10/30/13

AWESOME second day!!

Before I get started with this post, let me just say a few things that every intern should learn before going into a internship that should help them out like it has help me so far...

1.   Work your ass off and take pride in your work.  This should be obvious but I have heard from multiple business owners and managers saying how some of their interns were lazy and constantly being told to get their butts in gear.  Big no-no.

2.  Be self motivated and always try to learn.  Always be looking for something for to do or trying to learn from the employees and pick their brains.  Make the most of your time that you have with these people.

3.  The rules that apply to the employees DO NOT apply to you.  Just because the employees can sit or talk on their cell phones at times does not mean you can.  You haven't earned the same privileges they have.

4.  Be respectful and introduce yourself to everyone.  Do this with a nice firm handshake and look them in the eye.  Its their house not yours, you go introduce yourself.

That being said I think I have earned most of the coaches and athletes respect by following these simple rules.  I was asked to come in an hour early today so I could do all the cleaning and other intern duties the staff had laid out for me.  Four hours later I was wrapping up cleaning up the gym.  From there I got to get started my learning process.

I thought I had read a lot of information on the training and programming of athletes.  A few questions into talking with one of the coaches (I'm sure he wouldn't mind but for now I will keep it anonymous like everyone's name at this point) Coach M, I realized I had SOOOO much to learn.

Watching Coach M go through an evaluation and determine that shoulder pain was coming from the athlete's right arch collapsing was pretty amazing.  From there we went into advanced programming in how an athletes intensity level (true intensity level that will actually break the CNS threshold).  I also got to see him work on sprint mechanics and compare two athletes with different types of general weakness at different stages of the sprint, starting sprint strength vs. the elastic/reactive ability.  My mind was blown to say the least.

The coolest part though was that as I was thinking, "Oh crap I am so far behind what the hell was I thinking becoming a Physical Preparedness Coach?" Coach M described that even though he was pretty well versed in a lot of fields and beginning to get pretty good at coaching, everything he had done didn't really start clicking until this past summer (4 or 5 years of serious training and many, many, many hours of reading and researching).  He went on to tell me how everything he had been studying seemed so distant and he couldn't make the connections.  This is how I feel now, reading so many different authors and coaches and trying to piece it all together seems pretty overwhelming.  However, he said it finally all "clicked"  and that the trick was to keep reading and researching.  Someday it will all click.  This calmed me down a lot.  If this coach who is one of the smartest people I have ever talked to regarding training told me how much of a struggle it was, I don't feel so lost anymore.  By the way this coach works his ass off to understand and grasp everything he can, usually waking up at 4 am just because that is when he can get all his reading and learning in for the day.  That's dedication and passion!!!

I'll update with another post possibly going into my notes from today more in depth.  Or I may begin talking about all the new material on the reading list courtesy of Coach M (seriously got a lot of great books, pdfs, videos, and audios from this guy today).  But I'll leave you with a pic of the gym in case you have never seen.  And the guy in the pic is Joe D. himself, 38 years old running a hugely successful business and the guy is still a beast!  Love being in this atmosphere; beasts and truly passionate/genius guys everywhere you turn in this place.

10/28/13

First day of internship at Defranco Training Systems!  So much to write about so I apologize if this seems jumbled a bit...

Overall really cool first day.  Got to meet all the coaches and Joe D. himself, who I have followed for a longgg time on the internet.  I wish I could do more, but gotta pick things up as I go along before I can really start helping coach.  So far I got my cleaning duties and the other intern duties but I don't mind that, as long as I get to learn as much as I can while here I'll do whatever they ask lol.  Saw a lot of really strong, really fast guy at the gym, but I got to see some more normal human beings walk through the doors as well.  I guess the thing about Defrancos is it while it has this whole aura about it that this is the spot where absolute beasts go, this absolutely isn't a requirement.  The thing that the athlete's had in common big or small was that they all seemed to love their sport and were willing to work hard to get better, even if that meant busting their ass for 2-3 hours and Defrancos.

Got in at 12 o'clock to 2 of the coaches warming up with one of the powerlifters doing some foam rolling and mobility drills.  From there about 5-6 athletes came in over the next 20-30 minutes.  The thing with Defrancos is that the athletes all have individualized warm-up, workouts, and programs so depending on the length of the warm up (anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour) athletes get to the gym for their session accordingly.  We had a triple A baseball player for the Twins, a sophomore Rutgers baseball player, a football lineman recovering from a "blown-out" knee, two NFL guys, and varying other athletes and non-athletes come in over the next few hours.

A big thing I took away from the day was how hands-off the coaches were.  I  guess the experience I have had is coaches watching over like a hawk and nit-picking everything, whereas these coaches step back and let the athlete be more responsible for a large part of their workout.  When I say this I don't mean the coaches don't watch at all or are lazy or reckless with their athletes; its actually the complete opposite.  The coaches teach the inexperienced athletes how to work out and how to go through the exercises so they become smarter with their own training.  This was especially evident since one of the athletes took me through some of the circuits they prescribe and actually taught me some exercises.  Also, even with the athletes who have worked out with the coaches for 2 years or more will be scrutinized and coached through the more difficult aspects of the training.  For instance a collegiate baseball athlete was performing some med ball accelerations to work on sprint performance and overall power development.  Because of it's explosive nature with a lot of focus on technique the coach took time to make sure everything looked good while working with 2 other athletes (while watching the coach had 2 stop watches going to let the other athletes know when to hit their next set).

I can already see why I was asked to read the Charlie Francis book coming in.  The "art of coaching" is something I never though about coming into this experience, but multiple times throughout my first few hours I saw the coach cut the exercise sets short to due either breakdown in form or the athlete hitting a PR, constantly asking how the athlete felt, and being able to treat different athletes differently.  Being able to adjust on the fly is a critical skill for strength and conditioning coaches.  It could save your athlete's performance or physical well being, as well as help you connect with your athlete!

As far as readings go, I definitely have to read more CF, as well as get into some of the older Russian texts which I have wanted to do for a while.  Whereas I got a lot of coaching aspects and certain sprint development strategies from CF, from what I have gathered the overall programming  of the Russians is huge with the coaches.  So much reading so little time!!

Day 2 tomorrow.  I'll be writing more frequently to keep you updated.  

Continuing on with getting these internships going…

As I had mentioned, the possibility of coaching some of the women's is still a possiblity, now may have even expanded to some of the men's teams.  I got to meet one of the Associate ADs on the topic today with my professor, and she seems to be a really great person.  She was super acceptive of my interning with athletics, and will send out some feeler emails to the coaches at the university to see if any teams would be interested in my helping out with the strength and conditioning.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

Also, my professor gave me a few examples of annual training plans that will definiatly help out as I begin designing these athletes training schedules.  I have recently tried experimenting with some periodization and designing all the different cycles (micro, meso, macro) based on my own readings and information I have come across my studies, but having these hard copies in front of me definatly helps keeps things straight.

The first is a more traditional approach to the yearly training plan.  It includes the months, competitions, periodisation phases, the macrocycle goals, endurance, strength, flexibility, speed development, technique (skill) development, tactics (team play), psychology development (NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT), testing period, % of training time in conditioning skill or tactical, and training load and intensity.  I had a lot of these in mind, but some (flexibility, psychology, tactical skills) I never thought to plan out.  I guess I am going to have to get every finite detail I can put together for these athletes…

The second is general outline for the Singapore Amateur Athletic Association (SAAA).  My professor spent a good amount of time in Singapore at the national university Nanyang Technological University where he conducted research, taught, and changed some of the physical activity and testing standards for the country.  So, he has some history with the country.  Surprisingly, this was written by their coach (not sure which sport), who is German.  Part of the page is cutoff, but this looks incredibly simple for a European program (even if it is an outline).  That part of the world is a hotbed for sport and lifting programs/coaches/athletes.

So I have some material to go over to help me prepare for the programming of the athletes.  Getting closer to these internships!!

Forgot to mention in my last post in order to prepare for my internship at Defranco's I have begun reading Charlie Francis' book The Charlie Francis Training System.

                                       
So far really interesting.  I have a lacking knowledge in sprint training and technique so this is something I have really been trying to pick up as of late.  Fortunately while with the Islanders this is something they work on constantly so I have been exposed to proper technique and training of the sprint.  I am really excited though because between learning from this book and from Defranco's, I feel I will definitely be able to competently teach the technique and develop a program for athletes to increase their sprint ability.

Oh for those of you who don't know who Charlie Francis is, he coached Ben Johnson and many other world class Canadian sprinters.  Witness the explosiveness and sheer speed that he developed... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SKlNUbyhwA (skip to 1:40).

Here is Defranco's demonstrating some similar technique and exercise selection... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnsF2mNuK8M.

Getting closer to starting in a world class facility at Defranco's gym in Wyckoff, NJ. This place works with the best of the best not just from the tri-state but also from overseas as well. I have been a huge fan of Defranco's for a long time now and I have implimented a lot of their stuff into my own program and some athletes programs as well. This is such a great oppurtunity and I am really looking forward to getting in there and learning for some of the best. Check out their youtube video...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekZYPGxQbno...if that doesn't get your blood pumping you must be dead!!!  They've also produced guys like this...

    

                                  
As you can see, whole lot of talent across many different sports.  This isn't just a typical meat-head gym, they use good science and practical experience to get guys bigger, faster, stronger, more powerful, and flexible.  Whatever it takes to make them a better athlete.

Also, have a chance to possibly begin working with a few of the women's teams at my university.  Barring a few meetings and everything working out, I hope to begin work with them very soon.  This gets me a little nervous as I have never worked with whole teams by myself before, but I know I have a solid knowledge base to get me started and help these girls achieve success this season.  Learning by doing is the best way in my opinion!

Unfortunately still waiting with this internship situation.  Gonna look into a few other opportunities though.

In the mean time, been moving a little closer to being a full fledged strength coach.   Got my results back from my CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist), the golden standard in the strength and conditioning world.  thankfully, PASSED both sections so I am now officially a CSCS!!!

So, hopefully next time I post, I will be able to start talking about some actual training going on lol.