I am not a exercise physiologist. That is not to say I don't use science when discerning my training for my athletes though. I have a specialist certification from the USTFCCCA for endurance events, two personal training certifications, and worked under an exercise physiologist and physical therapist for a year and a half. Science in the crux of the training design I put together for my athletes.
But that matters little if you can't put the art behind it, or rather, in front of it. I've tried to plan training strictly on science and it never works because young athletes aren't robots and will rarely be mentally apt to doing what science says they can do day in and day out. There is also the factor that certain kids will have certain desire to participate. I have had varsity athletes decide to pick up and leave the sport because they were "bored" or for other reasons, but almost any coach will come across those issues here and there.
The key factor for a coach is to determine two philosophies they have to stick with. An artful one, and a science based one, and then reconcile them. How do you react when your kids only like to do certain types of workouts and don't give their best effort in others? They are missing something in their training from a biological standpoint if that is the case, but how do you approach the issue? There is a tough line, but you have to determine how much bend you can have between the two.
If a coach is only out to make kids happy, he will soon find that his practices are short and uneventful but may have less kids likely to quit, or perhaps more when they get bored because of lack of progression. If a coach is only out to have his own way on the team he will have just a few athletes to work with because not many kids like to work under dictators. It is important to factor both aspects into the training design you create for your athletes in order to get them to their peak levels under your guidance.
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