Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning [Paperback]

Vern Gambetta (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 29, 2006

Athletic Development offers a rare opportunity to learn and apply a career full of knowledge from the best. World-renowned strength and conditioning coach Vern Gambetta condenses the wisdom he's gained through more than 40 years of experience of working with athletes across sports, age groups, and levels of competition, including members of the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, and U.S. men's 1998 World Cup soccer team.

The result is an information-packed, myth-busting explanation of the most effective methods and prescriptions in each facet of an athlete's physical preparation. Gambetta includes never-before-published and ready-to-use training approaches in

- sport-specific demands analysis,

- work capacity enhancements,

- movement skills development,

- long- and short-term training program progressions, and

- rest and regeneration techniques.

Athletic Development explains what works, what doesn't, and why. Gambetta's no-nonsense approach emphasizes results that pay off in the competitive season and reflect his work at the highest echelons of sport. Merging principles of anatomy, biomechanics, and exercise physiology with sports conditioning applications and four decades of professional practice, this is the definitive guide to performance-enhancing training.

Editorial Reviews

Review

""What a thrill it is to gain easy access to Vern Gambetta's years of research, experience, and expertise! The detailed descriptions and photos in" Athletic Development "show exactly how to apply the conditioning drills and exercises to your own training program. Use this book to train your athletes to their maximum potential.""
Anson Dorrance
Women's Head Soccer Coach
University of North Carolina
18 National Championships
""Vern Gambetta's new book is his magnum opus of sport training. This book takes on the most difficult task of blending state-of-the-art science with practical application. The effort is both elegant and easily usable. This book will be a classic among top coaches.""
William A. Sands, PhD
Head - Sport Biomechanics and Engineering
U.S. Olympic Committee, Sport Science
""Work capacity, strength, speed, agility, quickness, plyometrics, coordination, skill, and program design have never been presented in a more intelligent and useable manner. Vern Gambetta has written the blueprint to creating successful athletes.""
Tim Lang
Strength & Conditioning Coach
DePaul University
"""Athletic Development "is an excellent presentation of Vern Gambetta's time-tested methods. It will help coaches design sport-specific programs that get results. Apply the information in this book and watch your athletes succeed!""
Jose Vazquez
Head Strength Coach
Texas Rangers

Review

"What a thrill it is to gain easy access to Vern Gambetta's years of research, experience, and expertise! The detailed descriptions and photos in Athletic Development show exactly how to apply the conditioning drills and exercises to your own training program. Use this book to train your athletes to their maximum potential."

Anson Dorrance
Women's Head Soccer Coach
University of North Carolina
18 National Championships

"Vern Gambetta's new book is his magnum opus of sport training. This book takes on the most difficult task of blending state-of-the-art science with practical application. The effort is both elegant and easily usable. This book will be a classic among top coaches."

William A. Sands, PhD
Head - Sport Biomechanics and Engineering
U.S. Olympic Committee, Sport Science

"Work capacity, strength, speed, agility, quickness, plyometrics, coordination, skill, and program design have never been presented in a more intelligent and useable manner. Vern Gambetta has written the blueprint to creating successful athletes."

Tim Lang
Strength & Conditioning Coach
DePaul University

"Athletic Development is an excellent presentation of Vern Gambetta's time-tested methods. It will help coaches design sport-specific programs that get results. Apply the information in this book and watch your athletes succeed!"

Jose Vazquez
Head Strength Coach
Texas Rangers

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics; 1 edition (November 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736051007
• ISBN-13: 978-0736051002
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greats, January 17, 2008

By 

Todd I. Stark "Cellular Wetware plus Books" (Philadelphia, Pa USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning (Paperback)

The thing that makes this book so very exceptional is its seamless combination of the author's significant personal coaching experience and the state of the art in exercise and sports science. There is just enough theory and background to understand where the ideas come from, helping to put them into better context.

Although there is no formula that works for creating a training program for every athlete, this book probably comes as close as you can get to that goal. It provides you with the basic principles you need for assessing what each athlete needs in order to achieve their potential and training them to attain it. The components of performance are clearly laid out, along with the methods for developing them and also the places where qualities depend critically on other qualities.

The author addresses all of the usual questions along the way with unique and practical answers that can be applied to any sport once you understand the needs of that sport. Get realistic, effective answers to your questions about sets, reps, periodizing, plyometrics, machines, bands, weights, strength vs. power, functional strength vs. absolute strength, flexibility vs. mobility and stability; all of the important questions that arise in the mind of any athlete or coach who takes the training process seriously.

No fads here, just good solid principles proven by experience and explained in terms of current theory. No matter how much you already know, you can't help learn something about training for human athletic performance if you read this book. If you are a trainer, this book may well become one of your most treasured resources, a place to go to help cut through the fluff and fashions of the industry when you have a real question.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read!, October 9, 2009

By 

Coach C (Chesapeake, VA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning (Paperback)

This book is a must read for coaches or anyone seeking to develop the total athlete. Gambetta offers great insight into the science of functional training and lays it all out so clearly that even those who are just having their first taste of the physiology of exercise can understand. This book focuses mainly on the science of functional training methods but also details some great thoughts on coaching in general. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Different Approach to Coaching, October 19, 2009

By 

Victor Kwong (Selangor, Malaysia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning (Paperback)

Gambetta is a pioneer in the Athletic Development and in this book he showed us his creativity and the practical approach in coaching by assimilating the sciences into actual application. Many a time, coaches believe in the plain old-school methods while the sports scientists will tell them it's not scientific but here Gambetta will show how these two can "work together". Coaching is the art of applying the sciences into training and in this book you will find out how it is done. It is an interesting read and I have benefited a lot from it.