Stronger Athletes

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The Athlete/Coach Relationship

July 7 "Be sincere; be brief; be seated." Franklin D. Roosevelt

We recently received a letter from an athlete who trained with us and has now moved to another town. As he is a commited athlete he began attending his new school's summer strength and conditioning sessions. However, he found that he was being asked to perform movements and routines that were in violation of everything he was used to previously.

His situation is a precarious one in that his loyalty should be to his new coaches and environment but he has developed an awareness for safety, productivity, and efficiency that most athletes do not have. We include his e-mail below followed by our advice. We hope that other athletes and coaches can empathize with this situation.

Coach Rody, Everything is going great here at my new school. Well, I started weightlifting with my new school this summer and they do things different. I didn't know if I should be doing what they are telling me or if the way we did it was better. We do the 3 sets of 10 one day and speed training with weights the next. We lift almost every day. Is this a good strength training program? Let me know what you think. Thank you so much!

I'm happy that things are going great for you.

I think it is important for you to trust the coach you are under, however, this could be a great opportunity to share some of these training ideas with him. Give him our website address and encourage him to browse around. If he has any questions he can call me or e-mail me.

However, you do not want to do movements in the weight room that would compromise your safety. If speed training with weights means Olympic lifting and plyometrics than I suggest you use caution. Many coaches do not understand that plyometrics and other exercises that involve speed and momentum can really increase the chance of injury. These exercises also predispose you to future injuries. In other words, these exercises could weaken the joints which could create injuries during you sport activities.

We do not want to offend someone or make them angry in any way. Everyone has their own philosophy.

Once again, give your coach over there a chance by doing their program. But possibly he wouldn't mind an adjustment or two to protect your already injured knees. Any coach would understand that. I can help you with those adjustments if you need me to.

Good luck to you and I hope things continue to go great for you out there.

Sincerely, Coach Rody