“Why for the love of mustard are there never enough buns?”
It is tempting to think that the dog in the middle is the star of the show. So we focus more on getting a better hotdog. The bun and the whole experience of eating the hotdog are an afterthought.
If you can measure the difference it is worth bringing in a strength coach. And that works until the inevitable point of diminishing returns. Just like a premium hotdog served in a cheap bun, at some point a premium hotdog is no longer enough.
But by this time, it’s too late, the moment has gone.
Long-term athletic development plans are designed to create a whole experience. The temptation is to invest only in the middle. But pick up the plan in the middle and you miss the point.
It is on the industry to have difficult and hard conversations about starting at the start. When the temptation is to pick up the work in the middle and pretend that it is the most important. After all, the point of a coach is to help us with difficult.