Jools Murray is an accredited Strength & Conditioning coach from Canada and has worked with some of the World’s best athletes in the UK and her home country. Currently working at the University of Toronto, (Canada) with a number of sport, Jools previously worked with the English Institute of Sport whilst studying for her Masters in S&C, as well as coaching the U23 GB Ultimate Frisbee Team. To find out more about Jools and to read our interview from June 2015 CLICK HERE
This is something I come back to time and time again. Not just within a session, or for a specific lift, but also when looking ahead to an entire season or cycle. Once things get moving it can be very difficult to change the flow. This is something that immediately comes to my mind when I am becoming frustrated with athlete behaviour within my sessions, or interaction outside a session. I have to remind myself, it isn’t their fault!
Too many times I have not set aside the time needed at the start of a session, or season, to set the tone and the expectations. The knock on effect from this is so big, I always end up wishing I had set aside some time to ensure clarity. This becomes especially poignant when I find my session not running the way I wanted, having to continually explain the same thing to each individual, and totally losing the overall impact which would have been there if we had been on the same page to start.
My advice is to plan in some time at the start of a new block, at the start of the session, at the start of the season, and clearly state not just the expectations but also anything else which will support your desired outcome. Even if it means your session is a bit shorter, the overall impact will be a higher quality and things going in the direction you want them to go to support your next set of aims.
