Athletes Don't Need Boot Camp

Last week many of us had a laugh and some fun with this post from my good friend Michael Anderson, who you should all be following to have a laugh and cut through some BS. Where was I? Right, boot camping teams into the ground. Before I go further, I am not disrespecting the military, any other their instructors or the like nor have I served so I’m not writing this from that perspective. I’m writing this from a thoughtful coach’s perspective that both works with his team in the off-season and coaches them through their season. Also, let’s all agree that comparing any athletics to battle and/or serving is just plain foolish.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mike Anderson CSCS (@andersonstrengthfitness)

The problem with this idea, is the coach is trying to put on a show for the public with their team and doing so at the detriment of said team and their S&C staff. The result that some well-intended coaches may hope for, when bringing in such a person, is likely some sort of team building or team bonding.
 
There are a few ways I’d prefer my team to bond than running them into the ground and having them screamed at (neither of which makes someone tough so if you’re in that school of thought, you know where the door is).
 
Have competition of sorts within the team- When I say this, I don’t mean play another game of the sport your coaching, I mean other things, like capture the flag or dodgeball. There’s plenty of more creative things like that, use your imagination. Have a reward for the winning team something like food or maybe a day off? Use those brain cells, it’ll be more productive.
 
Problem solving activities- I’m a fan of doing this for the entire team together and then splitting it up into groups. The simplest thing that comes to mind for me is some sort of scavenger hunt, anything that makes them think through the problem together, then act. I've seen things like human knot have a good result too.
 
OK, let’s address the idea of “mental toughness” that some coaches could be after when they do this stunt, for lack of a better term. There is no amount of screaming, there is no high intensity workout that is going to prepare an athlete for the pressure situations coaches likely desire this “mental toughness” in. Mimicking it in some practice scenarios is possible, it’ll never do it justice though. The only way to get them use to it, is to get them in it, in a game, and prepare them for it the best you can otherwise.
 
In conclusion, the boot camp thing is over done and probably yields something positive maybe once out of 10000. Does that make it worth, the time, effort, pain and suffering it takes to do this? Not even a snowball's chance. There's many ways to achieve the desired results, use that cranium and watch what happens. Thanks for reading today friends, have a good one.