If you coach with the right intent and stay focused on the fundamentals that truly work, your athletes will improve. This summer I watched a high school soccer program run “speed training” made up entirely of cone and hurdle drills. Not a single sprint was legitimately timed. Not a single front-side mechanic was improved or addressed. Yet because it looks like busy work, people buy in.
At first I was shocked that this still happens, because as performance coaches we know how little value it provides. But parents and sport coaches do not always see the difference. That is why the responsibility falls on us. Over time I have realized it is best to stick to what works, trust the principles that consistently deliver results, and always keep the athlete in front of you as the priority. In the end, different people will have different priorities, but ours has to be the athlete’s development.