Setting up a Training Environment
The elusive perfect training session
Reality of training sessions
Productive sessions Productive training sessions are a result of proper planning and providing an environment that is conducive to skill acquisition and task achievement.
Common suggestions Early in the season, train on appropriate terrain. Not too steep or challenging. Find appropriate times to challenge athletes with steep hills and difficults sets. Chose wisely because confidence and the psychological status of athletes can be as hardto repair than skiing skills Appropriate volume- measure load rather than simply number of runs. Fatigue index or data collection idea.
Some ideas for creating good sessions Lift and grooming- grease the wheels. Communicate needs with in reason Compromise and be creative
Warm up make it useful While coaches are setting the course athletes should be warming up. One idea is to create a warm up protocol that each athlete does in the first run of the day. (a couple of drills in a specific order.) Another idea- if you have an extra coach have that coach take the first run with the athletes and run that set of drills. Demo and demand proficiency.
Warm up courses for training Easy terrain, easy set, short- even as short as 5 or six turns. Off to the side or at the bottom of the course or hill.
Create a mini success enhancing environment
Point of discussion on warm up Sometimes sessions are not productive because of weather, snow, temperature or other factors. If you have a good warm-up protocol and athletes are working on skills in warm up it makes sure that something was accomplished on the day. In short even if you session sucked, your athletes still worked on getting better during warm up.- it has huge value!
Good coaching in session Have a plan for shooting video Have a plan for who is clearing the course and who is at the bottom giving feedback and who is doing course maintainance. If it is just you out there with no other coaches you have can adjust the slip protocol to every other run is a slip run for everyone. That will allow you to hopefully make a lap or two for course maintanance and to catch up and coach some athletes.
Practice setting up wireless timer inside until proficient
Smart slip protocol Divide group into two groups by counting off in 1 s and 2 s. 1 s run the course while 2 s take a slip run. Then 2 s run the course while 1 s slip the course. Or if training with guys and girls split it up that way. Or declare which runs the entire group will slip (for example run 2 and 4 are slip runs)
Take a lap after training Stage gates for next session Fix start platform Slip- a little work with skis can make a big difference to tomorrows session Identify bad snow/grooming areas for the groomer
Fatigue and load
Example form Use of AMP Collect fatigue level pre and post session Record time Write down coaches RPE- before talking to athletes Collect RPE from athletes What was the load for the day? And how does that infuence future training plans.
Some ideas for camps or large groups Multiple shorter sections allows more runs, for better track conditions and for opportunities to learn/acquire skill in small chunks (chunking idea from Dan Coyle book Talent Code)
Staggered sets Group 1 slips first course Group 2 runs first course Group 1 runs second course Group 2 slips second course
Dual sets- two groups, slip every other
Super short section at the bottom I call it a PUP courseacronym for Pick Up the Pieces Can be two courses or one Easier to do for slalom than GS
Summary As coaches our primary job is to provide opportunity for athletes to get better and have success. A huge percentage of that is how conducive the environment is to learning and having success The best (technical) coach in the world wont develope athletes if their sessions are always a massive POS. A less experienced and less talented technical coach can have athletes make huge gains because the environment and arena is set up to allow the athletes to figure out good skiing. Are your training sessions a barrier or a nice pathway?