ADAPTING TO CONSTRAINTS

The environment we work in is both a blessing and a curse. It’s restricts us and empower us. Opens our minds to creative innovation and limits our potential with its problematic elements.

But how you choose to view these constraints is determined by your own mindset. I think limiting environments, the most constraining ones, sometimes provide the best spaces in which to develop. In navigating the problem with our environment utilizing a creative mindset, we often find incredible new innovations that would otherwise go undiscovered.

There are several constraints that we all deal with in terms of our environment. Time, space, equipment, group dynamics, and our own coaching experience or knowledge base. I would like to explore each of these individually and offer insights as to how we might reframe the situation in a more positive way. And in doing this discover some powerful solutions that might change the way we coach all together.

"TIME: MORE TIME...LESS FOCUS"

Over the past 20 years, I have seen club sport practice schedules go from training 2 nights a week with a game or two on the weekend to a 4 night a week, year round program.

With more training days per week, coaches become more relaxed. No urgency to maximize every minute. More relaxed warm ups. Less focus on the things that matter most.

As our clients schedules changing, our program was forced to adapt. We cut our session times down from 60 minutes to 45 minutes, and from 2-3 days a week to 1 day a week. What seemed like a program killer, actually worked out better than I ever could have expected.

With less time with the athletes, I shifted my focus to EXACTLY what they needed. Blending multiple focal points together into the same session. Specifically for me, combining the skill with the agility and fitness.

This made me a better coach, and enhanced my awareness to the most essential aspects. It focused my attention on a single critical element in each session. And I wanted my players to master every moment.  This shaped my program in a very unique way. I attracted more players who found value in this hyper focused, aggressive way of training. And I was getting amazing results. This is something I never would have learned if I had not be constricted by the restraints of time.

"SPACE: MORE SPACE...LESS INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES"

Over the last two decades, my training business has operated in a variety of different spaces. Growing from a small office sized space next to a stairwell to a massive facility with a track, a turf field and a basketball court. 

I can honestly say, some of the most innovative techniques I discovered in jump training, speed and skill, have come from my time spent in the smallest space with, or the most constricting environment. Why?

If we are constrained to a limiting environment, we are forced to find innovative ways to get results. This forces us to think outside the box. This forces us to look closely at the way our athletes move, and come up with interesting ideas we might otherwise not have explored.

In my current facility, we rearrange the indoor space every season. Some changes are subtle, some are aggressive. Each change, both good and bad, expands our vision of what we might be able to do. And in the summers when we have access to the full field, things change again. 

With each change I could get frustrated that we can’t run the same drills we ran last season, or I could get excited for the challenge of creating new drills. I choose the challenge. And this has expanded my ability to create unique training sessions. Each of which has been impactful in ways we might not have expected.

"EQUIPMENT: MORE EQUIPMENT...LESS CREATIVE MOVEMENT STRATEGIES"

Changing equipment might be one of the largest impacts we have dealt with. Going from motorized to non-motorized treadmills. Losing a wall to throw medicine balls against. Trying to use boxes instead of stairs, etc. Each of these forced a significant change in how we train. And with each change, we learned something new.

Removing racks and platforms, created more open space to move. Replacing dumbbells with medicine balls changed the coordination and loading dynamics of our strength program. Adding Cybex Arc Trainers changed our views on strength, power and fitness training in early stage rehab. And Woodway Curve Treadmills allowed us to explore fitness intervals and max speed training in the smallest of spaces. 

The addition and subtraction of equipment, taught us valuable lessons and forced us to create innovative strategies. Finding new ways to train those missing aspects. and unlocking new strategies to maximize what we now had access to.

"GROUP DYNAMIC: MORE DIVERSITY...BROADER PERSPECTIVE"

Some people view a diversity of training groups as a distraction. Large groups with athletes from different sports, different developmental ages, or talents can be challenging. In these environments we may lose our ability to focus on the specifics of a sport or developmental need within a specific age group.

But if we can look for connections between the groups, and come up with the best possible answer to solve the problems most athletes are facing, we start to see the big picture, the full spectrum and the most important aspects. In this strategy, we focus our attention on the single most important thing they all need. This narrows our focus and allows us to attack aspects that are going to be beneficial to all.

This process has allowed me to find connections between sports. And in doing this come up with primary athletic actions that show up everywhere. As I worked through these challenging times, I was able to gain perspective on what’s most important to the overall athletic development of the individuals (regardless of sport).

If we are limited to working in small groups of a similar demographic, we are not exposed to all the problems that arise. It takes years to learn what you might learn in a month if training in a more diverse group.

"EXPERIENCE: MORE EXPERIENCE...LESS CHILDLIKE EXPLORATION"

Experience can also be a strength or a weakness. I have interviewed coaches in the past, who have come in with years of experience working with a specific population. Their resume is amazing, and they have a long list of certifications to back up their answers to my first few interview questions.

But working in the perfect environment, with all the right equipment, perfectly designed spaces, and a clientele of motivated college or pro players hasn’t prepared them for what they will encounter in my facility. Their periodization won’t work with youth club schedules, and their strength protocols often won’t work with our space or population.

As the interview goes on, I ask more challenging questions. They have no answer. I ask them to completely reimagine a strength program designed specifically around agility. That can be taught with no equipment. That focuses on teaching leverage and stability in athletic positions. They struggle.

They are completely locked into their own mental model of how things work (in a perfect environment, with the perfect athletes). But that’s not how my world works. I need coaches with less experience, who look at new things and wonder… what if? I want coaches to think divergently, outside the box. How many different ideas could we use to achieve our goals. And then select the best ideas and explore them.

It’s thinking in this way that unlocks the most creative, or innovative, new programs. And it’s what keeps our industry moving forward in exciting new ways. Sure, some ideas won’t work, but we often find something interesting in the failed attempt. We learn, innovate new strategy, and move forward with a greater understanding of what is possible.

"TAKE HOME POINT"

Every so often, challenge yourself to run a workout without your normal equipment, in a different space, in less time, with a different level of athlete. It's hard. But you'll learn something interesting. And with this new insight, you'll expand your vision of what is possible using your regular space...if you even want to go back to it!