Continuing on with the pre-eminent theme of values, and how they guide me in my coaching, this piece will discuss my use of certain frameworks in helping me to make appropriate coaching decisions, which align with my values, on an everyday basis.
First, a quick reminder of how I view the importance of values for a human, and how those then could influence how we use the physical principles (depending upon the context), which will then influence how we work with our humans, as in what and how we employ our training methods.
Values >/--> Principles >/--> Methods
i.e. My values are greater than, and guide my use of the (physical) principles, which are greater than, and guide my use of the (training) methods.
It is easy though to lose the wood for the trees when out there coaching on an everyday basis, losing sight of what is most important to me in my work. I therefore came up with the below framework (and others) which guide me through my decision-making process to help me make coaching decisions based upon my values. The device that I use is what I like to term my “Hierarchies of Import” (HOI).
I have a few HOIs to help me in my coaching, but my “Paramount” HOI is the most important and directional one and has really helped me greatly in my coaching over the years. The context for this HOI is my coaching in a high school environment.
Paramount HOI
1. Human
2. Pupil/Student
3. Athlete
Taking my coaching decisions by filtering them through this HOI framework first helps me to remain true to my values. I believe that considering those with whom I work as humans first, over-and-above their activities, is truly beneficial to them, even as athletes, more than if I had their athlete status on top of this hierarchy.
By way of example, in youth rugby there has been a culture of bigger being always better. So often with youngsters, clubs and academies, and their S&C/rugby coaches are making hypertrophy training the “be all and end all” of their physical preparation programmes. Now, hypertrophy training is important with young athletes and certainly has a role to play, especially with those involved in the more abrasive, collision sports like rugby, American football, ice hockey, etc from a protective armour perspective. It has to though be checked and balanced with other training methodologies which provide a greater stimulus for the soft tissue and the joints from a protective perspective. Ligaments and tendons adapt and grow much slower than muscle does (Mersmann et al., 2017). Unfortunately, often hypertrophy training is not being well-balanced with other methods. We then find overly heavy young athletes running into each other repeatedly through the season with serious joint and soft tissue injuries often resulting. Soft tissue injuries of the knee and shoulder are commonplace (Palmer-Green et al., 2013), for instance.
Obviously the factors that lead to injury in any human and sport are multifactorial and have as much to do with technical execution as they do with physicality, but I believe this is primarily the result of treating these humans as athletes (rugby players) first and foremost. What rides along with that view unfortunately is seeing these kids as expendable to a certain extent, commodities if you will, because if one goes down with an ACL tear, that’s okay because the school/academy has plenty more youngsters just waiting for their chance to fill the gap and represent their school in the 1st Team.
I believe though that if we think first of these kids as human, it will help us to see the importance of preparing them much better for the rigours of these very abrasive sports. Even if that means that they are slightly less impactful in the short-term (i.e. in the game next Saturday), for their long-term benefit.
Now, what could treating them as humans first actually look like?
One way is to realise that a serious injury would/could very negatively affect this person, both now and in the future. So doing whatever we can in training to diminish the chances of serious injury would be a good first step. No, we cannot stop all injuries from happening, but we can do better to prepare our humans for the world within which they live (ie the rigours of the rugby paddock, in this context). Paying attention to soft-tissue development too therefore would make sense, as opposed to just piling on muscle mass without much regard for anything else.
Thinking of those with whom we work as humans first, also means that we have to try our best to prioritise their long-term health and performance. In the high school context, this was very important to me as I wanted to give each and every pupil a positive experience as regards strength training, movement and fitness, so that they would not only train consistently and reap the physical and psychological benefits now while they’re at our school, but also so that they had primarily positive memories and associations with physicality which would then lead them to be more likely to maintain the healthy habit as they move on from school, into university and life thereafter (a linked talking point for the future is using fitness as punishment). Viewing them as humans first helps us more easily to invest in their future and not just the here & now (next Saturday’s match, this season, etc).
Thankfully in the world of youth sport there are many S&C coaches who seem to share these values, one such coach being Pete Burridge of the Bristol Bears. When he was working with the youngsters of Leicester Rugby Academy, Pete was quoted as saying “players perform at 98% now, so that in 2 years they can perform at 110%.” This philosophy aligns with the values-based approach where the long-term is of higher importance than the short-term. It is wonderful to see an approach like this embraced in a professional set up like Leicester Rugby Club, and is not only credit to Pete and his Physical Preparation team, but also the whole structure within that club and academy which gives him the space to work this way.
Unfortunately, schools and academies often get away with a short-term approach because there are so many other players waiting in the wings that it matters little if one player goes down, as there’s another player there to fill the gap straight away. This consumerist attitude toward our fellow humans as being essentially expendable, is unacceptable to me and sits firmly contrary to my values.
I believe that as coaches, no matter who is paying us, our allegiance and responsibility is always first to the human in front of us, and not to the system or organisation.
My Paramount HOI therefore helps me see the wood for the trees on an everyday basis in the weightroom and out on the paddock, by reminding me of my highest value which is to consider first the human in front of me and their long-term best.
Bibliography
Palmer-Green, D. S., Stokes, K. A., Fuller, C. W., England, M., Kemp, S. P. T., & Trewartha, G. (2013). Match injuries in English youth academy and schools rugby union: an epidemiological study. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 41(4), 749–755.
Mersmann, F., Bohm, S., & Arampatzis, A. (2017). Imbalances in the development of muscle and tendon as risk factor for tendinopathies in youth athletes: A review of current evidence and concepts of prevention. Frontiers in Physiology, 8(DEC), 1–18.