Coaching--An Art Or A Science?

By Wilf Parish, M.B.E., UK

British veteran coach Wilf Paish weighs in on what younger coaches need to do to prepare themselves in the scientific aspects of the sport.

    An article in the most recent edition of Track Coach [#190], easily the best periodical of its kind in the English speaking world, carries an article on "Athletic Power Develop­ment." In the opening paragraph of the article the author states, "It has been said that the coaching of track & field is both a science and an art. How much of your coaching style is based on the art of coaching ?"
The article is excellent and prompted me to question the meaning of "science" and" art" in respect of coaching our sport, while at the same time trying to answer the poser "how much of our coaching should be based on the" art" or the "science."
    As far as I am concerned the sport of track & field encompasses three areas of scientific appreciation. The science of PHYSIOLOGY to underpin the significance of the "5" factors, the science of BIOMECHANICS (The laws of physics applied to human movement) and pedagogy---the PSYCHOLOGICAL aspects of coaching. At various
stages of my coaching career I have favored one or more of the itemized sciences. When deeply involved with coach education I have relied more upon the science of training and upon the science related to skill-mainly because it is almost impossible to verbally express what is involved with the interaction of individuals, as in coaching. It is something that is intensely related to the interaction of personalities, in other words, individual coach­ing styles. When at the throwing or jumping areas, working directly with elite athletes, I tend to rely upon the precise science of experience---an experience gained through working with literally hundreds of elite athletes. In this article it is my aim to put into layman's English my understanding of both the science and the art of coaching.
    In coach education I try to introduce the scientific principles underpinning the "5" factors:
    SPEED---sprinting. Here the coach must appreciate that one has to deal with specially gifted people, those who have the right combination of fast energy release muscles together with the appropriate innervation for high speed activity. One can examine efficient styles, the interaction of long power­promoting levers, the shorter speed­promoting levers of recovery, and the understanding of "impulse" ( the product of force and time). In this case, however, I feel there is more to be gained from a study of how the muscles are provided with energy and how they can create a greater impulse through POWER. Here the coach must come to grips with the physical terms of WORK, FORCE and ENERGY. Thus a study of a simple text on physics should prove essential and very rewarding.
    In terms of physiology, the sprinter (speed power athlete) derives energy from the alactic system. A system that can provide energy for about 15 seconds of high speed activity. The energy is stored in the muscles where firstly a high energy bond, A.T.P., is degraded by removing a phosphate forming A.D.P. to provide about five seconds of activity. The cycle is extended to last for a maximum of a further ten seconds by adding a phosphate, from creatin phosphate also stored in the muscles. It then takes precisely four mins for this cycle to be replenished. Thus the sprinter must do a series of sprints that lasts between five and 15 seconds, permitting a 4-minute recovery between each repetition. The 400m sprinter will rely upon glycolysis to provide the remaining 30 seconds of high activity. With this type of activity, lactic acid is produced, which is returned to an energy-providing substance through the activity of enzymes in the liver. Here I recommend the reading of a simple text on physiology.
    Of course there are other scientific principles involved, but I am trying to get it all back to basics with a purpose.
    STRENGTH. Here the beginning coach must appreciate the relationship between strength endurance and power and the specificity of each. Sadly, in this modern era, many athletes rely upon strength and conditioning coaches, who might not appreciate the specificity aspect. The strength required by the pole vaulter is vastly different from that required in the high jump, say.
    Now, to return to the science underpinning strength. To gain strength one must exercise at a sufficient intensity to physically break down the muscle protein, which stimulates an intricate hormonal response---the response which the cheats of our sport try to improve by using growth hormone or anabolic androgens. Where a coach is uncertain, then the use of a strength training coach should be employed without totally removing the responsibility of strength promotion from the event coach. This way specificity is maintained. The secret in developing strength is that one must work hard enough to promote the hormonal response.
    STAMINA. Here one is really placing a finger into a hornet's nest, since it is all-encompassing. Specificity again is the key word. The stamina required of the 800m runner is vastly different to that required of the marathoner. At the lower end of the continuum one is deeply involved with the anaerobic production of energy (reference already made in the sprints section) to the aerobic production of energy as the distances increase. In all of the endurance events one must appreciate the efficiency of the heart and lungs, which is always well described in almost any textbook of physiology. In this group of events I find myself having to rely more upon the appreciation of the psychological than the physiological. Of course one needs to know the physiology while preparing sched­ules, but at trackside it requires convincing the athlete that "You are not tired---you only think you are !"
    SUPPLENESS---flexibility. Here the secret is not to lose the flexibility of youth. Sadly, only ballet dancers take heed of this, hence the athlete has to resort to all manner of active and passive stretching exercises, many of which have little effect. To appreciate the physiology involved one has to understand the dynamics of a joint, the type of joint (hinge, ball & socket, etc.) the muscles, tendons and ligaments involved, and in particular the presence of tendon golgi organs and the feedback they provide though the nervous system.
    I have written several books devoted to the sciences in sport. Here my aim has been to provide a stimulus for the keen and aware coach to undertake some back­ground reading, with a purpose, enabling him to make a more significant contribution to our sport. I am very aware that I have omitted SKILL. As far as I am concerned it is the most significant area of study for the coach. While I have intimated some of the study areas under SUPPLENESS, the physiology and biomechanics involved is the theme of a second article.
    I would like to conclude with a sentence from the same article in Track Coach "A coach of a gifted athlete will need to be totally incompetent for this athlete to be unsuccessful in athletics." Thus, make sure Nature is on your side!

Longtime contributor Wilf Parish died January 29, age 77, after a long illness.

FROM: TRACK COACH 191