Naturally, there are many Trainers and Coaches in the world who simply allow the athlete to keep hammering out reps with the same technique, either oblivious or unconcerned about the potential repetitive stress damage that improper technique can bring – not to mention the limited performance gains that will occur.

Basic Verbal & Visual Cues Aren't Enough

More over, there are Trainers and Coaches who use only some basic verbal or visual cueing to help an athlete overcome a poor habitual pattern. "No, get off your toes" or "Here, do it like this" are common verbal and visual coaching methods that typically have no impact whatsoever.

In the verbal explanation above, notice how the Coach told the athlete what NOT to do, rather than providing information as to WHAT to do.

This may sound like an irrelevant difference, but I could assure you that it isn’t. Very often, technique is poor because young athletes have been riddled with countless cues that offer little more than instruction on how not to perform an action.

Your job is to empower your athlete with the knowledge of HOW to perform an activity and more over, WHY …

… Which is the reason that basic cueing methods also don’t work with trying to reestablish correct technique in an athlete of limited execution ability.

Many Trainers and Coaches also confuse ‘visual’ coaching styles (which are actually quite effective when applied correctly) with basic examples like the one offered above.

It’s not about showing or demonstrating a few times, it’s about breaking down the motion into smaller units and having the young athlete develop an understanding of the technique process by being able to see it in phases.

Develop Skill Sets

In terms of the cueing, break down each exercise you are trying to alter into a 4-stage skill set. Always cue with the same verbiage and in the same order.  Have your athlete work on the verbal dialogue of this cueing system and gain an understanding of why the new pattern is good.

For instance, when instructing the squat to an athlete with habitually poor form, break down the set-up and movement parameters to the exercise in terms of primary and secondary skill sets:

This is the primary skill set and covers the ‘set-up’ portion of the squat technique.

Your secondary or movement skill set should look like this:

This will cover both the eccentric and concentric phases of the motion.

Teach these words and phrases to your athlete and have them be able to both recite them back as well as diagnosis what they mean in terms of application. Poor technique often occurs because the athlete doesn’t truly understand the nuances associated with how to execute well, and this is especially true of young athletes who were previously poorly coached and therefore have developed poor habitual patterns.

Next week I will discuss my TOP DOWN, BOTTOM UP APPROACH to coaching...