To an individual who is making an observation of any movement they may think the movement is being performed completely correct but to a well versed coach who knows that’s not always the case. Over the past few weeks, I have learned how athletes commonly perform movements incorrect or with compensation, where this week we were able to discuss movements in the warm up or commonly performed exercises. While coaching these exercises as a coach you are always able to cue specific cues of the movement that help the athlete understand what you are looking for, but those who have learned the movement improperly or don’t always listen can be the hardest to reach. One of the most important aspects of a coach to have is to being able to cue an athlete with an audible cue, which allows an athlete to position their body in a way they feel the difference of the movement.
One of the movements we were able to discuss and perform was a single leg RDL, where we learned there should be an emphasis on the glute more than the hamstrings. This can be achieved by first finding your balance on two feet then when picking your foot up to be a in a single get stance find the balance where the weight is in the ball of their foot. Once the athlete can keep the weight in the ball of their foot, advise them to have bend in their leg, which is in contact with the ground and have them complete the movement. During the movement it’s important for the leg off the ground to think about extending back to achieve the greater activation of the glute compared to the hamstrings.
An exercise that gets the athlete to get a feel what extending the leg back is by putting an half inch superband around the athletes shoulder and around the ball of the foot on the leg which loses contact with the ground. Then have the athlete set up on the ball of their foot with a slight bend in the opposite knee and have the athlete begin the movement and cue them to extend, where they personally will be able to feel the difference because this techniques is where I realized how important positions of the leg are during the movement from slight flexion of the down knee to extending the leg that is moving. Later on throughout the day I was able to personally try both these movements with an RDL as well as walk a few of the athletes through the first portion, where it was amazing to see and hear the difference it had on the athlete performing the movement. A few athletes who have trouble with the RDL who have been slowly improving, I was able to see changes from as well as see the ah-ha moment where they understand the movement and feel the movement in the place I am attempting to get then to feel it.
Another movement we were able to discuss was the shuffle, which is a movement every athlete has performed but it is frequently performed incorrectly. Incorrect movements can be because it was taught incorrectly, compensation, or imbalances. In any coaching athletes through the shuffle movement it’s important to cue the athletes to stay low, but one change athletes may not realize is that the movement that propels an athlete is a push off the back foot. The focus is to keep the weight on the inside balls of their feet. Another important movement to watch after pushing on the leading foot to make sure the feet when coming together stay at least shoulder width apart. Common mistakes as a coach you see is an athlete with their weight on their toes, toes pointing towards the direction they are moving, sitting back to high, or pulling off the front foot. These mistakes are the reason’s no matter how old the athlete is, it’s important to educate them on the proper movement. Later on during the day a few of the inters, including myself were able to intervene and educate athletes on the proper form of a shuffle, where we were able to see immediate changes in the performance of the shuffle and the performance of the entire speed movement.
A technique to get athletes into the correct positioning in a shuffle is to put them on a keiser machine with a belt around their waist with enough resistance where the athlete needs to show control with out being pulled. The athletes will begin with an athletic stance, most importantly with the hips staying low and begin to push off with their back foot along with maintaining their weight on the inside ball of their foot. This method is perfect for teaching athletes to stay on the ball of their foot because it they don’t they will fall forward and be pulled by the resistance of the machine. This method also work effectively for athletes learning proper mechanics of jumping, where the athlete has to sit back and prevent the weight from shifting up to the toes. Once the athletes has performed a few reps on the keiser machine have the athlete perform the movement an unassisted and watch the differences from where they started to where they are now because now you will be able to see an athlete who know the proper position of the feet along with pushing off the correct foot, and keeping there weight over the ball of the foot. One of the most important part of a coach to athlete relationship is having clear communication, where you are able to understand each other and work to achieve this athlete’s greatest potential. When an athlete knows why and how to perform a movement correctly that can make a world of difference, where they are not just guessing. This can lead to this athletes potentially teaching another athletes the correct position, which can make for a proud coach, because when they understand a movement enough to be able to teach it, they have mastered the movement.