This article is about Istvan Balyi, who positioned himself as one of world’s leading experts on periodization and integration of training in sport. It is intended to celebrate his life and contribution, including from my personal and professional, first hand and over quarter of a century of association perspective.

I’ve been to memorials where individuals speak about the dearly departed yet manage to talk more about themselves. I’m conscious to avoid this yet acknowledge that I choose only to speak about Istvan through my personal observations and interactions with him.

Istvan’s journey to Canada from Hungary

Istvan was born in Hungary on 23 July 1942 in Debrecen, Hungary. He attended the Hungarian University of Sports Science and completed his undergraduate degree there. In 1974 he was in Montreal Canada with the Hungarian Olympic team’s advanced mission when he chose to walk out of the hotel and seek asylum. [1]

His Canadian work life started out working  teaching physical education at the University of Montreal, then onto the University of Ottawa and later the National Coaching Institute at the University of Victoria. [2]

My introduction to Istvan

I was introduced to Istvan by Charles Poliquin in about 1989 when I stayed with the Canadian Alpine Ski team for a summer camp. Poliquin had been one of his students at Ottawa. For the next ten years I worked closely with Istvan in his role as Sport Science Director for the Canadian Alpine Ski team.

The Sports Science Director for the Canadian Alpine Ski team in the early 1990s was Istvan Balyi.  Istvan is the most effective sports scientist I have ever worked with.  He represented his native country of Hungary in the 1964 Olympics (swimming) and therefore had a feel for the athlete and the training process.  He completed his undergraduate degree in sports science in Hungary, where he rubbed shoulders with a number of internationally recognized Hungarian sports training experts.  He completed his PhD in Canada, a country proud of its sporting achievements.  He provides a unique service, having a feel for both science and practice. [3]

He also arranged visits and guest lectures for me at various locations throughout Canada through the Canadian Association of Coaching and the National Coaching Institute at the University of Victoria.  Through Istvan I met and spent time with many leading proponents of athlete preparation in Canada. You will note in the 1997 quote below that the first four names are Canadian – such was the influence on me during my time in Canadian sport.

I had so many incredible learning opportunities to meet and question others during my travels.  My trips to North America over the years have resulted in meeting, dining with, and talking shop with so many people that I have lost track.  Istvan Balyi, Tudor Bompa, David Docherty, Boyd Epley, Steve Fleck, Vern Gambetta, Ken Kontor, Bill Kraemer, Dietmar Schmidbleicher, Mike Stone, Al Vermeil, Harvey Wenger, to name a few.   There are many more – I share a few to get the message across.  No better way to learn! [4]

In return, I introduced Istvan to the Australian Coaching Association, which had heavily modelled what the Canadian Association of Coaching had done, and to the NSCA of Australia (now the Australian Strength Coaching Association). I invited Istvan to speak at some of the national conferences I organized for the NSCA of Australia in the early 1990s.

I still have on my wall today a plaque that Istvan had made for me and presented to me during a seminar he gave in Australia, for my contribution to the Canadian Alpine Ski Team. A true gentleman.

Istvans’ transition from committed to recognized

One of the things that stood out to me about Istvan was his focus on training literature and specifically periodization.  There would not be a day that goes by in camps in Canada where he would not knock on my door in our accommodation and say, ‘Ian, have you read this article?’ And give me a copy.

There would not be a week or month that goes by in Australia that I would not get a fax from Istvan. In addition to administrative emails about our shared responsibility with the Canadian Alpine Ski Team, there would be more ‘Have you seen this article?’ and a copy attached.

New South Wales (an Australian province) rugby trots out the line each year (at the start of the season!) about how fit they are!   History shows no results for their 11-odd year involvement in the Super 6, 10 and 12 competitions!  In fact, they usually fade halfway through the competitive season – badly.  Which is no surprise, for even the research collated by my colleague Istvan Balyi shows that elite athletes exposed to more than eight to ten weeks of high intensity energy system training will ‘fry’! [5]

He was my gold standard in being hungry for and appreciative of anyone who left bread crumbs in writing about athlete preparation.

In addition, our training discussion in person during my multiple visits per year over a decade was something a sports coach nerd can only dream of. Istvan was very appreciative and respectful of my own interest in his favourite subject, periodization and integration of training. He included one of my long-term athlete development tables in his Kinetics books (to his credit one of the only times a publisher has reached out to me in writing to seek approval to use my works). I would expect nothing less from a person with integrity, as was the case with Istvan.

When I met Istvan I was not aware of him outside of the ski team, and then over the next few years, his reputation in Canada grew. He worked very hard to connect with and contribute to as many sports as he could, in what was in that era arguably the finest sports coach education system in the western world.

By the late 1990s, his reputation had grown internationally. He was getting hired by nations inlead up to home Olympics e.g. Australia 2000, UK 2012, and shared his message with more sports in more countries.

“By the end of his life, he had consulted with more than 50 sports organizations in more than 20 countries. He authored papers, wrote textbooks and was recognized with an honorary doctorate from his alma mater in Budapest in 2022.” [6] [7]

Despite his newfound fame, he didn’t change – he remained humble, hard-working and put the athlete first.

One of my endearing messages of his impact was when I was working with coaches and athletes in the a US state Olympic organizational group around 2010, when they told me all about this expert called Istvan Balyi and their newfound discovery of long-term athlete development. I bit my tongue, as that has been accessible for over 20 years. It did get even more interesting, however, when they told me they had brought in another expert to teach them all about this new thing called bodyweight exercises…The Canadian Alpine Ski Team could have shared that with them from experiencing my program design 20 years earlier….I know, I expect too much…

Working with Istvan

It was a dream to work with him. No ego, no sensitivities, no politics, no BS, total commitment, life focused and athletes first.  Now I have worked with a lot of PhD holders, and there are a few I could say that about. Now I know many of those others have said less than polite things about me, so it goes both ways, I guess. Istvan and the professors I met through Istvan restored my faith in sports scientists with the letter Dr in front of their names, after my experiences with the same at my alma mater in the late 1980s and early 2000s in Australia.  The Canadians were respectful, collaborative and committed to service through adequate humility to know we don’t have all the answers.

There appears competition in Australia as to who should control the training process, the sport scientist or the strength and conditioning coach. The strength and conditioning coach can benefit from sport science input, but I believe the laboratory bound sport scientist is too far removed from the training process to effectively control the training.

One sport scientist who appeared to have come to this conclusion was David Docherty PhD, head of the sport science department at the University of Victoria, British Columbia.  David had a strong interest in all theoretical and practical aspects of strength and conditioning and had been responsible for this aspect of the Canadian National Rugby Team training for many years.  During one of our chats in his office in the early 1990’s he said to me words to the effect “You know Ian sport is after people like yourself, not like me.”  I believe that David had realized that there was a new wave of physical preparation experts coming in, which would make it difficult if not impossible for him to be both an academic in sport science and the strength and conditioning coach.

This is not to suggest that sport scientists have nothing to offer in the practical environment.   I recall doing an Olympic lifting training session with American bio mechanist John Garhammer, during which he gave me some valuable tips on my lifting technique.  John is well known for his biomechanical analysis of the power clean, amongst other things.  Other sport scientists have proved their abilities in practical application in athletic preparation – take Istvan Balyi (PhD) of Canada for example – one of the best working colleagues I have had to pleasure to be involved with.[8]

Once I had earned my respect, Istvan gave me full rein in taking over areas of training that traditionally he had controlled.

My role was greater than the services they had been previously provided  – I programmed and taught speed, strength, endurance, flexibility, lifestyle, recovery, and some nutritional issues.  It was the first time in about a decade that the then Sport Science director, Istvan Balyi, had relinquished the periodization and integration roles.  He provided a broad skeleton of dates, and I filled in the specifics.  This was a big step for Istvan, and he was not to be disappointed.  With his blessing I applied my methods of reverse periodization of the energy systems.  [9]

I believe this was because he had previously hired individuals with an exclusive focus on strength training.

Despite being an internationally recognized expert in periodization, Istvan slowly relinquished the role of periodization of the skier’s programs to me.  He had previously utilized the traditional approach to periodization, applying the aerobic base theory.  Somehow, I had obtained his trust, and he watched as I implemented radical new ways of training in the general preparation phase.  He didn’t necessarily agree but was open-minded.  This despite it being in contrast to his long-serving methods.  He was keen to watch the impact on the aerobic measures and skiing performance. 

In the year leading up to the 1994 Winter Olympics, I implemented an alternative method with all the male skiers.  The result.  No negative alteration of aerobic fitness, and the best skiing results in a decade.  Istvan was impressed.  I was relieved and very happy, not that I doubted the methods – just that, like any sport, so many variables exist. [10]

I learnt a lot from Istvan, not the least his Eastern European approach to training. I speak about this a lot in my writings.[11]  This influence on my coaching cannot be understated.

Istvan was, as I have made clear, my kind of colleague and teammate. He was totally focused on the athletes. There was limited idle chit chat; it was always focused. He was collaborative and respectful, and received that in return. It was not about him, his ego, his future employment, how much fame and fortune he could scrape out of sport. The opposite of Istvan sums up most coaches and support staff I have worked with over the last 45 years – and there have been many. So, I was blessed with this quarter-century association.

I noted with comments about Istvan the person, such as below:

“In addition to sport, they shared a common love of books and music. They eventually married and had a son, Nick. Despite being emotionally remote, Istvan worked hard to provide for Ann and Nick.” [12]

No such complaint from me. However, I have learnt that some seek more from others than coaching guidance.  A committed, highly focused, serving others kind of sports consultant may have some limitations outside of sport. And I speak for all of us who fit this description. They have been my most valued colleagues. I apologize to Anne and Nick for taking up their time.

Conclusion

Istvan passed away on 3 December 2024 in Sooke, B.C., of liver failure; aged 82.

I have seen many tributes to his life published, which is appropriate. Having spent collaborative time with Istvan during the period he shaped his long-term athlete development model, and knowing that our discussions contributed to that, I believe I speak with his approval when I clarify one point.

Some tributes, in my opinion, mistakenly attribute Istvan with creating long-term athlete development, being the ‘architect’. That may be true from their perspective. However, in respect of all those who published on the subject before Istvan, and who Istvan drew inspiration, I believe some clarification is needed. I believe Istvan would have said the same thing.

. I was with him, watched him, read his references enough to know that he respectfully collated the work of those who came before him, and distilled that into a working model to suit the culture and systems of modern Western world training. He championed the concept.

What Istvan unequivocally did was bring to the Western world’s attention what the ‘others’ (Eastern bloc) countries have known and been doing for a long time. He had the drive, the persona, the commitment to sport to make it his life’s mission.

For that, he deserves to be acknowledged. That was his life message. I can only hope that ‘LTAD’ is more than a passing trend, that more coaches take the time to study, internalize and implement it. It’s more than a catch phrase, more than a theory. It was designed to make life better for all future athletes.

I conclude with statements I made in 1997, 28 years ago:

… Istvan is the most effective sports scientist I have ever worked with. …take Istvan Balyi (PhD) of Canada, for example – one of the best working colleagues I have had to pleasure to be involved with.[13]

References

[1] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article-sport-scientist-istvan-balyi-changed-canadian-coaching-and-ate-hot/

[2] King, I., 1997, Winning and Losing

[1] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article-sport-scientist-istvan-balyi-changed-canadian-coaching-and-ate-hot/

[2] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article-sport-scientist-istvan-balyi-changed-canadian-coaching-and-ate-hot/

[3] King, I., 1997, Winning and Losing, Ch 7 – Training Theories

[4] King, I., 1997, Winning and Losing, Ch 19 – Professional development

[5] King, I., 1997, Winning and Losing, Ch 27 – The high volume road show rumbles along

[6] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article-sport-scientist-istvan-balyi-changed-canadian-coaching-and-ate-hot/

[7] It was great to see his alma mater acknowledge him. That’s not something we can all expect. Shows great values on their part.

[8] King, I., 1997, Winning and Losing, Ch 18 – Other support staff

[9] King, I., 1997, Winning and Losing, Ch 23 – Watching Rome crumble

[10] King, I., 1997, Winning and Losing, Ch 7 – Training Theories

[11] It’s tragic to see those who copy my work using the same words as if they too were there– I spent time and collaboration with Eastern Europeans – it was time and labor intense, took up a large part of my life, but so worthwhile. It’s heartbreaking to see this trivialized by the strokes of a keyboard.

[12] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article-sport-scientist-istvan-balyi-changed-canadian-coaching-and-ate-hot/

[13] King, I., 1997, Winning and Losing

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