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Welcome to the Excelsior blog. It is a mix of current research and thoughts on Athlete and Coach Development, Strength and Conditioning and personal reflections.
Comments are welcome (please leave your name) and you can subscribe by clicking on the RSS feed.
Thanks for taking the time to read it.
James Marshall
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The Joy of Movement
Jumping for joy; when was the last time you did that? What about Jogging for joy? Hardly sounds the same does it? I recently heard two people talking about their exercise regime. Everything was counted. They count calories, they count steps, they count miles and they count lengths in a pool. Their measure of progress […]
0 Comments | Read More | LTAD, physical education, physical literacy -
What is Athletic Development?
Athletic Development is a combination of planned, unplanned, organised and chaotic events that lead to a person’s overall physical and mental abilities to perform a variety of physical tasks, often within sport. Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) is a model that highlights different stages from infancy to adulthood and what types of activities are best […]
0 Comments | Read More | athletic development, LTAD, physical literacy -
Why are you still using the plank?
Why are teachers and coaches still using the plank? I have no idea when this exercise was introduced but, much like the Grey Squirrel, it has eliminated its predecessors and become the dominant species. I was coaching my ‘Strength and Co-ordination’ group last night and I asked them if they did the plank at school […]
0 Comments | Read More | core training, physical education, physical literacy -
Is your school stopping your child from learning?
“Education, with its supporting system of compulsory and competitive schooling, all its carrots and sticks, its grades, diplomas and credentials, now seems to me perhaps the most authoritarian and dangerous of all the social inventions of mankind. “ John Holt So says John Holt in his sublime book, “Instead of Education.“ There are many lessons […]
0 Comments | Read More | book review, education -
How to make your warm up sport specific
Is your warm up sport specific?
As many people in the world know and understand you can learn so much by watching and observing other people.How society works? How people act in different situations, being a couple of examples.
6 Comments | Read More | warm ups -
Summer Reading Recommendations for Teachers and Coaches
Ideas on what to read this summer Are you looking for a good book to read on holiday? We are over half way through the year, so I have had a chance to read a few that may be of interest. You might want to unwind with some easy reading and then gear up for […]
6 Comments | Read More | book review, cpd -
Four takeaways from GAIN 2019
‘Make GAIN 2019 a personal audit’ were the opening remarks from Vern Gambetta at the GAIN conference in Houston last week. He set out a vision for the conference that I took to heart. What are you currently doing? What do you want/need to do? Gap analysis: what is necessary to close the gap? I […]
4 Comments | Read More | Coaching, coaching courses, cpd, GAIN, reflective practice -
How to live on 24 hours a day
Time is precious, how do you budget it? We all have 24 hours a day; it is one thing that unites us as humans. How we spend them differs vastly. Two Arnolds (Schwarzenegger and Bennett) have recently influenced my thoughts on how to spend my time. Here are some ideas on making the most of […]
0 Comments | Read More | goal setting, motivation -
Making Sport Better with Wayne Goldsmith
Coaching the Art and the Heart Yesterday we hosted the Making Sport Better workshop with Wayne Goldsmith in Willand. He gave two great presentations on coaching today’s generation of athletes, plus answered many questions at the end. Here is a brief summary. “Coaches are the masters of change”. Nobody changes by being yelled at or […]
0 Comments | Read More | Coaching, cpd -
Doctrines of the Great Educators
Coaching is teaching. It is just applied in a different context. Whilst we can get caught up in the Xs and Os, or the latest buzzwords- “constraints led coaching!”, if we look back, we can learn from those that preceded us and find out what truly stands the test of time. In the book “Doctrines […]
0 Comments | Read More | book review, Coaching, physical education
Client Testimonials
London Welsh RFC
James has provided a wealth of experience and expertise to the Academy set up at London Welsh RFC in recent years. He has addressed both the physical and mental development of the players through innovative, player and position specific programmes which have resulted in each individual within the group developing towards their potential.
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