Why 'sport specific' training is a myth

That's right, it's not real.

You see people are always asking for (insert your sport)
specific drills, workouts, programs, whatever.

And everytime I get one of these emails I sigh deeply.

Why?

Because unless you're working with elite collegiate or
professional athletes, you shouldn't fool yourself into
believing your athletes need 'special' training, drills,
etc. specific to their sport.

But Latif, you always say that you don't train a football
player the same as a soccer player.

Yes, of course there are going to be differences in approach
based on the energy system demands of a sport.

But that doesn't make those differences a whole different
'sport specific' program.

It's called using common sense.

Let's say I'm doing some agility ladder drills and I have
a soccer player and a football player.

They both need speed, coordination, agility, timing,
body awareness, etc..

Do those drills require a 'Soccer Agility' product and a
'Football agility' product?

No. It's the exact same thing: Developing better athletes
who *happen* to play soccer or football.

The only difference is that for the soccer player I'm going
to have them dribble or kick a soccer ball after going
through the ladder.

And I'll throw a football to the football player and have
him cut and run a pattern.

That's not 'sport specific'. It's training athletes using
common sense.

Another example.

It's an acceleration day for my 15 year old 100m runner and
my 15 year old field hockey player.

Better break out my sport specific track and field training
manual *and* my sport specific field hockey manual right?

No, both of these athletes likely have the exact same
weaknesses in their running mechanics and skill. So I can
train them the same way with the primary differences
being based solely on individual strengths and weaknesses.

At some point my sprinter will have to come out of blocks and
my field hockey player will have to run with her stick.

That distinction is not based on some 'sport specific' guide.
It's based on developing better overall athletes using a
common sense approach to training. Not some fictitious need
for 'specialization'.

It doesn't matter what sport/s you coach or play, the training
plan you use has to be based on the same fundamental goal
for all athletes, ages and genders:

Improve the speed, strength, flexibility, coordination and
endurance of every athlete.

The only program specifically designed to cover each of those
topics is Complete Speed Training. It's called 'Complete' for
a reason.

If you don't already have this program then there are huge
gaps in the way you develop your athletes.

If you haven't purchased a copy because you're looking for
a program specific to your 'sport' then you've been doing the
coaching or training equivalent of beating your head against
the wall.

And I hope this article helped you change your mind.

As the saying goes: 'When you change the way you look at
things, the things you look at change'.

So get your copy of the *only* Complete Speed Training program
that's going to develop *all* the skills required for success
in any sport:

Complete Speed Training




In speed,

Latif Thomas



P.S. Still not convinced I'm on to something?

It's OK to be skeptical.

Listen to my recent conversation on the topic with Strength
and Conditioning Hall of Famer Al Vermeil. Al is the only
Strength and Conditioning Coach to work for the NFL, NBA
*and* MLB. He's also the only coach ever to earn a World
Championship ring in both the NFL (49ers) and the NBA (BUlls).

Listen to Al Vermeil


Now, here's how to develop your athletes' ability to get
faster for any sport.

Complete Speed Training


To listen to the rest of this 60 minute interview, log into
your account at The Speed Training Report.

Lessons from World Champion Head Coach Tony Dungy - Part V

We're finally to the last part of my series of Leadership
Lessons I learned from World Champion Tony Dungy.

This is arguably the most important of the 5 lessons, but it
is also dependent on the understanding and application of the
first 4, which are:

1. Direction
2. Perseverence - Staying the course
3. Develop a Thick Skin
4: Discernment

Coach Dungy's final Leadership Lesson is one, in my opinion,
that gets overlooked by many people in every aspect of life:

5. Be yourself

To be a great coach and/or leader, we have to pull knowledge
and experience from other people whose opinions and actions
we respect and admire.

But it can be easy sometimes to go too far in emulating a
particular coach's demeanor or style because we respect their
accomplishments.

However, that isn't being true to yourself and your athletes
or children or even peers will see through that.

Coach Dungy's quote during his talk was "A genuine Tony Dungy
is always better than an imitation Vince Lombardi."

And the same is true for you. Learn as much as you can from
others, but be yourself and develop your own coaching style,
method of implementation, tools and techniques.

Of course you're going to borrow other peoples' information
as you establish the foundation you will build off of in
the coming years.

It's critical that you first establish that foundation so you
can assess where your results are coming from not only on
a year to year basis, but month to month, week to week and
day by day.

If you don't follow a specific system and repeat the process
over and over until you obtain enough data to start making
your own changes, your athletes will *always* get inconsistent
results.

So make Complete Speed Training your foundation for athletic
development.


Follow the advice of World Champion Head Coach Tony Dungy.


You can't really go wrong if you follow that path, can you?


In speed,

Latif Thomas



P.S. Listen to what just one satisfied Complete Speed Training
Customer had to say.