Thesis: A high school strength coach needs have a strong fundamental knowledge of base of exercises, movements and how to apply them to direct the results desired to better develop young healthy injury free athletes
Thesis: A high school strength coach needs have a strong fundamental knowledge of base of exercises, movements and how to apply them to direct the results desired to better develop young healthy injury free athletes
The “rough draft” will be at least 10 pages and 2,500 words, double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins. (Including the Title Page, Abstract, Main Body of Paper, References Page, and Appendixes (If Used)).
The coaching profession is ever-changing and coaches at each level of sport competition need to know more than just the Xs and Os in order to be successful. As the primary individuals tasked with developing athletes and helping them achieve their goals, coaches should acquire a working knowledge of all areas affiliated with performance enhancement. Specifically, the disciplines of sports administration, sports medicine, strength and conditioning, and sports psychology can assist coaches while physically and mentally training their athletes.
This article illustrates six primary components of these disciplines: risk management, injury prevention, communication, nutrition, goal setting, and athlete development. It is imperative coaches gain a familiarity with these aforementioned components in order to teach athletes about skill development and prepare them to achieve peak performance.
**Key words:** athlete development, coaching, peak performance, training, sport
### Introduction
Since the beginning of sport competition, athletes have sought to acquire the skills and knowledge of sport in order to become “champions.” As sport evolved into organized activity, coaches began working more closely with athletes on sport skill development. Education and training programs have been created, over the past 30 years, in an effort to assist coaches and athletes with the development of methods and strategies for achieving peak performance. When designing a coaching education program, however, one must ask what do coaches need to know; what are the essential elements of athletic coaching?
In the 1960s, Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich, founder of the United States Sports Academy, outlined what he called the American Training Patterns (personal communication, April 2010) which focused on physical components of training; namely, speed, skill, stamina, strength, and suppleness (i.e., flexibility). Over time, our knowledge of how to train these five components has become more comprehensive and has been expanded into other disciplines as coaches continue striving to develop exceptional athletes (i.e., “champions”).
Though early emphasis in coaching focused on athletic performance enhancement and basic physiology, other disciplines of human performance eventually became components of training athletes. The purpose of this article is to examine the aforementioned components and introduce the world to the United States Sports Academy’s newly revised American Coaching Patterns.
American Coaching Patterns is a six-course program, encompassing six fundamentals of training: stamina, strength, suppleness or flexibility, agility, speed and skill. The six courses focus on sports administration, coaching methods, sports medicine, strength and conditioning, sports psychology, and athlete development. With the addition of these new disciplines, training athletes has become a holistic activity focusing on the entire athlete (i.e., mental and physical aspects).
### Risk Management
Participating in sports involves a certain level of risk, even when reasonable precautions have been implemented (17). Coaches have some level of responsibility for all aspects of their athletic program.
For example, coaches need to be concerned about the welfare of their players and the maintenance of athletic equipment and facilities. These responsibilities fall under the umbrella of risk management and the controlled evaluation of the athletic environment. Evaluating risk management in the athletic environment is a significant administrative element for coaches.
While risk can never be fully eliminated, these individuals must be aware of, and must seek to limit the chances liability exposure. Hence, coaches must exert significant effort to monitor all components of their athletic programs.