The Cross Over Movement Blog

Surfing the Internet this morning to find the winner of the TUF7 from this week because I missed (the show is my one reality show guilty pleasure, though I miss it more than I actually see it), I found an interview with Forrest Griffin talking about training his guys:

It was hard to tailor the workouts to the guys. Matt Brown and Jesse Taylor could do whatever you threw at them and ask for more. Nick Klein would work himself into the ground doing what you asked but it would be overtraining for him and he got worse over the course of the show. He did whatever I asked and never complained but he over trained instead of backing off.

Training a team presents the same problems because each is at a different level and has a different capacity. Some finish practice and are ready for more. Some finish and are done. Coaches have difficulty meeting the individual needs of players while “being fair” to the team. It’s part of the art of coaching, balancing each player’s needs within a team environment. Each player has different physical needs and psychological needs. Some players really need to be pushed while others can push themselves.

Few coachesworry about overtraining, though many player suffer performance plateaus because they train too much or too hard, not because they fail to train. Rest and the taper before competition is as important as the training, as without the rest and taper, the athlete sabotages his training.

It worked out well for some guys and not so well for others. But eventually the guys decided what they were going to do. I gave them workout options and they decided whether or not they were going to do that or go on the treadmill or whatever else they needed.

With older, experienced and mature players, the players should have some control over their environment. This does not undermine the coach’s role, but it does empower the athlete and put the responsibility for improvement with the athlete, rather than the coach. The coach is the guide, not a dictator.