Chin Ups-Never Again

I don't think I will ever do another chin up in my life. I hate them with a passion. Just the thought of them brings back horrible memories of pain and tears. Someone please explain how doing chin ups until tears every day helps anything? Never mind, you will not convince me no matter what you say or what evidence you have. I do not believe in using conditioning as a punishment. It took me a few years of coaching to come to this way of thinking. I know it is a bold statement and many coaches will disagree. Let's look at this logically. I mean, would you have a student do ten burpees if they got a math problem wrong? Of course you wouldn't. It makes no sense because burpees do not help with math in any way. Likewise, running lines does nothing to improve your free throw shooting.

Athletes are going to make mistakes. Some days they make more than others. They will bobble a ball, miss a shot, fall off the bars, muff a punt, throw an interception, miss a tackle, and on and on. Some coaches will argue they have been using running or push ups for years and it has worked for them. I will agree, in the short term these things may help. A child will tend to be more focused if there is the fear of having to do something they do not enjoy as the result of a mistake. However, I will argue no actual skill training is taking place so they may be more focused, but their skill is in fact not improving.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to understand the developmental stage your athlete is in. Motor skill development is critical to the success of any athlete and they are improved by repeating the same motion over and over. If they are repeating the same mistake, reinforce the actual action used to correct and ultimately prevent the mistake from happening. Every child develops at their own rate which is why some children can hop on one foot at age 3 and others cannot. Some athletes are going to need "the basics" a little longer than others who seem to master the skill set a little quicker.

If you are a fear driven coach, then understand threatening physical conditioning is possibly creating the short term result you want, but will likely create more problems down the road. Fear, in any form, can lead many athletes to experience mental blocks or have anxiety associated with sport. Sports psychologists spend years with some athletes working to overcome these issues. A skill they have been great at since little league can become impossible for them to perform. Athletes tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves to perform well. In many instances, parents have high expectations also. Add the pressure of not wanting to disappoint anyone (parents, coaches, themselves) and you end up with kids on anti depressants and anti anxiety medications.

It is easy to understand. Many of us are doing what we were taught when we were kids. If we were successful then we believe what our coaches did worked, and why wouldn't we think that? Only the strong survive right? That is more of an old school philosophy. According to The Aspen Institute found that kids on average quit playing sports by age 11. Why? It is not fun anymore. Sports have become more about winning and less about actually enjoying the sport. Forbes states, "Rather than being inclusive, many coaches and competitive sports leagues are weeding out kids at early ages or not dedicating enough time or effort towards kids who don't clearly show the potential of being stars. Thus, kids have to suffer feeling rejected and unwanted early in their lives at a time when they are most impressionable." Being on the "premier" team or maintaining that "premier" status has become important to kids, parents, and coaches alike. It is okay if your kid is not on the "A" team. If they love the sport, allow them to play, build relationships, learn life skills, and have fun. Being on the "B" team is not a direct reflection of you and your parenting skills. Some kids are star football players and others are science geniuses, but everyone can learn lessons from both domains.

Do I support physical conditioning at all? You bet!!! Conditioning is an extremely important piece of the well rounded athlete. Conditioning, when done correctly, can help prevent injury while providing the body with the attributes needed to play. It provides endurance, speed, balance, flexibility, and overall healthy body composition. Some conditioning exercises are skill specific and some are more for general overall health. Conditioning can be fun, but not always. Some exercises are hard and push us to our physical limits. It is okay to push your athletes, but there have to be boundaries. One of the issues with using conditioning as punishment is you are teaching the brain it is best to avoid doing the activity. We want our kids to enjoy exercise so they grow into healthy and active adults.

If you choose to use physical conditioning as a form of punishment, at least try to make the exercise fit the "crime." If you need your lineman to stay low and not stand straight up, make the exercise squats or something that uses the same muscle group he needs to accomplish the goal. Make the most of your practice by using your time to teach the mechanics. When a whole group is making the same mistake, it is a red flag that they aren't getting the concept and you need to take it back a step or break it down. Remember, athletes rarely make a mistake on purpose. They are often hard enough on themselves and there is no need to add to their frustration. I made mistakes as a young coach, learn from them. You never know what your athletes will remember about practice when they are adults. One of my hopes is my athletes don't hate chin ups nearly as much as I do.