Athletic Development

Reading

Duncan Craig — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:53:44 +0000

I think it is very important that we read and not only in the sport science genre. Too often we get bogged down doing the same thing over and over because we are listening to the same theories etc over and over. It is imperative we expand our knowledge base and in recent time I have read a couple of books that really open your eyes. I highly recommend ”outliers”, “tipping point” and “Blink” all written by Malcolm Gladwell as they have a relationship to the work we do – they are more psychology then physiology but for any of you working with elite athletes it is more psychology then physiology. I also recommend “born to run” which will give you some indication on how far the body can be pushed. In my sport of football I doubt i we are even close to knowing how far we can push a player and players have no idea how far they can push themselves but we are stuck – stuck in the football world thinking we have reached the physical limits of performance but I liken it to prior to the 4 minute mile being broken once we see a team push through the game will go to a higher physiological level.

Movement Literacy

Duncan Craig — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:53:45 +0000

There is a major focus in the media on childhood obesity and the adverse effect it has on society. A number of potential causes have been spoken about but the more we speak the “fatter” our community gets. To be honest I believe researchers involved in the obesity problem have not solved or even helped to solve the problem and maybe they have not even identified the real cause. Video games, unsafe streets, fast food, working parents etc etc all have been identified as the cause but to me whatever the cause the only way to increase physical activity is to increase activity in the schools. It was identified in a World Health Organisation report way back in the mid nineties that the only way to slow this epidemic is to increase physical activity in school but it must be the right activity. Another major issue is that there are few trained physical education teachers in primary schools so the job is left to the classroom teacher who does not have the skill to make a difference. So what do we need to do? For one we must equip our children with fundamental movement skills so that they can enjoy lifelong sport or physical activity. Teaching children to move, to run, to catch, to kick, to hit a ball all these skills are lacking in the majority of children. Very few kids these days “move” with basic co-ordination and thus we need to implement programs into our schools. I was fortunate enough to recently see a great program in action called SRM (speed, rhythm and movement) conducted by Anthony from fbelite (www.fbelite.com). Kids in this program are taught how to move and the program is conducted in a way that kids enjoy it and get a great benefit. Programs like this need to be implemented into schools so that a difference can be made. Enough talk from researchers and now lets act – get movement into the physical education programs and maybe children will then have the confidence to play sport.

Research

Duncan Craig — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:40:10 +0000

Someone asked me the other day is there anything more to research in sport science and in particular football. The answer is definitely yes but the research needs to be applied and helpful to the game rather the be helpful to the academics career. Too often I see research projects that have no relevance to reality and this demonstrates the large gap between academia and reality. For example surveys that are often conducted involve 50 plus questions. If you know a pro football player that has the patience to answer a survey this long I would like to meet them. what will happen is they will answer 10 or so well and then the last 40 they will tick any box. The problem is the reporter uses this skewed data to report something that doesn’t even exist. Furthermore, by the time research is published it ha been completed 1-2 years prior where coaching needs evidence faster. Get the research real thats my slogan

Testing

Duncan Craig — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:40:35 +0000

Interested in the saga of testing and do we need it. Interestingly this year with the pro team I am working with I do very little testing although I do body weight each week, USG’s weekly and bodyfat monthly. I have done no speed testing/agility testing and I only test power as a measurement of fatigue so am I wrong or right. Do we subject players to an aerobic test on a regular basis or do we just test to get an indicator of heart rate so then we can utilize this in our sessions. I am very numbers focused and I like to have numbers to support me but in pro setups more then likely the boss wont want much testing. He will want performance but not time wasted conducting tests – so what do we do? If you have GPS or a heart rate system you can measure recoveries and speeds during training sessions. No one enjoys testing and often too much emphasis is put on numbers that are not game related. Do your best to test as part of the session rather then have all these designated testing dates.

Game Analysis

Duncan Craig — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:12:11 +0000

So what are the important predictors of victory in soccer games? Well I think it depends on the individual league that you are working in but there are a number of key variables Turnovers in the mid third/second balls won and the rate of recovery from a turnover. The game needs to be played in the mid and attacking third to win-this may seem obvious but it is imperative to play a pressing game in the opposing third rather then wait until they reach your areas. Thus we need players that are in peak physiological condition so that we can press all over the park – from the attackers to the midfielders we must work as a unit. I have found that teams that win 75% of second balls will win the game.

Game Analysis

Duncan Craig — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:29:35 +0000

Interesting many performance coaches or those involved in athletic development do not know or understand game analysis. I think if you can become skilled in this it is of a great advantage. The software I use is Sportscode which is well know across many sports. Sportscode allows you to edit the game live or after the completion. I do this live so that many stats can be passed to the coaching staff throughout the game and adjustments can be made to tactics if required. Sportscode allows you to set up any code you like for example shots on goal/turnovers/free kicks/where balls are penetrating the penalty box etc whatever you want to know you can code for it. Then every time you hit the button for a certain instance this becomes a short video clip which could be shown to players at half time or used in post game analysis. I suggest you skill yourself in this area as it is advancing all the time and the entire performance analysis domain is one you want to know and understand

What Development?

Duncan Craig — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:10:05 +0000

Youth League a development pathway for juniors – I Don’t Think So? Youth leagues in Australia are the furthest thing from development in actual fact they are all about winning with coaches and directors of coaching only interested in promoting themselves as champions because they won the u15 comp an obscure competition that has little relationship to the reality of football. Development in Australia is Dead – there is no development bigger kids are picked over smaller better kids but its about the here and now not what happens in years down the track. Then we have the initiative of football NSW project 22 good in concept (not their concept by the way) but any “elite” program that advertises for coaches at the same time as players has major problems -and who are the coaches how can they teach about the missing link in Australian football Tactics and discipline when they dont know themselves. We have problems major problems and why dont we do a search on birthdates and I guarentee you most children picked in the youth league are born in either Jan/Feb or March because they will be more developed then those in October/Nov and December. There is no development maybe lots of lipservice and the right statements but the fact is there is no development it is all about winning and you know I see the end result the best of this so called development pathway that are so far off in every way that I dont know where to start. I have an 8 year old who is football crazy and I have no idea what path he will follow its like sending your kid to school with an option of home schooling and this is maybe what needs to be done bypass what is out there because it really doesnt help.

Universities

Duncan Craig — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:53:29 +0000

I am most concerned about what universities are doing in respect to the education of potential athletic performance/development coaches in actual fact they are doing very little right. I get an enormous amount of work experience students wanting to do placement hours with me and to be honest most are just too time consuming. They do not have the basic communication skills to participate in a professional environment and thus I dont think they will make it in this field. This started my mind wondering and in all my 11 years of lecturing I could count maybe 5 students I would employ thats 5 out of probably 2000-3000 so what is the problem. I ask the question are performance coaches born not made and I raised this on one of my favorite forums at strengthcoach.com (this is a site I highly recommend) If you read the responses to my post you will see it appears to be a worldwide problem. if you are a student ask yourself is this really what I want to do? Too often I see people just going through the motions – ask yourself are you prepared to put the time in without payment – too often it seems students want my job in a couple of years post Uni- Like I have this job because I have a Phd, 11 years experience as an academic lecturing in the field, 15 years working in the field and I have also played the game throughout the world. I am now 42 and I think I am ready. Nothing annoys me more then the student not willing to do the yards. I have 3 interns Slavisa, Nigel and Daniel who are all outstanding they have the right attitude and are willing to work on weaknessess- they put in the yards are you willing too?

Performance Psychology

Duncan Craig — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:47:07 +0000

The more I am involved in professional sport the more I see the need for psychological intervention. Hoping not to offend but I am sure I will I have seen very few good sports psychologists or ones that really make a difference – Why? I am not quite sure but it has motivated me to go back and finish my Psych qualifications because it is often frustrating ticking all the right boxes from a physiological perspective but still players do not perform. Or if we look at team sports what is the limiting factor in respect to fatigue the answer to me is more psychological then physiological. Motivation is at the core of everything we do for example we have hunger so we eat, we eat we dont feel hungry thus next time we are hungry we will eat. What motivates the football player? Play well get paid well but what about if I have a 2 year contract and I am paid well even if I dont play well? Play well get good press but what about if I dont read the press -what motivates the player- we must know what buttons to push because often player get stuck in a comfort zone, lacking consistency and maybe its nature rather then nurture – maybe some players have greater levels of motivation because it is inherent in them – All interesting questions that need to be looked at in detail

Back Again

Duncan Craig — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:21:31 +0000

Wow over 3 months since I wrote anything here and again Im going to try and write each day – lets see how I go. Ill start with where I am at my Team Sydney FC is now into round 11 and is in second position with 6 wins 4 losses and 1 draw which is not really great. I thought we had turned a corner after 2 consecutive wins but a loss on Friday has again snapped the momentum. We are close but it comes down to consistency and at the moment we struggle after a couple of great performances to continue. It is difficult but as they say this is football. My job has been most interesting and has given me a good insight into the realities of professional sport rather then as an academic or as a consultant. I have many roles and I suppose I am fortunate that I have skills in a number of areas and I would encourage you all to have multiple skills. My week involves periods of, rehabilitation, game analysis, player monitoring, strength training, conditioning work etc etc – as budgets are not huge I will also overseas nutrition and supplements. This year I set about to create a human performance unit and in time with more budget I will be able to have people come and take specific roles but this year I have had to make do with advice from specialists and the help of students etc. We have done well thus far and initiated great changes and the structure is in place but there is much to do.