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Robert Keller
IPF Cat I Referee
Member, IPF Tech.Comm.
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"Forming and Maintaining a Winning Powerlifitng Team:
The 12 necessary steps to success."
In developing, building, and maintaining successful powerlifting team, there are numerous factors that are essential in this creating this preferred process and outcome. Research in the field of successful coaching as well as organizational development indicate there are some key and core components in forming and maintaining a successful and winning team and organization.
I shall discuss and explore these core components that coaches can apply in preparing their high school, university, or for that matter, your local health club powerlifting team for success. The basic principles that I will discuss in this article can be applied to all settings, whether you're the coach of a powerlifting team of weekend warriors training for the annual bench press contest, held at your health club, or directing the USA National team at the IPF World Powerlifitng Championships. Overall, the principles are the same. So, what are some of these concepts?
In the first of a series of twelve articles, I shall explore the concept of [creating and spreading an image and vision of success], which in my opinion, is the foundation in the development of a highly successful and winning team.
Individuals taking on the responsibility of either organizing, coaching or for that matter training a team, comes to a group of athletes with clear goal[s] in mind - most often times; however; these goals are not the same, initially, as the athletes that he/she will be coaching. So, where does one begin, if the coach is inheriting a team that has accepted, or for that matter internalized the "not good enough" and losing syndrome?
As a coach, the first step is to lay out a clear vision and picture of what the team is going to be, act, look like, and accomplish based on goals that you, or the administration that has selected you may decide and aim to achieve. These goals may vary from winning the state high school title against your cross town rival that has beaten your school for the past 10 years, or lifting against a perennial international powerlifting team, where their lifters perform on the platform sometimes with unearthly ability. A coach placed in this position will need to determine, initially, the necessary [visual key] to unlock the abilities of their athletes. Consequently, there are a multitude of visions, and thus; it will be essential for the coach to evaluate and determine what the [visional keys] shall be, based on the current situation and past history of the team. Some examples of visions that you can apply are as follows:
Transformational Vision
The coach, as an "initiator of change", more times than not, surrounds himself with hand-picked and loyal assistants that adopt a [transformational] vision and mental picture of success with the same intensity and vigor as the head coach. Once goals have been established by your staff and agreed upon, the transformational picture and images of these outlined objectives, may take the form of rebuilding, renewal, reconstruction, and/or rejuvenation. Goals normally are broken down into both short and long term steps and objectives. Moreover, the goals should match the constructed vision of the team. There is no one template that fits all team. A coach must create and mold the vision to the personnel and their respective skill level. Therefore, you will find as a coach, this vision, constantly shifting, manifesting, and changing from practice to practice, championship to championship and with each lifter that you will coach. If this is the case, the visions that you instill in your team may initially be to complete all of their attempts in their first championship to build confidence on the platform, prior to taking lifters to a larger level regional or state championship with experienced competitors. In some cases the vision that you have constructed may overwhelm your team, for that reason, moderate, rationale, reasonable, and balanced goals are key. Before stepping onto the platform, athletes must be mentally prepared to accept and cope with the challenges placed on them as a developing team. As a coach, some examples of these transformational images and overall mental picture include your athletes winning medals, receiving the championship team trophy, making all of their attempts, setting records, etc. are acceptable goals. Important and key is that these images are set [parallel] to the goals in mind for the particular championship - In essence, they should be one. And, again, applied to fit the athlete and team's ability in each competition they attend.
Hopeful Vision
These visions express [confidence and the expectations] the goals that you have set for the team. They should be easily obtainable at first, before pursuing the larger more difficult tasks and steps ahead. These visions are transferred by the coach, through skilled demonstrations and striking activity, to capture the attention of the athletes. These striking performances are conveyed through skillful communication geared specifically to capture minds and hearts of your team. Communication can take the form of articulated verbal instructions or commands, movies, pictures, so as to motivate and charge and spark your team members to capture the moment and elevate performance levels.
Achievements and demonstrations of commitment to the team, by each lifter, should be commended, for positive reinforcement, to acknowledge the success of both the individual and team performance. Moreover, a coach should also acknowledge the failures, so as to capture the attention of the athletes to rally and mobilize them towards corrective action. In this case, timing is key and the coach should capitalize on the moment to propel his team. The communication and acknowledgement of both the successes and failures indicate that you are emotionally involved and attached, as well as experience both success and failure with each lifter, with facilitates overall team unity.
Compelling Vision
Compelling visions motivate and inspire their athletes to focus and captures a specific task at hand at a particular point in time. This may come in the form of a crucial lift to be performed and made that shall not only win a medal for the athlete, but a team championship. Often times coaches have to be quite innovative and find new and engaging methods to motivate each lifter and the team overall to success. Diverse and multiple attempts are normally used to engage the athlete and team overall. Spreading a compelling vision of sometimes is challenging and will take time to build, until the correct triggering mechanisms and spark is discovered to propel your lifters to excel to their physical and mental limits. I have been witness to many of these situations, and have used many different mechanisms to trigger particular athlete's inner abilities to exceed their potential. Often times, I have found that specific words, phrases, or for the at matter mental images placed into the mind of the lifter triggered the necessary capabilities exceed their potential. Overall, these three visions create bonds of mutual respect an acceptance, and should be practiced each time you coach your team and athletes for overall success.
"Pulling" the Vision Together: An Image of Success
One coach that comes to mind that instilled these principles is Mr. Jeffrey C. Hill, who coached the Glen Mills High School Powerlifitng Team for well over 20 years, before retiring three years ago. Jeff and his staff of coaches were winners both in and out of the weight room. They are not only successful coaches, but also marvelous teachers, fathers, husbands and most of all mentors to their students, who have been sent to this school for committing misdemeanor offenses in their communities. When I would pay Jeff and his staff a visit down in their gym in the basement of their field house, as soon as I entered the room, I could sense and visualize this picture of transformational success in reshaping these young men's lives. How so?
Positive and constructive feedback to the athletes was being channeled during the training sessions, not only between coach and lifter, but between lifters. This positive aura and atmosphere engulfed and surrounded you when you walked into the weight room. I found lifters assisting their teammates through positive feedback with each completed set. You could see it on the faces of their athletes, and sense it in their workouts with each successive repetition. The lifters could see the mental picture and image of success. These visions were outlined in pre/post-practice meetings with their coaches.
The walls are plastered with slogans of achievement and accomplishment, from past and current teams, such as "Whatever it takes", "Together we shall overcome", which created a collective image and vision of success for the team. Additionally, pictures of former lifters that went on to play college and professional sports, hang stoically on the walls for those to admire. Also, team awards sit proudly in the multiple trophy cases that line the room. Additionally, training sessions were performed in small groups, with each lifter focused on their partner with each successful attempt with the same intensity that he would have completed it with.
As a result of this process, Glen Mills High School, to this day, has not been defeated in the State of Pennsylvania High School Powerlifitng Championships in some 20+ years; they have also won an unprecedented 20+ High School National Championship titles, more than any other in the history of high school powerlifting. They ducked no one, and would always travel to where the competition would attempt to hide. They did not fear losing, only embraced winning. Basically, winning became habit from day one, and all those who were bold enough to enter the weight room in their school lived it as well. In the end, for most, success was inescapable; it surrounded you from the time you walked into the weight room, until the time you left, when the lights went off at the end of the night. In the end, one man's individual vision was molded into a collective vision that transformed not only the physical well-being of his athletes, but their character as well. These actions in a small room, over an extended period of time; transferred to everyday academic and life skills. Most of the young men, when leaving this school are transformed by this experience, and not only go on to be successful athletes in college, but respectable and productive citizens in their communities.
Final Thoughts
In next issue of Powerlines, I shall review the concept of recruiting the right coaches, lifters, and administrators for your team. Future articles, in succession, shall include; recruiting; developing leadership; forming and maintaining a team; launching the team, planning team events and schedule; evaluating the team; staffing your team with volunteers; communication; implementing plans and objectives; tapping community resources and sponsors; building and maintaining internal healthy team relations.
In the meantime, please forward to me any comments that you have regarding some of these concepts. I welcome your feedback - rhk@verizon.net
Robert Keller
Technical Advisor, Coaching Committee
USA Powerlifting
References:
Chelladurai, Packianathan & Quatman, Catherine C. 2005. Leadership and Motivation in Sports. USOC Olympic Coach E-Magazine. Accessed at http://coaching.usolympicteam.com on 3/15/2005.
Cunningham, James K & Murphy, Patricia W. 2003.Organizing for Community Controlled Development: Renewing Civil Society. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Vealey, Robin S. Ph.D. 2005. Communicating with Athletes: Timing is Everything. USOC Olympic Coach Electronic Magazine. Accessed at http://coaching.usolympicteam.com on 3/15/2005.
Warren, William E. (1991). Coaching and Motivation: A Practical Guide to Maximum Athletic Performance. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
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