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Training with Purpose: Individualization

When it comes to training athletes, certain individualities need to be considered. Most may think that this will be in ref erence to exercise selection, qualif ication, and so on, but there are other variables to be considered. Besides just exercise selections and volumes, a coach must also have the ability to individualize both physical and psychological traits. While intensity, volume, selection, and other variables are important, they dont matter if theyre poorly chosen or applied without consideration to other f actors.

Trait s
T he traits that Ill discuss in this article were taken f rom a table on page 33 of Issurins Block Periodization 2. It describes the characteristics that af f ect each athletes individual traits. Ill list all of them and give some real world examples of each to bring them into perspective. Here is the table as it is listed in the text. For each characteristic, it provides examples on opposite ends of the spectrum.

When looking at this table, it is important to understand that not every athlete will be purely high or low in each category. Also, some of these characteristics are situational. With things being as f ragmented as they are in certain team sports, the way an athlete perceives each individual coach, segment, or the process can inf luence many of these f actors.

Examining t he t rait s
All these traits can be expanded on and examples can be provided. From here, we can break the traits down and start to provide some real world examples of each. Effect caused by training: With this trait, your athletes either seem to get better no matter what they do or they never improve regardless of how hard they work or how many extra workouts they do. T hese are the two extremes of the spectrum. In between this lies all the athletes who are probably experiencing some gains but arent anything atypical of training. T his trait will also be dependent on many f actors such as motor abilities, genetics, and so on. However, there will always be the athletes who have a high response rate and seem to do the bare minimum of what is necessary (or less if not watched) and the guys who will stay late, do everything asked of them and more but make almost no gains. T his trait can explain why some programs are substandard but athletes succeed in spite of the shortcomings. It also can explain the opposite where a knowledgeable coach may have a group of low responders and has to try to actively make his programming the best to get anything out of them. General tolerance to high workloads: With this trait, the athletes ability to recover f rom stressors is in question. T here will be extremes to each side of this and it can revolve around intensity, volume, or f requency. To provide some examples, there is always the classic use of the Bulgarian template f or weightlif ting. T he athletes who succeeded with this template had a high tolerance to a high f requency, high intensity workload. T he ones who everyone saw win medals are those who could withstand this type of training. What no one saw were the ones who didnt have this ability to cope with the workloads. T hey were most likely ground into dust in the training halls of Bulgaria during this era. T his is something that will be individual to many athletes. T his also explains why there are many dif f erent approaches that work, though they dont work f or everyone. Some athletes do well on low f requency, intensity driven programs with a relatively low amount of volume. Others can cope with a high amount of loading and may be better served by the numerous programs that cater to this. T his also is dependent on past training. An interesting consideration here is something that you see a lot of in team sports. Of ten times, an athlete will be out of shape and have a low amount of work capacity. T he common remedy is to run this athlete into the ground in an attempt to condition him. Sometimes this works, but other times it leads to injuries or poor perf ormance or eventually the athlete quits the sport. While there is a need to raise work capacity, it isnt something that can happen overnight. If an athletes tolerance to workloads is already low, increasing the volume will most likely cause more f atigue. Fatigue masks f itness and perf ormance may drop even more in this case. Motivation: In every sport, there will always be athletes who can generally motivate themselves and those who cant. Athletes at the high end of this trait are goal oriented and understand that training and practicing are part of the equation to reaching their goals. Athletes who are on the low end dont always have the ability to connect the dots that training and practicing will make them better players. T hey may only be motivated by extrinsic f actors such as making big plays in a game, money, or scholarships. While the athletes at the higher end of the spectrum are motivated by and understand the process (i.e. intrinsically motivated), those at the lower end are only motivated by the product and cant link the process to this.

On the team I coach, I have one player who is very goal oriented and understands that every part of the process (physical preparation, f ilms, practice) will make him a better linebacker. With this player, I rarely have to motivate him to want to be part of any training session or other team related activity. On the other hand, one of our wide receivers only cares about things such as catching touchdowns, getting letters f rom colleges, and girls. He sees training, practicing, and f ilms as things that he is obligated to be at but doesnt understand the purpose of any of these in the process of making him a better player.

Some might think that motivation comes f rom screaming and jumping around. T his isnt the case. In my program, I dont run workouts like a cheerleader. I give my athletes cues, correct mistakes, provide reinf orcement, and maintain a level of control in the room. In my experience, athletes motivate each other behaviorally. It is also important to understand that some athletes are only motivated to participate in training and practice when there are negative consequences such as reduced playing time or punishment. T his is all part of knowing your athletes. Self-regulation: In this category, the athlete is able to regulate both his behavior and his ef f ort. He is able to change the way he is perf orming on his own without positive or negative reinf orcement f rom a coach. Athletes who are high in this category can take a cue to either step up their perf ormance (in a matter of ef f ort) or control their emotions/behavior and make the correct adjustments. Athletes who are low in this category cant make adjustments on their own to their ef f ort or behavior and need a coach to either enf orce punishment or take other measures.

For example, lets say that a player is asked to go f ull speed on a particular drill. Af ter being corrected on a substandard ef f ort, a highly self -regulated athlete would go at the correct intensity. A poorly self -regulated athlete would need a punishment to be inf licted or would need to be threatened in order to engage the appropriate amount of ef f ort. In regards to behavior, an athlete with a high amount of self -regulation could control himself when having a penalty called or giving up a score. An athlete with a low amount of self regulation may make a smart ass comment to a coach or ref eree or get into a post-play argument or f ight with an opposing player. Lif ters with good self -regulation may take something such as a red light f or depth and listen to the judges comments, adjust, and make their next attempts. A poorly self -regulated lif ter would probably piss and moan about the judges f ucking him over or complain that his suit needs more weight to get down and then go on to raise his next attempt only to miss it twice and bomb. Readiness to cooperate: T he athlete with a high readiness to cooperate will allow coaches to make suggestions about his perf ormance and actively attempt to acknowledge suggestions. T he athlete will be open to criticism and will want to know how he can work to improve. He will also cooperate with teammates and trust that everyone is working f or his best interests. Low readiness to cooperate will be marked by an unwillingness to take suggestions or criticism, an inability to f ollow game plans that dont highlight that athlete, and an inability to trust others. For example, an athlete with a high readiness to cooperate will actively attempt to use a coach or teammates suggestions and work on the cues given to improve. He will also be open to criticism and trust that his coach or teammate is doing something that will make him a better athlete. An athlete with a low readiness to cooperate may respond to suggestions or criticisms with apathy. He may make comments such as that wont work f or me and doesnt trust that his coach or teammates are looking out f or his best interests. T hese types of athletes may not block if the ball isnt coming to them and may not play hard if they arent the f ocal point. Possibility of concentration: T his is one of the easier markers to observe. High athletes will be able to concentrate on the task at hand. T hey will actively f ollow what is going on and pay attention to the details of what is being asked of them. T hese are the athletes who will have their eyes on a coach when he is talking, watch those in f ront of them in a drill, and understand what both they and others perf ormed incorrectly or correctly. Athletes with poor concentration will drif t of f , talk to others while not actively engaged, not pay attention to details, and not understand what is correct or incorrect. On a f ootball team, the athlete with good concentration will keep his eyes on the game and know what is going on even if he isnt on the f ield. T hose with poor concentration will be talking to teammates and missing transitions and call ups and wont know what the down and distance may be.

Confidence: More of ten than not, this characteristic is situational. Some athletes who display conf idence in practice or training may have issues with high stress situations. Athletes who are conf ident in perf ormance wont waver in high stress situations and would want the game to depend on them. T his is seen with quarterbacks who have high completion percentages on game winning drives. T his can also be observed in a lif ter who needs to make his third attempt to beat an opponent. T hose with low conf idence may not display prof iciency when the game is in their hands. T hey may also not like to be tested in practice. However, these athletes may be able to perf orm drills or win contests when the outcome isnt high pressure. Another aspect of conf idence is the athletes ability to trust that his practice and training has adequately prepared him. An athlete with low conf idence may scramble to perf orm more work at the last minute or think that his coach hasnt given him correct inf ormation or the proper training to win. Coaches also suf f er here with many perf orming excessive workloads in pre-season camps due to the f act that they think their athletes arent technically prof icient or in shape enough f or the sport.

Considerat ions
Now that the traits are def ined, there are some things to consider. Athletes on a team can f all into numerous categories, but there isnt always a pattern. For example, a high responder wont necessarily be capable of withstanding large volumes of intense work. He may not be highly motivated or self -regulated. It takes the ability to look at your athletes and know each one individually. Sometimes certain traits such as motivation or conf idence arent apparent in the beginning. T hese may become easier to observe in time as the athlete develops.

T hese traits may apply to one aspect of the process but not others. Some athletes may be game day players who are only motivated to give their best ef f ort in competition. T hese athletes of ten go through the motions in practice and dont train hard but will show up and make plays when needed. Other athletes may be very conf ident in controlled environments such as training or practice, but when theyre put into high stress situations, theyll shit the bed, as many coaches put it. Many of the traits are situational and can be inf luenced by numerous f actors including the strength of the opponent, the importance of the competition, and the trust of the coaches/training. Additionally, many times coaches will consider the athletes who can withstand high workloads to be indestructible. T hey believe that they are their go to guys. However, when examining these athletes in terms of pure ability or talent, theyre middle of the road. T he f act of the matter is these athletes are able to withstand high workloads because their level of output isnt very high. Because of this, they appear to be able to put in a lot of work, but in reality, it may be at a f raction of the output that a more talented athlete puts into each rep. On the other hand, sometimes the most talented athletes have higher risks of injury, appear to f atigue easier, and arent able to withstand high amounts of work. T his is f or the opposite reason of high outputs. In this case, less may be more in terms of loading.

Conclusion
When working with athletes, it is important to know that individual characteristics can manif est themselves in a number of ways. T hese traits arent unif orm across all aspects of the process. Some athletes may display conf idence and motivation and be ready to cooperate in certain areas of their sport but may lack these same characteristics in other aspects. T he amount of work that can be tolerated can depend on a number of f actors that need to be looked at objectively. It is important to realize that many traits are situational. Many athletes are dif f erent, and as a coach, it is important to observe and make decisions that f it the best interests of each athlete.

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