Coaching Articles - General

• Five lasting effects of the 2012 Olympics

  Mohammed Hamid provides an anaysis of the impact the London 2012 Olympic Games had on the environment, economy, transport, culture and sport.

• Train your two-lap tools

  Dr Matt Long and Geoff James present a model for 800m success. This article provides an original five-component model which includes mental characteristics and separates physical components into (a) power, strength, coordination and (b) utilisation of energy systems.

• The Giants of 800m

  Dr Matt Long and Geoff James apply their model of two-lap track success, in their article "Train your two-lap tools", to the all-time male and female 800m greats.

• The Supervisory Behavioural Continuum - An applied approach to develop leadership in athletes

  Most athletes are habituated to participating in a process where the coach assumes the dominant role of leader. Athletes must also be given ownership and encouraged to assume an authoritative role in the decision making process. The Supervisory Behavioural Continuum (SBC) has been proven to play a vital role in the decision-making process. SBC is the continuum adapted for use in the educational process of developing leadership in coaches and athletes.

• Frank Horwill's 5-Tier System

  Dr. Matt Long argues that in order for British middle distance and endurance running to move forwards, much can be learnt by looking back at some older established ideas and evaluating them in the context of coaching today.

• Multi-Tier System

  Dr. Matt Long assesses the legacy and the future challenges of Horwill's five tier training system.

• Cyber Coaching

  Dr. Matt Long and Dr. Ross Lorimer look at the importance of communication to coaches and athletes and how technology is changing the ways in which we interact with each other.

• How to become a Personal Trainer

  By becoming a Certified Personal Trainer you can get paid to help others get in shape and lead a healthy lifestyle. However, there is a lot more that goes into the profession then just what you see in the gym.

• Personal Trainer Salary

  Libby Remi provides advice to help you better understand and improve your salary as a personal trainer.

• Leap of Faith - Long Jump

  Jamie French and Dr Matt Long break down the phases of the long jump into bite size chunks.

• Eating Disorders in Female Athletes

  Many people are not aware of eating disorders or how they may affect one's health. Most of the population is not informed about common eating disorders and how accepted they are among female athletes.

• Chasing Barriers - Steeplechase

  Dr Matt Long spends time with Olympian and former UK national cross country champion, Spencer Duval, discussing the specifics of the steeplechase event. Spencer, who boasts a best of 11th in a World Cross Country Championships to add to his 1995 win in 'The UK National Cross Country Championships', says there are three fundamental components to the 3000m steeplechase – Endurance, Technical and Tactical.

• Can "Withitness Skills" be applied to coaching and personal training?

  Through the acquisition of observational "withit" skills, the facilitator will become better able to detect and correct technique faults that may compromise performance and/or result in athlete injury.

• Developing effective leadership skills in Coaches and Athletes

  An additional responsibility of coaches would be to develop leadership in the athletes they coach. Effective leadership comes from a variety of sources. Sensible leadership depends upon a variety of factors such as flexible behaviour; an ability to identify specific behaviours needed at a particular time, and the ability to incorporate such behaviours at the appropriate time.

• Muscle Balance: Getting it Right

  Muscle balance is important in the prevention of injuries and may assist in the development of maximum speed and improved muscular performance. If not addressed, through a well thought out and disciplined training program, muscle imbalances can slow down and possibly result in injury to the young athlete.

• Developing a Coaching Philosophy

  How to develop your own coaching philosophy

• The secrets of success with high-level athletes

  What successful coaches of high-level athletes are doing right and how this can be replicated in other environments

• To motivate and develop your athletes you need these skills

  The skills required by coaches to motivate and develop their athletes

• Talk the athlete's language if you wish to communicate effectively

  Communication from the coach to athlete will initiate appropriate actions. This however, requires the athlete to not only receive the information from the coach but also to understand and accept it.

• Feedback - an important element in the development of a new skill

  For the movement to progress successfully the athlete requires feedback which then allows them to evaluate the effectiveness of the movement performed.

• How not to make your athletes anxious

  A bit of nervousness may enhance performance but sustained anxiety can have negative effects, slowing down reaction times and reducing responsiveness to cues. How can coaches help their athletes to keep nerves in check?

• Coaching Methods

  As a coach you will be required to facilitate the learning of new technical skills by your athletes. To achieve this you will need to develop your knowledge of the learning process and the various coaching methods

• The Amazing Art of Coaching

  The importance of interpersonal skills when working with young athletes.

• Coaching Styles & Methods

  Successful coaches will be the ones who can teach and relay information to young athletes well, more so than the coach who merely reads and digests the scientific information offered via clinical research.

• Pedal your way to success

  The demands of cycling and how to plan a cycle training program.

• Deep Coaching - how to communicate more effectively with your athletes

  A look at how the influence sensory perceptions can have on how we interact with and gather information from our athletes

• Understanding the Importance of Teamwork

  You can have a group of superstars, but if they do not work well as one unit, chances are they are not going to be as successful as you would think.

• A lesson learned from Little League

  The act of sportsmanship witnessed at a little league meeting and its message for all coaches

• The Path of a Champion

  I challenge you to answer the questions following the description of each quality to see if you or your athletes are on the road to athletic success.

• Helping athletes define goals

  A look at the importance of setting goals and an approach to use with your athletes

• Whose sport is it?

  Is your coaching philosophy 'coach centred' or 'athlete centred'?

• Developing a formal coaching Philosophy

  Why a formal coaching philosophy statement is essential for all coaches

• Preparing yourself for competitive play

  Match preparation is a crucial element of any sport; Squash is no different. Whatever your level of play, adequate preparation is important.

• Getting the most from your team captains

  The responsibilities of a team captain and how the coach can go about selecting the team's captain

• The Challenge ahead

  For the first time in my coaching career, my team has suffered from a crisis in character. Most teams identify with a leader. Unfortunately the leader that our players identified with was leading us in the wrong direction.

• Do you push, pull or actually lead when you coach?

  Why you should coach athletes the Black Belt Way

• A loss in interest could be a natural progression

  How the coach should respond when an athlete loses interest

• Motivation and Feedback in Coaching

  Why motivation is seen to be a key aspect for most athletes in enabling them to achieve their goals

• Strength or size - which is the significant component for rugby players?

  A look at the merits of strength and size for rugby players

• How to recognise improvement

  While on the surface it may appear obvious that someone who scores their highest innings, runs their quickest time or lifts their greatest weight has performed to their best it may not necessarily be the case

• How to build your dream team

  Why a group of like-minded people working together towards a common goal are more apt to be successful than the individual's effort

• I plan the training session and then a heavy rainstorm means I have to abort the planned session - what do I do?

  If you have somewhere dry with a bit of space then this is a possible solution. The added benefit is that in one session you can develop the athlete's strength and endurance.

• What is the best thing for my athletes to do between work intervals?

  Active rest leads to better-quality work intervals, which ultimately produce higher fitness levels and improved competitive performances

• Without a plan, you will be mediocre at best

  The benefits for young athletes of short and long term planning

• Eliminate nagging with tagging

  The feedback is positive and students do not have to interpret verbal instructions or corrections while trying to interpret their own intrinsic feedback.

• Teaching Technique - Laying the foundation for sporting excellence

  What coaches need to consider when they are helping an athlete develop a sport-specific skill

• Running through history

  Not a history of running, but a brief overview of some of the important developments that lead to changes in training methods

• Periodisation: Myth and Reality

  The fundamentals of periodisation for the large training cycles

• Teaching and Coaching - is there a difference?

  The differences between teaching and coaching as applied to adults and swimming

• Designing an effective speed-training program - Part I

  Why it is important to understand the needs of your sport or event before you start planning your training

• Designing an effective speed-training program - Part 2

  The seven steps to building a speed training programme

• Designing an effective speed-training program - Part 3

  An overview of the components of fitness that contribute to speed development

• The Amazing Art of Coaching

  The variety of coaching styles that you may need to apply to help your athletes achieve their goals

• Becoming a successful coach

  How to create a positive environment for the good of your athlete and for the sport

• The Pygmalion Effect

  An overview of the Pygmalion based coaching strategies for you to use with your young athletes

Literature Review - Coaching

• Meeting athlete expectations
• Stress levels already rising? - Then read on
• Now you can deal with your own stress what about your athlete?
• How do we know how much the athlete is committing?
• 'The act, quality, or power of withstanding hardship or stress'
• Masters are getting better
• Everything may be too much
• What's good for the goose may not be good for the gander
• Head-to-head with misconceptions
• Training loads and energy systems
• Carefully simmer for best performance
• Are rural coaches the best?
• Who to coach and how?
• Who to select and how?
• When not to give feedback
• Need I say any more?
• Athletes need more professional guidance
• Time of training relates to time of performance
• Interval training works with young children
• Strength and conditioning put through the hoops
• Running economy and the novice athlete
• Small changes might be significant
• Competition maintains fitness gained in preparatory phase
• Cyclists - get off your bike to improve performance!
• How different forms of training interact
• Active or passive recovery
• Decide why to train first
• Trends in elite sprinting performance in three different sports
• Athletes respond to coach behaviour
• Marathon preparation - ignoring the evidence?!
• Skill development in senior sports people
• Knowledge may be power but experience with knowledge reign

Contribute an Article

If you would like to contribute an article related to coaching or training, for inclusion in the Library, then please email me.