Categories: Training
      Date: Mar  2, 2010
     Title: A perfect rose

In our scenario the seeds are training plans. The nursery man needs to have quality seeds and a rich nurturing environment in order for these seeds to grow and produce flowers (results). The seeds must in turn soak up nutrients (training plans), and absorb water and sunlight (train) to grow.

As the rose begins to mature, the farmer must monitor it carefully. This is where it gets tricky. A rose knows that when they need water or nutrients, all they have to do is wilt their leaves a bit and nursery man / coach will water them and give some fertilizer. An athlete needs to be more vocal about his or her needs since they have no leaves to wilt.

Coaches need to be told if training isn't going as planned: athletes don't have leaves to wilt but they do have email and phones. The coach can now make adjustments to ensure that the rose will produce buds that will eventually become beautiful flowers.

The rose grower and the coach have to be very careful when handling these rose bushes / athletes as they mature. Both have thorns and can stick you when we don't handle them correctly. A nursery man uses gloves - a coach uses words and understanding.

The rose, like the athlete, wants to be a wild thing and go off on its own from time to time. A rose bush will want to spread out and take over the entire area if not kept in check by the grower’s pruning shears and twine. An athlete will decide that they want to race a half marathon a week before their A race. A coach can save an athlete from a mistake of this magnitude only if the athlete tells the coach of his/her plans. Athletes that don't communicate with their coaches about what is going on with them run the risk of injury or overtraining. The rose grower has it much easier as all he has to do is look at his rose bush to tell if they are sprawling.

The rose grower knows that when a beautiful bud is produced, the flower is soon to follow. A coach knows that when the taper starts the flower (key race) is eminent. The rose grower protects the rose from over-watering and conditions that are too hot or too cold. The taper is when the coach and athlete need to communicate. Not resting on an off-day is the equivalent of subjecting your rose bud to a deep freeze - it may come out of it but both rose and athlete will emerge bruised.

The moral of this story is that if you want to bloom in sport you must give your coach the information that they need to ensure that you grow properly and excel on race day.

Eric Doehrman, Certified ironguides Method Coach – Huntsville, Alabama

http://www.ironguides.net
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