During my recent trip to AltisWorld I was invited to present to the coaches and practitioners attending the 5-day coaching clinic known as the Apprentice Coach Programme. My chosen topic was the interaction and relationship between the physical preparation undertaken with athletes (in this case track and field) and their technical development. The message I sought to convey was that the elements of physical and technical are so inter-related and dependent upon each other as to be inseparable; this brought to mind the notion of Yin and Yang.
Broadly, the concept of Yin and Yang describes the relationship between opposing forces that complement and define each other - for instance, light and dark, fire and water. Moreover the symbol associated with Yin and Yang captures how I view physical preparation in relation to technical development. Essentially physical preparation for sport has no meaning in isolation and so must be viewed in the context of the technical elements that allow the athlete to perform in their chosen sport. The elements of physical and technical therefore readily lend themselves to the inter-relationship that is defined by Yin and Yang.
So was born the working title 'The Yin and Yang of Physical and Technical Preparation'. The full slideshow of the presentation is provided below...: