Interference

Previously I wrote a blog about training within sports associations. Roughly speaking I made a distinction between the school model and the eel farmer model. Associations that are organized like a school, have clearly described the teaching material per age group, per level, sometimes even per team. From week to week it is clear to each trainer what needs to be trained. The final goals are described for each training session. Some clubs go a step further and have actually described the training material from week to week. Analogous to education, these clubs also often have a start interview, ongoing seasonal 10-minute interviews and a transition interview. You would almost forget the parent-teacher conference.

In clubs organized as an Eel Farm, the practice material is not described. Trainers train their team, participate in the league and on top of that they have an extremely well-facilitated system of internal scouting. A child who stands out above the level of his own group may, already during the season, move on to the next level. This progression can take place at such a pace that a child of 12 could very well end up in a senior team.

Back to that school. Many clubs today have described, for each age group, what the final goals are. They have not described how this should be achieved, how it should be implemented. With this they are therefore not ready.

In the middle of the 90s of last century I followed the course Neurotraining at the Institute of Applied Neuroscience.

The execution of (sports) movements requires a very precise interplay of nervous and muscular systems. We call this interplay motor skills. The coordination ability directs this motor activity.

The definition of coordination is as follows, the organization and control of the motor system.

In outline, this system consists of:

the cerebellum
the cerebellum
the spinal cord
muscles
Skeleton and tendons
the nerve tracts

Together these parts ensure that we can move, but also that we can perceive our movements and are aware of them. How things are controlled is not entirely clear, opinions differ on this. It is known that within the whole of the steering of movements (of the movement) “information” is of essential importance. This information can come from within, e.g. pain, tiredness or a certain attitude to prevent pain, for example walking differently to spare a painful ankle, or landing on one leg when blocking, for the same reason. Information can also come from outside, seeing and hearing, the visual and verbal feedback. This information is stored, as “something” learned. This happens in memory. These forms of information are what we as trainers deal with. This is how we give the player information (seeing and hearing). In the brain the information is compared with already existing information and it is decided whether action is taken or not. This is also why it is so important that we as trainers work in unison. If the information a player receives regarding e.g. a technical execution is contradictory to what he has already learned, the body will hardly take action and the learning process will be delayed (unnecessarily). In some cases it is no longer possible to learn anything else.

Therefore, if we want to develop an optimal learning process, trainers will have to cooperate, to coordinate. They must ensure that the information given is also unambiguous. This is a challenge, many trainers work strictly with their own team, do not talk to fellow trainers and rarely question their own actions. If you really want to set up the best possible training plan within the club you will have to work together, coordinate, share.