James let’s get a breakdown of what sports/events/genders those medals are from. Just a number really doesn’t say much. Plus, what are the rates of participation in olympic sports other than t&f, swimming, and I guess you could throw in basketball/hockey/baseball (not sure when these were introduced or how many pros actually participated).
Besides sprints:
Jumps? Hurdles? Shotput?
When I see little kids in the US learning how to throw the hammer or do a snatch instead of playing t-ball or pop warner football, then I think it’d be more relevant. Even you have to see the big part of where the Soviets got their medals from is just getting participation and identification.
I’m also curious how you can state so much about the American S&C programs and what other schools or teams are even doing if you don’t know what Al Vermeil, Carlisle, and many other coaches have done? You don’t need to know them to be a good coach, but to criticize others and say their success is only because of talent when you don’t even know what they do is ridiculous.
James,
good to have you posting here again, agree or disagree your posts certainly make one think and you aren’t afraid to say ‘I think the emperor has no clothes’
While I agree with most of your post above on point I do not believe is entirely correct is The self sustaining program is, in fact, a result of the whole existing greater than the sum of the parts. Meaning- remove a piece here a piece there and it still goes because there are too many strengths to succumb to a far lesser volume of deficiencies.. The issue is how many key parts can you remove? This is borne out by your later comment The program that I left at the high school is very successful. Was the year or two before I got there, continued to be while I was there, and was again this year after my leaving. The fellow who replaced me is a good guy, however, he asked for my guidance, read my manuals, etc and he and I didn’t really share much that we both agreed upon other than some of the bigger points. I have had some of my players, who I still keep in contact with, tell me that they preferred the program that I had them on and so they did what the needed to to in their own time. This therefore means the programme itself went from great to good following your exit and the player’s performance would have suffered had they not done what was required in addition to what the coach prescribed.
If you haven’t already I recommend reading a book I recently finished, while a business book it has application to many areas.
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . . and Others Don’t
by Jim Collins
Based on a five-year research project, Good to Great answers the question: “Can a good company become a great company, and, if so, how?” True to the rigorous research methodology and invigorating teaching style of Jim Collins, Good to Great teaches how even the dowdiest of companies can make the leap to outperform market leaders the likes of Coca-Cola, Intel, General Electric, and Merck.
One thing i have notice with usc since carl has been there is very few of there guys actually test well at the combine, bush and polamalu was two of the few, i think the bulk of usc on field success comes from great coaching/strategy. Im kinda surprise usc guys dont test better because I spoke to carl last spring and he explained that there winter/spring phase is geared towards jr/sr proday and improving workout numbers, bp,pc,sq,40,shuttles,vj.
I saw him do multiple reps with 365lbs to a depth where his thighs were parallel to the ground (the spring after his senior year). His Olympic lifts were not fantastic, but it was obvious that he was adequately strong.
I would venture to guess that Bush won’t be training with this method anytime in the near future. I don’t know how or if training this way affected his performance this season, but from the games that I saw he appeared to lack his signature burst and even looked smaller than he was last year. I expect he will train at USC in the off-season or even with Tom Shaw, who he trained with to prepare for the combine.
Whoever he worked with prior to his rookie season did a tremendous job with him. He was noticeably bigger, and his burst was better than ever.
i really didnt see much dropoff from bush performance this season, also bush train at usc for his proday but shaw told people he worked with bush BUT it was only for a few mins (dont believe everything you read).
Obviously we all know that on-field performance cannot be solely attributed to work on the track or weight room. Other variables such as the absence of Deuce, lack of team success, etc. correlate much better to his performance drop-off. What I am referring to is the fact that he appeared to lack some of the speed/acceleration and big play ability that he has showcased in college and his rookie year. Many times he struggled to turn the corner on a defensive end.
That’s a funny story about Shaw and Bush if it is true. Shaw does list Bush as a client and has a picture of him on his website I believe. In any case, Reggie was gonna run fast at that pro day no matter who trained him. What did impress me is that he looked to have put on about 10 pounds of muscle fairly quickly.
yeh reggie trained at usc i remember speaking to chris around that time and he mention lindale white should have stayed but he decided to go elsewhere and we all know how that work. this yr reggie looked just as strong, same size and speed maybe since the saints schedule was harder this year they were facing faster def players, turning the corner is reggie fault, he needs to just hit the hole and tap dancing.
If Deuce could have played the whole season, it would have really taken a huge load off of Reggie. That was a new “welcome to the nfl” type of thing that Reggie was forced into this season. I would expect things to be better for Reggie if he wasn’t so banged up throughout the season. You can really tell he is not a 30+ carry per game type of guy.
I don’t much at all about NFL but I do know The Patriots had a pretty good regular season. The article below is about 20 months old but it appears Mike Woicik is still involved…coincidence
[i]
8/22/06 Off-Season Conditioning Program Key to the Patriots’ Success Jeff Cournoyer
The New England Patriots off-season conditioning program has played a key role in the Patriots success over the years and has been an integral part of the teambuilding process.
It’s March 2006, just two months after the Patriots’ final game of the 2005 season, and Gillette Stadium looks as far away from football as a football stadium gets. With the parking lots mostly empty and the goalposts in storage, the only reminders that the stadium is home to the three-time Super Bowl champions are the three banners hanging in the southeast corner and the muffled sounds emanating from the Patriots’ weight room. Through the stadium’s cinderblock walls observant employees can hear blaring music interrupted by the sharp sounds of clanging weights and the laughter of players. Months from the start of training camp, the preparation for the 2006 season has already begun.
For many Patriots players, the season begins not in July when they report for training camp, but in March at the start of the team’s off-season conditioning program. The program, which runs throughout the spring and early summer, is a voluntary team activity overseen by the Patriots’ strength and conditioning coaches. Since Bill Belichick became head coach, it has been one of the best attended and most respected off-season programs in the NFL. Designed to increase the players’ speed, strength and explosiveness while also providing a valuable team-building opportunity, the Patriots’ off-season conditioning program is a key component to the team’s success.
Much of the credit for the program belongs to Mike Woicik, the strength and conditioning coach Belichick brought to New England from the New Orleans Saints in 2000. Woicik had previously implemented a conditioning regimen that helped the Dallas Cowboys win three Super Bowls in the early 1990s. After winning three more rings with the Patriots,Woicik has an impressive jewelry collection and the unending respect of his players.
“This is one of the elite strength and conditioning programs,” said linebacker Don Davis. “Mike has six Super Bowl championships. Obviously there is something to that. It’s not coincidental.”
Davis, an 11-year veteran and a Woicik disciple since the two were in New Orleans in 1997, is one of the Patriots’ nine off-season award winners, players whose commitment to the Patriots’ 2006 off-season conditioning program has earned them special recognition from Woicik and the rest of the Patriots’ coaching staff.
Woicik and assistant strength and conditioning coach Harold Nash develop personalized workout plans for each player in the off-season conditioning program, taking into account their individual needs. “The first thing is if they have any injury concerns we work to be proactive and prevent reoccurrence,” said Woicik. “Overall, we want them to become better. We evaluate them through a series of tests and we know what their strengths and weaknesses are. For one player it might be his explosiveness while another player might need to work on his speed. We show them where they are, set goals, and try to improve upon it.”
The results of the players’ hard work and Woicik’s tutelage in the weight room are evident, as the Patriots’ have compiled a 46-9 record in games played after November 1, a mark that exemplifies the solid conditioning approach employed by the 29-year coaching veteran. Continuing contributions from ageless veterans and rapid improvement by young players are hallmarks of the Belichick-era Patriots, and can be attributed in part to the off-season conditioning program.
In addition to improving the overall conditioning of the players, the program provides an opportunity for coaches to evaluate how hard a player is willing to work to improve. Current stars such as quarterback Tom Brady first made their mark in the weight room in the off-season, and, for younger players and veterans alike, the recognition of being named an off-season award winner is a badge of honor. The award winners receive small considerations from the coaching staff, such as the right to choose the music during stretching periods at training camp practices and preferred parking spaces in the players’ lot.
“There’s a tangible motivation. That’s why we do testing and we measure guys and evaluate guys,” said Woicik. “You don’t play the games without keeping score. So in the off-season, we try to keep score so that we can say that this guy had a good off-season or this guy didn’t do as well. And the players get into it. They like the parking spots, their pictures on the wall and the recognition.” But it’s not all about the perks. Among the benefits of a superior effort in the off-season conditioning program are the results the players see on the field.
“The conditioning program has helped my all-around game,” said Mike Wright, a rookie free agent defensive lineman in 2005 whose strong off-season earned him an award. “It’s not one particular thing, it’s everything. Working out is what you put into it, and you get back what you put into it.”
“I worked a lot on my speed, lost a little weight and cut my body fat percentage down,” said James Sanders, a second-year safety and award winner. “For me, the off-season was about getting as explosive and as fast as possible.”
Another key benefit of the program is its function as a teambuilding exercise.
“It’s important to build camaraderie. The program gets the guys around one another in a different kind of environment,” Woicik said. “Once we get to the season they’re broken up by offense, defense and even further subgroups. The off-season is the work time where guys get to know one another. You may have a quarterback running with a safety or an offensive lineman running with a defensive lineman. The players are able to get to know one another a little bit more than they do during the season when they are separated much of the time.”
Davis said the program’s team-building opportunities are especially important for the young players. “If you’re a younger guy or a new player you get to come in and see what the system is like, what it’s all about,” he said. “You get to develop your core strength while also being able to watch film and be around the coaches and veteran players.”
“Some of your younger players that maybe developmentally haven’t reached their max, you’ll see more of a progression,” added Woicik. “Whereas for some of your older players, who have been training hard for a lot of years, it’s about just getting back to where they have been.”
Davis can attest. “I’m 33 years old and I run just as fast as I did when I first started working with Mike in New Orleans in 1997,” he said. “That doesn’t just happen. That’s through training in Mike’s program.”
For some veterans, like punter Josh Miller, who played in the NFL for eight years before joining the Patriots in 2004, the program has been a fountain of youth. “Mike Woicik has probably added five years to my career,” said Miller, another award winner. “When I signed here, I had 15 percent body fat and I thought I was in shape. Now I have 9.5 percent body fat and I’m lifting more than ever. I’m 36 and people don’t believe it. They think I’m 25. That is all from Mike.”
The nine 2006 off-season award winners are Tom Brady, Tedy Bruschi, Don Davis, Kevin Faulk, Logan Mankins, Josh Miller, James Sanders, Benjamin Watson and Mike Wright.
[/i]
The article below is about 20 months old but it appears Mike Woicik is still involved…coincidence 