Re: Coaching #2 -Trust
There is a lot going on this week, this blog might be a bit scattered. Between grading exams, offseason BCTF workouts, and my own training, I haven’t had a chance to dive more into the conference preview numbers, but I think I got the bugs worked out to look at the top scoring athletes next.
A few of those athletes and I went to Hillsdale for the Charger Opener.
On the surface, It seems like the good parts of this sport come and go quickly. Track season goes fast when you’re in the thick of it. The spring and fall road racing seasons have a sweet spot of about a month before it’s either freezing, wet, or hot. But if you’re into the sport as a whole, there’s plenty to keep you occupied. That’s a good thing, because if all I had to think about was how cold it’s going to be for my run tomorrow at 5:45, I’d go crazy.
This week we were treated to the Athletics version of NFL/NBA free agency, with athletes leaving coaches and the Boston Marathon announcing it’s men’s and women’s pro fields. But, most exciting to me is Eliud Kipchoge announcing that he’s going to attempt to win a third straight Olympic Marathon gold medal, which has never been done before.
I’m not sure if Vegas puts odds on that or not, but if they did and if I gambled, I’d put money on it right now.
While I was grading on Friday, I had “Kipchoge: The Last Milestone” playing. It’s a documentary following the leadup to, and execution of the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, which was the exhibition marathon in which Eliud ran 1:59:40. I wrote down a few quotes that speak to why I think he will do that. Not can, but will.
"You're seeing someone with a mind that if he puts it on something, nothing will distract him from it. He will go for it." - Peter Nduhiu, Kipchoge’s Physiotherepist.
"The difference between the good and the great is that your head may be telling you, you possibly can't do it. But there's something else there that overrules all those cautionary thoughts and you think, F*** it, I can. And I'm going to go for it" - Seb Coe, 4x Olympic Medalist and current President of World Athletics.
"I accept to think that I can do it." - Eliud Kipchoge.
The important piece here is that Kipchoge doesn’t hedge. We’re still 2 years out, but I don’t think he says anything about gold if he has any doubt he can do it.
"Without trust, you cannot go far in this business" - Patrick Sang, Eliud’s coach.
Which is one of the certainties of athletics and coaching in general, and it’s a two way street. An athlete can trust their coach and train well, but if they don’t trust themselves to put it together when it matters, the chances of success go down. On the other hand, an athlete can have supreme trust in themselves. But if they don’t listen to coaching, same deal. That usually presents itself in doing more, not less. More workouts on the side, more gym time, more grind.
More doesn’t mean better. Sore doesn’t mean your workout was effective.
The hard part is the time element, especially in endurance sports and athletics. Trust takes time. Aerobic development takes time. Muscle fiber training takes time.
Now, lets get way off the rails and compare three different athletes
Freshman miler
Adult recreational runner
Elite 11 QB
The first two are actually similar cases, just different ages. You go from little training, to a lot of training, see results quickly, and then at some point you plateau. This isn’t inevitable, but it’s common.
The third sees a rise in athletic stock, and signs with a university. Then they sit behind the senior for a year. Then the next elite 11 freshman signs and there’s a competition, and somebody loses and transfers. Sometimes the cycle repeats! Along the way the athlete bounces from system to system, and loses long term development. I’ve got a hypothesis about this in my head, but it’s very half baked right now so this is just a preview.
The secret is rarely in the training, it’s in the human part. A combined trust in coach and athlete, for the best of the athlete (or in team sports, for the mutual benefit of both). Trust that training is being applied correctly, and that goals are achievable. When that trust, in both yourself and your support system is strong, all that is required is practice and execution.
