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Archive for “Agendas” Tag

3-Part Goals for 2011

Posted on: December 12th, 2010 by IYCA No Comments

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"What’s the main goal I should concentrate on in the New Year, Brian?"

 

A question I get routinely asked between the beginning of October and the end of December every single year.

 

The turning of the calendar to a blank slate and brand new 12-months is a source of enthusiasm for most people.

 

New goals.

 

New directions.

 

Same old dreams… But THIS year, I’ll make them happen.

 

Do you play that annual game yourself?

 

The undeniable (and unfortunate) reality is that most people do in fact create new agendas for themselves as the New Year approaches.

 

I say ‘unfortunate’ simply because statistics show us clearly and definably that end-of-year goals and ambitions almost always fall flat by February (somewhere in the neighborhood of 80% of New Year’s goals are vacated and forgotten by February 28th… Every year).

 

So when asked about what goals I think you should concentrate on as 2011 approaches, my answer is a very simple one (with a 3-part plan):

 

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The Biggest Problem in Youth Sports Training?

Posted on: April 17th, 2009 by IYCA 10 Comments

 

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Youth Sports Training Mistakes

The most common problem facing Trainers & Coaches today with respect to developing young athletes over time is the ability to plan long-term. The personal training and coaching professions are most typically based on a session-to-session consideration – clients pay per session most often and Trainers create training programs one session at a time. The same is true for coaching sport – most Coaches script out one practice plan at a time, rather than create a relative flow for an entire month or even season.

 

Limited Plan… Limited Gain

 

The problem with this industry standard as it relates to youths and adolescents is that this type of shortsightedness serves to limit the potential gains made by a young athlete. It is not unlike running a business or corporation – when business owners take the time to organize their objectives and action steps for a given month or year, they almost always are successful at implementing the plan. Far too many business owners, Trainers and Coaches feel as though their actions during a sales drive, training session or practice is what will lead to positive change, when in fact it is the planning that occurs before these actions that accounts for the true gains

 

Become and Objective Monster

 

No one can learn how to create 6 or 12 month Youth Sports Training plans in a day.

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It takes time and diligent effort to acquire this skill, but your ability to get better over time will have a direct and positive impact on both your young athletes’ success rate as well as your businesses ability to attract new clients. Set an objective for yourself to create a system or plan that allows you to develop long-term and wide-focused agendas for your young athletes. Take several days or weeks if need be to create a system that is streamlined and easy to implement – although your are looking for a comprehensive system, the more basic you make it, the more easy it will be to adhere to.

 

Action Steps

 

Start simply. Take a piece of paper and write out where you want your young athletes to be in 4 weeks. Create headings and then just fill in each category. For instance, what skill sets are you working on now? To what degree of competency do you want an athlete or team to be able to demonstrate that skill set in 1 month’s time? This can also be applied to elite adolescent athletes. Are you working on squat or power clean totals right now? If so, where do you want these numbers to be in 4 weeks?

 

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Programming for Youth

Posted on: November 3rd, 2008 by IYCA 3 Comments

The Youth Sports Mentality:

Without a Plan, You Will Be Mediocre at Best

 

The most common problem facing Trainers & Coaches today with
respect to developing young athletes over time is the ability to plan
long-term.  The personal training and coaching professions are most
typically based on a session-to-session consideration – clients pay per

session most often and Trainers create training programs one session

at a time. 

 

The same is true for coaching sport – most Coaches script
out one practice plan at a time, rather than create a relative flow
for an entire month or even season.

 

 

Limited Plan…  Limited Gain

 

The problem with this industry standard as it relates to youths and
adolescents is that this type of shortsightedness serves to limit the
potential gains made by a young athlete.  It is not unlike running a
business or corporation – when business owners take the time to
organize their objectives and action steps for a given month or year,

they almost always are successful at implementing the plan. 

 

Far too many business owners, Trainers and Coaches feel as though

their actions during a sales drive, training session or practice is what
will lead to positive change, when in fact it is the planning that
occurs before these actions that accounts for the true gains.

 

 

Become An Objective Monster

 

No one can learn how to create Programming for Youth for 6 or 12 month plans in a day.  It
takes time and diligent effort to acquire this skill, but your ability
to get better over time will have a direct and positive impact on

both your young athletes’ success rate as well as your businesses

ability to attract new clients. 

 

Set an objective for yourself to create a system or plan that allows

you to develop long-term and wide-focused agendas for your
young athletes.  Take several days or weeks if need be to create a
system that is streamlined and easy to implement – although your are

looking for a comprehensive system, the more basic you make it, the
more easy it will be to adhere to.

 

 

Action Steps

 

Start simply.  Take a piece of paper and write out where you want
your young athletes to be in 4 weeks.  Create headings and then
just fill in each category.  For instance, what skill sets are you
working on now?  To what degree of competency do you want
an athlete or team to be able to demonstrate that skill set in one
month’s time? 

 

This can also be applied to elite adolescent athletes.  Are you
working on squat or power clean totals right now?  If so,
where do you want these numbers to be in 4 weeks? 

 

 

Create Critical Path

 

Once you have organized your thoughts on where you would like

to be in 4 weeks, you have to consider how you are going to get
there.  On the same or a different piece of paper, right out how
many training sessions or practices you have with this athlete or
team between now and 4 weeks from now. 

 

Date each training session or practice on your piece of paper.  Now,
using your skills as a Trainer or Coach, literally just fill in the blanks. 
Compare where you want to be in 4 weeks with the number of
training sessions or practices you have between now and then.  In
order to accomplish your 4-week goal, what action steps along a
critical path must be taken? 

 

This is the essence of how to develop a long-term approach to
working with young athletes.  You will simply just write out your
next several training sessions or practices in order to meet the
objectives you have laid out for 4 weeks from now.

 

 

Critical Path & Beyond

 

This system can easily be applied to 6 months or even a year.  Just
follow the same type of procedure as mentioned above – set out an
objective for the time frame and decide where this athlete or team
needs to be within that time frame. 

 

Let’s say you have a 13-year-old athlete for 6 months and you want

to determine an objective and critical path.  Take out a piece of
paper and write out where you want this athlete to be in 6 months. 
Be descriptive with this – what skill sets do you want him to have
mastered?  What kind of movement-based techniques will he show

great competency in. 

 

Once you have decided that, break those large objectives down into

more manageable ones and make them your first 4-week objective.
To get to your end destination, where to you have to be at the end
of this month?  From there break it down even farther by deciding
on how many training sessions or practices you will have over the
next 4 weeks and design them in accordance with your 4 week
objective.  Next month, do the same thing.

 

 

The End Result You Need

 

An amazing thing happens when you create objectives and critical

plans like this.  You will start seeing results in your athletes and
teams beyond what you ever-dreamed possible.  Failing to plan is

one of the biggest concerns facing this industry.  It seems everything
is taken on a session-by-session basis with no vision or thought to
the long-term.  It could argued that individual Trainers and Coaches
didn’t know how to plan for the future… well; now you do!

 

Practice the skill of objective writing and critical path creation.  It
will take time to design a system that flows well for you, but it is
more than worth it to your young athletes’ and teams.

 

 

 

‘Till Next Time,

 

Brian

 

 

P.S. Don’t forget that tomorrow, Tuesday November 5, I am
unveiling the IYCA’s first CEU course – The Insider Secrets
to Program Design. Everything you ever wanted to know about Programming for Youth
and how I create training programs for the kinds of situations that
you face everyday…. Stay by your email for the announcement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The ‘X Factors’ to Training Young Athletes

Posted on: June 4th, 2008 by IYCA 8 Comments

 

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Training young athletes and kids is so much more than just the
‘x’ and ‘o’ factors.

 

Of course a strong base of knowledge in pediatric exercise
science, motor skill development and program design is critical for
you to truly create effective training and conditioning
agendas for this specific demographic.

 

But here’s something that may surprise you…

 

I find that coaches and trainers who have big personalities and
charismatic styles are often far better with kids than professionals
who really ‘know their science’.

 

That is not to knock education.

 

The IYCA has a very involved and complex 4-tiered educational
process that has been created to be a virtual vault of scientific
information for coaches and trainers to learn.

 

But a great deal of our material also focuses on teaching you
how to effectively communicate with your young clients and
understand their specific learning styles.

 

Here’s a simple metaphor that will help you truly grasp the
importance of this intangible factor –

 

 

It’s not always what you want to say that matters…

 

… It’s what they want to hear.

 

 

That doesn’t mean you need to placate to your athletes or not
say what it is you need to or want to say.

 

But you have to relay your message in a way that it will be
received.

 

This is the number one concern I see in youth sports, youth
fitness and even school.

 

We expect all children and teens to learn the same way and be
open to our messages irrespective of how they are offered.

 

13 years of working with this demographic has taught me that this
is just not the case.

 

Creating effective programs is the science…

 

But implementing them effectively is the art.

 

And the IYCA wants you to understand that your role as a coach
or trainer working with this demographic is not to be a
scientist, but an artist.

 

Understand the science.

 

Use it to create successful and developmentally-sound training young athletes
programs.

 

But BE an artists.

 

Learn how to implement these successful and developmentally-
sound training programs so that they are optimally received by
your audience.

 

Our coaching template found in the ‘Level 1 – Youth Fitness
Specialist’ certification offers a very detailed look at how to
understand your individual athletes motivation and learning
styles.

 

And while there is no such thing as a ‘one size fits all
approach’ to coaching, there is one specific ingredient that
you can bank on as a surefire way to make sure all your athletes
are interested in what you have to say…

 

 

ENERGY

 

 

Do you bring energy to each and every training session?

 

Are you thrilled to see your young clients – and can they tell?

 

Do you coach with an enthusiastic nature that is contagious?

 

These are the questions you must ask yourself when you are training young athletes.

 

Coaching, learning and communication variances per athlete are
unique and the ‘Level 1’ material certainly gives you a massive
amount of information in terms of understanding it all.

 

But ‘energy’ is the single factor you can bring to the table
each and every time.

 

It’s what makes the difference between a good coach and a great
one.

 

Challenge yourself to bring the energy each time you’re in front
of your athletes.

 

Better yet – bring it one day and not the next.

 

See for yourself how much differently your athletes respond to
you and how much more involved they become in your training
session.

 

More than the ‘x’ and ‘o’ factors, my friend…

 

Brian