Tag Archive: book review

1. Doctrines of the Great Educators

   9th May 2019 9:36 pm Leave a Comment

   

   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 of the Great Educators”, Robert Rusk reviews the principles of 13 great education minds and how they influenced others (1).  I have written some notes from the book, and added comments on their applicability to coaching and also to schools and their physical education.

   

   For any p.e. teachers reading this, arm yourself with these quotes when your curriculum is being squeezed.  According to Steven Rose, we have Descartes to thank for the current dichotomy of mind versus body in education (2).

   The seventeenth century Catholic philosopher and mathematician divided the universe into the mental and the material. It separated the mind or soul from the body. This then influenced science and medicine that divided into cognitive or somatic streams later.

   As you may well be aware, the two are intrinsically linked.

   Plato.

   

   P4 His first task was to lead men to self-examination and self-criticism. “herein is the evil of ignorance, that he who is neither good nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with himself: he has not desire for that of which he feels no want.”

   P5 Three stages of knowledge are described:

   1. Opinion– the individual is unable to give valid reasons for his knowledge or assumed knowledge
   2. Destructive or analytic stage– the individual realises he does not know what he assumed he knew. Contradiction and perplexity arrives.
   3. Knowledge– the individual’s experience is critically reconstructed and he can justify his beliefs by giving reasons for them.

   P7 “Were not the laws which have the charge of education right in commanding your father to train you in music and gymnastic?”

   P19 “Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind…. Then do not use compulsion; but let early education be a sort of amusement; you will then be better able to find out the natural bent.”

   P33 “The most important part of education is right training in the nursery. The soul of the child in his play should be guided by the love of that sort of excellence in which he grows up to manhood he will have to be perfected.”

   Quintilian

   

   P 44 “Children must be allowed relaxation, but, as in other particulars, a mean has to be preserved; deny them play, they hate study; allow them too much recreation, they acquire a habit of idleness. Play also reveals their bent and moral character, and Quintilian observes that the boy who is gloomy, downcast and languid, and dead to the ardour of play affords no great expectations of a sprightly disposition for study.”

   Elyot

   

   P58 “The first duty of the tutor is to know the nature of the pupil, approving and extolling any virtuous dispositions which the latter should happen to possess and condemning in no hesitating manner which might lead the pupil into evil. He should also take care that the pupil is not fatigued with continual learning, but that study is diversified with exercise.”

   

   Locke

   P 141 “It is forgotten that these urchins who gambol upon village-greens are in many respects favourably circumstanced- that their lives are spent in perpetual play; that they are all day breathing fresh air; and that their systems are not disturbed by over-taxed brains.”

   P143 “He that hath found a way how to keep up a child’s spirit easy, active and free, and yet at the same time to restrain him from many things he has a mind to, and to draw him to things that are uneasy to him, he, I say, that knows how to reconcile these seeming contradictions, has, in my opinion, got the true secret of education.”

   

   Rousseau

   P186 “A feeble body makes a feeble mind.” “All wickedness comes from weakness.” “The weaker the body, the more imperious its demands; the stronger it is, the better it obeys.”

   “Would you cultivate your pupil’s intelligence, cultivate the strength it is meant to control? Give his body constant exercise, make it strong and healthy, in order to make him good and wise; let him work, let him do things, let him run and shout, let him always be on the go; make a man of him in strength, and he will soon be a man of reason.

   As he grows in health and strength,   he grows in wisdom and discernment. This is the way to attaint to what is generally incompatible, strength of body and strength of mind, the reason of the philosopher and the vigour of the athlete.”

   Our first teachers are our feet, hands and eyes. “To substitute books for them does not teach us to reason, it teaches us to use the reason of others rather than our own; it teaches us to believe much and know little.”

   P190 “Teach by doing whenever you can, and only fall back upon words when doing is out of the question. Let all the lessons of young people take the form of doing rather than talking; let them learn nothing from books which they can learn from experience.”

   

   Herbart

   P246 Quoting Pestalozzi  “I would go so far as to lay it down as a rule that whenever children are inattentive and are apparently taking no interest in a lesson, the teacher should always first look to himself for the reason.”

   P249 “Let the main ides which are introduced into a child’s education be few and important, and let them be thrown into every combination possible.”

   P254 On discipline which can be broken into two parts:

   1. Regierung: orderliness or teacher’s control of pupil’s behaviour. 
   2. Zucht: character training or self-discipline.

   The former serves primarily the needs of the teacher, the latter those of the pupil. Regierung secures merely external conformity, whereas the work of Zucht is not to secure a certain mode of external behaviour but rather to develop insight and the appropriate volition in the mind of the pupil.

   (Interestingly, Oakland Raiders head coach John Madden made the same observations (3))

   Discipline need not be repressive: “When the environment is so arranged that childish activity can spontaneously discover the road to the useful and expend itself thereon, then discipline is most successful.”

   “The foundation of control consists in keeping children employed.”

   He expands further into how the translation of both into English becomes “discipline”.

    This can be misconstrued where “A well-disciplined school may be the worst possible institution for the development of character, since it may leave no opportunities for the practice of such actions as are initiated by the pupils’ own motives nor afford occasion for the exercise of self-discovery and self-imposed discipline.”

   

   Froebel

   P274 “To have educative value the play of the child must not be a purposeless activity; his play impulses must be directed and controlled by the employment of definite material  necessitating an orderly sequence in the feelings engendered and in the activities exercised.”

   P275 “While play is the characteristic activity of childhood, work is that of boyhood. Interest in the process gves place to interest in the product. Whereas during the previous period of childhood the aim of play consisted simply in activity as such, the aim lies now in definite, conscious purpose.”

   P277 “Every child, boy, and youth, whatever his condition or position in life, should devote daily at least one or two hours to some serious activity in the production of some definite external piece of work.”

   

   Montessori

   P286 “The duration of a process is determined not by the exigencies of an authorised time-table, but by the interval which the child finds requisite to exhaust his interest.”

   P287 “When the environment is so planned that childish activity is directed along the lines of the useful and expends itself thus, the result is the most effective form of discipline .”

   P288 “Montessori has devised certain formal gymnastic exercises to develop the child in coordinated movements. She disapproves of the child practising the ordinary gymnastic exercises arranged for the adult.”

   

   Dewey

   P325 “The great change of outlook in biology in the nineteenth century- Darwin’s doctrine of evolution- was not achieved by experiment but by observation and deduction.”

   Summary

   As you can see, all of these great minds have influenced later generations of teachers. Most of them have expressed the need for mental activity to be balanced with physical activity.

   Never did they express the need for a competitive sports based curriculum, led by adults, for adult entertainment.

   Thanks to Mandi Abrahams of Castle Books in Beaumaris for sending me this book.

   References

   1. Doctrines of the Great Educators. Robert R. Rusk. 3rd edition Macmillan (1965).
   2. Steven Rose in How Things Are: A Science Tool-Kit For The Mind. p202. Ed. J. Brockman & K. Matson. Phoenix (1997).
   3. One Knee Equals Two Feet. John Madden with Dave Anderson. Jove Books (1987).

   Further Reading:

   • Recommended reading for coaches and teachers.
   • How to create an outstanding physical education programme

2. Manual of Physical Training -1931

   24th April 2019 2:29 pm 1 Comment

   Army Physical Training Manual

   

   The Manual

   The British Army used to produce some excellent training manuals. My copy of the 1931 manual contains many pertinent coaching points.

   It is worth considering what has gone before us. Whilst the weaponry may have changed in the past 90 years, the human body and psyche remain fundamentally the same.

   Individualisation of training is an old concept

   Consider this:

   “1 The Physical training of army boys cannot be undertaken without first considering their individual character. Collectively they can be said to possess the definite ambition to function as soldiers from the very start of their careers; consequently they have a strong inducement to exert the necessary effort required for the progress.

   By reason of their youth, they are active, energetic, healthy and have acquired some idea concerning discipline; but their will power, and with it their character requires to be trained in the right direction.

   The importance of this factor must be realised by all instructors, who should set themselves the task of developing each individual character rather than forcing all into a uniform pattern.”

   How about “functional fitness or “cool exercises”?

   • “The exercises employed in a system of physical training, if they ensure as they should the harmonious development of the whole body, will at the same time correct the faults engendered by one-sided work and so put the body in a better state to perform any other work that may be required of it.
   • At the same time as he develops his body he must be taught to realise that he himself achieves this by his own effort, and is merely guided by his instructor. Interest in the possibility of his own power and the capacity to produce that power beget self- effort. Self-effort can therefore be produced.

   • It must be borne in mind that the performance of the various exercises is only a means to an end and that training is not merely for the sake of the exercises themselves but for the ultimate effects of those exercises.”

   In those 3 paragraphs you have a basic guideline for people who are beginning to coach:

   1. Have a systematic plan
   2. Engage and educate the athlete so they motivate themselves
   3. Remember that their ultimate goal is to do well at their sport, not be gym rats.

   

   Guidance for the Physical Training Instructor

   “The Instructor should remember that exercises which are well known to him, and which have become easy by practice, are new and often difficult to the pupil. he must not, therefore, be impatient of faults, neither must he expect perfection of execution too soon.

   Any endeavour to obtain correctness of execution too suddenly is contrary to all sound principles of physical training.

   Just as the progress of the recruit from week to week and month to month should be steady and gradual, so also should the correction of faults in each exercise be gradual. All the faults in an exercise should not be corrected at once, but the most important faults should first be put right, and later on those of less importance.

   The capabilities of the men must be carefully observed, and judgement must be exercised in deciding when to exact perfection of execution and when to be satisfied with a reasonable attempt.”

   This is the essence of coaching! 

   Character development

   “The characteristics which should be chiefly stressed are accuracy, self-respect, energy , punctuality, obedience, tidiness and cleanliness.

   Of these, the first- accuracy- is perhaps the most important as it inculcates the habit of performing every act with precision.  It should therefore be continually kept before the boys’ minds in order to perfect them through their own efforts.”

   Again, character development is emphasised as heavily as physical development here- would we now call that “training to train”? This is what used to be taught in physical education classes in schools before they became games lessons.

   3″ Over-enthusiasm leading to unnecessary strain must, however, be avoided, and exercises acting directly on the will, such as balance exercises should predominate. In particular the absolute control of the body should be insisted on after any agility exercises have been performed.”

   4 “Throughout the whole training the instructor must study each individual, and must never lose sight of the fact that he has in his hands the power to advance or curtail the development of the boy’s character.”

   It is this last aspect of coaching that is predominant in a lot of sports, but is missing in strength and conditioning coaching– Young people are not just guinea pigs or numbers on a spreadsheet.

   A lot can be learnt from these old texts, and a systematic approach to coaching, education and physical development is the most important thing for me.

   Further Reading: See how the Army influenced Gymnastics in schools.

3. Improving coaching communication through writing

   16th August 2018 11:52 am Leave a Comment

   Coach communication: writing

   

   Entertaining read

   On every coaching course I have attended, the tutor has pointed out the section in the workbook entitled “communication”.  There follows a group nodding of heads where every budding coach agrees that “communication is a good thing”.  If we are lucky, the tutor might divide communication further into “verbal” and “non-verbal”.  We then move onto the next important quality required to be a good coach.

   Writing is a form of “non-verbal” communication and, despite what the popular opinion may be, is here to stay. As a coach you may think you don’t write, but how about:

   • Emails
   • Text
   • Handbooks
   • Programme design
   • Rules and Guidelines
   • Letters
   • Funding Applications
   • Presentation slides
   • Blogs
   • Books

   I was asked to give feedback on a series of exercises that were going to be given out to young golfers by the “lead strength and conditioning coach”.  They were grouped into different components of fitness including:

   • “Healthy heat”
   • “Strenght”
   • “Flexibillity”

   We all make typos and that is why we ask people to proof read and correct.  But, when I pointed out the typos I was told “it doesn’t matter”. To me that attitude is showing a lack of respect to the young golfers, all of whom are told endlessly what they can do to improve.

   The same thing applies to giving presentations. Typos are common, but easily resolved. Improving the overall content and style of your presentation is a different topic, but if you are using the written form, try to improve the clarity of what you are saying.

   If you are still reading, then you might be interested in some book recommendations on how to improve your writing.

   Four books that can help you improve your written communication

   1. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Lynne Truss

   The first book I recommend to the coach who forgets the difference between “your” and “you’re”.  It was a surprise best seller in 2003-2004. A very funny book, partly written out of frustration at reading blackboards outside shops that sell “CD’s, Book’s and Video’s” (remember videos in 2004). This will help clear up many of the daily mistakes that we all make.

   2. The Elements of Style: W. Strunk and E.W. White

   

   Classic short text

   An accepted classic first printed in 1959 and remaining in print since. It is much more of a rules book and is of its time. However, at 96 pages short, it is extremely accessible and of use as a reference. Much of the advice will be familiar to coaches:

   “It is better to express even a negative in a positive form”.

   In coaching terms, rather than say “don’t bend your knee” we might say “straighten your knee” or even better “reach for the sky” depending on what we are trying to achieve.

   Strunk and White use the following written examples of unnecessary negative words and their alternative:

   • Not honest –  dishonest
   • Not important- trifling
   • Did not remember- forgot
   • Did not pay any attention to- ignored
   • Did not have much confidence in- distrusted

   As you can see, much of this can be applied to our coaching language as we endeavour to “omit unnecessary words”.

   3. On Writing: Stephen King

   

   A good read

   An outlier perhaps, but an interesting read on creating a narrative. Aimed at fiction writers, it does give a great perspective on the writing process and how ideas are formed. The first half of the book is autobiographical; the second half gives more

   direct ideas on writing and getting published.

   This is an entertaining read and shows how King learnt from early mistakes and advice from ruthless editors (“healthy heat” would have been black lined). This section shows how he offers advice partly based on using correct grammar, partly on avoiding clichés:

   “Anyone using the phrase “That’s so cool” should have to stand in the corner and that those using the far more odious phrases “at this point in time” and “at the end of the day” should be sent to bed without supper (or writing-paper, for that matter).”

   4. The Sense of Style: Steven Pinker

   

   In depth book for professional writers

   Finally, if you are in the serious business of writing professionally, including academic papers, books and journal articles, then this book is a must-have.  I borrowed this book from the library and then bought my own copy.

   Well written (as it should be), humorous and insightful, this is a guide to writing that will appeal to all of us who wish to convey a message clearly and concisely. It can be quite hard to follow, I got lost in the chapter about sentence trees and strings, but my understanding of grammar rules is vague.

   The second half of the book can be used as a reference as it summarises common errors and questions such as the difference between “who” and “whom”. My understanding of words such as “practicable“ and “practical” improved thanks to me reading the second half of the book (Practicable means it is easily put into practise; the –able means it is an ability).

   I would suggest this book be read after the other three.

   If we wish to share ideas and improve our understanding of the world improving our writing skills is essential.

   So much of journal writing is poorly written that trying to ascertain the pertinent facts is too difficult. We then fall back into just reading abstracts or, worse still, twitter summaries of the abstracts. This then means we are unable to truly learn and understand, let alone challenge the authors or reproduce their work.

   Other communication

   Whilst this blog is about writing, I would recommend Dan Roam’s books “Show and Tell” and “Back of the Napkin” to help you use drawings and picture boards for presentations.

4. Summer reading recommendations 2018

   1st July 2018 8:07 am 2 Comments

   Summer reading recommendations

   

   Tolkien exhibition at the Bodleian Library

   Half of the year has gone, Britain is currently enjoying (enduring?) a heatwave and my American colleagues and friends are about to have their 4th July vacation. Time to share some of the books I have read this year and that you might want to try.

   The full list is below which you can scan, but here are some by categories.

   I also recommend Tolkien fans visit the exhibition at the Bodleian library to see how a great work is crafted. You can see the amount of work he discarded before being left with the trilogy.

   Reading for the beach :

   • The Expanse series by James S. Corey. If you like some inter planetary Science Fiction in the near future, then this series will keep you busy. Well written, great characters and interesting.
   • A Whole Life: Robert Seethaler. Short, but poignant novel about a man living in Austria. Simple, rural existence and the human experience.
   • Travels With Charley: John Steinbeck. Well crafted and entertaining autobiographical account of 2 months travelling around the USA in 1968. The man can write.

   Reading for the Mind:

   

   Possibly my book of the year

   • The Village Effect: Susan Pinker. Very readable and relevant look at the importance of human connections. If you have a young person on a screen, or an elderly relative living alone, I would say must read.
   • The War Of The World: Niall Ferguson. Extensive history of causes and effects of war in the twentieth century. More geo-political than military account and very revealing. Excellent read (Thanks to Kevin O’ Donnell for the loan).

   Reading for Sports Coaches and P.E. Teachers

   • The Mastery Of Movement: Rudolf Laban. Explains the basis for Laban’s work which led to Educational Gymnastics in the UK. Great at learning how to move
   • In Pursuit Of Excellence: Terry Orlick. A very useful, practical and easy to implement book on mental skills training. It has lots of good ideas and is written to be used to by coaches and athletes, recommended.
   • Championship Team Building: Jeff Janssen. Very usable book with lots of practical ideas on improving team communication and cohesion. I would say entry level, which is no bad thing.

   The Full List

   1. The Mastery Of Movement: Rudolf Laban. Explains the basis for Laban’s work which led to Educational Gymnastics in the UK. Great at learning how to move.
   2. Caliban’s War: James S. Corey. Big space opera SF novel. Page turning excitement with decent characterisations
   3. Abaddon’s Gate: James S. Corey. Another Expanse SF novel, weaker than the first two.
   4. Experiential Learning: David Kolb. Interesting and densely packed text book on lifelong learning. Maybe more relevant today than it was in 1992 when it was written.
   5. A Whole Life: Robert Seethaler. Short, but poignant novel about a man living in Austria. Simple, rural existence and the human experience.
   6. Cibola Burn: James S. Corey. Return to form in this SF exploration novel.

   7. 

      Great book, great photos

       Movement: Physical Education In The Primary Years: Department of Education and Science. 1972 guide for teachers, short, succinct and extremely relevant today. If schools were using this now, children would benefit immensely.

   8. Parkour: David Belle. A short book based on an interview of the founder of Parkour. Very insightful.
   9. Russell Rules: Bill Russell. Mixture of leadership and basketball related anecdotes. Some very good points made, but slightly over long.
   10. The Encyclopedia of Physical Conditioning for Wrestling:John Jesse. Classic text, reread so that I keep a check on whether I have strayed away from the basics.
   11. Nemesis Games: James S. Corey. Book 5 of The Expanse, the crew of The Rocinate split up. Very good novel.
   12. Babylon’s Ashes: James S. Corey. Book 6 of The Expanse, the war escalates and new characters appear.
   13. Persepolis Rising: James S. Corey. Book 7 of The Expanse, set 30 years further on and with a turn of events that puts the crew in more danger.

   14. 

       Independent perspective

       The Wasted Generation: George Walton. A look at why so many US men were physically or mentally unfit for the draft in 1965. Great examples and shows concerns have been there for decades.

   15. Edward Wilson of the Antarctic: George Seaver. Biography of the doctor, naturalist and explorer who died with Scott. Interesting and inspiring story of this polymath,
   16. The Neo-Generalist: K. Mikkelsen & R. Martin. Series of interviews with people who have background in more than one area. Ok for some ideas, but no overall strand, reads like a series of blogs.
   17. Post Office: Charles Bukowski. Counter-culture novel of the Beat generation. Very funny.
   18. What The CEO Wants You To Know: Ram Charan. Short book, but insightful for bigger businesses. Good summary points at the end to help you focus.
   19. Children At The Gate: Edward Wallant. Novel about two young men feeling out of sorts with society. One of only a few by this author, funny and sad.
   20. The War Of The World: Niall Ferguson. Extensive history of causes and effects of war in the twentieth century. More geo-political than military account and very revealing. Excellent read.

   21. 

       Worth reading every year

       J.R.R. Tolkien A Biography: Humphrey Carpenter. Written soon after his death, this detailed look at Tolkien’s life is interesting and well referenced. Page turner for Hobbit fans like me.

   22. Golden Sayings Of Epictetus: Hastings Crossley. Small book from 1917, but full of useful insights from the Stoic philosopher.
   23. In Pursuit Of Excellence: Terry Orlick. A very useful, practical and easy to implement book on mental skills training. It has lots of good ideas and is written to be used to by coaches and athletes, recommended.
   24. The Boxing Companion: Ed Denzil Batchelor. Very interesting selection of boxing stories and histories compiled in 1964. Looks at the development of prize fighting and glove fighting, plus some fiction.
   25. Dr Jekyll and Mr Seek: Anthony O’Neill. Short sequel to the Stevenson classic, easy read, forgettable.
   26. The Culture Code: Daniel Coyle. Eminently readable book about how successful teams create a successful culture. Useful points to apply for many organisations.
   27. Dreaming in Hindi: Katherine Rich. Autobiographical account of how an American woman went to India to learn Hindi. Interesting details about the struggle to learn a new language as an adult and how culture is so important when learning.
   28. Championship Team Building: Jeff Janssen. Very usable book with lots of practical ideas on improving team communication and cohesion. I would say entry level, which is no bad thing.
   29. The Great Gatsby: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Classic American novel, elegantly written and poignant.
   30. The Village Effect: Susan Pinker. Very readable and relevant look at the importance of human connections. If you have a young person on a screen, or an elderly relative living alone, I would say must read.
   31. Greybeard: Brian Aldiss. Classic SF novel about world with no children. Set in and around Oxfordshire.

   32. 

       Excellent read

       Travels With Charley: John Steinbeck. Well crafted and entertaining autobiographical account of 2 months travelling around the USA in 1968. The man can write.

   33. Superhuman: Rowan Hooper. An overview of amazing feats or endeavours such as longevity, memory or endurance running. Interesting, but lightweight. Might trigger an interest into more detailed books.
   34. The Junction Boys: Jim Dent. Graphic account of a brutal Texas A&M football training camp in 1954. Too folksy a writing style for me and I was repulsed by the bad coaching by Paul Bryant.
   35. On Writing: Stephen King. Read for the second time, and it was even better. King uses an autobiographical account to highlight the process, inspiration and struggle of writing. Excellent.

   Thanks for the book recommendations

   Thanks as always to book club members Pete Bunning and Robert Frost (no, not that one) for sharing ideas. The Hayridge library in Cullompton and Libraries Unlimited for lending and ordering books which saves me a packet.

   Also to Mandi Abrahams of Castle Books in Beaumaris for sending me an eclectic assortment of books I have never heard of, but always enjoy. If you are ever in Anglesey, I suggest you squeeze in and absorb.

   Thanks to all my GAIN colleagues who always have a book or twenty to recommend.

   If you have read any great books this year and would like to share, please leave a comment below.

5. Best books on coaching and teaching 2017

   10th December 2017 8:32 am Leave a Comment

   Reading highlights for coaches and teachers

   

   5 great books

   Here are my top 5 books from 2017, plus a synopsis of the other books I have read this year. It is easy to jump on the “It’s new and shiny, you must get it” bandwagon. Hopefully you will find some alternative ideas in this list.

   Top 5 books (no particular order)

   1. Coaching Better Every Season: Wade Gilbert. Comprehensive guide to best coaching practice throughout the year. Research and practice based with excellent examples and guides.

   2. 

      Technically rich

      Track and Field: Athletics Training in the G.D.R. (East Germany). Editor G. Schmolinsky. Very detailed technical handbook from 1978. Ingrained with socialist principles at the beginning. The sprints, throws and jumps sections are good, the middle distance and endurance are ok. The preparation and specific and general exercises are excellent.

   3. A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action: Thelen & Smith. Excellent book about how thought and action are developed together. Looks in detail at infant development of reaching, grasping and walking down
      

      Superb book

      slopes. Very well written and explained.

   4. Dynamic Groups at Work: H. Thelen. Superb book looking at how groups of people operate and how leadership can influence, shape and learn from this. Written in 1951, it stands up very well today. At some point the cult of the leader influenced thinking, this was very refreshing.
   5. A Manual of Tumbling and Apparatus Stunts: Otto E. Ryser. 1964 guide to gymnastics for boys/ men. Lots of very good ideas in there for the keen recreational gymnast.

   

   Wade Gilbert and me.

   Some of these I have added to the recommended reading list for coaches and teachers  that has accumulated over the years. There were 3-4 others which were very close and are included in the full list below.

   You may have noticed some sticky tags in the books and also notes on the front page. This was to help me remember what I have read, Wade Gilbert gave me the index tip.

   The Full List of 2017 (so far), including fiction, biographies and history books.

   1. Meditations: Marcus Aurelius. Thoughts on Stoicism and dealing with being an Emperor. In depth and insightful.
   2. Shame The Devil: George Pelecanos. Exciting crime caper based in Washington by writer of The Wire.
   3. Coaching Better Every Season: Wade Gilbert. Comprehensive guide to best coaching practice throughout the year. Research and practice based with excellent examples and guides.
   4. Jello Salad: Nicholas Blincoe. Graphic and twisted London crime novel.
   5. Reading: Frank Smith. How children learn to read despite the best efforts of programmed instruction, phonics and other interference. 1987 copy, but resonates today.
   6. The Pat Hobby Collection: F Scott Fitzgerald. Humorous set of short stories about an aging Hollywood script writer and his struggles.
   7. Track and Field: Athletics Training in the G.D.R. (East Germany). Editor G. Schmolinsky. Very detailed technical handbook from 1978. Ingrained with socialist principles at the beginning. The sprints, throws and jumps sections are good, the middle distance and endurance are ok. The preparation and specific and general exercises are excellent.

   8. 

      Sad to lose Brian Aldiss this year.

      Finches of Mars: Brian Aldiss. Interesting SF novel about humans having to evolve to survive on Mars. Philosophical underpinning about future of our planet.

   9. Horus: Manuel Santos Varela. SF novel based on Egyptian mythology and gene splicing. Short and interesting.
   10. The Teaching Gap: J.W. Stigler & J. Hiebert. Review of a study about Maths teaching in Japan, Germany and the USA. Insightful look at how teachers can and should develop their profession, rather than listen to academics who lack context.
   11. They Marched Into Sunlight: David Marranis. Account of 1 day in October 1967 when US troops were ambushed in Vietnam and anti-war riot at University of Wisconsin. Very well written and researched.
   12. Zorro: Isabel Allende. Light fiction, little depth.
   13. The Faltering Economy: The Problem of Accumulation Under Monopoly Capitalism. Ed. J.B.Foster & H.Szlajfer. Series of essays written in 1981. Heavy going, but enlightening insights.
   14. The Heat’s On: Chester Himes. Harlem crime novel from 1966. Page turner, descriptive and atmospheric.
   15. A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action: Thelen & Smith. Excellent book about how thought and action are developed together. Looks in detail at infant development of reaching, grasping and walking down slopes. Very well written and explained.
   16. The Gold Standard:  Mike Krzyzewski. An account of the 2008 USA Olympic basketball team’s journey to winning the Gold Medal by their Head Coach. Lightweight, but one for fans only.
   17. Jack: A.M. Homes. Entertaining novel of a teenage boy coming to terms with family break up.
   18. Border Country: Raymond Williams. Classic novel about the emptying of Welsh villages in the twentieth century. Told through story of one family, very moving.
   19. Pax Romana: Adrian Goldsworthy. Interesting overview of how the Roman Empire was created and maintained over the first 3 centuries of its existence.
   20. A Manual of Tumbling and Apparatus Stunts: Otto E. Ryser. 1964 guide to gymnastics for boys/ men. Lots of very good ideas in there for the keen recreational gymnast.
   21. Eagle in the Snow: Wallace Breem. One of the best historical novels ever. Set on Roman frontier at the end of the Empire, action, character and poignant tragedy.
   22. How Children Succeed: Paul Tough. Well laid out and organised book looking at case studies of children and environments that have overcome adversity to succeed. Great read for parents, teachers and coaches.
   23. Dynamic Groups at Work: H. Thelen. Superb book looking at how groups of people operate and how leadership can influence, shape and learn from this. Written in 1951, it stands up very well today. At some point the cult of the leader influenced thinking, this was very refreshing.
   24. The Confusion of Command: Lt. Gen T. D’Oyly Snow. Brief memoirs of the Commander of the 4th Division at retreat from Mons and 27th Division at Battle of Ypres. Shows how chaotic things were and ill prepared the BEF were in 1914.
   25. The Way We Die Now: Charles Willeford. Gritty crime novel based in Miami, interesting characters with a rambling plot.
   26. Classical Literary Criticism: Aristotle, Horace & Longinus. Thoughts on poetry, creating the sublime and drama from these three ancients.
   27. The Reluctant Fundamentalist: Mohsin Hamid. Short, interesting, relevant novel about a Pakistani man trying to find his identity.
   28. Lillian: David Emery. Biography of this British athlete from 1960s. Coached by her Dad to an Olympic medal, she died of cancer at a very young age.
   29. One Knee Equals Two Feet: John Madden. Simple, but entertaining guide to football. Has some genuine nuggets of wisdom in there.
   30. Creating Innovators: Tony Wagner. Case studies of people who are innovators in their field. Good for first 100 pages, but then repetitive.
   31. Iron and silk: Mark Salzman. Enjoyable account of an English teacher spending 2 years in China in early 1980s.
   32. The Heart of a Leader: Ken Blanchard. Quotes from his previous books with a brief explanation. Short but useful.
   33. Stanley.The Impossible Life of Africa’s Greatest Explorer: Tim Jeal. Dense, detailed story of the famous Welsh/American/English Victorian. Reveals much that had been misinterpreted and is extensively researched. Amazing stories.
   34. Peak Performance: S.Magness & B. Stulberg. Easy to read book about getting the most from your day and life. Useful anecdotes illustrating underpinning science.
   35. D:Day The Battle for Normandy: Antony Beevor. Detailed and vivid account of the invasion of France. Compared to a similar book I read 30 years ago, it is more critical of the British and of the mistakes made by all sides. Tragic loss of life.
   36. Timequake: Kurt Vonnegut. Half autobiographical, half satirical novel. Very well written and funny.
   37. Cannonball Tennis: Mike Sangster. Hidden gem from this British number 1 from 1965. Very pertinent coaching tips and enjoyable stories from this Devonian.
   38. Seven Theories of Human Nature: Leslie Stevenson.  Brief look at different word views and a critique on their rationales. Great place to start and uses critical thinking on Marxisim, Christianity Freud and more.
   39. Foxcatcher: Mark Schultz.  Autobiography of sorts, dealing with the murder of his older brother Dave Schultz. Interesting to see behind the curtain of this apparently successful Olympian.
   40. Barbarian Days, A surfer’s life: William Finnegan. Superb biography from this well known writer. Enjoyed it without being a surfer.
   41. Three Cups of Tea: Greg Mortenson & David Relin. Account of one man’s mission to provide schools to remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. A bit evangelical and sycophantic in parts, but mostly inspiring.
   42. Four Tragedies and Octavia: Seneca. Ancient Roman text revisiting some classic stories. One of the Stoic philosophers and has summary at the end.
   43. A Century of Humour: ed P.G.Wodehouse. Huge collection of short stories in this interesting collection from 1935. Some sublime, others very dated.
   44. The Wrong Side of Goodbye: Michael Connelly. Harry Bosch detective novel, still not a return to original form, but good holiday read.
   45. Sunset Howe: Lewis Grassic Gibbon. Outstanding  novel of rural Scotland in early 1900s. Characters jump off the page and draw you in.
   46. Cloud Howe Lewis Grassic Gibbon. Part 2 and follows the move from rural to urban areas.
   47. Grey Granite Lewis Grassic Gibbon. Part 3 and echoes the demise of Scotland with industrial unrest.
   48. The Dead Zone: Stephen King. One of his SF novels which is topical today with the rise of a psychopathic US politician.
   49. The World of Jeeves: P.G. Wodehouse. 34 short stories that feature the emminent valet and Bertie Wooster. Supremely crafted and still entertaining.
   50. The Talent Lab: Owen Slot. Some interesting ideas in this book, but quite a PR stunt I think too.
   51. Brain Rules: John Medina. 12 rules to help use your brain more efficiently. Well laid out and gives evidenced ideas from neuroscience.
   52. The Gunslinger: Stephen King. Collection of short stories that form part one of the Dark Tower science fiction series.
   53. The Classroom Society: H. Thelen. Dense text full of extremely useful insights and applications for teachers and coaches.
   54. Instant Replay: Jerry Kramer. Inside look at the1967 Super Bowl season of the Green Bay Packers. Very revealing.
   55. The Originals: Adam Grant. Interesting look at how people think differently and maybe become more creative. How to create a culture that allows dissent without collapse or acrimony.
   56. The Blade Itself: Joe Abercrombie. Entertaining lightweight fantasy novel, heavy in cliches.
   57. The Name Of The Wind: Patrick Rothfuss. Fantasy novel which resembles a collection of ripping yarns.  A good read.
   58. Complete Gymnastics Handbook: John Puckett & Edwin Bengston. Has some useful tips and a good curriculum for secondary schools.
   59. The Interpreter: Brian Aldiss. Short SF novel about life at the edges of a frontier.Character driven and succinct.
   60. The Wise Man’s Fear: Patrick Rothfuss. Enormous sequel which is entertaining but disjointed and ultimately goes nowhere.
   61. The Gold Mine Effect. Rasmus Ankersen. Lightweight book looking at 6 hot spots of talent development around the world. Good in parts, big gaps in others.
   62. A Coach’s Life: Dean Smith. Autobiography of the UNC basketball coach written in 1999. Great thoughts on coaching and how to manage a team.
   63. If These Walls Could Talk (Green Bay Packers): Wayne Larrivee. Insights about the Packers from this radio reporter. Covers the last 25 years well.
   64. Drive: Daniel Pink. Easy to follow and well researched look at what actually motivates humans. Very useful for coaches.
   65. Snakewood: Adrian Selby. Original twist to the fantasy novel. Like David Gemmell, but with potions and more unpleasantness.
   66. Body, Mind, and Sport: John Douillard.  Full of New Age gurusism, very 80s with tenuous links to “science”. Interesting points about breathing, but the rest is confusing mysticism.
   67. Uncommon: Tony Dungy. Very disappointing motivation book by the former NFL coach. Little substance.
   68. How To Support A Champion: Steve Ingham. Entertaining and reflective look at how he developed his physiology support for athletes. Must read for support staff.
   69. Man’s Search For Meaning: Viktor Frankl. How one man survived four concentration camps and lessons on life. Stunning read and very meaningful.
   70. The Drawing Of The Three: Stephen King. Part 2 of the Dark Tower series. Fun read in a western type setting.
   71. Band Of Brothers: Stephen Ambrose. Outstanding account of an airborne infantry company in WWII. Third time reading this, and still inspired.
   72. Parachute Infantry: David Kenyon Webster. Detailed account of one of the “Band of Brothers” in action after D Day. Warts and all account of life in the army.
   73. The Age Of Genius; The Seventeenth Century & The Birth Of The Modern Mind: A.C. Grayling. Interesting but somewhat muddled account of this little known period of mainly European history. Insightful in parts, could do with maps!
   74. Leviathan Wakes: James S.A. Corey. Fun and expansive SF Novel. Reminds me of C.J,. Cherryh books from the 1980s.

   75. 

       Reading expands the mind

       The Captain Class: Sam Walker. Interesting look at how some of the world’s best sports teams became dominant thanks to influential captains. Pseudo scientific but good to look beyond the obvious and much quoted.

   76. The Influences Of Rudolf Laban: John Foster. Biography and analysis of how Laban shaped dance education and inspired educa
   77. tional gymnastics in the UK.
   78. Activities on P.E. Apparatus: J. Edmundson and J. Garstang. Great book from 1962 on lots of gymnastics exercises on some forgotten pieces of equipment such as boxes, ropes and ladders. Very useful resource.
   79. Anabasis: Xenophon. The story of the retreat of the 10,000 from Persia to the sea. Modestly written, but insightful. The classic film “The Warriors” was based on this book.
   80. The Warriors Reflections On Men In Battle: J Glenn Gray. Reflective account of this soldier and philosopher written 14 years after his experiences in WWII. Draws upon other historical accounts of warfare and is very revealing.

   Thanks to all who recommended

   Thanks again to the usual suspects for lending, sending and recommending.

   • Book club members Peter Bunning, Rob Frost for expanding my repertoire beyond work.
   • Mandi Abrahams of Castle Books, Beaumaris for her encyclopedic knowledge of books I have never heard about!
   • Vern Gambetta and the GAIN community for tripling my reading list every time I attend.
   • The Hayridge and Devon Libraries for lending, ordering and generally encouraging young and old to read more.

   If you have any recommendations, please leave below. Enjoy your time to read over Christmas.

6. Brian Aldiss RIP

   21st August 2017 1:56 pm Leave a Comment

   Britain’s best Science Fiction Author dies

   

   3 of Brian’s books off my shelf

   I am sorry to hear today that Brian Aldiss has died. My thoughts go out to his family. His books have given me great pleasure over the years right up until the current day (one of his books usually features on my reading review of the year).

   Aldiss was a prolific author and fans of SF should all obtain a copy of “Trillion Year Spree” which gives an account of Science Fiction since the onsets of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

   The sheer amount of work that Brian produced over his lifetime is astounding. Not only did he write novels, but short stories and letters to other writers when he was editing.

   His years of editing SF magazines gave him the opportunity to read much new work from good and bad authors which gave him a broad perspective of the genre which wil be hard to match.

   His autobiography “Bury my Heart at WHSmiths” (will they?) is quintessentially British and gives excellent advice for prospective writers. Part Bill Bryson, part P.G. Wodehouse, it expresses points in a poignant yet understated fashion that brings a smile to the reader’s face.

   Aldiss was still writing until very recently, and even if his”Finches of Mars” was no classic, it was a light read with good touches and food for thought.

   Whilst the enormous Hellicona trilogy requires a serious effort which will be rewarded, I would recommend “Greybeard” to the new Aldiss reader. This  post apocalyptic future set in Middle England could be taken as an allegory for a declining Empire. (Here is the great author himself talking about GreyBeard ).

   A sad day for Brian Aldiss’ family, his many fans and for British Literature. I hope the news of his death will inspire younger readers to seek out his work from your local library.

7. Cannonball Tennis: Mike Sangster

   12th July 2017 11:04 am Leave a Comment

   “Devon has everything to offer that I want in life”

   

   Cannonball Tennis

   Says Mike Sangster in his book “Cannonball tennis”.  Mike took up tennis when he was 13 (yes 13) and went on to become the British #1 player, played in many Davis Cup matches and got to the semi-finals of Wimbledon.

   Growing up in Torquay, he was coached by the somewhat enigmatic “Mr Roberts” who offered him a few words of advice and then left him to work out his own strengths and weaknesses.

   I was sent this gem of a book and it is an entertaining read. Amongst the anecdotes of cooking meals on hotel room floors are some really useful pointers about tennis.

   On coaching juniors:

   “I think nine or ten is a good age for a boy to first pick up a tennis racket.”

   Look at the source of this advice, then look at who the club coach telling you that your 5 year old needs to work on their chopper grip. (Whose interest are they serving?).

   “I would say,  however that it’s better to allow a beginner to swing his racket at the ball in his own way at first, than to try and put him into a kind of stroke strait-jacket to give him an automatic, orthodox swing.”

   “Confusion is often caused in the minds of youngsters because the various grips are explained in a complicated way. This sort of jargon gets you nowhere.”

   

   Learn to throw before serving

   “If you want to serve well, and can’t throw well, set about learning to throw straight away.”

   “Another vital part of good serving is a smooth throw- up of the ball. Many players never learn to serve consistently because they throw the ball up differently.”

   (Why on earth are children being pushed into tennis when they simply can’t throw overhand with their good arm and pass accurately with their weaker hand?)

   “Once they become tired on court, their concentration goes, and it’s much better to stop playing altogether than continue hitting aimless shots and running about lethargically and without interest.”

   First principles of tennis:

   • Hit the ball back across the net. Don’t worry about how you do it. Just get it back into court.
   • Never miss an easy winner.
   • Move to the ball. Don’t wait for it to come to you.

   More advanced basics are:

   • Serve as hard as you can without double-faulting and concentrate on acquiring a strong second serve instead of always trying to ace your opponent on the first.
   • From the baseline, keep the ball as deep in your opponent’s court as you can.
   • If the ball is returned short, attack it by hitting it deep into your opponent’s court, preferably into the backhand corner, and rush to the net to volley or smash a winner.

   On tennis fitness:

   “To get yourself physically ready for long exhausting matches is as necessary as it is for a carpenter to sharpen his tools. Your body is your tool; if it lets you down, it is only because you have not given it that extra-fine preparation that is needed for all sports played at top class.”

   Tennis coaches may scoff at some of these points, but I would suggest that overcomplicating things is far too common. This book is a worthwhile and enjoyable read.

   Thanks to Mandi Abrahams of Castle Books in Beaumaris for sending it to me.

   Further Reading:

   • How to get fit for tennis
   • Recommended reading for sports coaches and p.e. teachers.

8. Summer Reading for Sports Coaches

   23rd June 2017 11:59 am Leave a Comment

   Book recommendations for sports coaches

   Summer is here and I have just returned from the GAIN conference in Houston where fellow sports coaches and bibliophiles shared book ideas and recommendations. Here are some of mine from this year, plus a full list of what I have read with a brief summary.

   

   Wade and James

   Best coaching book

   I have to say that Wade Gilbert’s “Coaching Better Every Season” is the best practical book on coaching a team or group that I have read. It has more useful information in it than I learn in my MSc of Sports Coaching from Brunel University.

   It is spilt into 4 parts: Pre Season; In Season; End of Season and Off Season. Each comes with guides, checklists and suggestions on how to get the most from you and your team. It is very well written and researched with great practical examples.

   You can pick it up and get ideas to help your next session, or to plan your whole year. Highly recommended.

   4 other good books for sports coaches

   • 

     4 great books

     Track and Field: Athletics Training in the G.D.R. (East Germany). Editor G. Schmolinsky. Very detailed technical handbook from 1978. Ingrained with socialist principles at the beginning. The sprints, throws and jumps sections are good, the middle distance and endurance are ok. The preparation and specific and general exercises are excellent.

   • A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action: Thelen & Smith. Excellent book about how thought and action are developed together. Looks in detail at infant development of reaching, grasping and walking down slopes. Very well written and explained.
   • A Manual of Tumbling and Apparatus Stunts: Otto E. Ryser. 1964 guide to gymnastics for boys/ men. Lots of very good ideas in there for the keen recreational gymnast and for coaches who want their teams to be more agile.
   • Dynamic Groups at Work: H. Thelen. Superb book looking at how groups of people operate and how leadership can influence, shape and learn from this. Written in 1951, it stands up very well today. At some point the cult of the leader influenced thinking, this was very freshing.

   (H Thelen was Esther Thelen’s father-in-law, just coincidence they had the word dynamic in their book titles?).

   My Tsundoku

   

   My Tsundoku

   Tsundoku is the Japanese noun describing a pile of unread books. Mine had got down to 8 books before I received my annual mystery parcel from Castle Books in Beaumaris. It now contains an eclectic mix of fiction, education, comedy and history.

   Having this keeps my perspectives broad and unlimited by group think of just “fad books“. Many of these books are out of print now, but full of interesting ideas.

   Full list of books in 2017.

   Here is the full list of what I have read so far in 2017 some of which may be of interest for down time and reading on the beach.

   1. Meditations: Marcus Aurelius. Thoughts on Stoicism and dealing with being an Emperor. In depth and insightful.
   2. Shame The Devil: George Pelecanos. Exciting crime caper based in Washington by writer of The Wire.
   3. Coaching Better Every Season: Wade Gilbert.
   4. Jello Salad: Nicholas Blincoe. Graphic and twisted London crime novel.
   5. Reading: Frank Smith. How children learn to read despite the best efforts of programmed instruction, phonics and other interference. 1987 copy, but resonates today.
   6. The Pat Hobby Collection: F Scott Fitzgerald. Humorous set of short stories about an aging Hollywood script writer and his struggles.
   7. Track and Field: Athletics Training in the G.D.R. (East Germany). Editor G. Schmolinsky.
   8. Finches of Mars: Brian Aldiss. Interesting SF novel about humans having to evolve to survive on Mars. Philosophical underpinning about future of our planet.
   9. Horus: Manuel Santos Varela. SF novel based on Egyptian mythology and gene splicing. Short and interesting.
   10. The Teaching Gap: J.W. Stigler & J. Hiebert. Review of a study about Maths teaching in Japan, Germany and the USA. Insightful look at how teachers can and should develop their profession, rather than listen to academics who lack context.
   11. They Marched Into Sunlight: David Marranis. Account of one day in October 1967 when US troops were ambushed in Vietnam and anti-war riot at University of Wisconsin. Very well written and researched.
   12. Zorro: Isabel Allende. Light fiction, little depth.
   13. The Faltering Economy: The Problem of Accumulation Under Monopoly Capitalism. Ed. J.B.Foster & H.Szlajfer. Series of essays written in 1981. Heavy going, but enlightening insights.
   14. The Heat’s On: Chester Himes. Harlem crime novel from 1966. Page turner, descriptive and atmospheric.
   15. A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action: Thelen & Smith.
   16. The Gold Standard:  Mike Krzyzewski. An account of the 2008 USA Olympic basketball team’s journey to winning the Gold Medal by their Head Coach. Lightweight, but one for fans only.
   17. Jack: A.M. Homes. Entertaining novel of a teenage boy coming to terms with family break up.
   18. Border Country: Raymond Williams. Classic novel about the emptying of Welsh villages in the twentieth century. Told through story of one family, very moving.
   19. Pax Romana: Adrian Goldsworthy. Interesting overview of how the Roman Empire was created and maintained over the first 3 centuries of its existence.
   20. A Manual of Tumbling and Apparatus Stunts: Otto E. Ryser.
   21. Eagle in the Snow: Wallace Breem. One of the best historical novels ever. Set on Roman frontier at the end of the Empire, action, character and poignant tragedy.
   22. How Children Succeed: Paul Tough. Well laid out and organised book looking at case studies of children and environments that have overcome adversity to succeed. Great read for parents, teachers and coaches.
   23. Dynamic Groups at Work: H. Thelen.
   24. The Confusion of Command: Lt. Gen T. D’Oyly Snow. Brief memoirs of the Commander of the 4th Division at retreat from Mons and 27th Division at Battle of Ypres. Shows how chaotic things were and ill prepared the BEF were in 1914.
   25. The Way We Die Now: Charles Willeford. Gritty crime novel based in Miami, interesting characters with a rambling plot.
   26. Classical Literary Criticism: Aristotle, Horace & Longinus. Thoughts on poetry, creating the sublime and drama from these three ancients.
   27. The Reluctant Fundamentalist: Mohsin Hamid. Short, interesting, relevant novel about a Pakistani man trying to find his identity.
   28. Lillian: David Emery. Biography of this British athlete from 1960s. Coached by her Dad to an Olympic medal, she died of cancer at a very young age.
   29. One Knee Equals Two Feet: John Madden. Simple, but entertaining guide to football. Has some genuine nuggets of wisdom in there.
   30. Creating Innovators: Tony Wagner. Case studies of people who are innovators in their field. Good for first 100 pages, but then repetitive.
   31. Iron and silk: Mark Salzman. Enjoyable account of an English teacher spending 2 years in China in early 1980s.
   32. The Heart of a Leader: Ken Blanchard. Quotes from his previous books with a brief explanation. Short but useful.
   33. Stanley.The Impossible Life of Africa’s Greatest Explorer: Tim Jeal. Dense, detailed story of the famous Welsh/American/English Victorian. Reveals much that had been misinterpreted and is extensively researched. Amazing stories.

   

   Steve and Me

   I am currently reading Peak Performance by Steve Magness and Brad Stulberg, which I will review when finished.

   Thanks for reading and sharing ideas and the books. Thanks to the Hayridge Centre in Cullompton as usual for being a great library and to Mandi Abrahams of Castle Books for sending me the good stuff.

   If you have any other book recommendations or suggestions, please leave a comment below.

9. What the academics are keeping from the public

   13th June 2017 9:43 am Leave a Comment

   “The average number of readers of a scientific paper is…”

   

   (Answer at the bottom of the page). Sir Martin Rees in his book “Before the beginning: our universe and others” discusses science, evidence and why information fails to get through to the public

   University undergraduates are told by their lecturers that they must reference academic journals and that they need to be current. Books are less relevant as they are “out of date”. Naseem Taleb in “Antifragile” (a book) calls this “neomania“: the obsession with something new.

   Rees has this to say about journals:

   “But these journals- what scientists call ‘the literature’– are impenetrable to non-specialists.  They now just exist for archival purposes, largely unread even by researchers, who depend more on informal ‘reprints’, email and conference.”

   Does that ring a bell for coaches who are wading through articles?

   Information distortion

   In the age of the tweet, the soundbite and 24 hr rolling news coverage, Rees explains that information can get distorted. Ben Goldacre talks about this in “Bad Science” where he postulates that science gets bad coverage due to the media being dominated by humanities students.

   Rees (the cynic) says “the distortion is even greater because some scientists (and some institutions) are far more effective than others in communicating and promoting their researches“.

   In the pseudoscience world, have you ever wondered why “power” is often narrowly defined by the ability to be tested on a force platform? Answer: where does most of the research come from? Which researcher is on the board of the company that makes the force platform?

   This power “research” is then disseminated as gospel (negative results are rarely published in journals, skewing the system further).

   Even if we see a well designed study, Rees suggests we bear in mind what Francis Crick has to say “no theory should agree with all the data, because some of the data are sure to be wrong!”

   Cancer is more serious than sport

   The world is going to keep turning if sports scientists publish poor research about the best number of squats to produce better swimmers. But cancer is much more serious. As reported in the New Scientist, an investigation into 23-highly cited papers in preclinical cancer biology found that fewer than half of them could be replicated. This could explain why less than 30% of phase II and less than 50% of phase III cancer drug trials succeed.

   The money, effort and lives at stake in this research is huge. Open access of information helps data sharing and replication (or not) of studies to see if they work. This is how science is supposed to work.

   However, if information is not shared, then the studies that can not be replicated get cited more and more and become ‘impact’ papers. This can entrench a series of academics into defending their ‘worthy’ study even if lives are at risk.

   Why we should ask difficult questions

   Of course, we get what we deserve.  Francis Bacon said this in “The advancement of learning” (1605).

   “For as knowledges are now delivered, there is a kind of a contract of error between the deliverer and the receiver; for he that delivereth knowledge desireth to deliver it in such form as may be best believed, and not as may be best examined; and he that receiveth knowledge desireth rather present satisfaction than expectant inquiry.”

   Steve Myrland says that we believe our own fallibility more than the person presenting to us and that “those parts of presentations that are most confusing to us tend to be the parts we question least.”

   This then allows the “expert” to carry on building up an awe-inspiring reputation that remains unchallenged.

   Pseudoscience and the LTAD Model

   I see this a lot in pseudoscience journals from the UKSCA and NSCA: academics who have less coaching experience than our local primary school teachers are given platforms to promote their unfounded theories.

   Models are not scientific evidence nor are they laws. Yet, some researchers looking at physical interventions in children and youth populations cite an LTAD model as ‘evidence’ for the basis of their exercise programming! There is no proof that the LTAD model works: no one has taken a group of children through 15 years of that programme and seen the results.  It hasn’t been around for 15 years for a start! Second, every child, every school, every town and every sports club are so different that there can not be a ‘Model’ for all.

   I should know: I have been coaching this stuff for 20 years and set up an Athletic Development Club to help local children. Things change so much week to week with my own 2 children, let alone term to term and year to year, that planning for 15-year progression is nonsense.

   Referencing that model shows a lack of understanding. Unfortunately, once it’s published and then cited, it keeps getting cited by more and more articles until it gains ‘impact’.

   I once spent an afternoon trawling through the 150 references in pseudoscience article about sprint starts in swimming. Many of them were generic points about ‘power’ or ‘sprinting’ on dry land. The few that referenced swimming starts were vague and one of them contradicted the recommendations of the author! 

   What is a coach to do?

   ‘We are drowning in information while striving for wisdom.” E. O. Wilson.

   

   Coach learning (adapted from Grace Golden).

   Trusting your eye or instinct is a solution fraught with difficulty: we are all prone to bias in many different forms. We can neither dismiss or accept the body of published work as ‘scientific evidence.’ As seen in the cancer studies, there are some that can be replicated and some that can’t.

   I try to be open-minded when reading ‘research’ and I don’t take just the abstract and use that to change anything I do with coaching. I do reflect and review upon the coaching that I do after every session. I also check with my specialist or more experienced peers about new ideas or concepts and get their take.

   Finally, I look at my situation and see if the new concept is going to help the athletes I coach get better or to make things simpler for them. If it isn’t, then I don’t use it. If it is, we trial it, observe it and see what results we get.

   That is the scientific process.

   Thanks to Dr Rob Frost for lending me the book.

   Further reading:

   • Force, power or acceleration (or how to develop power away from a force platform)
   • Improper application and interpretation of statistics in sports “science”
   • Sports Science for Sports Coaches
   • Antifragile by Naseem Taleb
   • Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

   Answer: 0.6! (cynically, Rees wondered whether this included the referee).

10. Coaching book reviews

    29th May 2017 3:40 pm Leave a Comment

    Book Reviews

    Whenever I work with other coaches and discuss how they develop their own practice, reading books is always high as a favourite.  Unfortunately, a lot of them seem to be “sciencey” such as Syed’s bounce, but actually add to misinformation, rather than informing our practice

    Here are a few that I have read over the last year that apply specifically to coaching, in no particular order.

    Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training by Mark Rippetoe (recommended by Adam Taylor and Tracy Fober).

    Just when I thought I knew a thing or two about coaching the deadlift, squat, press, clean and snatch, I read this.  Although it says “starting strength”, I would recommend this to experienced coaches rather than novices due to the detail involved.

    This book explains the key barbell lifts with excellent diagrams and photos.

    I learnt a lot from his explanations and have used some of his cues to help the athletes I coach already with great effect.

    Rippetoe writes well and uses humour to highlight his points: “A Smith machine is not a squat rack, no matter what the girls at the front desk tell you.”  He does advocate barbell training to the exclusion of almost everything else, which is too narrow a focus in my opinion for transfer to the sporting arena. However, if you want to get strong in the gym and lift safely and effectively, read this.

    The 4 disciplines of execution by Chris McChesney and Sean Covey (recommended by Greg Thompson).

    This book focusses on how to choose “Wildly Important Goals” (Wigs) and then how to implement then effectively. It is very clearly written, with good examples and takes the reader through the process of finding your Wig and then acting on them.

    The authors use examples of good and bad goal setting, and highlight the dangers of having a list. To paraphrase: “if everything is a priority, nothing is a priority”.

    I like the use of a compelling scorecard, with just one priority on it, and clear measurement on whether the team is achieving it or not. The litmus test is if you can wake up a team member at 3am, ask them “what is our number 1 goal” and they tell you in 1 sentence.

    Highly recommended, can be used as part of a team, or for your own projects. I have found myself much more productive since adopting these principles.

    Where Else Would You Rather Be by Marv Levy (Review by Simon Worsnop who recommended it to me).

    This is the autobiography of Marv Levy, former Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills. It is well written, with a dry sense of humour accompanying the narrative. Levy is not a typical football coach, having a Masters degree from Harvard and a rich appreciation of history and literature. Unlike many managers/coaches, he also has an ability to treat sport for what it is within the grand scheme of things. His comments regarding World War 2 that I remember from the 1980s, illustrate this, and are comparable to former Aussie fast bowler turned commentator Keith Miller’s whereupon hearing a captain was under pressure, commented “pressure? Having a Messerschmitt up your arse, now that is pressure!”

    Levy played College Football but was never drafted, and the narrative follows his journey from schoolteacher and third team basketball coach to a four-time Superbowl Head Coach.

    Not only does the book take you through the historical coaching journey, but also describes the philosophy of football at the various stages of his career. It is interesting to understand how his mentor George Allen used the draft to swap players to create a successful team from virtually nothing using a clear philosophy and goal.

    His time in Canadian Football is of interest in how tactics can be switched to the opposite of what is expected in order to thwart the well-laid plans of an opposition. However, probably of most interest to today’s rugby coaches will be the section on how his coaching philosophy developed at the Bills, with an almost “Saul on the road to Damascus moment” after a final play-off game. This epistemological rupture with past practice was of paramount importance in the Bills future success. Without want to spoil this for the reader, it is well documented within the book showing how this affected match play, practice, player attitude, fitness and decision-making.

    The reader does not need an in-depth understanding of American Football to appreciate its relevance to coaching both on and off the field, and it is not littered with references to religion or psychobabble that sometimes mar American books.

    Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek.

    Sinek bases this book on an observation from the US marines that the officers only eat after the Men. The premise is that we are there to look after the people we lead. He uses anecdotes from the military to highlight why this is important and how selfless actions are common in that environment.

    He then switches to why we may have developed this as a species, including a “circle of safety” of about 150 people. This is the number of real people we could include in our tribe where we have meaningful relationships.

    Sinek is pretty scathing of the baby boomer generation and how they became the “Me generation”.  He mentions dopamine fixes a lot, which used to come from having secure relationships and feeling safe. Now, it comes from facebook “likes”, “retweets” and worryingly, stock market traders’ bonuses. This leads to either a short attention span, or dysfunctional behaviour that has an adverse effect on others.

    He uses examples from the USA such as Peanut Corporation of America’s cutting costs resulting in salmonella contamination and BP ‘s safety cut backs that led to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. (British readers: think of how Thomas Cook responded to the death of 2 children on their watch). He links this to the size of organisations and their reliance on numbers, rather than people.

    I see this all the time in sports partnerships and NGBs: we want athlete scorecards or measures of “impact” “sustainability” and “engagement”, rather than talking to people face to face! This results in a misguided measure of what is important and people at the bottom then have to produce numbers to keep the people at the top happy, rather than doing their job.

    Sinek uses Jack Welch as an example of how an overemphasis on “shareholder value” in companies means the customer gets short thrift. Welch later changes his approach 8 years after retiring and says “Your main constituencies are your employees, your customers and products.”

    This book is a must read for those within organisations big and small. It has a few too many “folksy” anecdotes which feel like padding, but there are many good points and illustrations.

    Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty (recommended by Patrick McHugh).

    This is an inspiring and well written autobiography of a great NBA player and coach. Jackson has developed a coaching philosophy based upon humanity and people. He quotes extensively from Eastern philosophy texts and was adopting mindfulness before it was called that!

    For example coaching from a monk, Wayne Teasdale: “For work to be sacred, it must be connected to our spiritual realisation. Our work has to represent our passion, our desire to contribute to our culture, especially to the development of others.”

    He recounts his early years as a player, and then his years with the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers. In that time he had to deal with some world class players and their egos. He gives detailed accounts of what worked with some, and how he worked with others.

    The book is excellent at describing how he was trying to create teams that could think and act independently on the court. This meant he was instructive in practice, but let them play on game day. “I don’t believe in using practice to punish players. I like to make practices stimulating, fun and most of all efficient.”

    This book was a real page turner, and worth rereading.

    The Education of a Coach by David Halberstam. 

    This Bill Belichick biography was written 10 years ago, when he had just the 3 Super Bowl rings! It details the rise of the highly successful New England Patriots coach, and how his coaching style and philosophy has developed.

    It starts with his immigrant grandparents, and the work ethic that was developed through his family and early life. It progresses through his early career and how his diligent scouting reports opened doors for him, despite his youth.

    For me, it is Belichick’s attention to detail and his ability to analyse the opposition that stand out in this book. He recognises what he is good at and coaches to his strengths, he seems to know that he is hardly an empathetic “people person” and so surrounds himself with people who possess those skills.

    You probably have to understand football or be a fan to like this book, but it is another page turner.

    Legacy: 15 Lessons in Leadership by James Kerr (recommended by Danny Newcombe)

    This is an easy to read book, with very clear examples and a wide range of lessons from aspiration to planning to humility. Each chapter has a clear structure, uses quotes, research and outside examples that can be easily related to outside of rugby and sport.

    For example , when looking at transforming the culture after a poor series of performances, the inner circle of All Blacks came up with “Better people make better all blacks”. This simple mantra sums up the vision the Coaches had that by developing the players as individuals, the whole group would benefit. Indeed, without developing the individuals, progress would be difficult.

    Whilst the All Blacks are on the cover, and there are plenty of All Black anecdotes, Kerr samples heavily from other sources. Like Sinek, he looks at the US Military and how they are trying to move from “Command and Control” to “Mission Command” where decisions are made on the ground.

    This is essential for coaches because it is the players who play and make decisions based on what is happening in front of them in real time. Therefore, the players need to know the intent and overall mission goal, which the coach designs,  and then go out and execute it.

    My favourite quote is an Old Greek proverb “A Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they will never see.”  A bit different from “Just win on Friday”!

    Inside out coaching by Joe Ehrmann (recommended by Patrick McHugh).

    Yet another book by an ex American Football player, but this time the message is very transferable to every youth sports coach. The “Inside Out” refers to knowing oneself as a coach first before you are able to transform your coaching.

    The first part of the book is a very honest and sometime brutal account of Ehrmann’s early life. He details some truly harrowing experiences, and how he dealt with them at the time, and who helped him.  He also looked at some fictional or historical characters for inspiration and says:

    “They show that coaching cannot be reduced to strategy and technique. Great coaching demands introspection, integrity and integration of the coach’s life history.”

    In part 2, Ehrmann describes his transformational coaching programme that he does with young people now. He includes how he is able to reach the hearts, minds and souls of the disaffected youth. This includes anecdotes from his playing years and advice for other coaches and parents taken from his programme.

    For example, helping players discover their identity in their teenage years when they ask questions such as “Who am I? What do I stand for? Who will love me and whom will I love? Whom will I stand with? What can I do with my life?” which is taken from Erik Erikson’s stages of social and emotional development.

    These are the questions that are going on in teenagers’ subconscious, sometimes conscious, and so Ehrmann creates an environment which allows the players to answer them.

    Ehrmann is trying to improve the lives of young men and uses sport as the vehicle to do this. This type of book is rare, and I found it very useful, coaching mainly teenagers myself.  A must read for coaches of teenagers.

    Recommended reading list for strength and conditioning coaches