from many different places, in many different ways, in many different languages, but the message was the same.

Here’s a challenge for each coach who is serious about the success of their program; are you brave enough to look deeply into your program and do a thorough analysis of the good, the bad and the ugly?  In high performance sport we follow a version of the business world’s SWOT analysis; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.  We than back that up with statistical data on performance variables obtained in competition and in controlled evaluations.  And as if that’s not deep enough, we then dig deep into the program supporting the athletes looking for system errors as well.  From there we set up strategic initiatives and performance benchmarks/goals targeted at the sport administration, program leaders, coaches and athletes.

In the end you, if you’ve been truthful and honest, you have a series or cold hard facts staring you in the face. Facts that are your blueprint to success.  Its a long, hard, ruthless process.  However, if it makes my program stronger and gives us the direction required to be gold medal threats in 2012 and 2016, so be it.

I’m doing the same for my elite athletes who are world class.

To truly be world class, every aspect of my athlete’s preparation needs to be world class as well, including me as their coach.

While an athlete may not know or want to know all the details of the next few weeks of their life, career and training plan, as their coach I need a plan in place looking 4-8 years ahead to ensure their long term development is not left to random chance (aka evolution), but is designed with intelligence.  Without this plan, a coach is reactionary and not proactive. And if you’re not planning for the high performance needs of the future you’ll never be ahead of the curve but constantly catching up and competing for second or lower.

Over the next few posts I’ll pass on some of my “take home” messages for coaches, regardless of whether your athletes are world class or you as a coach are looking to meet world class standards.

Sneak preview;

• Sleep and high performance
• Integrated sport psychology
• Nutritional considerations in high performance athletes
• The importance of coaching teams
• and other stuff I can’t remember

In closing, I was talking with some elite level coaches at the conferences and almost all the truly dedicated coaches were coaching becasue they believed they could make a difference AND they believed that in making a difference they were repaying those who made a difference in their lives by passing that on to another.

Pay it forward- its not about me.  Its all about you, and those you will influence through your actions.

Engineered Athletes in action

Here is a quick update on some of the Engineered Athletes and teams I coach.

IDBF Club Crew Championships (Penang, Malaysia): Dragon Boat

Victoria BC’s Gorging Dragons (training program and performance analyses) earned a Silver medal in the 500 m, and Bronze medals in the 2000 m and the 200 m and 2nd in the 500 m premier division mixed crew races.

full results coming…

IVF Sprint Outrigger World Championships (Sacramento CA): outrigger canoeing

Kathryn Ginther of Penticton BC (training program, technique and performance analyses) came home with three Bronze medals from the V6 1000 m, V6 500 and V12 500 m events.

full results

Canadian Triathlon Championships (Kelowna BC)

ELITE RACE

Martina Wan (full program, performance analyses and technical coaching support) announced herself in her first elite race as an up and coming force to be reckoned with in women’s triathlon.

On the bike, Martina worked super hard and was the strongest rider in the chase pack as reflected in her 4^th fastest bike split! She performed a clinic in T2 skills posting the second fastest bike to run transition and led the chase pack onto the run in 6^th places.  Martina pushed harder than she ever had in a race to finish 11^th overall and 8^th Canadian!

Well done Martina!

AGE GROUP RACE

2008 World Champion and now 2008 Canadian F4044 Champion; Stephanie Kieffer (full program, performance analyses and technical coaching support) was unstoppable!

Stephanie was also 3rd overall in the women, but only after the the eventual winner and second place finisher had chased her down on the run.

With over 25 participants in the race, LETC (program and technical coaching) was solid across the board with four podium appearance and nine automatic qualifications (q) for the 2009 ITU Olympic Distance Worlds in Australia!

OA	GENDER	CAT	NAME	SWIM	BIKE	RUN	TIME
ELITE WOMEN
11	8CAN	ELITE	Martina Wan TP	22:03	1:10:11	0:42:04	2:16:10
AGE GROUP
10	10	3M40-44	Alan Carlsson q	20:50	1:02:18	0:40:39	2:05:45
41	3	1F40-44	Stephanie Kieffer TP q	21:29	1:06:30	0:44:20	2:14:23
66	61	7M25-29	Doug Giles q	29:41	1:05:47	0:40:57	2:18:29
76	69	8M25-29	Rob Eakin q	27:36	1:07:04	0:43:33	2:20:22
117	17	3F20-24	Justine Clift q	24:51	1:10:57	0:46:52	2:25:04
167	33	4F30-34	Elizabeth Urbach q	29:22	1:11:43	0:46:14	2:29:55
174	140	16M25-29	Brian Roth	27:35	1:09:59	0:50:35	2:30:35
175	35	7F35-39	Lynda McCue q	28:56	1:13:47	0:45:32	2:30:43
196	47	7F25-29	Jody Wright q	26:17	1:12:51	0:50:23	2:32:21
248	72	16F35-39	Heather Caldwell	26:08	1:17:49	0:50:22	2:37:36
265	191	30M30-34	Andrew Harlos	28:35	1:14:04	0:53:47	2:39:23
271	79	18F35-39	Stacy Gorkoff	27:57	1:19:18	0:48:13	2:40:21
289	84	14F25-29	Nicole Warren	29:14	1:19:06	0:50:19	2:41:43
294	208	35M30-34	Michael Ryan*	34:58	1:13:01	0:49:59	2:42:14
297	210	35M35-39	Denis “9½” Peregrym	36:13	1:09:04	0:54:22	2:42:25
316	220	35M45-49	Stan Rogowski*	32:39	1:20:01	0:46:21	2:44:29
326	226	28M50-54	Clayton Reichert	36:02	1:12:57	0:53:45	2:45:42
340	103	19F25-29	Caylee Wasilenko	24:41	1:21:28	0:58:12	2:46:48
342	104	20F25-29	Erin Bigelow	29:53	1:21:27	0:51:57	2:47:10
343	105	20F35-39	Alison Thompson TP	31:11	1:18:56	0:53:52	2:47:28
353	112	11F45-49	Bronwyn Masson	32:35	1:16:34	0:56:19	2:49:09
454	162	2F18-19	Andrea Reichert*	25:27	1:27:42	1:03:00	2:59:39
540	218	45F30-34	Marnie Richter*	35:52	1:28:26	1:11:48	3:19:59
554	229	2F65-69	Mary Battell TP q	41:55	1:32:00	1:08:28	3:28:16

TP Engineered Athlete training program

* LETC Alumni

q qualifier for 2009 Worlds

full results

Strength training resource

For those of you who routinely prescribe strength training routines, here is a good resource for you.

Physigraphe is a series of templates and images to help you show your athletes what you’d like them to do.  If you’re like me and find describing new exercises a challenge this is an ideal resource.

Here is a sample program for core / rotational strength in paddlers;

The designer is Sylvain Lemaire, a strength and conditioning coach at the Olympic Stadium high perfomance facility in Montreal, Canada.

Very nice tool, thanks Sylvain!

Alan

Triathlon grrls

Here’s a pic of my two top performers at the ITU Olympic Distance World Championships in June.  Both work very hard this past year to get to where they are- and are looking for bigger and better things in the years to come!

Martina was 5^th overall and 3^rd in the 25-29 category in only her second year training for triathlons.
Stephanie was 1^st in the 40-44 category by only 13 seconds after leading from start to finish!

Both are competing in the Triathlon Canada Nationals Championships in Kelowna this weekend. This is Martina’s second draft legal triathlon as an elite, and Stephanie is looking to add a National title to her collection as well as place overall.

Alan

Training wheels for surfskis

Here are two interestinng pics of a training aid from Huki as seen in Sacramento at the IVF World Sprints.

Alan

some great thoughts on winning

Ken Read’s farewell note to the ski community follows:

My personal thanks to all who called or wrote since last week. As I move on, I did want to leave you with some personal thoughts about the past six years.

Two weeks ago, I came across the following quote from Jake Wetzel, rowing silver medalist in the coxless fours at the 2004 Games in Athens, member of the Canadian Olympic Team:

“The most important thing is winning. If you’re not in the fight, there’s no excitement. It’s not about the participation. It’s about the scariness of lining up when you have a chance.”

Win. Clear, focused – such a simple verb, yet if used properly, it says everything. Take a moment and look it up in the dictionary. Few words carry such weight. Yes, it means to finish first, but it also means to succeed by striving or effort; to succeed in reaching a place; to get by effort as through labour, competition or conquest; to gain, as by qualities or influence.

Why I like Jake’s quote above is his final comment “it’s about the scariness of lining up when you have a chance.” It’s about direction, inspiration, motivation.

Sport – whether one wins, participates, supports, cheers or works – is about being in the game. Over the past six years, what has been most gratifying has been to watch Canada “get in the Game”. To see confidence build in athletes; pride in coaches and ski clubs; energy and enthusiasm in young athletes who are still shaping their dreams and motivated by winning Canadian athletes. We learned that winning….can inspire and be fun! That we can wake up each weekend morning throughout the winter in anticipation – who would be the Canadian on the podium today?

Winning is fragile. The sports world is filled with distraction. Our geography is so enormous. And to become a winner in high performance sport, it takes an all-consuming relentless effort. The phrases “Best in the world…at every level”, “The relentless pursuit of excellence” and “the human, technical and financial resources to put out athletes on the podium” were intended to provide clear, direct guidance to the real task – to be the best we can be.

Watch how very young athletes at the entry or kinder levels (under 12) grapple with the concept of winning. In every ski race this is only one winner. So what do the other 139 youngsters think or feel once the race is over? Spend a little time around the scoreboard and you hear real insight – youngsters know where they stand and what is a measure of success, be it to ski beyond their expectation, test their confidence or comfort zone, have a great day with their friends or learn a tough lesson about commitment, bad luck or perseverance. They learn about life. They learn to deal with the curves in the track. And they are better for it.

Winning is so easy, yet so terribly difficult. To relentlessly pursue hundredths of a second means uncovering every rock, examining every angle, rehearsing, observing, living, eating and breathing performance. That is why we say “be performance centred”. It encompasses everyone in the organization – in the effort to build champions.

Athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, sponsors and supporters appreciate clear vision. That is why an organization’s Mission Statement should be no more than one sentence – and in our case, it is one word: Win. It says it all. It gives us clear marching orders: to be dedicated to delivering the human, technical and financial resources to put our athletes on the podium. It provides us with the crucial guidance in developing our athletes to be ‘best in the world…at every level”, now codified in “Aim-2-win”. It inspires a passion for excellence which is easily translated into the relentless pursuit of performance, safety, fun, camaraderie….the values that make sport and the family of alpine ski racing so special.

In ski racing the clock is always ticking. In training or competition, our athletes are measured by the exacting standard of time. Winning always comes down to the effort invested to find precious hundredths of a second. The only way to beat the clock and aim to be better than our competition every day is through teamwork, a passion for ski racing and the relentless pursuit of excellence.

We now know we have the talent, the experience and the confidence to aim to be ‘best in the world’. Aim to win. Let’s make those precious hundredths of a second our friends in the margin of victory.

Ken

sport specific strength training

As race season approaches we need to pay special attention to the application of the principle of specificity to our training.

Increased specificity towards our competition sport(s) is common enough for fitness and skills training, but strength training very often defies this convention and many programs fail to adapt muscular conditioning to the needs of the sport(s).

Here are some general guidelines regarding muscular conditioning preparation for longer distance events

General preparation phase: safety awareness, learning and consolidating technical lifting skills, movement pattern acquisition (for sport it is core to extremities NEVER extremities to core), joint strength, range of motion and stability, etc. In this phase,exercises are mostly general base building (1-3 sets of 8-12 reps on a slower, steadier tempo) and aerobic base building (1-3 sets of 15-30+ reps on a gentle but steady tempo). Also important at this time are laying the foundation for core stability and balance work.

Specific preparation phase(s): technical skill consolidation continues, core focus incorporates sequencing of larger peripheral muscle groups (and proper joint sequencing), introduction of higher resistance exercises (aka strength building- 4-6 sets x 4-6 reps at a slower tempo), higher movement velocity exercises (2-8 sets of 4-12 reps on faster continuous tempos), higher power output exercises (high resistance and high velocity for 2-10 sets of 1-4 reps on an explosive and controlled tempo). You also want to maintain your base core strength, balance and stability work, aerobic base training and muscle building (as needed).

At this time, thought should be applied to the sport specific movements and balance work needed to enhance competition performance.

Pre-competition phase(s): In this phase all exercises should be as sport specific as possible. Look at body position, joint angles, range of motion, angular velocity/acceleration in the joints and look to recreate that in the gym as best you can.

If you can’t recreate sufficient sport specificity in the gym, move your strength work outside to your sport environment. For example cyclists can do split squats in the gym OR short sprints designed to fit a set number of pedal strokes, certain cadence and resistance. The same focus of the strength should be mimicked in the sport specific environment.

i.e. to increase muscular strength (peak force); 6 sets of 4 in gym on 2.2.2.2 tempo (seconds to complete the eccentric, isometric, concentric and isometric phases of the lift). This is an 8 second lift (add up the tempo numbers) or 32 seconds of hard work.

A cycling equivalent would be single leg (split) squats or a seated position leg press. In the field you could use an indoor trainer / rollers or go outdoors for uphill cycling efforts in a bigger gear and lower cadence . Depending on the sport specific training needs, the duration could be 4-6 pedal strokes (single leg), 8-12 pedal strokes (two legs) or 15-20 seconds (remove the isometric component as is doesn’t apply to cycling.

In swimming, you can simulate the swim movement on a swim bench (i.e. Vasa trainer) or using a simple flat bench and either a cable pull machine or surgical tubing. In the pool or open water you can use tethered swimming under high resistance for 4-8 strokes or high resistance/low cadence efforts of 4-8 strokes or 15 seconds with drag shorts.

In paddling sports, an indoor trainer (i.e. Dansprit, WEBA or Vasa kayak ergometers) seated cable pull core rotations in the gym or tethered paddling under high resistance for 4-12 strokes or high resistance/low cadence efforts of 4-12 strokes or 15-20 seconds with a resistor (i.e. simple bungee around the hull, tennis balls on a string, etc.). Keep in mind too much resistor work can overload joints and the smaller stability oriented muscle groups (i.e. rotator cuff) very quickly.

NOTE: too large a resistor in any sport may significantly alter the biomechanics and place the athlete at risk of injuries. Similarly, too much high resistance work can result in the same risks! It is not uncommon to see athletes and coaches adopt high resistance work in aerobic training only to have it result in a high risk of injuries and loss of the faster cadence/stroke rate required for high power production.

Similarly, peak movement speeds can be developed through assisted movements;

• downhill sprints in cycling and running
• using fins in swimming (not paddles as they slow down stroke rate while increasing body speed)
• surfing and wash riding in paddle sports

Competition phase(s): By this time all muscular conditioning should by exclusively oriented towards sport performance and nothing but specific. All single joint lifts should be discontinued (unless recommended by a physio for a specific injury). Ideally, all muscular conditioning should now be done in a sport specific environment at movement speeds and resistances that simulate the range of power outputs required of the athletes.

Transition phase: In the off season, no muscular conditioning is best. For athletes who like the routine of going to the gym, schedule a 30-45 minute stretching and flexibility routine.

CAUTION: higher resistance training often feels very gratifying and athletes will feel very strong and powerful after such a workout. It is not uncommon to see 20+ minutes of very high resistance training at very low cadences and movement speeds. This will not only encourage low speed movements (cadences) but may minimize the athlete’s ability to perform at higher movement speeds (cadences) as well, which may result in a significantly lower peak power (speed) in sprints and other situations where a high movement velocity is required.

A well designed and administered muscular conditioning program will prepare the athlete for the full range of competition challenges; high resistance x fast movement speed, high resistance x low movement speed, low resistance x fast movement speed, low resistance x low movement speed,…

A good muscular conditioning program must make the transition from the gym to the field of play as the season progresses to ensure peak performance. This transition is more important in elite high performance athletes than for novices. But equally beneficial to each.

As a coach or athlete, figuring out the challenge of how to do this transition to maintain sport specificity is very difficult, but extremely worthwhile!

Alan

new content

I’m going to be moving all my dragon boat and outrigger coaching information to a free platform in this site over the next weeks (and months).

The outrigger stuff is still pretty new and will need some editing, the DB material is what I’ve been using for coaching education over the past 5 years, so tried and true basic coaching material.

Keep checking back as this material is loaded.  And please post any comments on topics you’d like me to cover or load sooner rather than later.

Alan

Triathlon World Championships

This past weekend were the ITU Olympic Distance World Championships in Vancouver BC. True to form, Vancouver tested not only the athletes’ fitness, but also their logistical preparation as water temperatures were between 10-12° C, air temperatures 12-17° C with sun, wind, waves, cloud and rain showers thrown as well.

The race course itself was also a challenge with a very difficult bike and run course to pace.

The swim was cold rough water for the women and then canceled for the men. We were looking at 10-15 kn winds from the NW that ended up coming in on the athletes’ left side for most of the swim, with only a 50 m section of downwind swimming. Any swimmers with rough water experience were laughing and having fun.

The bike course was four 10 km loops of a course featuring lots of short gentle hills in close succession, false flats, one long hill followed by a flat section into another gentle hill then a deceptive downhill onto a flat section before looping around again. If you paced it wrong; anaerobic hell within 10 minutes…

The run was a MENSA test, three 180° turns per lap, seven 90° turns per lap, a short steep uphill (elevate VO2 and perceived exertion over pace), a short gentle uphill (elevate VO2 a and perceived exertion tiny bit over pace), a couple of long gentle downhills (elevate muscular work over pace while reducing perceived exertion) and a wonky 2.5 loops with a different start and finish point.

The tri club I coach at Leading Edge Triathlon Club was very well represented with 18 athletes participating and we came through with flying colours as more of a team than a club with non-participating athletes providing all day support for their team mates. Outstanding!

Highlights for me were two super emotional performances by Martina and Stephanie who stepped up as true professionals on race day.

• Stephanie came through with an amazing 11 second win in the women’s 40-44 category that was called the surprise upset of the race by the finish line announcer! I can tell you she was definitely not upset! Stephanie has chased this win for three years and earned every meter of her dominance by never relinquishing the lead from start to finish.
• Martina has prepared very hard this past year, after a super rough race in Hamburg at the 2007 Worlds where she was recovering from a brutal bike crash two weeks before the race.Starting with a swim that saw her kicked in the face and one side of her goggles fill with blood, she stormed through T1 putting over 2 minutes on some of her rivals! On the bike she proved her new fitness was for real and held her own against the 2008 European champion and top Australian girls. Going into T2 she demonstrated amazing skill by taking another 1-2 minutes out of her rivals and heading onto the run in fifth place. She quickly locked up fourth and a tactical error by one of her rivals handed her third by the end of the race!

  Since World’s last year, Martina has logged hundreds of hours in the pool, on the bike and running to set up the fitness and technique that will allow her to enter the elite level. With her third place finish in the 25-29 category, she has all she needs for her resume when she applies for an elite license.

I am very, very proud of these two amazing athletes and all their preparation and hard work paying off.

A couple of other highlights were Jean-Yves running a 10 km PR on this brutal course, looks like you’ve finally found that extra gear Jean-Yves and Rob who has come such a long way since last year and knows this is a sport and level of competition where he belongs and thrives!

More later on logistical errors, equipment screw ups and comments on the elite races.

Alan

Here is an article from Triathlon Canada on 2008 Worlds

Testosterone gene could offer men competitive edge in sports: study

Last Updated: Friday, May 30, 2008 | 11:34 AM ET

CBC News

In a recent Swedish study, seventeen men passed standard urine tests because the tests failed to detect the presence of testosterone in their system. (CBC)

A new discovery shows that the way men process testosterone could potentially help them cheat in sports competitions.

Theoretically, according to a recent study, they can inject themselves with testosterone to give them a competitive edge — and it won’t show up on a urine test.

A recent study of 55 men in Sweden who were injected with testosterone shows disparities in how men process the hormone. Seventeen of the men passed standard urine tests because the tests failed to detect the testosterone’s presence.

Researchers say those men are missing both copies of a gene that helps testosterone dissolve in urine.

“I think it points out the limitations of the current approach to testing and it will compel us to refine our testing strategies in the future,” Dr. Andrew Pipe, chairman of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, told CBC News.

So far, only Caucasians and Asians have been studied. Researchers found that 10 per cent of white people and as many as 66 per cent of Asians are missing both copies of the gene.

“I think it points out the limitations of the current approach to testing and it will compel us to refine our testing strategies in the future.”—Dr. Andrew Pipe, chairman, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport

The flipside is that athletes who belong to racial groups that have a high proportion of the missing gene, may be suspected of doping when in fact they are not.

Canadian gymnast David Kikuchi, whose father is Japanese, is concerned people will suspect him of doping. “It’s just something else that can cast some doubt on athletes and especially clean athletes who haven’t done anything wrong.”

The only way to know for sure which athletes have the gene mutation would be to do DNA testing on everyone, experts say.

Canada’s Olympic swim coach, Pierre LaFontaine, thinks only cheaters would have a problem giving a blood sample. “I think the ones that want a clean sport probably would be very happy to put themselves in that situation,” he said.

But not even the World Anti-Doping Agency is calling for that yet. Instead, it favours a so-called “athletes’ passport,” a record of all an athlete’s screening tests so officials have a baseline against which to compare other results.

“It’s a more straightforward way to go and probably avoids a lot of ethical questions that we would have to face if we were to test the athletes for their DNA,” said Dr. Olivier Rabin, science director of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Right now, anti-doping officials say DNA testing is too costly and too complex to be widely used. But they agree that genetic research is pushing the doping world into a new era.