Impressions....from Master Strength Coach Raychelle Ellsworth

1^st impressions……..making LASTING impressions

As I enter my 19^th year of coaching, I find myself STILL excited about another Fall semester rolling around and the challenges it will present.  Looking back I have to smile to think how far I have come both professionally and personally and what a journey it has been.  Recently I was asked to share some thoughts about women in our field.  What I’m going to talk about is basically 2 things that I think are vital in our profession….making good 1^st impressions and making lasting impressions.

I think that when we chose to get into this profession we also signed ourselves up for being role models to athletes (both our own athletes, and other athletes at our school).  I think we have an obligation to model what we expect our athletes to be….strong, powerful and fit.  When I 1^st starting coaching, I coached football as well as my teams.  Football was a great motivation to me to truly gain the respect of those athletes.  They were “respectful” of me because I was a coach, but I think most of them thought they knew more about lifting than I did and therefore didn’t really respect my coaching ability.  As silly as it sounds my thought process to fix this was “I am going to getting bigger and stronger so they are confident in my ability to give a solid lift out or a spot”.  The harder I worked out, the more muscle I built, the “smarter” I became in their eyes.  Soon they were asking me for technical advice on lifts or asking me about supplements.  They were no longer viewing me as a female, but simply as a coach who loved the iron and who was bringing it day in and day out…the same that I was asking of them.   All I am trying to illustrate is that your physical stature can impact how your athletes view you.  Take a long look in the mirror and honestly answer the question “if I was an athlete, would I trust this person to lead me down the path of greatness?” 

The other thing I want to touch on is making lasting impressions with your athletes.  I am a “tough love” kind of coach.  I want things done a certain way, if they aren’t, then we keep doing it til it is right.  If an athlete or a team messes up, we deal with it immediately and sometimes harshly, but then it is forgiven and we move on.  I hold my athletes accountable for working hard, having a good attitude, being respectful of all coaches and each other regardless of the whether they like the workout or not, what kind of day they have had, etc.  I am also their number one fan…..no one is more excited when they hit a PR in the weight room or do something spectacular on the field/court or even if it’s just getting some well-earned playing time.  I treat all my athletes the same, whether they are a returning all-american or a walk-on that is a practice player.  There have been times that I have jumped on kids and in hind sight maybe it was either too harsh or unwarranted…..and I have always brought them into my office and looked them in the eye and apologized.  I follow that up by also apologizing to the team and let them know that I messed up and “owned” it publically.  Bottom line, if you have structure and discipline along with respect and enthusiasm for your athletes, I think you are setting them up a great college experience….and I guarantee that when they look back, YOU will have made a lasting impression.

Unrelenting……ray

Letter from Master Strength Coach Teena Murray

They say we don’t start thinking about giving back until we’re in our 50’s and on the downhill side of the slope.  Well, I’m not 50, and I’d like to think I’m still climbing, but I have started to think more about giving back.  Specifically, I’ve been thinking about ways I can give back and provide support to the young(er) female professionals in our industry.   I hate to admit it, but it is still a man’s world, and collegiate athletics (strength and conditioning in particular) is no exception.  Our numbers have grown (at last check there were about 125 of us in Division I ranks – 38% of full-time positions) but the quality of the positions we fill and related salaries are unimpressive.  In addition, opportunities for advancement are often very limited.   So what are good women (passionate about the field) to do?  For starters, I think we need to come together in our vision, agenda, and support for one another.   I recently visited Seneca Falls, NY – site of the First Women’s Rights Convention, out of which came equal rights legislation granting women the right to vote- and it gave me an appreciation for the power of a unified front and voice.  The ability to impact change is certainly greater when we are unified and speaking the same language.  Perhaps sharing our stories and struggles and creative ideas with each other (over email and phone calls and visits with people in your area, and this blog) can help us?  Perhaps it can even lead to similar great (and overdue) outcomes?     If I can offer any immediate advice, it is that we begin to act more like our male counterparts in ‘taking care of each other.’  For whatever reason, males do this instinctively.   We are all too familiar with the ‘good old boys’ mentality.  Well, let’s work on a establishing a ‘good old girls’ mentality.  Let’s promote each other, support each other, challenge and stretch each other.  Whether we agree or disagree with each others’ training philosophy and periodization strategies let’s do more to make each other better, and help each other be successful.  After all, we are in this together!   As with our female athletes, the greatest barrier we often face is our own lack of confidence.   Too often this is the reason we fail to take risks and/or push for what we deserve.  We work longer and harder, and take on more projects and responsibilities for no change in compensation.  Meanwhile, we are often as educated, knowledgeable and experienced (or more) as the males who are aggressively promoting themselves- and pursuing and obtaining.     OK, so here is my challenge to all of us women in strength- contact, visit, call, or email one female strength coach every month (for a total of 10-12) this school year.  Get to know each other.  Share ideas.  Share your challenges and frustrations.  Offer support.  Nudge each other to get uncomfortable!  By the end of the year (at CSCCa in May) let’s see if we can’t create a forum for discussing and sharing our experiences and brainstorming ideas for future success. You in?

Talking about Stress

Whether we admit it or not, we are all stressed.  It could be from mental fatigue, physical exertion, or emotional drama.  Whatever the reason, stress has an affect on the body, on the mind, and on the heart.  In some cases, stress can save our life, get us back on the right path, or even prepare us to be successful in life's crazy events.  However, stress can also be dangerous.  With too much stress, we can expose ourselves to the negative effects of anxiety - high blood pressure, restless sleep patterns, depression, irritability, etc.  Therefore, overexposure to stress will ultimately lead to sickness, disease, and an overall lower quality of daily life.  So, let me pose this question - how stressed are you?

As strength and conditioning coaches, we all deal with certain levels of stress.  Long hours, hectic travel schedules, losing seasons, winning seasons, spoiled athletes, pleasing our coaches, work/life balance, does any of this sound familiar?  For many of you, I am sure it hits close to home.  We are supposed to be "strong" coaches, the epitome of mental toughness, the ones who never show weakness, however we all have our own issues.  How we handle those "issues" or that stress, is how we are going to be successful as coaches as well as better leaders for our athletes and peers.

Through the previous introduction, you can hopefully foreshadow that this blog has to do with stress and the cumulative affects it has on the body and mind.  Currently, the four contributors of this blog are reading "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers" by Robert Zapolsky.  Each week we have agreed to read one chapter and then share and discuss our thoughts and findings.  Through this blog and through our reading, we will propose strategies to help balance the stress in our daily lives.  Also, we want to challenge other coaches to read along with us, comment on the blog, and provoke discussions that will benefit all of us in the strength and conditioning community.

Within chapter one, Zapolsky provided an insightful overview of the stress-response and how it affects our body - on an acute level and on a long term level.  In the following section, I will discuss the highlights of chapter one, and pose a few questions to brainstorm over and discuss. 

- Our knowledge of the body and its physiological components as well as our advances in medicine have given way to an entire new array of potential harmful diseases: stress-related illnesses.  Rather than worry about malaria, tuberculosis, etc.; we now worry about anxiety, depression, and psychological disorders.

- Certain types of stress promote a response: acute physical crisis (think - zebra getting chased by a lion), chronic physical challenges (think - a plague of locusts descending on crops), and psychological/social disruptions (think - the frustration of an athlete being late to workouts).

- When we worry or stress, we turn on the same response a zebra does when being chased by a lion.  Do this chronically, and we are setting ourselves up for a potential psychological and physical disaster.

- Homeostasis vs. Allostasis: there is no one ultimate and perfect level that one can reach because what is ideal in basal conditions, will not be ideal in stressful conditions.  Instead, allostasis looks to make body-wide changes in anticipation of an event rather than change one component.

-  A stressor is anything that knocks you out of allostatic balance or the ANTICIPATION of knocking you out of that same balance.

- Hallmarks of the stress-response include: increased heart rate, high blood pressure, increased breathing rate and rapid mobilization of energy in preparation of the upcoming event.  In addition, inhibited digestion, curtailment of growth and tissue repair, lowered immune system, decrease in overall sex drive, and blunted pain perception represent stress-response trademarks as well.

- Fight or Flight - all of these previous symbols of stress help you "fight" if called upon, but in reality - the stress-response becomes more damaging than the stressor itself.

Questions:

1. What things in your life qualify as stressors?
2. Do you find yourself anticipating stress more than actually being stressed?
3. How often do you succumb to the stress response?
4. What are ways in which you combat the stress response (i.e. hobbies, travel, etc.)
5. What is your definition of allostasis?

I hope this review as well the questions posed above promote some interesting discussion, and in turn help us all become more pro-active in how we handle stress - perhaps not avoiding it altogether, but understanding its role on our physiological and psychological state and finding ways to combat its negative affects.

Helping to prevent ulcers - one coach at a time,

Callye

7 More Highly Effective Leadership Styles

In one of my previous posts, I outlined the first six leadership styles outlined in Inc. Magazine's, " 13 Ways of Looking at a Leader."  This latest post will highlight the remaining seven characteristics, thus wrapping up this two part series on effective leadership qualities as defined by Inc.  In my opinion, the last seven qualities resonated more with specific attributes found in highly influential and successful coaches and military leaders.  Characteristics such as servitude, honor, and story-telling were all outlined in the last seven traits.  Each of these qualities, as well as others that I will soon define not only make for a highly effective leader, but constitute a person who leaves a lasting impression on those they work and serve with, as well as epitomize someone who others hope to emulate.

• Narcissistic - great visionary with the ability to attract followers.  These leaders can set their sights on a vision and have the capability of inspiring others to work hard and move towards their goal.

•  No excuse - a leader with endless vision and sources of life lessons and metaphors.  You have a great deal of mental toughness and inspire others through accountability and swift, yet sound decision-making skills.  

•  Resonant - hopeful, enthusiastic and infectious.  This type of leader has the ability to inspire others by stimulating a positive, emotional response. 

•  Servant - serve first, lead second.  You desire to serve others first, and then chose to lead so as to serve better.  This quality actually epitomizes the strengths of a highly effective military leader and complements the aforementioned styles.

•  Storytelling - leaders must tell stories: about themselves, about their companies, about what employees do now, and about what they will do in the future.  Stories paint a real picture that people can feel, touch, see and taste - emotions and feelings typically have more resounding effects than facts, figures and data.

•  Strengths based - Strengths-based leaders identify and invest in their own—and their individual employees'—talents. Are you an excellent executor, an incomparable person of influence, or a superb strategic thinker? Pick one and run with it.

•  Tribal - The leader's job is to understand those tribes' shared values and beliefs and unite them under a common culture.  Without a common vision or mission, tribes could just as easily make war rather than peace.

Whether you are a authentic leader, a mindful motivator, or a strengths-based servant, we are all in positions of leadership.  In order to know ourselves better and motivate our athletes more strategically, we must be able to define our strengths and outline our weaknesses.  Then and only then can we work towards creating a more competitive, focused, results-based, and enjoyable training environment.  Hopefully, you were able to identify certain attributes that you already possess as well as new characteristics that you might want to develop.  Regardless of what information you took away, there is no right or wrong way to lead.  We are all leaders, but we can always work at being more affective and improving our own skill set.   

Happy Leading,
Callye

Day One with the Interns

In a calendar year, we go through 3 sets of interns; Fall, Spring and Summer internships.  We will accept 3 interns per time frame.  As a strength and conditioning staff, we utilize 3 different weight rooms.  We have chosen to accept only 3 interns per time frame in order to keep one intern in each training facility. She/he will get plenty of exposure to all of our student-athletes as well as our staff members.  The interns will be assigned to one weight room for a two week period before being re-assigned to the next facility.

An internship program can either be a great addition or a huge inconvenience to your staff.  I believe your first day/week will play an intricate role in how the rest of the semester will develop.

First things first… We have a meeting to set the tone of the internship.  This meeting normally takes about 45 minutes.  The interns are each given a binder containing a syllabus, ground rules, expectations, daily & weekly “to do list”, their performance evaluation, campus map, suggested training websites, local points of interest and a blank note notepad.  Of those handouts, I feel that our ground rules are the most important.  The ground rules are to help the interns understand what is and is not acceptable behavior.  What is common knowledge for us may seem like a foreign concept to others…particularly the younger ones. 

I know many people many think I’m babying the interns for putting this together for them.  However, a great leader (professor) did this for me while I was in grad school and I found it very helpful.  I believe that, by starting them off in an organized manner it will increase their chances for success throughout their time with us.  If nothing else, I’m “paying it forward” from the Doc that set me off on the right foot many years ago.

The blank notepad is to be used for any notes that need to be taken about information they’ve been given.  On the first day of every week they are also to create their own short and long term goals and record them in their notepad.  This is helpful to get them thinking about what they want to do as opposed to what we want them to do.  Finally and most importantly, the interns are required to use that notepad to journal/reflect multiple times throughout the week. I ask them to keep a constant journal to help with comprehension of “classroom” topics as well as training/coaching situations. The metacognition (thinking about what you think) and ability to see ones’ thought process will reveal great insight to personal tendencies. Being able to understand how one best works will help to make decisions on how to put oneself in a place to succeed.  For example, through journaling you can easily see what things come easily to you (strengths), what things you struggle with (weaknesses), how you reacted to certain situations and how productive the outcomes were or were not.  From then on, when issues come up in the future you are more prepared to make actions or decisions that will create the most favorable outcome.  Again, I know it seems a bit childish to keep a journal.  However, I believe it’s one of your strongest tools to learn about yourself and accelerate your own progress on whatever it is you want to get better at.

The 3 interns we have this summer seem to be off to a good start.  I have the feeling that they’ve already developed a healthy competition between themselves to earn the title of being our best intern.  (It was stated by one of them as a long term goal.)   I’ll post updates about the trials and tribulations of the Summer 2012 Notre Dame intern class.  I welcome any comments or suggestions to help further develop our program.

Link up

I read a John Maxwell daily devotional titled "365 Days of Insight to Develop the Leader Within You and Influence Those Around You."  This is just how I choose to focus myself before whatever that day my hold, I highly recommend you do something similar for yourself.  Making time for yourself before the organized chaos we often step into can help you to remember "big picture" and not get caught up in emotional moments.  What I mean by emotional moments would be; the coaches that may constantly question your programs or change schedules, having things come up during your own training time, getting rejected for a job you thought you would get, having an athlete get injured, not agreeing with sports medicine, or just having "one of those days." 

A few months ago one of the days has continued to echo in my mind, so I want to share one of the points with you. 

"Link up with Others"

"If you do everything alone and never partner with other people, you create a huge barrier to your own potential.  It takes a team to do anything of lasting value, as you face challenges, think about who you can enlist to come along side you." - John Maxwell

My point in all of this is to continue to motivate you all as females, as strength coaches, to push on...strive for more...dig your heels in and keep your head up.  I have had a few of you talk to me about the struggle of being the only female in your strength and conditioning department.  I challenge you solo females to reach out to the next closest school with a female and create a connection that develops to a relationship. with that female strength coach.  Make plans to train together one weekend a month, share training ideas once a week, and then add another to your team.  Link up, learn, and motivate each other.  If you do this over the next few weeks write a comment on who, what, when, and how it is going. 

What Type of Leader Are You?

In a recent trip to get my oil and filter changed, I stumbled upon a very interesting article in Inc. Magazine.  The title, "13 Ways of Looking at a Leader," really made me begin to examine my leadership styles and characteristics.  Not only did it make me embark on a self-examination session right in the middle of the auto shop, but I began to think about other coaches, teachers, and management professionals who have influenced and affected my coaching style and abilities.  Before I get started, realize that if you are reading this blog post, you most likely are in a position of leadership.  I imagine that you are a female strength and conditioning coach such as myself, and whether you want to admit it or not, you are in a position of leadership.  You and I have the amazing and gratifying ability to influence young people, to expose them to certain types of leadership characteristics and situations through strength training, off-seaon conditioning and mental toughness exercises.  Because we are in this position as coaches, we have a responsibility to maximize our development as leaders so we can serve as positive mentors and effective role models to our student athletes.  By taking advantage of opportunities to become better leaders and harnessing those leadership skills, we can show our athletes through practical application what it means to motivate our peers, set positive examples, and influence others to succeed. 

The following post will look at those 6 out of the 13 Leadership Characteristics as mentioned in the title, and I challenge you to take a moment and really examine your coaching style.  Look at your strengths.  Investigate your areas of improvement.  Do you fit any of these traits or do you fit outside the box?  Either way, by knowing more of who you are and understanding how you lead others, you can best equip yourself moving forward to become a better leader. 

• Adaptive Leaders - rise above, adapt, help.  You always surge above the noise and distractions, make adjustments and then assist others in tackling issues and problems without sacrificing trust or values.

• Emotionally Intelligent Leaders - awareness and influence.  You are very aware of others, their communication styles, and emotional states; therefore you are highly influential.

• Charismatic - character.  You are a rare breed and often seen as heroic and highly motivational.  Being a charismatic leader is tough to teach because your leadership style is derived from your own personality and make up.

• Authentic - consistent and disciplined.  Your integrity and character give you the opportunity to have longevity as a leader.

• Level 5 - gives credit, takes the blame, and is selfless.  You are very driven, pursue goals with passion and put others and your cause above your own success.

• Mindful - notice, analyze and listen.  You do not assume or accept things as they are because that is the way they have always been. Instead you question and pay close attention to what is happening around you.

I hope that through this post, you were able to identify certain characteristics that make you a great leader.  Perhaps you also discovered other traits that could help you in your quest to improve your leadership skills.  Or even still, identified qualities that your student athletes possess and began to think about how you can help them use their strengths to become better leaders. In the next installment, I will identify the other 7 leadership styles. 

Lead on,

Callye