Successful coaching requires not only an understanding of what it is that one is coaching, but being able to perform a proper demonstration of the desired exercise as well. While most strength and conditioning coaches are typically proficient in many exercises, I’m sure most would agree that they are not perfect in every major lift. The exercise performed in this week’s education was the squat. It was just a typical body weight squat, performed however the individual would normally perform the exercise. I believe that the squat is a critical exercise to learn how to execute properly, as it is a staple of many training programs. In addition, the squat is a big part of the snatch and clean exercises which require a great deal of technical skill to perform.
There were two parts to this session: a demonstration from each of the intern coaches, and then a coaching proficiency part. At the end, each of the six interns performed several repetitions of the squat in front of the group, and each observer would give either a thumbs up or a thumbs down based on if they thought the squat was acceptable or not. What we found was that each one of us had at least one person give us a thumbs down, and typically it was a different person and for a different reason each time. As a group, we would assist each person in correcting their form. Since each one of us noticed different things, we all had different ideas of how to correct each other. Collectively, each of us was able to learn from one another to determine what was happening anatomically, why that anatomical anomaly caused a change in our movement pattern, and how we would go about correcting it.
This was a very valuable session for me as it allowed me to observe some common errors that occur when squatting as well as learn how to correct each of them. Some of the more common errors were posterior pelvic tilt while at the bottom of a deep squat, rounding of the back, and being overly knee dominant. The reason for each individual having such problems was different for everyone, making it even more interesting and educational for each of us. It was proof that one problem cannot always be solved by the same method and that it can generally help to ask others for assistance if you are unsure of how to solve a problem.