Next week I will be presenting a poster presention at IHRSA that I recently completed.  The is the first time I have had the opportunity to actually complete one and the experience and process has been fantastic!  (Next week I will upload the poster presentation to the site.)  I was trying to find the best way to train a pro baseball player with a former knee injury in a non-impact environment but at extremely high intensities that would prepare him for his upcoming 2009 season.  The results were fantastic and it lookes like we accomplished our goal now that Spring Training is underway.

In the last few weeks I have come across some various articles on popular training sites where the author(s) try and prove their point based on a specific research study they claimed to have read.  Doing my due dilligence and actually reviewing the research papers myself, I have easily come to the conclusion that the majority of these coaches in fact do not thoroughly read the study they are actually referring to! 

Instead, they find the one or two sentences that support their claim in order to prove their point.  This is the exact same thing as what is done in Christianity!  Many modern day evangelists will go and use a single verse from the Bible (know as text proofing) in order to prove their point.  HOWEVER, if you were to actually go back and read the story and understand what was going on at the time of that story, you would easily see that the specific verse actually has little to do with the point the pastor is trying to make!

So what does this mean for you as a coach?

DON'T TAKE EVERYTHING YOU READ (EVEN ON PAID MEMBERSHIP SITES) AT FACE VALUE!!

It seems to me that coaches are asking less and less questions in their training process and just want to know the HOW-To.  The result?  Many of the studies coming out in Journals are trying to prove a point or method, instead of asking thought provoking questions that fuel practical research for coaches and trainers!

What questions are you asking in your own training program that might foster great research?  Email me and let me know  your BIG QUESTION!