The Simplicity Circle
Sometimes life comes full circle. Like when you finally realize Dad was right all along. The little things really do matter, and the best program likely isn’t the one that your athletes are currently on! I hear many coaches say, “when I look back at my old programs, I cringe.” “I can’t believe I did that.” “It’s called learning, and change is progress.” Truth be told, after 20 years of coaching, more and more of my programming hasn’t changed all too drastically in recent years. I remind myself of the beautiful quote from John Wooden.
“There is no progress without change, but not all change is progress.”
The Simplicity Circle
Looking back in the rearview, I believe the training journey for the young athlete is VERY similar to the coaching journey for the seasoned coach. The training journey begins with simplicity and ends with simplicity, somewhere in between we have the tendency to over-complicate things. As I’ve aged in this profession, both pragmatically and academically, I find myself back to where I began, embracing simplicity.
The Simplicity Circle: Keep it simple
Here are many of the mistakes I’ve made as a young coach:
Viewing the training process as a microwave and not slow cooker
Confusing simple with easy
Not fully appreciating the depth of simplicity
Failing to understand complex systems
Not mastering first principals: psychology, physiology, programming, physics, biomechanics
Over complexifying programs as athletes progress in their training journeys
Failing to understand WHY simple programs work for BOTH beginners and ADVANCED athletes AND the different reasoning as to WHY this is the case
Failing to understand the game demands and forces experienced in the actual training environment
Not keeping “the goal,” “the goal”
Thinking “the lab” is the weight room and not the ice
Whether we’re cognizant or not, we’re all guilty of some sort of Dunning-Kruger affect. Coaching, sport, and life, teach lessons long after the mistakes have been made. There is a time and place for complexity, and experimentation as both are important. However, the older I’ve gotten, the more I believe simplicity is synonymous with sophistication as long as its underpinned with a solid understanding of game demands and first principal knowledge.
