My point was the "Never Was" ex NFL Busts that expound the virtues of "cutting edge training" when they themselves couldn't be "trained".

As I stated, Jordan Palmer either didn't listen to his trainers or couldn't be trained to be a successful NFL QB.

I've seen trained seals on balance beam catch a ball and hold it on their nose. Didn't make them great running backs!

I have no doubt that those books say what you are claiming. I was simply wondering why you have such an interest in training techniques. That's why I asked if you were a trainer or therapist. I wouldn't expect the average Joe out there to seek out books on those subjects or spend time checking out youtube videos and perusing the comments.

As I pointed out Palmer himself mentioned that he didn't have the natural talent of many of these players receiving this training. The fact is that the vast majority of great coaches were not very successful in their own sports. "Never was" ex busts can still teach others even though they didn't have the individual talent to excel themselves. They can also know what it takes to be great given the prerequisite God-given talent. I think you can agree that those seals don't have the God-given talent to play runningback in the NFL, right?

Are you talking about the video with the judo girl? It sounded to me the trainer was pointing out some of the same things that Jordan Palmer has touted that cutting edge trainers are doing for some of the QB's that he works with on technique. Palmer just joined NFL Radio as a host a couple of weeks ago. He said these trainers are working with new drills to maximize initial force and fine tune force transference. He explained that a QB gets most of his power from a throw from his legs, not his arm. The more of the initial force that can be efficiently transferred to the fingertips the stronger the throw.

I can see how someone might see that as gibberish or nonsense.

Hi,

There is no such thing as "natural talent." Unfortunately, that is a myth propagated by a lot of people and it is frustrating because it makes people think they are unable to achieve what someone else did.

Read Starting Strength and other books by Coach Rippetoe and you will discover this is non-sense by the trainer and by Palmer. A very heavy and correctly done squat, deadlift, clean, and press will do more for power than bouncing balls on an athlete's head, etc. Lots of trainers seem to sell this non-sense so they can get paid. It is frustrating for me to see it.

I understand.

I try to get better by even half a percent every day in everything I do - both in my job and in martial arts. The best do it this way with what is called deliberate practice which is very different from the way the average person practices. It is fascinating to me to see how people become the best in the world at things and it challenges me to get better (sometimes what the best in the world say or do is not necessarily how they got to where they are at).

So, for example, in golf most average people practice by hitting the ball on the putting green or the long range green (you can tell I don't golf). One of Tiger Woods training methods was hitting the ball from a sand trap dozens of times a day with immediate feedback - this is deliberate practice. That's a skill Tiger obviously needed and the immediate feedback on getting better at that skill made him great at hitting the ball out of a sand trap.

It is really interesting stuff.

Perhaps "natural talent" is a misnomer. Some people are, however more gifted athletically. You do agree that there are different muscle types, right? Fast twitch and slow twitch. My older son swam competitively in Division I at UNO. He has slow twitch muscle fibers and any amount of training would not have made him successfully competitive at sprinting. However, he excelled at distance. Someone 5'2" would never be able to play center successfully in the NBA, for example. Wouldn't you say that there are limits physiologically?

Palmer didn't discount weight work. He says that is all necessary, but small technique work can get the most out of that power. The way he described it was a QB generates what we'll call 100 bars of energy when pushing off with his foot. That energy is transmitted through the body in a series of movements - ankle, knees, hips, back, shoulder, arm, wrist, hand and fingers. Some QB's could have what would be described as a strong arm and only be retaining 75 bars of that energy as the last finger leaves the ball. Other QB's can get close to the original 100 bars of energy by eliminating wasted motions and actually deliver the ball with more velocity and accuracy than the "strong armed" QB. He said there are trainers that specialize in getting the most out of those movements.

As for Kamara, yes, he's not going to be catching a colored stick while playing the game of football, but he is working out his spatial cognizance which has to help in quickly identifying a minute opening or placement of a defender's foot allowing him to react in a manner that could improve his performance.

None of this is meant to replace more traditional training methods. It just gives them what they feel is a special added edge. Even if that edge is only mental.