Supporting grassroots coaches in the development of their athletes
I’ve been involved in youth athletic development for over 10 years now across a variety of sports and contexts. Unfortunately, I regularly see the same mistakes appear in athletic development programs for young athletes… 1. Going sport-specific too soon I see this one quite a lot. A coach or parent often requests a “sport-specific” training […]
Read More The 3 biggest mistakes coaches make in Athletic Development (Part 1)Imagine you are dining in a nice Michelin Star restaurant. You enjoy a delicious starter, followed by a great main course and a decadent dessert. You have had a fantastic experience and your tastebuds have been sent into overdrive. It’s a brilliant experience and you’ve thoroughly enjoyed yourself. You thank the chef and the service […]
Read More It’s not you, it’s Gordon Ramsay…In this installment of the “Ask the Expert” interviews, we speak with Harry Weatherstone of the Youth Athletic Development Academy from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia!
Read More Ask the Expert – Harry Weatherstone (Youth Athletic Development Academy)Many coaches ramp up loading too quickly, simply because they can!
Read More What to do when loading goes too far: regaining control in the weight room…Use your community coaching experience as a springboard to improve as a coach!
Read More 5 ways grassroots coaching made me better…After the recent post on a 4 Stage model to athletic development, I received a lot of feedback online as to how this might pertain to other movements other than squatting. So I decided to add some more content surrounding the other fundamental movements.
Read More 4 stage model to athletic development – Part 2!Unfortunately, injuries are part and parcel of participating in youth sport. Yes, we can reduce the likelihood of them occurring with a good warm up, sound movement mechanics, tolerable work loads and appropriate strength and conditioning programs, BUT we can never really eliminate them. Sometimes, despite all our hardest efforts, a late tackle or poor […]
Read More “If you can’t fly then run…” Training around injuriesThe cycle of learning…
Read More The problem is you don’t know what you don’t know…Recently I was interviewed for “The Curve Mindset” podcast. “In this one hour special, we sit down with Athletic Evolution founder Rob Anderson. Rob is a Scottish Rugby strength & conditioning coach working in the Borders & East Lothian Academy. This is a fantastic insight from a coach with such a varied background in sport.” […]
Read More Podcast Interview!If you’re anything like me, you enjoy a good meal. Especially a steak… For me, you just can’t beat a piece of quality, aged beef cooked to medium rare, or some slow roasted barbecue pulled pork, or a nice beef joint roasted slowly. If you cast your mind back to a really memorable meal, I […]
Read More Are you microwaving your athletes?