Thanks Coach Erik Schwager Director of Strength and Conditioning at Northwestern State University for sharing this information that will go along way for coaches to read and take with them into thier program. I have been fortunate to have the chance to learn and share information with Coach Schwager. Enjoy this read and reach out to Coach if you have anymore questions for him.
The main question I get from younger strength coaches and athletic coaches is typically what do you do for your program to build strength, power, and speed. The next questions that follow usually are: How do you develop a winning mentality? Or looking at other programs, “man did you see that kid he is jacked or man I bet he can move some weight”. There truly is a secret to the madness of strength and conditioning in which I will let you in on it at the end of this post.
Training during a pandemic is not easy and numerous factors go into writing a program. Things to be prepared for: Social distancing, masks on at all times (so restricted breathing), quarantines begin during training cycle, return to play protocols, having to be able to go inside/ outside depending on size of your weight room and capacity max. Each lift/conditioning is based off these parameters: Speed, strength, power development, max velocity, acceleration, and safe but efficient gut check.
PHASE 1: Issues: Limited Space, Capacity Limits, Social Distancing, Disinfecting
Goals: Increase Work Capacity, Increase Lean Body Mass, Develop Athletic Strength
What you see here is mainly our template for our Phase 1. I have not included sets, reps, or exercise selection as this is merely showing our template. I will say the selection and %’s we work off are based on goals for the day, phase, and what we want to accomplish in our running as well. Everything has to coincide to run a well rounded program to reach all of our training goals. How we have things set up has also given us the ability to add variety into training. That leads us into the secret sauce of the program. Over the course of the month our guys have visibly become stronger, faster, and are moving better. Here is the secret to why…
Secret Sauce to Training:
100% Plan:
Create a well thought out plan that allows for training parameters to reach goals needed to be accomplished and can be progressed over time. In this plan, think about exercise selection both on field and weight room that complement each other. Think about loads/ intensities of each and plan accordingly! You can’t load up on one with out sacrificing the other.
100% Educate:
Educate your team on the benefits of why they are doing what they are doing. We live in a world of social media and google. Anyone can look up stuff and say they are an expert. Educate your team on why this is the best thing for them in their current situation, sport, and training age.
100%: COACH & UNDSERSTAND
To many times I see coaches yelling and screaming to get things done. Let me let you in on a little secret I learned from a former coach I worked for. “You catch more flies with honey”. There is a huge difference between passionate and being loud because you have nothing to say that is beneficial. Coach the kid and the rep. I’ve seen coaches yell at kids because of poor performance. This is where understanding comes in. Instead of yelling at the poor performance. Ask Why the Performance? 9 times out of 10 there an external factor that you don’t know about. So, UNDERSTAND that everyone has bad days and its our jobs as coaches to help fix the issues instead of adding to the problem. Let them know you care and I promise you’ll get way more out of them.
100% Accountability:
Player driven and player lead. One of the things I tell our guys all the times is hold yourself to a higher standard than that of which anyone else expects of you. Realize what you do affects others. We have preached about this quite a bit. The real world can be harsh and unforgiving so learn how to do the right things and hold yourself to a high standard now.
100% Relationships:
Do not just be a coach. Be a mentor and a role model. Some kids have no one else to look up to or even talk to. A lot of times you are that person they need in their life. Learn to get to know your kids. Where are they from? How did they grow up? Who is their hero? Conversations lead to signs where you know those kids so well you know if something is wrong. These conversations can prevent things from happening, gain long lasting relationships, and builds trust within a program. By far the best part of the job is watching young athlete’s grow up and come into their own.
100% Buy In:
This here is a combination of everything above. If you Coach, educate, show you care, build relationships, and give them a plan. You will get buy in from everyone you need. This buy in creates consistency, accountability, trust and one heck of an awesome group of young athlete’s who will work as hard as you do! Buy in = execution of your plan!
BUILDNIG BLOCKS TO THINK ABOUT:
