In 1980 I set out on my professional journey to find answers to the question ‘What is the best way to train?’ How to design training programs was integral to finding these answers, as the decisions made in program design shape the training outcomes. One of the components of training design is the decision as […]
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 […]
Reflections on gratitude. A few days ago, an athlete called me to say thank you. Unsolicited. Not for the winning, which we did. But for the lessons shared. You might ask ‘So what. There’s nothing special about a thank you.’ So, I will share this – the period of time the athlete was referring to […]
This article is not about sets and reps. However, I suggest it relates to our physical training. This story appears to be geographically specific. However, I suggest that if you dig deeper into the history of your own region, you may see relevance. The message is we might believe we have a full grasp of […]
When a human is moving in a certain direction in life, it takes a specific amount of momentum to change direction. That may sound deep and cryptic, so let’s simplify it – until something significant (read catastrophic) happens, humans would prefer to conclude they are heading in the right direction. Now, to relate that to […]
As I share earlier during the 1980 I faced the challenge of adopting a job title, in a role that did not exist in Australia. Australia at that time had begun to model the national coaching system of Canada, which in that decade was one of the most highly funded coaching programs in the Western […]
In the 1980s, I forged a career in Australia that did not exist. The role did not exist, and there was no job title. What would I call myself? I looked around the world for guidance and found two dominant influences – the United States National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) and an Eastern European […]
The motocross race day was coming to an end and the teams in the pit area were packing up. There was a storm coming, and this gave urgency to the pack up. The KSI athlete has been left alone temporarily by his pit crew and was battling on his own to pack before the storm […]
I celebrate the outcomes possible when an athlete or team chooses to collaborate with us to achieve their sporting goals. Why? Because I have found it to be a very effective period of time to work with an athlete or team. This premise has been reinforced by many thought leaders in recorded Western civilization, in […]
In 1997 I published a book titled ‘Winning and Losing’, aiming to share the lessons of my prior two decades of professional experiences. One of those was that I felt physical preparation coaches should be more focused on injury prevention and rehabilitation, not just performance enhancement. Additionally, the 1990s strength coaching focus was on how […]