NE Coaching Network

Do you excessively worry before and during competitions? One component of worry is trying to control variables of performance outside of your direct control.   A few variables outside of your direct control are: getting injured, being benched by your coach, playing against a higher ranked opponent, and competing in poor weather conditions. For example, focusing on how well your opponent is playing (an aspect outside your control) leads to anxiety and takes the focus off you and your game. The greatest lesson an athlete can learn is to  control the controllables. No matter how minor it may seem, controlling the controllables gives you a sense that you have an impact over your destiny and that your performance is not dictated by outside forces. You cannot control how many minutes your coach plays you in a game, but you can control your effort and focus in practice and your overall attitude. Even if you are suffering from an injury, you are still in control of your attitude,...

Instilling Confidence & Success in Young Athletes... Are your sports kids confident in their ability to close out games? Or do they get scared and play sloppily when their team is ahead?   Whether your kids play soccer, football, hockey or participate in gymnastics, they need to have an aggressive mindset to close out a competition.   Many athletes become nervous and afraid they’ll melt down even though they have a big lead. These fears of losing and embarrassment can be overwhelming.   For example, a tennis player is up by three games in the final set. She has been aggressive the first two sets, hitting a good number of aces. With a big lead in the last set, she serves cautiously, fearful of double faulting.   Her soft serves allows her opponent to return powerful shots down the line. She ends up allowing her opponent to catch up and take the lead.   Another example: A hockey team has a two-goal lead with five minutes left in the game. Instead of playing ag...

  Daily, Mental Training Practice in 5 Easy Steps Many athletes write off mental training as something they don’t need to worry too much about—after all, it doesn’t immediately feel like you’re gaining those hard-earned results that a rigorous workout would give you, right? As a result, many procrastinate on or ignore their need for mental training. But what if I told you that mental toughness only takes a few minutes out of your athletes’ day? Here’s how to build a consistent daily mental toughness practice that will transform your athletes’ performance. Step 1: Understand the component Mental fitness training can and should be applied in the same way as physical fitness training. When a coach designs a fitness plan, it is important that they understand the five components of physical fitness: strength, speed, suppleness, stamina, and skill.  On the other hand, to build a mentally tough mindset you need to understand the essential “Five C” components: commitment, courage, con...

How to Build Workouts Coaches have so many different choices for workout for athletes. It can be overwhelming at times to decide which workouts to prescribe and when in the training cycle. At times, it is tempting to use the same well known intervals for many different athletes, which may or may not be the ideal. There are often training architectures that we can roughly follow for many athletes. For example you probably train first time century riders in largely the same way. However, coaching is also an individualistic enterprise – the training plan and workouts are customized and tailored to each individual athlete. In this article, we talk about a framework to use to help you decide which workouts to prescribe and how to consider the big picture for each athlete. We go beyond the basic formula of training stimulus + recovery = adaptation. As experienced coaches, we understand much of this process implicitly, based on experience. Hopefully you can use this post as a simple step-by-s...