There are an increasing number of sports training centers being developed throughout the United States. In many respects this is great to see but it appears that the end result, in regards to how much better the athlete can perform on the field, court or ring, is not favorable. There are several reasons for this.
First and foremost is that most of these training centers are in essence, conditioning centers. Their main goal is to get the athletes bigger and stronger. Some centers advertise improved agility, balance, quickness and speed. But rarely does this improvement show up in gameplay.
But as should be obvious improved performance on the field should be the major criterion used to measure the success of any training program. This means that the athlete is capable of executing the necessary skills with greater speed, quickness and explosive power. It has little to nothing to do with becoming bigger and stronger!
The main reason for this lack of transfer of the strength and mass gained to gameplay is that the exercises and drills used are not sport specific. They are general factors that athletes need and are the base upon which sport specific training is done. Training centers that are supposedly very successful in improving athletic performance do not give you any guarantees as to the amount or kind of improvement that you will see.
Instead, the centers rely on dropping names of high-level athletes who have trained there. The trainer who is fortunate enough to work with some of these athletes then automatically becomes a top trainer. But if you ask for specifics as to how much improvement these high-level athletes experienced under their guidance, you will not get any. Why these questions are never asked is very surprising. We seem to be more impressed with celebrity names than actual data on athletic improvement.
An effective training program will produce measurable and noticeable results. It does not rely on the dropping of celebrity names. Improvement in speed, quickness, explosiveness and other important qualities are guaranteed. Improvement is expected; it is not hoped for or have an expectation of improvement.
The main factor omitted in almost all these training centers is development and improvement of specific sports skills. Most of the trainers are not knowledgeable in specialized strength, speed, quickness, agility and explosive training. exercises that duplicate what occurs in execution of the competitive sports skills. Understand that skill and skill specific exercises are the most important factors for improved athletic performance — after developing a general base as noted above.
For example, for a strength exercise to be sport specific it must duplicate the same neuromuscular pathway involved in execution of the sports skill. In addition, strength must be developed in the same range of motion as it is displayed in execution of the sports skill and uses the same type of muscular contraction. If the exercise does not fulfill these criteria is not a sport specific or specialized exercise.
For more information on what it takes to make an athlete and to gain a better understanding of sport specific training and specialized exercises, read Build a Better Athlete. It is the only book available that deals extensively with skill analysis and skill specific training together with the other qualities that are needed to make a better performing athlete.