Be an Elite Coach, Build Elite Athletes

Things to develop your coaching and have a greater impact on your athletes. You define what your “elite” is!

By Isaac Leung, Athletic Skills

Hey reader,

Today I am going to explain why Strength and Conditioning has grown over the last decade or so and is now a vital component of an athletes performance.

So I like to explain S&C or Athletic Development in other terms has four main benefits.

• Increase performance

• Reduce injury risk

• Develop fundamental movements and help youth athletes develop physically as they grow.

• Provide a fun, healthy relationship with fitness and exercise for later life outside of sport

Now let’s break them down.

Increase performance

Getting your athletes stronger, faster and more agile alongside other physical components will ultimately set them apart from the rest. How often have you watched a game and seen an athlete physically outset the rest, especially in contact sports. Developing these physical components can combine well with technical skills and allow them to perform to tactics you set them.

You as a Sports Coach can be a big player and influence on this!

Reduce Injury Risk

It is paramount to ensure your athletes move safely and are strong enough to withstand large forces from the sport.

Landing on one leg and then rebounding a different direction, sprinting at high speed, cutting and changing direction suddenly as just some of the common actions that can cause injuries, some which can take athletes out for months, if not years.

I had one athlete who injured her ACL (knee) from landing on one leg poorly and then was out for over a year and never returned to her normal self. Yes there are other factors that could have played part but if she was strong enough to absorb the forces and landed in a safe technique, this could of helped her or reduced the risk of this injury.

Youth Development

We as coaches I am sure have said or thought “that athlete just can’t move” or along those lines. This is probably true but how can we best support this athlete or others who are on this journey to ensure they can’t be singled out?

We as adults take for granted knowing how to run, jump, land, turn, crawl etc but even us at this stage may not do them all effectively. If I tried to change your running technique, it would need a lot of time and thought to change something that is second nature to you.

But these young athletes are learning for the first time how to do these movements and we as coaches, need to be there to ensure safe and effective techniques are becoming engrained within them.

This is a great time to coach fundamental movements in youth athletes and these are the basic foundations for more complex actions needed to take this athlete to the elite stage.

General Life

Not all of your athletes will get to the elite stage. Many will drop out and play for fun or drop the sport completely for many factors like interest, time, enjoyment, facilities to name a few.

So providing fun and exposure to fitness and exercise can be both educational benefits as they will know what to do to remain healthy and fit in general life but also provide more opportunities to find other methods of training they find fun.

They may discover they have a big interest in weight training, or running or cycling alongside the sport and this could be

We as Sports Coaches have great impact on their sport and what they may do outside of the sport. As mentioned, 90% or more may not even carry on the sport in 5 years time so what will keep them healthy and fit for general life?

Be an Elite Coach:

We as “elite” coaches are role models for our athletes can impact our athletes in the four pillars above.

Plus don’t forget, S&C can still be a big part of your own health as you need to fit and mobile to coach and be the best coach you can be!

Build Elite Athletes:

As mentioned, an “elite” athlete is always that person who reaches the pinnacle of the sport. They may be elite in other areas such as their fitness and health, mental ability outside of the game, recovery and nutrition and they may just want to be “elite” recreational player and do the sport for fun.

S&C can increase performance, reduce injury risk, provide them the fundamentals and help them for general life after sport.

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Speak soon,

Isaac 🙂 

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