Coach's Corner
Tips from Leo Totten

Lessons from Nagano - a Weightlifting Perspective
12.1999

The latest issue of Olympic Coach (a publication of the USOC) has a great picture of Lea Foreman on the cover coming up with a heavy clean. It is great that a weightlifter graces the cover of such a publication! Anyway, in that issue is an article that I thought was very interesting from a coach's standpoint as well as the athletes. The article, "Lessons from Nagano", examined the factors that were perceived to positively and/or negatively affect the performance of U.S. Olympic athletes and coaches prior to and during the 1998 Nagano Olympic Winter Games. Now I know that weightlifting is not a winter sport, but the principles studied here are very applicable to our sport.

Various factors were identified as being critical considerations in preparation such as self and teammate confidence, equipment concerns, travel, media, team factors, coaching, family and friends, etc. From the studying of these factors, some conclusions could be drawn. I will not go over all of them, but try to limit the discussion to the most applicable to our sport.

Coach actions perceived by athletes to enhance performance:

• provide mental preparation and sport psychology training
• provide support and confidence
• facilitate physical conditioning and provide good technical training
• appear calm and relaxed when coaching
• allow all athletes to have time alone
• prepare and protect athletes from distractions
• treat the Olympics like any other event by preparing the same way
• facilitate good communication and ways to convey information effectively
• initiate team building sessions that contribute to team chemistry

On the other hand, what are some of the what are some of the coaches' actions perceived by the athletes to hurt performance?

• poor communication and failing to provide essential information
• making poor personnel and selection decisions
• demonstrating a lack of support and encouragement
• poor planning
• training errors, not providing enough tactical advice and changing strategy
• demonstrating a lack of enthusiasm and effort
• unfair treatment of athletes
• exhibiting negative attitude

How can you use this information to make yourself a better athlete? Hopefully, you and the coach are doing many of these "positive" things now. In order to succeed, the athlete and coach must realistically look at what they are doing or not doing and make adjustments to improve performance. Successful coaches at any level must keep these factors in mind when setting up training for top performance. They must integrate and implement these positive factors into a coherent program that simplifies the athlete's life and helps them perform at their best.

So whether you are preparing for the Olympics, the Worlds, the Nationals, or the American Open, cover all bases for the optimal performance!