As a follow-up to the Tottenism a few weeks ago, did you ever hear a coach tell their athletes about 100 different cues before taking a big lift? Again, maybe the coach trying too hard to show how smart he or she is. But either way, too many cues just won’t sink in to be effective. That’s just how the brain works. Quick story that I often tell in my courses about “over cueing”. A really good young lifter was chalking up ready to go out for his 3rd attempt snatch. His coach was at the chalk box with him, rubbing his traps and whispering about 20 different things he wanted him to remember to do with that lift. Well, fortunately, the lifter made the lift (in spite of the over cueing). I spoke with the athlete later that day about what I saw. I asked him, “What goes through your head as the coach is giving all the cues?” He just laughed and said, “Are you kidding? I totally block him out and have no idea what he’s saying”. True story! A valuable lesson for all of us overzealous coaches!
