Transfer of Training Is So 1960's

The relative proportion of general aptitude and specialization required for high-level performance is a timeless question in virtually every discipline. In the physical preparation field, most coaches believe that their training methodology “transfers” to the game or somehow influences winning on the field. So many factors influence the outcome of the game, however, that it is difficult to determine if what one does in a weight room or on a running surface does indeed directly “transfer” to a court or field independent of other variables, mathematics and statistics notwithstanding. To be clear, the challenge of quantifying transfer does not justify, as an example, running repeated three hundred yard shuttles to prepare for American football. Embracing uncertainty should not preclude one from applying that which is already generally understood.

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