As part of the whole mishegas that’s known as the Balco Labs scandal, we learned this week that Mr. NFL Tom Brady called Greg Anderson –- Barry Bonds’ trainer –- about working out. Thankfully for Brady this was the one and only time his career intersected with that of the disgraced drug distributor/personal trainer to Bonds.
There’s no reason to believe there was anything nefarious about Brady’s call to Anderson. However, the fact that Brady would even think of calling this steroid-fueled trainer for advice, or to actually workout, indicates that way too may top-level athletes have no idea how to condition for their sport.
The story as Brady tells it is that five or six years ago he was looking for someone to workout with in his hometown in Northern California and Anderson’s name was on a list of trainers. It’s scary to think what could have happened if Tom Brady hooked up with Anderson.
I’m not saying that Brady would have used drugs. I am saying that Anderson’s training methods would have messed up Tom Brady and would have had a detrimental effect on his career.
If Brady had hooked up with Anderson, Anderson would have screwed up Tom Brady just like he screwed up Barry Bonds. Make no mistake about it; Barry Bonds was successful despite the training he received from Anderson. The only thing Greg Anderson had to offer was the access to drugs, as he had –- and has –- no access to legitimate training knowledge. Anderson didn’t even have the knowledge of how to use the powerful drugs to which he had access.
Barry Bonds’ total physical breakdown over the past several years is the direct result of the training regimen designed and implemented by Greg Anderson. There’s no doubt Tom Brady would suffer the same fate as Bonds as a result of Anderson’s “program.”
Article comments
1 - Victor Plenty
It's not surprising to see professional athletes who don't know anything about basic principles of physical training. Too much athletic training is highly authoritarian and teaches only blind obedience.
In high school sports and even earlier, players are expected to follow their coach's instructions as if they were under a military drill sergeant. Players are not expected to learn how to manage their own training programs.
This pattern is deeply ingrained in our thinking about sports. Even when the players in question are highly paid professionals, this pattern goes on. Even when the writer is someone like Sal (who normally makes every effort toward educating people about health and fitness), this pattern goes on. His article does not seem to even consider the idea of teaching players to manage their own training and conditioning programs. Instead, he says the leagues and the teams need to protect the players from bad trainers.
Of course this is true. I'd never argue for professional athletes to be left entirely on their own in some sort of "let the buyer beware" environment of unregulated trainers. What I am saying is, pro athletes would be better protected by a campaign that attacks the problem from both directions.
Yes, the leagues and the teams should take steps to keep bad trainers from gaining access to pro athletes. But they should also take steps to educate the athletes, so the players themselves will be able to recognize and avoid a bad trainer.
2 - sal m
victor wrote:
"Even when the writer is someone like Sal (who normally makes every effort toward educating people about health and fitness), this pattern goes on. His article does not seem to even consider the idea of teaching players to manage their own training and conditioning programs. Instead, he says the leagues and the teams need to protect the players from bad trainers."
this isn't really the forum to address the above concern voiced by victor as there is a complex dynamic involved when it comes to athletes and their training, although i agree with his sentiment.
and i will say that i do this everyday of my life with kids and adults, athletes and non-athletes alike.
what is noteworthy about this incident is that in the coverage of this story, i haven't once heard anyone talk about how this incident points out how easy it is for a dirtbag to get access to an elite athlete.
even in the coverage of the bonds' case, nobody has mentioned how remarkable it is that a personal trainer with no real knowledge is at the center of the biggest doping in sports scandal ever.
professional sports teams seemingly go the extra yard and take care of so much of the minutia that affects their players, and yet do not do what victor suggests, teaching their players how to take care of themselves.
i used the example of how there has been an effort to protect players from unscrupulous agents in the effort to protect players from fraudulent financial situations.
it would be much easier for teams to teach their players - their assets - how to take care of themselves. hopefully as we go forward teams will make this effort.