having read a few of the recent posts on the decline of american endurance sports, the importance of enclaves, etc, i thought i'd throw out a few ideas.
dan mentioned that he thought the success of guys like brett sutton and col stewart was due primarily to the environments they have created and not to some coaching knowledge. i would say this is only partly true. first of all, creating the appropriate training environment within the enclave is an important coaching skill. second, in any sport there are tons of coaches who have the same knowledge. however, knowing how to apply that knowledge on a consistent basis seems to be accomplished less easily than you would think. i see way too many swim coaches trying to make things more complicated than it needs to be. i also see a lot who misinterpret basic concepts. perhaps the biggest mistake is getting caught up in habits. people are creatures of habit and many coaches tend to do what they've always done or what was done with them instead of applying any kind of analytical skills to the situation.
i can point out a great enclave that's been a huge failure performance wise. for the past 5 years or so it seems that almost all of the top us short course talented has been concentrated at the otc in colorado springs. not much in the way of results there. on the other hand, the us women have been spread out in different environments that best suit their needs and they are clearly the best in the world.
so simply creating an enclave is not enough. are there benefits to such a situation? absolutely. but you must have the right coach behind it and the right mix of athletes to make it work.
brent
dan mentioned that he thought the success of guys like brett sutton and col stewart was due primarily to the environments they have created and not to some coaching knowledge. i would say this is only partly true. first of all, creating the appropriate training environment within the enclave is an important coaching skill. second, in any sport there are tons of coaches who have the same knowledge. however, knowing how to apply that knowledge on a consistent basis seems to be accomplished less easily than you would think. i see way too many swim coaches trying to make things more complicated than it needs to be. i also see a lot who misinterpret basic concepts. perhaps the biggest mistake is getting caught up in habits. people are creatures of habit and many coaches tend to do what they've always done or what was done with them instead of applying any kind of analytical skills to the situation.
i can point out a great enclave that's been a huge failure performance wise. for the past 5 years or so it seems that almost all of the top us short course talented has been concentrated at the otc in colorado springs. not much in the way of results there. on the other hand, the us women have been spread out in different environments that best suit their needs and they are clearly the best in the world.
so simply creating an enclave is not enough. are there benefits to such a situation? absolutely. but you must have the right coach behind it and the right mix of athletes to make it work.
brent