Creating an environment for success

Transcription

1 Creating an environment for success Drew and Hayley Harrison Our story.of training athletes in Limerick since 1995 Our backgrounds Our athletes Our idea of the total training environment, incorporating our philosophy, values and overall approach to coaching and developing athletic performance 1

2 You don t need eyes to see, you need vision Faithless Our Journey (so far) GLASGOW BOLTON SALFORD LEEDS LIMERICK 2

3 About Limerick Limerick. A five line poem Limerick, city and county in Mid-West of Ireland 42% of Limerick s population aged under 30. A University City ( 15,000 Students) Limerick County Population 195K (4%) Greater Dublin Pop 1.9m (40%) 3

4 Greater Glasgow Pop 1.2m Greater Manchester Pop 2.8m Athletics in UK Athletics Ranked #2 participation sport in UK 1.96m participants The UK Sporting Preferences Survey : Placed athletics at the top with 20.9 per cent of the points total, ahead of football on 17.9 per cent. Popularity of British Athletes illustrated by the fact that athletes have won far more BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards than practitioners of any other sport. Athletics is popular and well-funded in UK 4

5 Sport in Ireland Soccer is the most played team sport in Ireland. Gaelic football, hurling, golf, aerobics, cycling, swimming and billiards/snooker are the other sporting activities with the highest levels of playing participation in the Republic of Ireland. Athletics is truly a minority sport in Ireland Spending on Coaching Sport Ireland expenditure on coaching 5

6 Athletes and evolution Our first Olympic athlete 6

7 The ideal or... total training environment You need unlimited facilities and access. 7

8 You need unlimited access to expert sports science support You need physiotherapy, sports podiatry, corrective exercise 8

9 You need all-year round conditioning You need... expert, event specific, highly qualified coaching With excellent training partners...and 1 to 1 coaching when required 9

10 Perfect weather all year round You need good weather to develop fast movement? So the perfect training environment Unlimited facilities and access Track: Indoor & outdoor, Gym, Unlimited specialised equipment Unlimited access to supports: Medical & Physio; Sports Science; Massage; Nutrition; 5* living space; perfect training partners Expert Coaching Highly qualified; experienced; 1 to 1 Perfect weather all year round C, no rain, wind < +2.0 m/s X 10

11 So we can t have perfection So we work with what we have and try to optimise it.. What does this require? The total training environment COACHING TECHNIQUE CONDITIONING FACILITIES ATHLETE Optimal performance SUPPORT SERVICES SUPPORTED BY OUR CORE VALUES 11

12 COACHING The squad core values start with the coaches Mission Statement: To assist every member of the squad to achieve their athletics potential. Primary Value: While athletics is an individual sport, individual improvement and success is achieved through group support, cohesion and respect for each other. We are Drug free squad (comply with WADA) Every squad member should put 100% effort into every training session on any given day. Each individual has something to offer other squad members (technical ability, speed, endurance ). Each squad member is to be respected and encouraged to achieve their potential irrespective of ability (by both coaches and squad members) 12

13 This is a training group. You are not in competition with each other during training On competition day, compete to the best of your ability Be gracious in both success and defeat. You will always be representing someone behave in a manner which allows the people you represent to have pride in you, but always remember whoever you are competing for, your conduct reflects on you and your squad. Never abuse the honour of wearing your national vest! While the squad is led by us, the true strength of the squad comes from within, we don t have to be best friends with everyone, but we do expect you to be there for each other. 13

14 Being an athlete is about more than just athletics HCH 2016 Athletics is a serious thing, but it needs to be serious fun too 14

15 The quality of Training is important 15

16 TECHNIQUE Technical model (shared vision).. Contrasting strengths of HH DH General (principles of technique) Specificity (individual adaptations) example different physiques We tend to use drills and practises to help optimise technique The practises need to be specific to nature of the athletic event The simplified model Our technical model is based on Research The primary emphasis on the action of the pelvis, hips and legs each leg moves alternately (anti-phasic) from hip-kneeankle extension to hip-knee- ankle flexion This model assumes that the arms play a subordinate, counterbalancing role in sprinting. little emphasis is placed on correction of arm actions unless they are demonstrably destabilising the overall movement of the sprinter. 16

17 A First Sprint-related movement: A B B B Second Sprint-related movement: B C C 17

18 Muscle activations during sprinting (Novacheck 1998) Hamstring Quiet period Hamstrings are quiet during early mid-swing phase Higashihara et al

19 Drills and practises for technique development are related to movements and muscle actions in sprinting 19

20 he2dysms?e=

21 CONDITIONING ( & priorities) Speed development (This is THE top priority) Optimal Technique and Elastic strength Body preparation (warm up) needs to be specific Speed endurance High Intensity Interval Training Acceleration (technique and resistance running) Strength ( for acceleration: emphasise high rate of force generation and link to technique) Flexibility ( maintain normal range of movement event related) Not just warm up Conditioning: Body Preparation Needs to be progressive, dynamic & skill-related Prevention of injuries? Avoid latest trends (hard to achieve) Foam rollers? Gluteal activation exercises? (No EMG!) 21

22 Conditioning: Speed development Optimal technique should be retained at speed. Develop correct movement at slower speeds and add speed later developed through event specific drills and exercises Conditioning: Speed endurance Speed endurance: via High intensity Interval training (HIIT) HIIT appears in various ways: Obeys Harrison s law of relativity: Time is relative: the rate of time during recovery is proportional to how fast you ran the previous rep. Duration Recovery Endurance Recovery Duration Speed 22

23 Conditioning: Acceleration Acceleration - technique and resistance running, short sprints and hill sprints Conditioning: Strength for performance Strength is vitally important Event related strength (for acceleration and emphasises high speed force generation) Linked to movement and muscle actions General strength and conditioning is also important but a lower priority. (Low velocity and isometric exercises not performance related) Transfer of strength to speed is crucial (complex training relate to F-V curve) Specialist S&C needs to be integrated under coaching 23

24 Training decisions derived from research Conditioning: Flexibility Should maintain normal range of movement and be event related Limit long static stretching immediately before high intensity work 24

25 Sports Science Support Sports science support Has been provided in-house through student projects and MSc & PhD projects Typically biomechanical and linked to practitioners Sports Psychology ( integral part of coaching) Don t over think it! Performance monitoring Performance monitoring support Performance monitoring This has not always been of high quality Jump mats, RSI, maximum strength tests, 30 m sprints and FMS or similar Not event relevant Based on correlation (moderate and possibly spurious) Ongoing monitoring a new development for us delivered by UL Beo and linked to specific requirements Sprinting CT 100 ms Hopping SL CT <200 ms Drop jump Fast SSC CT <250 ms CMJ Slow SSC CT >250 ms Power clean Slow SSC CT >> 250 ms 25

26 Sport Medicine/Rehab Support Massage (we think highly over-rated) Systematic review in Sports Medicine Rehabilitation and injury prevention: Tom Barr has AAI support Corrective exercise and Strength & Conditioning managed directly through coaches (linked with Rehab) Rio and London were examples of very good practice Nutrition support Nutrition Important but sometimes influenced by quasi-science Special diets not suitable for all (e.g. Gluten-free) Attitude to supplements is challenging (athlete mind set) Use of photo food diary Change in habits is challenging balance versus preference Nutrition advice needs to link to true energy demands Sports Nutrition for Rugby will not be the same as for athletes 26

27 Lifestyle support Location of living and training (training village) Scholarship and accommodation provides ideal location 80-90% of high performance athletes develop their talent while in 3 rd level education. UL Campus provides excellent location Lifestyle management (career development, Education) High performance development and academic study an excellent fit Flexibility of study facilitate the dual career pathway The coach as an educator Our athletes as graduates 27

28 Facilities Important but we need to work with what we have Need to have minimum requirements Access & Timing Need to be able to access facilities when athletes and coaches are available (Scheduling) Quality and usage Problem throughout Ireland: we design specialised facilities and use them for something else (specialised facilities commercial return) Facilities and access Challenges Small population pool and minority status Advent of Specialists impacting on training programme (S&C; Physio; Massage; Sports Science; Technical; Medical; Psychology..) Marginalisation of the personal coach (lead coach) 28

29 Challenges Impact of Pseudo-Science Performance monitoring (not specific) Programme complexity for many event disciplines and performance levels Some challenges can be turned to advantages Mixing of athletes from different disciplines In-house monitoring Alternative facilities Changing athlete behaviour How do we change athlete behaviour? We don t.. They learn to embrace the core values Training behaviour is generally self-regulated by individuals within the squad and the group as a whole Athletes develop into leaders over time They learn to regulate the demands of competition through cooperation 29

30 Take-home messages Look at what you have (not what you don t have) and optimise it Take control of the environment where you and your athletes operate (don t let specialists/experts dictate how your athletes train) Don t worry if your Total Training Environment looks different to others it should do: it s yours! Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. RW Emerson Drew & Hayley 30