Tag Archive: Coaching

1. Getting Better at Practice: decision-making

   10th May 2023 9:07 am Leave a Comment

   Playing sports at any level requires making decisions. Sometimes they are tactical decisions such as when and where to pass the ball. Sometimes they are training decisions such as which technique to prioritise or how much weight to lift.

   
   Players need to be allowed to make decisions in order to develop and succeed. The sooner they start, the sooner they can start taking responsibility and ownership, and the sooner this will translate to the field/court/arena.

   Giving players choice and autonomy is one of the three key points that ensure athletes enjoy their sessions and want to return (Wade Gilbert).

   
   Watching players grow and develop into independent thinkers is one of the best parts of coaching. I can’t think of anything worse than standing on a sideline micro-managing every move.
   But, like everything else, the players need good coaching to help them rather than leaving everything to chance.

   

   Here are some ideas that I use to get players involved in decision-making.

   1.Start off simple.
   The easiest coaching tool is exploration. e.g. before coaching a specific throwing technique, I ask the players to find as many different ways as possible to throw an implement. The safety parameter is to throw in a certain direction. I might add a restraint such as ‘two-handed throws only.’

   
   Then I get them to choose the type of throw to get the implement the furthest and practice that.
   In a group of 10 athletes, there might be 2-3 options chosen. I can then link the similarities to why they worked. I can also ask if that type of throw is the best for accuracy.

   
   This can also be done with kicking and striking (racquet/bat sports).

   2. Limit the choices

   Anyone who has done the weekly shop with a toddler will understand the benefits of having limited choices available in supermarkets, with clearly marked and labelled prices for easy comparison.

   The same thing applies to sports. By creating a drill with two main options, the athlete can choose and see which works best. It also forces them to work on skills that they might otherwise neglect.

   This is especially good for beginners who have a limited skill set.

   e.g. A small-sided football game where they can only score a goal with their weaker foot or their head.

   A two-handed throw either overhead standing face on, or standing side on and throwing with a long arc.

   Both these examples help guide the athlete into performing basic skills that underpin good play later on but allow them to adapt to what they think works best.

   

   3. Allow the athlete to create routines/games themselves.
   It is important to allow athletes to take control of their own training as their skill set develops and they mature. This could be within a warm-up (see here) or in the session design itself. Autonomy does not mean anarchy.

   
   It means the coach sets up situations and guides the players.

   
   e.g. Gymnastics: create your own routine that must include a balance, a roll, a jump and a movement on hands.

   
   In teams of three, work out a passing move that you could do in the middle third of the pitch and then one in the attacking third. Test that against one, two and then three defenders. Did it work? Why/why not?

   
   Weightlifting: select a weight that you feel comfortable doing for 3 sets of 3, then 3 sets of 2. Or, here are the four exercises we are doing in the session, you select the order in which you wish to do them.
   This last exercise goes against every principle of a ‘numbers’ coach who insists that there has to be a specific sequence in order to maximise results. But, allowing the athletes to choose the order themselves gives them a feeling of autonomy. It can create a ‘holiday’ atmosphere in a sport where the repetition of the same exercises is physically and emotionally hard.

   

   Summary

   I have given a few examples of tasks that can be set up within practice to help your athletes learn to make decisions. Not all will respond, some just want to be told what to do, especially if they are tired and their brains hurt after school. Others will thrive and look forward to these parts of your training more than others.

   
   It still requires coaching, but more of an overseeing rather than directing mode. This allows you to watch the practices and understand what is happening rather than ‘do’ the practices where it is easy to lose sight of the overall session.

   If you have any other suggestions on decision-making, please leave them in the comments below.

   Further reading:

   How to get better at practice: intention and attention

2. Coaching the coaching continuum

   25th October 2021 8:31 am Leave a Comment

   

   I had the pleasure of coaching sports coaches at the Heinrich-Heine Gymnasium in Kaiserslautern, Germany this weekend. The focus was on the coaching continuum.

   Many of us rely on just a few methods of coaching, according to our personal bias or habit but there are many ways that range from Direct, controlling to free play. All are useful and serve their purpose in different situations.

   My presentations and practical sessions tried to show how all of them are used, using four different scenarios:

   • Spatial awareness (physical and global).
   • Game development and play.
   • Movement Framework.
   • Warm-Ups.
   • Foundational strength.

   Developing spatial awareness

   

   For example, after my first presentation that gave an overview of the three main roles of the coach and the three main needs of athletes, we spent 45 minutes ‘doing’.

   I used the following coaching methods (the coaches were given handouts explaining this and the exact cues/tasks I was using before the course started):

   • Part 1 Problem solving, exploration.
   • Part 2 Guided Discovery.
   • Part 3: Inquiry.
   • Part 4 Group Task (cooperative, different roles).

   This was a good way to break the ice.

   I am a great believer in coaches having to ‘do‘ and practise their coaching. They don’t have to do a lot or go fast or for long, but just to try things out. This gives them a feel for the sessions and some empathy for their athletes when they start to coach.

   Integrating the changes

   The following four theory and practical sessions followed a similar pattern but with different information. Quoting from John Wooden, I said at the beginning,

   ‘You haven’t taught until they have learned.’

   The handouts and the practicals gave coaches some tools that they could use immediately as well as a framework to help develop their planning and integrate into their existing good work.

   There is little point in me dropping in, bombarding them with information, and then returning home with little or no changes made.

   Discussions and idea sharing

   

   After the ‘formal’ learning and teaching had stopped, I spent the next evening and day sharing ideas, answering questions and observing some of the athletes in action. This was intellectually challenging but stimulating: I am out of practice having these discussions thanks to the COVID pandemic.

   There were lots of good ideas despite the language barrier (my German is poor). I busted some myths and found some common ground. We had more discussions with Jan Christmann, the sports director, over dinner and yet more whilst hiking through the forest the next day.

   The outdoors is a fantastic environment in which to share and discuss, even if the young Germans were determined to leave me behind in their biggest forest.

   I watched a second-division badminton match on Sunday: that was impressive. A mixed team event, a bit like the Davis Cup in tennis, with matches only going up to 11 points. This was sport at its best: no money, no corruption, no wasted funds. Just committed athletes, umpires and supporters investing their time in their sport and experiencing the highs and lows that go with it.

   Christian Stern, who had come to our GAIN Europe course, was a wonderful host and all of the coaches went out of their way to welcome me. I hope that they got something useful and can continue to help their athletes.

3. Four takeaways from GAIN 2019

   19th June 2019 12:21 pm 4 Comments

   ‘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 have some personal reflections and tasks to do as a result. Below are some more general points that may be of interest.

   1. Decision Making: Len Zaichkowsky

   

   The author of ‘The Playmaker’s advantage’ talked about developing excellent games players. The performance separators between the good and the great were an athlete’s ability to:

   1. Search for cues.
   2. Decide quickly and accurately.
   3. Execute flawlessly.

   As coaches, we need to then design practices that help develop these qualities. Len called it ‘Overspeed training for the brain.’

   Tight area drills and small sided games are two ideas that can be used.

   If you remove thinking and decision making from the players in training, how can you expect them to produce on the field?

   2. A Hard Look at Evidence: Dr Grace Golden

   ‘The path to informed expertise and reasoning is not certain, it’s a journey.’  Grace is an Athletic Trainer and course leader at Oregon University.  She crammed 3 hours of information into a one hour seminar which was enlightening.

   She gave an overview of definitions of evidence, and how we can gather it to inform and improve our practice. In the UK there is much talk of ‘Evidence based practice’ which is usually interpreted as ‘Only do it if you read it in a journal.’

   This has never sat well with me, because my own observations, reflections and feedback from athletes that I coach have influenced me as much (if not more) than studies I have read. Of course, if I only rely on my eyes, I am subject to bias.

   Grace said we need to filter the evidence to counter this bias. She gave a hierarchy of evidence, with randomised controlled trials (RCTs) at the pinnacle.

   

   However, due to ethics and logistics, RCTs may be unsuitable or unfeasible. She gave the example of studying the efficacy of using parachutes when jumping out of a plane.

   Who would want to be in the control group that didn’t get to use the parachute? There has been no RCTs studying parachutes, but we all agree that they are a pretty good idea.

   

   Grace showed how medicine has moved from evidence based practice to evidence informed practice.

   

   The assessment, treatment and then reassessment of interventions lead to informed practice. ‘Evidence doesn’t make decisions, clinicians do.’ Haynes (2002).

   Grace then spent some time on the art of questioning. She said that informing yourself is not about acquiring knowledge. We are drowning in data (or funky exercises). Increased knowledge can make us more ignorant. We ignore what we see and hear in front of us.

   A key point was to question our questions. Allow athletes the time to question us and for us to think and respond.

   3.      Planning: John Kiely and Eddie Jones

   ‘The plan is the outcome of the process, not the central part.’ John Kiely.

   Several of the presenters mentioned planning. What was interesting was that all looked at it as more of a framework, rather than a detailed, longitudinal work.

   John was talking about rethinking adaptation and gave a detailed critique of Selye’s work on stress adaptation and how it had been appropriated for sports. The periodisation concept puts the plan at the heart and centre of what is being done with the athlete.

   John suggested a different approach.

   

   1. Philosophy: The coaching teams; belief system, created by the blending of critical analysis of evidence, experiences and opinions (See point 2).
   2. Process: The set of linked actions designed to track, analyse and review relevant information (lots of ways of doing this) from coaches and players and other sources.
   3. Plan: The training detail emerges from the process outputs and the hard constraints imposed by logistics and competitive schedules.

   John likened the detailed planning as kind of like writing a letter so Santa. It is more of a soother for coaches, than something that is likely to happen. (Gary Winckler said something similar here).

   Rant alert:

   My #1 bugbear when working with NGBs is being asked to send my ‘Annual periodised plan’ to a spotty youth straight out of University without any idea of what the coaches are doing, or what the players do outside of my sessions. It is a total fiction and a waste of my time. It does allow the spotty youth to ‘show nice graphs’ to justify their job.

   Rant over.

   Relying too much on the plan can reduce your agility. Planning isn’t an excel spreadsheet and we need to move away from thinking that a good programme is a well- executed plan.  This was an excellent seminar.

   

   Eddie Jones gave an overview of some of the things he has done with Japan Rugby and now England Rugby.  He said that you have ‘Got to plan and get on with it,’ and that ‘It’s better to have a good plan today than an excellent plan tomorrow.’

   Working within the confines and pressures of International fixtures are examples of the ‘hard constraints imposed by logistics and competitive schedules.’ John mentioned.

                   Eddie said that as a head coach it is important to plan, but don’t get fixated. Don’t let tradition suffocate you.  ‘Traditional thinking stops you from changing. It takes COURAGE.’ to try something different.

     ‘You can’t love something if you are copying something else.’  Eddie was very keen on infusing the plan with passion and purpose.

   4.  Selling the message to players: many presenters.

   

   My personal bias maybe meant that I was tuning into any tips on how to present evidence or explain the purpose of what we do and why to the athletes I coach. But, many of the presenters did mention this.

   Grace Golden suggested sharing your verbal pitch with athletes. Draw a picture of what you are trying to achieve. She said that not empowering the athlete to engage in the process was a mistake. They need to have a voice.

   Greg Gatz showed his ‘Carolina Performance Newsletter’ and communication noticeboard at the University Of North Carolina. He uses these to share success stories and create buy in.

   Bill Knowles talked about ‘Inspiring stories of world –class recoveries by average athletes’ was as important as stories of world-class athletes.

   John Kiely shared four points from science that underpins the art of coaching:

   1. Build Awareness: Education (gradually).
   2. Signal competence (with humility).
   3. Build belief and promote expectation.
   4. Consciously design processes, environments and messaging.
   5. Be YOU, but your best possible You (don’t be a charlatan).

   John said that people respond to signals of competence, so think about your communication very, very clearly.

   Eddie Jones talked about creating a vision and making the athletes feel part of something special.

   Len Zaichkowsky said to treat your clients like gold and have your passion be contagious.

   

   Vern Gambetta said that ‘Culture is the greatest scalable opportunity for a competitive advantage.’

   This last section is something I shall be developing at our club over the next couple of months.

   Summary

   Many people ask ‘What is GAIN?’ The headline speakers draw new people in; they are an eclectic bunch, with new speakers from different fields each year.

   However, the reason I returned for an 8^th time is the quality of attendees. The chance to share ideas and learn from professionals from many different countries, disciplines and sports is unique. I know that if I have a problem or an idea, then I can get in contact with one of the people I have met at GAIN and get an expert answer.

   

   Some of the best people you have never heard of gave me food for thought, so thanks to everyone who sat by me at meal times, or was training at 0530 in the morning with me.

   I am looking forward to helping our athletes over the upcoming months, helping other coaches on our coaching courses.

4. Making Sport Better with Wayne Goldsmith

   22nd May 2019 7:28 am Leave a Comment

   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 being given pieces of paper and being told “do 6 or 9 of these.”  Many coaches assume that the athlete is doing their session with the INTENT that the coach wrote it with. The coach puts thought into the content, science, volume and frequency, but if the athlete does it half- heartedly, then the results will be different from intended.

   

   Wayne constantly illustrated the talk with anecdotes and examples. He talked about watching Michael Phelps doing a simple drop set session with dumbbells in the gym. He had a set each of 40kg, 30kg and 15kg dumbbells. He pressed the heaviest set as many times as he could, and then went to the next set and repeated it. There is nothing complicated about it.

   But Wayne said it was how Phelps drove himself and worked. The INTENT was there, so he achieved.

   “What is talent?”

   Wayne asked this of a very experienced football coach, who thought about it and tapped his chest and said “Ticker.” The heart to drive and succeed and the commitment to the programme.

   “I can measure Heart Rate, but I can’t measure Heart.”

   Success is a choice that athletes make; the days of yelling and telling are over. So we need to change how we do things. How about rating their skill, saying “that was a 6/10” and seeing how they can improve.

   “You can be hard, without being a BastHard”; Wayne talked about having standards and setting them with athletes, the emotion you should show when is coaching is “love and kindness”.

   Confidence = belief x evidence

   

   Wayne spent a good part of the session looking at ways of building confidence. The coach’s job is to create an environment and opportunity for people to succeed. He used a diagram of an empty can (I can) and how we can help the athlete fill their can with evidence. This can come from training, from good lifestyle habits and from results.

   “Confidence comes from knowing, knowing comes from doing.”  If the coach can help the teenager believe in themselves, they will go on and do more.

   Wayne said that having the can model and the definition

   “confidence = belief x evidence”

   gives him something to work with and coach from. Without that model, it becomes too abstract.

   “Culture is what you do, not what you say.” It’s about behaviours.  By creating a challenging but supportive environment, you help the athlete fill the evidence can to the top.

   Guided discovery

   I then took the coaches outside to do a warm up activity and introduction to jump training using guided discovery for twenty minutes.

   Coaching the athlete: Inspiration not just perspiration

   

   Wayne’s definition of resilience was “It’s not about what happens to you, it’s how you choose to respond.”

   He said that definitions of Mental Toughness changed from athlete to athlete and is situation specific (I said that for my daughter it was just getting through the school day sometimes).

   Wayne gave the example of a grid he used with a rugby team to identify behaviours that would help improve the team.

   	On field	Off Field (Gym)	Game Day	Social
   Progression
   Hard Work
   Honesty

   The players then identified key behaviours so they see what these words mean in real life to them.

   “You have to make the intangible tangible, the unreal real.”

   By writing these behaviours down and managing them and getting the athletes to respond, you build a culture of improvement. This then leads to evidence that can be put in the can.

   Performance practice

   Wayne talked a lot about the myth of technical perfection. He said the model was usually based on elite performers who were outliers. Coaches then became slaves to this myth and thought that mindless repetition will fix a problem.

   He then listed 3 stages of learning:

   1. Skills- teaching
   2. Mastery– becomes automatic
   3. Practising under pressure– can they do the skill reasonably well at high speed, or under fatigue or under emotional pressure?

   Wayne gave the example of an NRL player who dropped a ball in a big match. The obvious response is to get him to practise high ball catches in training. But this could be only part of the problem. Maybe it was the wet ball. Maybe it was the fear of three 100kg players running at him. Maybe it was the anxiety of the big match.

   If we just use repetition in search of perfection, we are only using a quarter of the solution.

   Dynamic core

   I then took the coaches out to show them a series of progressions of dynamic core work. You can see some of in these two videos:

   Summary

   We finished with a series of questions to Wayne and I.  I didn’t write a full account because I was hosting the workshop. I did find the attendees asked some insightful questions, with a genuine desire to learn.

   We tried to offer our advice and experiences, although we definitely don’t have all the answers! I set up this time because it is rare that we get to just chat and discuss problems that we all face. One of the coaches said “I’m glad it’s not just me.” 

   Wayne was friendly and approachable throughout the day. It was great to see coaches from sports including: handball, basketball, rugby, fencing, equestrianism, tennis, triathlon and cycling, as well as school teachers.

   Thanks to everyone who attended and to Willand Rovers F.C. for their hospitality.

   Our next course is the one day “Foundation in Athletic Development” for sports coaches and teachers looking to help get their teams ready for next season.

5. 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

6. The Quest for Ultra Performance

   3rd April 2019 7:58 am 3 Comments

   “Each man delights in the work that suits him best”

   Homer, The Odyssey

   Odysseus had his 10 year journey home to Ithaca, Jason his search for the Golden Fleece, Percival his Grail Quest and Frodo had to destroy the One Ring.

   All these Heroes had to:

   • Travel long distances
   • Enlist the help of allies
   • Defeat enemies
   • Overcome obstacles
   • Make many sacrifices

   Does this sound familiar in your training or coaching? 

   (Female quests are under represented in literature: Dorothy trying to get back to Kansas is one example.)

   “If you give them silk pyjamas, they won’t get out of bed”

   Rob Gibson, Rugby Coach.

   Whilst all of these Heroes had a destination in mind, it was the journey, the struggle, the life changing process that was the real story.

   (I always question why Frodo walked when he could have hitched a ride on an Eagle).

   As an athlete, having things laid out on a plate for you may not always be the best thing. Giving players underfloor heating in a changing room may be nice, but what happens when they have to play away?

   

   Nice facility, but coaching matters more

   “Talent needs trauma” by Dave Collins is an excellent piece on why obstacles and hazards are needed as part of Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD).

   I see athletes I have worked with moving to “Institutes” and becoming Institutionalised: they start moaning if they have to fill their own water bottle, or that the wrong music is played in the gym, or that they had to wait for an hour in between training sessions!

   A smiliar problem occurs with coaches who want to gain experience at a “bells and whistles” facility. They become fascinated by kit and use that first, rather than thinking about the athlete and the process.

   Put them in an empty room with 30 kids and say “Get them fit“ and they turn round and ask “Where’s the force platform?”

   Earn the Right

   I have a philosophy of coaching that the athlete has to “Earn the Right”. I can show them the way, but they have to take the steps. Rather than turn up to the Athletic Development Centre and get some fancy stash, they have to start working and assessing their own ability.

   Young rugby players ask “when are we going to do cleans?” I answer “you have to earn the right” that means being able to move well and efficiently first. Can they do a single leg squat? Can they do 50 hindu press ups and 100 hindu squats? Can they do a dumbbell complex first? Can they overhead squat 50% of their body weight?

   It is easy to get popular in the short term by giving away kit and jumping on the latest training bandwaggon.

   Will that approach help the athlete when they are face down in the mud on a cold December night with a hairy-arsed monster stamping on them? Will it help them as they try and apply that power in the open field?

   The same applies to coaches, you have to “Earn the Right” to work with athletes: at any level! 6 year old kids deserve the same amount of planning and preparation as does an Olympian.

   Someone said to me this week that they couldn’t use their knowledge and techniques on kids that age. I said he had to “Earn the right” to work with those kids by improving his knowledge and learning different techniques.

   Ultra Performance

   Feedback from a recent speed workshop with coaches included “I reckon that you are a hard taskmaster”. Perhaps, but I was emphasising the quality of execution and precision of movement before progressing.

   The Quest for Ultra Performance is about the journey, the struggle and the process for coaches and athletes alike. There are no shortcuts.

   “It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.” Winston Chuchill.

   • We can learn from other people: mentors, senior coaches and fellow athletes to help us along the way: we then have to practice implementing that information.
   • We can enlist the support of allies (parents, friends, coaches, teachers): we then have to step onto the pitch, mat or court ourselves and have a go.
   • We can attend conferences, workshops and courses that help accelerate our learning: we then have to Plan, Do Review. It is called the Coaching Process rather than the Coaching Destination!

   No one can input the passion and desire though, the opening quote from Homer is important to understand as an athlete or coach.
   

   The only way we can attain Ultra Performance is by undergoing the Quest.

   (Thanks to Rob Frost for the Headline)

7. IFAC Reflections Part 3

   24th January 2019 10:46 am Leave a Comment

   Finding the failure point in athletes

   My final thoughts on IFAC, reviewing Jerome Simian’s leg strengthening exercises and progressions.

   “If the structure is weak, it won’t allow the nervous system to show what it can do.”

   Regular readers and our athletes will know about Structural Integrity, Simian uses a different phrase, but the meaning is similar.

   Leg Strengthening Progressions

   

   I was chosen as the subject for the next workshop, Simian having observed my hurdling efforts earlier in the day.

   He took me through a series of exercise progressions that were designed to find my failing point. That then would give him more of an idea about how to design a suitable training programme for me.

   I have some idea about strength training, but still managed to take a lot from this session.

   The progressions were as follows:

   • Step up with toes up. An oldie which I have used since 1995 (Tippett & Voight), but taken to a new height by Simian. The foot on the ground has its toes up, forcing the foot on the step to do all the work.
   • The key here is then to lock the hip at the top of the step which requires more control. You can see the two young athletes below working on it in our gym.
   • The progressions around this are to do a decline step- which emphasises quad work more, or to use a higher step– which emphasises hip flexors more.
   • Once the height can be achieved, load can be added with dumbbells, then barbell either in front or back.

   The knee on the step needs to be pushed forward so that the hip extends first, then the knee (hip-knee-ankle in that order). The exercise must reflect what happens in the sport.

   These high box step ups are a great use of the box that coincidentally our club had just received before Christmas.

   Split squat or lunge?

   The next exercise was the split squat, the difference between that and a lunge is that the shin remains vertical in a lunge but has a positive forward angle in the split squat.

   Here was another exercise that a visual demonstration would have helped me with- instead, after several misfirings from me, and less then useful input from the coaching bystanders, I got the hang of it.

   Pushing the knee forward is important to lower the body so that the rear knee touches the ground, then coming out the hips must move up first and then back. This ensures that the same pattern of hips-knees-ankle extension occurs. It is tempting to push back.

   I explained that due to my background- pushing in and out in a low stance without raising my hips was part of my karate sparring drills.

   

   The progression from here was with the front foot elevated, a low stable step is enough.

   This creates a lot more hip flexion and extension and is good for those athletes who are yet unable to do a full squat.

   I then had the pleasure of receiving more weight (remember, the aim was to find my failure point).

   When the barbell is in front a lot more hip and buttock is used compared to when the barbell is on the back of your shoulders.

   Front squats and back squats

   We have covered the difference between back squats and front squats previously, but I still gained a few worthwhile cues and technical points. It is always worth getting coached by someone new to get a fresh perspective, especially if, like me, you are training on your own all the time.

   

   • Simian wanted me to feel like I was “strangling yourself” and to rack the bar higher in the Front Squat. He also told me to push my knees out wider and over my toes more.
   • On the way down I was to flex my ankles, then knees and then my hips (the same as landing mechanics) and on the way up to do the reverse (same as acceleration).
   • He thought my front squat was ok, but noticed that my back squat had a shift to the left when I lowered down. He wanted me to squat with very wide hands and wider than normal legs for me.

   Coaching the person in front of you

   So far so good, a coach has seen some good points, but then found a weakness or error and now attempts to correct it. The back squat with load was my “failure point“.

   Simian had two solutions to help me:

   1. Practise Cossack squats (a lateral lunge with one foot facing sideways) to help my tight left adductors and my tight right hip flexors. This, he surmised, was the reason for my poor squatting technique. No problem.
   2. He stood and held my right hand and rubbed the bones around a bit. Then he watched me move again.

   Some people may enjoy having a Frenchman hold their hand and look dreamily into their eyes, I am not one of those people. I noticed no change in my movement.

   

   Some helpful members of the audience then started throwing in their suggestions like “It’s because his femurs have funny shaped heads”.  I was way out of my depth here; surrounded by coaches with X-Ray vision.

   This was where I started to become sceptical and moderately frustrated (I had yet to have a cup of tea that afternoon).

   I have injured my right knee previously whilst sprinting. It has been aggravated by landing incorrectly from a somersault. I think I favour that side when back squatting.

   Repeatedly leaning to that side may well cause a learned effect and my left adductors and right hip flexors to be tight as a result of my bad technique, rather than the cause.

   If what Simian had said or done had made an improvement, I would be a convert. It might well work in his environment with more time: I have empathy for trying to present to a group of coaches with a subject I have just met.

   I much prefer creating movement problems for the athlete to solve, like the Cossack squats, than trying to find the magic pressure point to release.

   What I can say for certain is that in the context of this environment, despite having some competency in the gym, I was confused. This could be because Simian kept referring to me in the third person and was addressing the coaches, rather than coaching me.

   The good news was that it reminded me not to do this with the athletes I coach. If I do make a coaching point to the whole group using a subject, I then need to ensure that I actually coach the subject too!

   Depth jumps

   The final part of the workshop was a bit less structured and became more of a loose discussion. It was based around depth jumps.

   Once again I was chosen to be a subject, and to perform an exercise I rarely practise.

   

   I am used to landing following vaults and jumps in Parkour, but often with a roll afterwards. I am unused to landing from height with a stiff foot and ankle. Once again I think being a subject was less useful in the context of trying to learn.

   I simply couldn’t get the point of the exercise: Simian didn’t demonstrate, so there were a lot of verbal cues flying around, with heckling from the side lines.

   If I was supposed to land with pretension, I think the box was too high to start. I would always get the athletes to practise off a small step at first and then get higher. Simian was trying to find “failure points”, but the learning effect would be interfering in his assessments.

   I tried with shoes on and then off, and then had my ankles and feet rubbed and moved around a bit. No improvement in what I was doing occurred, but I kept saying “I don’t know what I am supposed to be trying!”

   My failure point was being uncertain of the point and intent of the task we were trying to do.

   A few interesting points did come out:

   • Ankle mobility in throwers is important because it allows the torso to remain more upright during the rotation. Lack of mobility means that the knees or hips have to flex to get lower which means the torso is more likely to bend too.
   • Two of the “athlete basics” are a good hip extension without pelvic tilt, and being able to fully extend and flex the ankle.
   • The toe test exercise to see how your ankle and feet work when flexed compared to extended. Try this at home: keep the main part of your foot on the floor and raise your toes off, then curl them underneath. Then try the same with your ankles flexed.

   You will probably find that your feet need to work a bit harder. Remember that they are the first point of contact when running, so neglect them at your peril.

   Summary

   Simian succeeded in showing his methodology. He found the “limiting factor” in myself and LC and then showed some ideas on how to develop our weak points.

   This was enlightening.

   He looks for the biggest limiting factor because that will give you the most gains if you can improve it.  This makes sense.

   Some demonstrations would have been useful, as well as remembering to coach the athlete, rather than just present to the audience. When attending a seminar I always look at how the coach coaches rather than just what they coach.

   Simian was very good at explaining WHY in his approach, but less so in some of the exercises.

   I took extensive notes, even though I attended only one of the four strands in the middle of day three. I have missed more than I have recorded, so other coaches may like to leave their feedback below.

   I have already applied some of the lessons learnt, trialled it myself, and I will be meeting with Rhys Llewellyn-Eaton in 2 weeks’ to share ideas as he was also there.

   I would recommend IFAC to other coaches who wish to learn about improving the athleticism of their players. The staff and presenters were friendly, approachable and were all there to help educate the attendees.

8. IFAC Reflections Part 2

   22nd January 2019 3:43 pm 2 Comments

   A review of Jerome Simian’s workshops on physical preparation for sport.

   I had to choose between different “strands” of coaching topics at the IFAC conference in Loughborough. A difficult choice, not wanting to miss out on some excellent speakers. I chose to attend Simian’s because of a quote I heard on the HMMR podcast:

   “I have an obligation to results, not an obligation to methods.”

   This resonates with me as I wanted to hear from someone who has to get results from the athletes he works with, or he won’t get paid. He has “skin in the game.” This is different from someone who is promoting a model on paper, in print or to a captive audience.

   I was all ears and ready to learn from someone I had never met before.

   I shall give an overview of Simian’s theoretical approach, plus details on his practical applications and my experiences as guinea pig in several of them.

   Fundamental Physical Preparation: A Systematic Approach

   “The best ones have the strongest fundamentals.”

   

    Simian recounted watching Serena Williams warm up. She hit between 80-120 shots just leaning into her backhand. Her excellence may be related to her persistence that allows her to then dictate what the ball does.

   This fundamental approach guides Simian. Athletes usually come to train with him because they have a problem to solve. He receives no funding from a Governing Body, so he has to find a solution to help the athlete that hasn’t been found in their usual training.

   “Will the environment you provide be stronger than the environment they came from?”

   I like this concept: if we aren’t increasing the stimulus, how will the athlete adapt and get better?

   Simian then quoted Michel Pradel:

   “The aim of physical preparation is to go beyond the level of motor ability that can be achieved by the sole practice of the chosen activity.”

   General to Specific Exercises

   Linking back to what Martin Bingisser had talked about in the previous hour, Simian highlighted exercises from two different events from General to Specific (see below).

   

   Figure 1 100m General to Specific

   

   Figure 2 Women’s discus General to Specific

   If you look at how this is set out, take a moment to reflect on the importance of “traditional resistance training”. A lot of heat and noise comes out of journals, social media and conferences, but very little light.

   Simian then says he uses a system of thinking, rather than specific methods. This allows him a framework within which he can choose different methods (exercises, drills, outside sources) that help him to adapt to different athletes and their needs.

   He did give an overview of different periodisation models and why he uses Zatiorsky’s adaptation model. In a nutshell, it is about managing fatigue better, so the athlete is better prepared at the end of the workout or day to then train again.

   He uses a Heart Rate Variability app with his athletes as he has found that was the simplest and most effective measure of fatigue. It was the best marker of the Parasympathetic nervous system that is linked to overall stress.

   But, I think this part of the seminar was of less relevance than his system of training.

   General Physical Preparation Planning Principles (GPPPP?)

    Simian says that he doesn’t create an athlete specific programme immediately. Instead “there are certain things every athlete ought to be able to do.”

   Each athlete goes through the system to start, this then allows Simian to gain a better understanding of how they move, what limiting factors there might be, and also what makes the athlete tick.

   

   This graphic shows the progression of thought. Looking at what the limiting factors might be, training in core athletic activities, then some specialisation according to the sport (the context).

   Then comes strengthening of the fundamentals and sport specific factors. Finally another look at what any limiting factors might be.

   A systematic hunt of the limiting factor and its improvement

   This seemed to be the crux of Simian’s approach (as discovered in the practicals).

   “Muscles have to handle each other around the joint. An injury in one may mean the loss of control, or too early a deceleration in a throw”.

   The art for Simian was to find out where the muscles were lacking, and then find a solution to improve it. He then gave examples of throwing actions and how injuries to different parts affected the overall throw.

   One thing I took from this on muscle activation:

   • Acceleration/ take offs- muscles activate from proximal to distal (centre to limbs).
   • Deceleration/ landings: the reverse, so distal to proximal (feet, ankles, knees to hips).

   Simian was very good at comparing the athletics throws and how they differ due to the different rotations. More rotations allow a longer path of acceleration, with hammer throwers rotating over 40 metres.

   In his work with Kevin Mayer (Decathlon World record holder) Simian has done a great job of analysing the movements, the events and joining the two together. The level of detail and understanding was impressive.

   Practical workshops: Observation, analysis, application

   Now to the practicals: looking at assessment of athletes and potential solutions.

   

   With a group of over 20 coaches, Simian had a young volunteer take part in the practicals to be assessed. I was lucky enough to be pushed forward by Martin Bingisser and so ended up taking part too. This was a mixed blessing.

   The review to follow is therefore from the perspective of a participant, rather than a passenger.

   Now to the practicals: looking at assessment of athletes and potential solutions.

   Practical workshops: observation, analysis, application

   Simian used the hurdles picture to assess our ability to do repeated rebounds over them. He gains information from this to then ascribe/prescribe further exercises in the gym.  LC and I did this several times each.

   (N.B. At no point in these workshops did Simian ever demonstrate; it took a lot of time and explanation to get things right. I got tired repeating the exercises, many of which were either new, or not something I practise regularly. Information taken from my stumbling efforts was tainted with lack of skill.

   As a coach are you assuming deficit of strength (imbalances) when really skill is deficient? It is easy to jump to conclusions.)

   Simian’s feedback to LC was that her back was collapsing during the rebounds, so more strength type supplemental work was needed.

   His feedback to me was that more springing practice was needed, so doing the hurdles exercise will help me get better. Strength didn’t appear to be the issue.

   Back strengthening exercises

   

   We then spent the next hour in the gym with LC as the subject, looking at back strengthening progressions. They were as follows:

   • Assessing LC in the Roman Chair– showed tightness around T12 which leads to poor rotation (problematic for a thrower). Simian then pressed down on her lumbar spine and got her to extend. This isolated the thoracic spine (T Spine) to enable more movement.
   • In order to get a contraction in the T Spine, he tried to get a relaxation in the rectus abdominus. He rubbed LC’s tummy as a cue and then said “relax that”. Her movement improved, so he changed her position on the chair so she had more flexion at the beginning.
   • Once the movement was correct and the range had increased, he added a light barbell to her shoulders. LC had to hold for 6 seconds, then slowly lower down again.
   • The key point was to only extend the spine after hip extension. All sports (except golf) require this sequence, rather than spine extension followed by hip extension.

   Sprinters who pop up too soon may have weaker spines. It is easy to hold the spine erect upright than in horizontal.

                   The next series of exercises were off the Roman Chair and progressed as follows:

   • Good Mornings- LC was still hinging at T12, so a lighter load was needed. The maximal load was being taken at T12, rather than across the spine.
   • Hip Hinge with barbell in front (Romanian Dead Lift, RDL). Trying to extend the spine throughout the whole movement.

   These exercises help athletes keep an upright chest when running without a pelvic tilt. If the pelvis anteriorly rotates when the chest is high, it creates too much “backside mechanics” leading to over striding.

   • Snatch grip deadlift– hips and shoulders rise together. If the hips rise first, it shows too early a knee extension. The extension should be: hips-knee-ankles in that order.
   • Feet elevated snatch deadlift- harder to control. Slow up for 5 seconds, then down for 5 seconds.

   At no point was “Lift Heavy” used as a cue. The progressions were greater range of motions with greater technical difficulty. “The lighter weight I can use to get an effect, the better.”

   Simian said that once LC had got competent in these exercises then he would progress her through greater speed and exercises such as pulls and snatch that encourage that speed.

   “If to do an exercise properly, you have to solve the same problem that you do on the track, then it’s probably a good exercise.”

   Here was where Simian was excellent– he knew what the problem in the event was, and then used exercises to help isolate certain parts of that event and improve them. Problem solving and skilful movement by the athlete were essential parts of the process.

   Part 3 will look at Leg strengthening progressions in the gym.

9. IFAC reflections Part 1

   16th January 2019 12:28 pm Leave a Comment

   A review of the middle day of the IFAC conference in Loughborough.

   

   
   I spent the first Saturday of 2019 at the EAAC event held at Loughborough University. Finding good conferences in the UK is hard, so I wanted to make the most of this opportunity.

   I shall give an overview of what I learnt, plus some detail on the specific exercise progressions in the gym.

   
   Whilst the term athletics may turn readers off, the principles and movement inherent in these workshops apply to many different sports. Frank Dick is the organiser. The ex head coach of UK Athletics in the early 1990s is the author of three excellent books and is the main reason I wanted to attend.

   

   I have met Frank 4 times previously. The first at “Bodylife” a Health Club conference in the late 1990s where he was the key note speaker. His talk influenced me to later set out on my own path rather than continue down the management track.

   
   I then attended a 1 day leadership and coaching workshop with him in 2000, where he took us through a great day of practical coaching and thinking exercises. I was there with a small team of my staff who were great people too.

   
   I next saw Frank accompanying his daughter trying to rack up tennis points at the David Lloyd Club I was managing in Heston. We talked then about the tennis system and how much travelling was required in order to gain these points.

   
   Forward onto 2012 and the buzz about the London Olympics. I attended the Global Coaching House in Piccadilly which he organised and I saw a variety of great coaches speak.

   

   
   The three books he has written are:

   
   • Sports Training Principles: currently in its 5th edition, a sport science text that has expanded and become more detailed over the years. I first read this in 1993 and recommend it highly.

   
   • Winning: A great short book about motivation in which Frank talks about “Mountain people and valley people”

   
   • Winning Matters: A guide to leadership and running a successful club or organisation. Again, very useful.
   So, whilst I haven’t ever been coached by Frank, I have been influenced by him and he has definitely given me inspiration through speech and the written word.

   
   Fit for purpose: functional physicality

   
   Martin Bingisser gave the first presentation on what constitutes physical preparation for sports. Martin has represented Switzerland at the hammer throw and now coaches throwers. He runs HMMR media and I was invited onto his podcast last October. I met Martin at GAIN 3 years ago and have enjoyed getting to know him.

   
   “Understanding why is the new functional training”.

   
   New coaches are keen on the “What” with some “How”. Which new exercise can they copy from a famous athlete on Instagram? Martin was keen to stress the “Why” we do exercises and that as coaches evolve, they ask this more and more.
   (These phrases come from Simon Sinek’s book “Start with why?” and are common to GAIN coaches).

   
   Martin split the concepts of physical preparation into 3 stages:
   • General
   • Related
   • Specific
   (attendees of our coaching courses will recognise this is also how we structure how warm up design).

   
   General: To prepare athletes to train.

   

   
   Jesse Owens jumped 8:17 metres in 1936. He never did a back squat (or a mid-thigh pull). How was he able to compete in 4 different events and win Olympic Gold Medals without going in a weights room?

   
   Growing up in the segregated south, his active youth may have been the “General” preparation that was necessary.

   
   Martin then showed videos of the La Sierra High School physical education programme espoused by John F Kennedy in the 1960s.

   The video shows what can be down outside if young people are given the opportunity (It was one of the influencers in choosing the equipment with our Parish Council for our village’s main park).

   
   Why Squat?

   
   Why is the back squat so prevalent and now seen as a “need to do” exercise? How about:
   • Goblet squat
   • Partner squat
   • Single leg squat
   • Half squats
   • Step ups
   as examples of developing leg strength?

   Martin then gave several examples of different athletes doing different leg exercises, each of whom had a rationale for their situation and purpose.

   
   This is different from saying “You MUST do back squats”, especially with beginner athletes and beginners in the weights room.
   (Martin was preaching to a choir boy with me, and our club members will recognise the patterns and themes that we follow. This is covered regularly at GAIN and in different variants).

   
   Related: Prepare athletes for the sport

   
   Martin showed a video of John Pryor doing some “Robust Running” drills with the Japanese National Rugby.

   
   The difference between “cool looking exercises on Instagram” and a purposeful approach to coaching, with structures and progressions was the main point here.

   
   Key points were:
   • Develop skill execution in parallel with physical prep.
   • Constraints- led approach so the athletes have to solve problems to create the correct sprinting pattern.
   • A simple approach to a complex environment means that one piece of the puzzle can be solved at a time.

   
   Specific Training for the sport

   
   Time needs to be spent doing this. Do coaches look for ways to structure their training accordingly? Do they know the needs and demands of their sport?
   Martin showed a video of a shot putter training with some “cool looking exercises”, but then explained why they were “sport specific”.

   They consisted of four elements which transfer to the sporting environment:

   1. Technical/ co-ordination– develop balance and rhythm through an altered environment.
   2. Mental– create a challenge to help focus.
   3. Strength– specific strength overload.
   4. Emotional- competitive challenge.

   When designing programmes to improve physical preparation for the sport, coaches need to know the basics required in that sport. Is there a relevant measurement for exercises that can be found- or, like Jesse Owens, do we just need to be fitter?

   The final point from Martin was that the best coaches need:

   ADAPTABILITY + VERSATILITY

   Part 2: A review of the practical workshops with Jerome Simian on developing leg and back strength for athletes.

10. How to Create Excellence In Coaching

    15th January 2019 11:23 am Leave a Comment

    Improving your coaching

    

    Reviewing and improving

    For a start, I am not sure I have achieved this, but there are a few things that you can do to help make yourself and your coaching better.

    • Learn- observe, participate, read, practice. Not just from the usual key texts, if all you do is read the same 3 books as everyone else, you will do the same as everyone else. Look outside your usual sphere of influence, try different things, listen to what your athletes are telling you.
    • Analyse– look at what your athletes do when they move, don’t come with a prepared programme to hand out, see what they can actually do. Look at what the sport requires in the game, using both top performers and beginners as benchmarks. Don’t take an exercise as gospel because Tiger Woods does it. Try to understand why he might do something, and then see if you need to do that.
    • Share– share your ideas and opinions and thoughts with others. Physiotherapists, biomechanists, physiologists, coaches will all see the same thing as you, but from their perspective. This will add colour, depth and clarity to your own vision. This should help prevent group think, but also be aware of summating that information into a workable package for your athletes.
    • Review- constantly, all the time, after every session, every day, every week, every month, every year. The mini reviews will help you adjust things before your next session. But the bigger reviews require time and no distractions.

    Take the time out away from the immediate pressing issues of the day and sit down with a blank piece of paper and a clear mind. Revisit where you want to go, think what you need to get there. Think what you have done and then match the two. Where there are gaps, look to improve.

    Why not book onto our new “Foundation in Athletic Development” 1 day course to help improve your coaching?