GAINIX Day #2 -- Building a Culture of Excellence

A full day at GAIN is almost impossible to describe in one post but I will give it a try. A full day at GAIN starts with what is called Morning Madness from 6:30 AM to 7:45 AM. Morning Madness is typically broken into 3 learn by doing stations. Although you are not required to do them, you can see from the attire above that most people do. This morning Bill Knowles of the Philadelphia Union (MSL Soccer Teams) led their attendees through their warm-up routine.

Vern Gambetta and Dean Benton (Athletic Development Coach from Melbourne Australia) taught sprint mechanics from the Mach Drills to Bosch.

And Joe Przytula (Elizabeth New Jersey ATC and School Administrator) taught a session on Foot/Ankle and Hamstring rehabilitation.

After breakfast the traditional lecture presentations began and Dr. Wade Gilbert -- a professor of sports psychology at San Jose St. was the main speaker of the day presenting on creating a culture of excellence in both a morning and an afternoon session.

Professor Gilbert is a a generous sharer of his research and you can view a lot of it by going to his Fresno State website Professor Wade Gilbert Faculty Profile Fesno State or go to Coach Doc Website

Following Dr. Gilbert was Randy Ballard the Associate Athletic Director for Sports Medicine at the University of Illinois. I got to know Randy about 6 or 7 years ago when Randy attended his first GAIN. Randy has quickly risen to be a faculty member at GAIN not only due to his talent as a sports medicine practitioner but also because of his evolution as a professional. Every year he speaks at GAIN he has built on his work of the last year in significant ways. His evolution and growth directly corresponds to reduction of injury rates at Illinois and making athletes more resilient.  He is a rising star in the world of collegiate sports medicine.

Randy was followed after lunch by Ed Ryan Head Trainer USA Women's Basketball who sadly I did not get pictures of. But then Steve Magness spoke on Current Concepts in Endurance Training.

Steve coaches at the University of Houston and may be one of the most prolific sharers of thoughts concepts and ideas on training I know. He has blogged for years now at Science of Running .com, has a podcast with Jon Marcus which can be found on itunes store as Magness and Marcus on Coaching and downloaded for free.

And this was all before 4:15.

After a short break we then met in the field house and had a weight room and gym session.

After dinner, Vern Gambetta presented on The concept of Foundation Training and Nick Hill (originally from England and now coaching in Chile) presented on Athlete Centered Coaching.

This was an outstanding day of learning and interacting. My eyes are struggling to stay open now. So I wish I could've written a better post but I hope you get the sense of this fascinating day.