Athletic Performance Training Philosophy

The UCLA Athletic Performance training philosophy is the foundation for how we operate. Our philosophy has been built through education, personal experiences and is continually influenced by coaches and athletes who have graced our program over the years. It is an ever evolving system for how we manage our athletes and our teams to ensure they reach their full potential both physically and mentally, on and off the field.

Our training methods are athlete-driven, as we believe that catering to the individual will increase the success of the team. This is accomplished through the development of an individualized training program delivered in a team environment with low coach-to-athlete ratios. We take a concurrent approach to periodization, ensuring that all necessary qualities of performance are addressed. Through our program, we believe in utilizing ground-based, multi-planar movements as the majority of our exercise selection. We understand that all athletes must possess a mastery of basic human and athletic movements to succeed in their sport.  To do this, we utilize fundamental exercises that challenge our athletes through the appropriate ranges of motion in order to create a balanced framework for durability and improved performance. 

All of these concepts are executed within our system by utilizing a hierarchical approach. Each fundamental area contains a tiered list of movements with inbuilt regressions and lateralizations.  Regressions are utilized for building technical proficiencies in physically immature athletes while lateralizations are utilized to elicit a training effect in athletes with movement deficiencies due to previous injuries. Having a system in place where movement proficiency is prioritized enables our athletes to perform at a level that is appropriate for them at all times. This maximizes the athlete’s confidence and success, in conjunction with decreasing the likelihood of injury in training and competition.  This system, coupled with sport-specific work:rest ratios, intensities, and training modalities, provide a direct transference to the athlete’s sport. 

The UCLA Athletic Performance team is also dedicated to developing the culture of each of our teams and the character of each our athletes. We understand that team cohesion, facilitated by performance training, will contribute greatly to a championship culture. Through our coaching methods and athlete interactions, we not only strive to develop better athletes, but better Bruins. Most importantly, we strive to push our athletes to become intentional, resilient, and selfless. Intentional athletes 1) know their goals, 2) do not make excuses and 3) strive to become better every day. Resilient athletes 1) become comfortable being uncomfortable, 2) choose to be positive and 3) never quit. Selfless athletes 1) support their teammates, 2) make decisions that no one else wants to and 3) become great role models. These three words represent the language of our department and the characteristics of successful people that we desire our athletes to become.

Lastly, we believe that positively enhancing an athlete’s life is the most fulfilling way to live our own. This is evidenced through the passion that we bring to our coaching, and the success-driven culture that has been created for all of our athletes. We ensure that each athlete under our tutelage knows that we care about him or her first and foremost as a person, and second as an athlete. As much as our schedule will allow, we spend time with our athletes at games, practices and team-based events. In doing so, we strengthen our personal connections and open up opportunities to impact other facets of our athletes’ lives that contribute to their potential, such as sleep, stress management, and general life skills.  As coaches, we also strive to be models for living healthy, positive, and balanced lives. This demonstrates that we consistently hold ourselves accountable to the high standard that we are striving to instill in our athletes. This brings our training philosophy full circle, as we develop individuals ready for success in all aspects of life, and most notably the performance of their respective sports.