Sports Coaching Brain » Coaching Tips

Sustaining success! The Coach’s Holy Grail.

Wayne Goldsmith — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:41:55 +0000

Many coaches will say they want to be successful.

No they don’t. Not really.

They want to be successful again and again and again and again and again. They want to Sustain success and Always have a competitive program, winning athletes and quality players.

So how do you it?

How do you Sustain Competitiveness And Sustain Success?

There are FOUR simple rules to Sustaining Competitiveness And Success:

Rule 1: Make Sure You Are Accelerating Your Learning And Improvement As A Coach At A Faster Rate Than The Rate Of Improvement Of Your Athletes .

This is important. If an athlete or player comes to your program and says, “I want to be the best footballer, swimmer, sailor, runner, rower etc etc” – your own rate of development as a coach must be equal to or greater than that of the athlete.

It does not make sense any other way. Think of it in terms of school. Kindergarten teachers work with kindergarten kids. High school teachers work with high school students. University lecturers work with university students. At each level of development, the teacher (coach) must be able to provide learning opportunities appropriate to that level and be ahead of the student.

If an athlete wants to be the best – you must also strive to be the best OR….send them to another coach who is.

Rule 2: Develop And Maintain A Culture Which Can Support And Sustain Success

Lots of people talk about culture but few understand it. Bit like the engine in my new Honda – I tell lots of people about it but I doubt I could even change a spark plug – not sure it even has one!

A successful culture is one that encourages and embraces continuous improvement and one which provides opportunity for people to accelerate their rate of performance improvement through quality learning.

Does your culture attract people who can change, enhance and add value to your program or do you recruit people who will fit in, not rock the boat and merely maintain what you already do?

Sustaining success means recruiting and retaining “unreasonable people” who will challenge, change and champion new ideas and innovations.

Rule 3: Think Like A Futurist – Do Not Think About What Has Gone Before – Only What Is To Come.

Many people talk about the future but few see it, smell it, taste it and can bring it to life. Most people talk about the future in very limited terms – a future which is more or less an extension of what they are already doing.

Sustaining success means seeing the future clearly, communicating that vision to other people and working hard to bring it into existence SOONER than your competition.

Rule 4: Work Harder Than Anyone Else

Sorry – no short cuts.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld once said, “Do what you love to do and commit everything you have to doing it. Only good can come from it”.

An important difference between those who want to succeed and those actually do succeed is plain, simple, consistent hard work.

Seeing the future is important: working hard to get there first is critical.

Wayne Goldsmith

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101 Coaching Tips

Wayne Goldsmith — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 07:07:41 +0000

It takes 20 years to become an overnight success. Successful coaches have by a combination of experience, skill, education and practice, developed ways and means of getting the best out themselves and their athletes.

Here are 101 Coaching Tips to help you achieve your coaching goals.

Plan.
Develop communication skills and never stop trying to improve them.
Learn to effectively utilise the Internet, social media and email.
Never stop learning. Learning is for life.
Be open-minded. Never say, never.
What you may lack in knowledge, make up for with enthusiasm, desire and passion.
Be a role model for your athletes.
Accept constructive criticism as a positive. Learn from mistakes, take steps to improve from the experience and move on.
Allocate time every day for personal health and fitness.
Keep a detailed diary and record work actually done by athletes not just what was planned to be done.
Embrace effective change.
Use sports science wisely. The art of coaching drives the science of performance.
Seek out information – don’t wait for the “secret to success” to fall into your lap.
Coach with your heart but don’t forget the basics. Secure adequate training facilities, keep good records, observe O.H. and S principles, and maintain a commitment to safety and equity. Having the “nuts and bolts” organised allows you to focus on what you do best – working with athletes.
Believe in your athletes – they believe in you.
Steal ideas from others sports (and improve on them).
Strive to make yourself redundant – develop coach independent athletes.
Listen with your eyes and watch with your ears.
Attitude + application + ability = achievement.
Coach the person not the athlete. Coach the person not the performance.
Develop a network and support structure. Be a resource manager.
Best, better, brilliant – there’s always room for improvement.
What you believe will happen, will happen. What the mind can conceive it will achieve.
Persistence pays – never give up.
Learn basic business skills. Understand the basics of insurance. Be familiar with legal liability. Understand the basics of taxation and the tax system. Make coaching your business!
Give an ounce of information and a ton of practice.
Communicate – clearly, concisely, calmly, constructively, consistently and cleverly.
Seek out a critical friend. They are you greatest asset.
Help develop your sport not just your current athletes.
Mix with successful people. Success breeds success.
Delegate, delegate, delegate, give athletes, assistants, parents and officials responsibility for aspects of your (their) program.
Enthusiasm, encouragement, energy = Excellence.
Look for things to improve in yourself.
Have fun. Life is short.
It is easy to coach athletes when they are performing well. Do you have the ability to help athletes (and yourself) deal with the tough times?
Focus on the long term even when trying to achieve in the short term.
Contribute to the development of other coaches. You may learn from teaching and students are often the best teachers of all.
Listen to your athletes.
Develop peripheral vision – in your mind.
Present information at coaching courses and workshops. Be willing to share.
Treat athletes like customers – coaching is the ultimate in client service.
Read journals from alternative industries and seek out principles that you can apply to sporting situations.
Be flexible in your methods and approach.
Embrace the principle “For the love of it, not the money in it!”
Athletes develop confidence through competence. Nothing develops confidence like a thorough preparation.
Constantly challenge yourself and your athletes.
Create a safe, stimulating, interesting training environment where athletes enjoy coming to train.
In preparing athletes: leave nothing to chance, nothing untested: don’t rely on luck: make your own!
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Do your homework. Know the strengths and weakness of your athletes, yourself, your opposition. Know the standards, what are the world records, national records, state records, regional records, and club records, what are your goals?
Look to helpEncourage your athlete to have ownership of the program.
Maintain good appearance, look like a professional.
Technology is your ally not your enemy. Use it wisely.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Mental toughness is still a key component of successful competition.
Adopt the D.R.A.M.A. approach ” Do, Record, Analyse, Modify, Act”
Confront problems calmly by talking directly with the athlete – don’t rely on rumour, relayed messages or other second hand methods of communication. If a message can be misinterpreted it already has been.
Empathise not sympathise.
Keep the reasons you coach at the forefront of your mind and your goals close to your heart.
Desire: keep the dream alive, everyday. Motivation is a lifestyle not a one off event.
What makes a great coach? Great athletes!
Be firm and fair.
Build your program around the five “E’s”: Equity, Excellence, Empathy and Empowerment.
Share a joke, not sarcasm, just a funny joke, when appropriate.
Field questions and throw back answers. Challenge athletes to discover the answers for themselves and to learn lessons.
Observe, ponder, respond, be an observer of human behaviour.
Share experiences willingly.
Establish open and effective communication with all stakeholders, parents, athletes, administrators, officials and important others.
When in doubt, pause and check it out. Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”.
Employ actions that minimise risk. The primary responsibility of all coaches is the safety of their athletes.
Encourage your athlete recovering from injury by involving them in the program in some capacity. Everyone is needed and everyone belongs.
Be aware of and carry out your legal responsibilities.
Efficient coaches take responsibility for their own effectiveness.
Self-reflection is your constant companion: be your own best critic but strive to be objective rather than self destructive.
Recognise the contribution of others, players, parents, officials, assistants, facility maintenance staff, everyone enjoys being appreciated.
Recognise, publicise, and reward. Praise in public, criticise in private.
Lead from the front and support from the rear.
The coach is the creator of positive experiences.
Proper prior planning prevents pitifully poor performance.
Praise and positive reinforcement are tools for the coach.
Think about what you say before you say it. Then watch for reactions to your words before saying anything else.
Body language replaces many words: Its not what you say but how you say it.
Inspire your athletes to be all they can be, everyday and in all things.
Coaching is a two-way process: The athlete feels but can’t see, the coach sees but can’t feel.
Get to know something personal about your athletes. They are people who have chosen to play sport: not just sportspeople.
Holistically challenge your athlete’s mental skills. They can be developed just like physical skills.
Athletes listen when the coach listens to them.
Know when to say no.
Demonstrate, explain, demonstrate again, practice and give constructive feedback.
Concentrate on the performance not the outcome.
Process goals (how to achieve) should predominate over outcome goals (what to achieve).
Facilitate motivation by allowing athletes to fulfil their goals in some way at every session.
Coach your athletes to distinguish between attainable and unobtainable but to never stop dreaming of what’s possible.
Buy a video and refine your filming and reviewing skills.
Sports officials give your athletes the best opportunity to achieve the best result – work alongside them. Welcome them into your program and invite them to provide input.
To coach well you’ll need to know the current interpretation of your sports rules and regulations.
The coach has a great opportunity to easily expand their social circle, you’ll never be lonely.
Last year’s programs produce last year’s results. Resist the temptation to coach by routine and habit.

(Why not add your own tips to the list and share them with me and all the Sports Brainers??)

Wayne Goldsmith

The Greatest Assistant Coaching Article Ever Written (i.e. because we think it’s the only one): 50 of the best Tips on how to be a World Class Assistant Coach. By Lindsay Gaze, Michael Foley, Dave Claxton, Craig Tiley, Scott...

50 Ways to Enhance your Coaching Performance in High Performance Sport.

Wayne Goldsmith — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 02:42:45 +0000

: fifty from Crestock Stock Images

Recently I got an email from someone saying, “Hi Wayne. You seem to have a lot to say about what people are doing wrong in high performance sport. How about you “put your money where your mouth is” and post a list of things people can do to enhance the performance of their athletes, teams and programs.”

OK. I did.

Train harder;
Train smarter;
Train harder and smarter;
Improve your leadership skills;
Consistently out-prepare everyone in your competition;
Dream bigger;
Believe in yourself;
Back yourself;
Get up faster when you are knocked down or face adversity;
Get tougher mentally;
Never accept the first “no” from a sports administrator or bureaucrat - just fight harder;
Become outstanding at finding and retaining talented athletes;
Develop the most creative thinking skills in your sport: the best ideas win;
Be more passionate about success than anyone else in your sport;
Never become complacent: success is a moving target;
Enthusiasm, passion, desire and attitude are contagious diseases: are yours worth catching?
Use sports science intelligently, effectively and with intent;
Get to know your athletes better than they know themselves;
Collaborate with your athletes - don’t coach at them;
Listen;
Take care of your own health – physical, mental and spiritual;
Be committed to intelligent change and continuous improvement;
Make friends far more often than you make enemies;
Develop a network of coaches in other sports and speak with them regularly;
Leave your ego at the door - ego kills progress and limits creativity;
Read books by great leaders, great thinkers and great philosophers: there are lessons to be learnt everywhere;
Go back and read Number 1 on this list again – you have to work harder than anyone else;
There are no short cuts: anything promising double figure improvement (e.g. 10% or more) in high performance sport is more fictitious than Lord of the Rings and you aren’t a hobbit;
Develop a group of close friends outside of your sport and don’t talk to them about sport;
Sleep and eat well everyday;
Find a sports science network group who respect you, want to collaborate with you and will grow with you;
Adopt an integrated approach to identifying and developing talent: physical, mental, technical, tactical, cultural and genetic;
Teach one new lesson to every athlete every day;
Give and seek feedback often;
Hate losing – but learn from it, grow from it and improve as a consequence;
Take smart risks with your program, your ideas and your coaching;
See an athlete’s parents as partners in performance not as adversaries or just paying clients;
Create the culture you want to coach in: start with your own attitude then “infect” everyone around you;
Accelerate your learning faster than your opposition: from learning comes change, from change comes improvement, from improvement comes winning;
Take up another passion - i.e. other than your sport – to focus your mind and intelligence on;
Get to know the techniques, skills, rules and regulations of your sport better than anyone in the world;
Learn from the legend coaches of your sport - to see further than giants, you must stand upon their shoulders;
Keep records, refer back to them often and learn from them: those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them;
Find a mentor - someone whose skills, knowledge, experience, attitudes and philosophies are complimentary (i.e. different) to your own;
Find someone to mentor: nothing teaches like teaching;
Become a master of the Internet, social networking and all current forms of communication: communicate the way your athletes want to be communicated with;
Don’t think, speak or act in absolutes.…there is no such things as “always, “never”, “must” and “only” in high performance sport: challenge everything!
Learn enough about sports science, sports medicine, technology and strength and conditioning to look your staff in the eye and challenge them with a level of credibility and understanding;
Hire intelligently: hire on attitude and passion, then train the skills you need;
And number 50………an oldie but a goodie….never, ever give up. Persistence and perseverance usually beat talent, money, facilities and potential.

There you go.

What are your top 50? Let me know – let’s see if we can add another 500 to my list!

Note: The Sports Coaching Brain mentors many high performance coaches in professional and Olympic sports all over the world. YT

Wayne Goldsmith

Thinking Outside the Box in Coaching in High Performance Sport – Creativity is King! Earth in box from Crestock High Quality Images There is...

The Top Ten Reasons Why Coaches Fail

Wayne Goldsmith — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 23:37:21 +0000

The last post was about the things great coaches do that makes them so successful.

Now let’s look at the things that coaches do that stop them from realising their potential.

Here are The Top Ten Reasons Why Coaches Fail.

Compromising; A coaching colleague of mine with multiple world and Olympic successes behind him has asked me to ensure that his grave-stone has two words engraved on it “No compromise”. It is his view that fundamental to greatness in coaching is the reluctance to compromise for anyone, anything and at any time. Coaches who do not succeed have inevitably compromised during their preparation. It may have been compromise to an administrator to pacify a political situation. It may have been compromise to a player who felt training was too hard. Regardless of why, to again quote my colleague, “Compromise is the Cancer of Achievement. It erodes success and achievement like nothing else can”;
Lacking belief in themselves: Coaches who fail lack belief in themselves. If you do not believe in your own ability to succeed and in your own capacity to be victorious, how can you inspire it in others? Confidence (not arrogance) is the catalyst for all great sporting success stories. People who say “I can” and “I will” and give everything they have to the achievement of the impossible, inevitably succeed;
Copying others: Copying kills. Winners do things, think things and say things no else is prepared to. They are originals. They are unique. They are individuals. Coaches who copy other coaches only aim for mediocrity at best;
Relying too much on learning from only within their own sport: These days, there are no secrets. Everyone in your sport knows what you know. Beginner coaches have access to the same information and ideas that high performance coaches do. So to find a winning edge, you have to look outside of your sport and indeed outside of sport into the corporate world, the military, into the academic world, the fields of science and medicine, the arts…anywhere where excellence thrives and people are achieving;
Relying too much on emotion: Emotion in coaching is a killer. Emotion in sport is for the friends, family and fans of players, but for coaches and athletes, emotion is as unwanted as a serious injury. Poor coaches will rely on emotion to try and inspire performance. “Do it for our nation” with the flag flying in the background…or “You have to hate your opponent”: this emotion based coaching-babble rarely works and if it does it is only effective for a short time. Coaching is about being calm, confident, composed, clear and credible;
Using the same programs over and over and over: There is no one way to win. There is no magic formula. No coach in any sport has created the infallible program which works every-time and in every situation. Every program – like every coach – is a work in progress and when you start believing that you have all the answers that you will have none;
Failing to engage their athletes: Poor coaches coach at athletes; the great ones coach with athletes. They engage the hearts and minds of their athletes and inspire them to be even more than the athlete ever dreamed they could be. Athletes are your partners in performance: the more they are engaged with you and your program, the better your results will be;
Lack of persistence: Coaches who stop trying must fail. I have a coaching colleague who has coached over 500 games of senior, professional football but despite coming close several times, he has yet to win a Premiership. He remains one of the hardest working, most innovative, most passionate and most committed coaches I have ever met. Never, ever, give up. You owe it to yourself and your athletes;
Lack of vision: There is a reason why “vision” is called “vision”: because you can see it. Great coaches can “see” the future of their sport, their athletes, their program and their own coaching and can communicate their vision effectively to everyone around them. Their ability to share their vision and to have others embrace it as their own, is paramount. Coaches who fail to succeed lack this vision-sharing ability: they think about now, they dwell on yesterday and the future is only as far as the next game;
Not spending enough time maximising their strengths: People in all fields of endeavour succeed on their strengths. It is the things you are good at that will provide you with the opportunity to win. Coaches who spend too much time trying to overcome weaknesses and in doing so allow their strengths to be un-mastered, only end up being mediocre at everything. Discover what your strengths are and become the indisputable best in your sport in those areas. Success will come.

So what’s holding you back?

Wayne Goldsmith

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The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Coaches

Wayne Goldsmith — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 07:10:59 +0000

The great philosopher (and possibly football coach) Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”

That being the case, (and with apologies to Stephen Covey) – what are The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Coaches?

What are the things that great coaches do every day that makes them great?

Make training more challenging and more demanding than the competition your athletes are targeting;

Great coaches realise that competition is not the time to find out where your athletes’ physical and mental limits are. Training needs to be more challenging and more demanding – physically, mentally, technically, tactically, emotionally – than the competition your athletes are preparing for.

Example: A few weeks before a major international professional Tennis Championship I observed a leading professional player play 6 sets of 9 games (i.e. first player to 9 games with a 2 game lead, e.g. 9-7) and against 4 different training opponents (one left handed and three right handed), i.e. as opposed to a standard competition match of 5 sets of 6 games against 1 opponent. His coach made the training practice tougher, more challenging, more demanding and more difficult than any tournament match could ever be. Result…he won!

Learn and develop as a coach at a faster rate than your athletes;

Great coaches realise that success is a moving target and to stay relevant they must be committed to life-long learning, honest personal and professional evaluation and continuous improvement.

Example: A swimming coach realised that two of the athletes in his team had the potential to be world record holders but that he had not coached world record holders previously. He raised some money and invited two world class coaches from other nations to come and honestly review his coaching and his program regularly to ensure his knowledge and skills were also world class. Result: One world record.

Accelerate your rate of learning faster than your opposition;

The Internet has insured that there are no secrets in sport. Everyone knows what you know. Anyone can get anything, anytime, anywhere and for free. Everyone is learning something everyday. Great coaches understand this and strive to accelerate their rate of learning faster than their opposing coaches.

Example: A high performance rugby coach with an outstanding success rate at the highest level spent one month each year, immediately following the end of the competitive season traveling the world learning from other coaches in other sports in other nations to ensure his rate of learning and development was superior to other coaches in his sport. Result…the most outstanding coaching record in professional rugby.

Enhance your creative thinking skills;

Creativity is the defining difference between good coaches and great coaches. Good coaches can follow programs: great ones invent winning programs and in doing so create new directions and new ideas which in turn change the sport. Copying kills. Following others and trying to duplicate their success is a recipe for failure.

Example: One leading track and field coach I know enrolled in a creative class of some kind every off season. One year it was “Improv” comedy classes. The next year it was “Creative Writing”. The following year he took up Piano. He realised that his capacity to create and to understand creativity was the key to his future success. Result: Some of most innovative and creative training programs the sport has ever seen.

Coach individuals – even in team sports;

There are no true team sports left. Every significant moment in every sport is “person on person” and with performance analysis now at the level of millimeters and fractions of seconds, every athlete’s strengths and weaknesses are well known by their opposition. Great coaches engage with athletes and inspire them: they inspire them to consistently prepare with passion and to realise their full potential.

Example: A national football coach invited two world class triathlon coaches to attend his pre-season training camp. His thinking was that triathlon was all about individuals being pushed to their physical and mental limits in training and competition and that for his team to become the best in the world, each individual within that team must also be the best in the world. Result: World Champions.

Ensure that every athlete that you work with out prepares (in every aspect) their opposition;

The days of winning by having the “fittest” athletes are over. Sport is so multi-dimensional that winning comes from being the best in every aspect: training, preparation, skills, attitude, recovery, gym-training, sleep, travel management, nutrition etc etc. Great coaches know this and strive to create winning environments where a culture of excellence underpins everything and everybody.

Example: An international level swimming coach arranged for every swimmer is his team to learn how to shop for the right foods, how to cook, how get better quality sleep, how to meditate and how to manage their time, so that their non-training acitivites were at the same high standard as their training and preparation. Result: 3 swimmers in the Olympic team.

Adapt your training plans and programs to optimise their impact on each individual athlete at every training session;

The best coaches plan: they plan meticulously and with great attention to detail but, ultimately they also understand that the core goal of every training session is to ensure it provides the optimal environment and opportunity for their athletes to prepare.

Example: A track and field coach, preparing a middle distance running included an even paced 1000 metre run at a relatively easy pace in every warm up. He would assess how the athlete completed the “test” run: measuring heart rate, stride rate and RPE for the run and comparing them to the results of previous workouts. He would then change the workout based on the knowledge of the athlete’s capacity to complete the workout. Result: National Champion at 800 and 1500 metres.

Performance practice – not practice makes perfect;

Everyone practices and lots of coaches believe in the “practice makes perfect” approach. But great coaches take this a step further: performance practice makes for perfect performance. Want to master a skill? Adopt the “practice makes perfect” approach. Want to master a skill so that it can be executed the right way at the right time in a competition? Then follow the “performance practice” philosophy.

Example: A successful college basketball coach has three rules. Rule 1: Teach the basics of the skill in under 2 minutes. Rule 2. Allow each player to learn the skill by doing it. Rule 3. Make the skills practice as close as possible to game speed, pressure and intensity as soon as possible. Result: 5 State College Basketball titles in 11 years.

Adopt an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to talent development and performance enhancement;

Athletes are only athletes for an hour or two at most each day. For the other 22-23 hours each day they are human beings. Many coaches concentrate on preparing the athlete to perform: the great ones prepare the human being to be all they can be, then, as a result, the athlete will perform.

Example: A high school hockey coach had a philosophy about people: “Treat people the way I would want to be treated”. She made the commitment to arrive at training 10 minutes early each day and spend ten minutes one on one with a player to talk about their school, their pets, their family, their hobbies – anything except hockey. She also stayed back every training session to spend ten minutes with another player. As a result, every two weeks, she had got to know every player in her team as a human being which completely changed her perspective and approach to preparing them. Result: Undefeated Champions in their League.

Lead.

The great coaches are leaders. They dare to be different. They do things that others are not prepared to do. They drive change. They thrive in creative conflict situations and fight hard for what and who they believe in. They take risks. They are comfortable talking about winning: it is, after all, what they were born to do. They are individuals. They are unique. They are the best because they are prepared to lead and with it accept the responsibilities that come with leadership.

Example: A swimming coach believed his sport needed to change. He felt that traditionally there had been too much focus on endurance and threshold training and not enough focus on speed: he would dare to be different. He introduced speed training in every training cycle all year round. He broke the mould of the traditional approach to periodisation, i.e. one week microcycles and developed training cycles focused on each individual’s adaptation capacity. He challenged his athletes to race more than any athletes in the history of swimming at international level. Result: 4 Olympic Gold Medals.

These are The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Coaches…..so what did you do today?

Wayne Goldsmith

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Coaching without Periodisation – Part Two

Wayne Goldsmith — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 06:25:12 +0000

In part one of this post we discussed the possibility of Coaching Without Periodisation.

In part two we will look at an alternate way of working with athletes and helping each individual you coach to realise their full potential and achieve their training and performance goals.

So who are we talking about?

Beginning coaches don’t use a lot of periodisation – because they haven’t learnt how. They don’t start using it until they get indoctrinated on the concept of periodisation as they progress through the coach education pathway.

In the beginning all they have is enthusiasm, commitment, a love of the sport and the desire to help people achieve all they can achieve….what a great place to start!

And believe it or not, many world class coaches don’t rely on periodisation either. They achieve success by their ability to understand and work with individual athletes and they are flexible and adaptable to the athlete’s changing needs.

So let’s focus on the big group in the middle – the vast majority of coaches in all sports who are P.P.s – Periodisation-philes.

Three reasons so many coaches rely on Periodisation.

1. It is easy;

2. That’s the way they learn to coach from coach educators;

3. Everyone else seems to do it.

Relying on Periodisation is Lazy Coaching.

Relying on periodisation is like enrolling in a University course then never attending a lecture.

You enrol in the classes. You get all the books and course materials. Then you sit at home and write papers, answer on-line quizzes and do all the assessment requirements from the comfort of your own room.

Sure, you will pass the class.

Sure, you will get a degree.

Sure, may even learn a lot.

But you also miss out on the most critical aspect of study: understanding.

By not going to classes and not sharing ideas with other students, by not getting engaged with debates on important topics, by not seeking out the lecturer and challenging them on different aspects of the course, you have missed out on the most important part of the learning process.

And it’s the same with coaching.

Sure, you can write an amazingly detailed periodised plan.

Sure, you can pass the Level 26 Coaching Course.

Sure, you can even develop a decent training program.

You can even call yourself a Coach.

But unless you are working with athletes, sharing ideas with them, learning from them, engaging with them and creating training programs which are flexible, adaptable and responsive to their needs, you don’t understand coaching.

People and Performance come before Periodisation and Programming…and not just in the dictionary.

Why do you coach?

To help people perform to their full potential.

You didn’t become a coach to write programs. You became a coach because you wanted to changes lives through sport: not to be the best at writing macro-cycles.

To thine own self be true: it’s time to go back to being a beginner coach again.

The alternative to Periodisation???

There is an alternative to Periodisation.

It’s called Coaching. You may have heard of it!

C – Coach

Guess what? You can and you will coach more effectively without a reliance on periodisation.

Why?

Because you actually have to coach.

You can’t stand on the sideline and yell instructions from a piece of paper.

You can’t write a workout on the whiteboard and stand back while the athletes complete it.

You can’t point to your laptop and tell the athletes they are going to do session 37 in your annual plan.

Once you release yourself from the shackles of periodisation you can go back to doing what you are good at: coaching people.

O – Observe

Great coaches are great observers of human behaviour.

You don’t need a blood test or a POMS score to know if you athletes are tired. Watch them. Check out their body language. Look at their eye contact – or lack of it. Observe the way they engage or don’t engage with their team mates and coaches.

And conversely, you don’t need a sign-post to tell you when you athletes are ready and raring to go. Listen to them talk. Watch their interactions with others in the group. Check out their enthusiasm, e.g. starting training early, encouraging others, asking you for additional work.

A – Assess

Every sport has a way of assessing the “readiness” of athletes to train to their full potential.

For example, Swimming has a great concept called I.C.S. (Individual Checking Speed) which is a sub-maximal swim performed during warm up at a set speed in which heart rate, technical efficiency and RPE are measured to determine how ready the athlete is to perform training at that session. Then based on this assessment, the coach makes changes to training intensity and volume to meet the athletes specific needs at that moment.

Other sports have similar readiness measurement tools….use them! Or make up your own. But find a way to assess how ready your athletes are to train at that moment in time.

C – Create

Coaching is a true creative endeavour and the great coaches possess a kind of creative genius.

This is why periodisation has become so popular: it is easier than being creative.

But, today, with the Internet: everyone knows what you know. Anyone can get anything, anywhere, anytime and for free…so it is no longer knowledge which differentiates you from your competition.

It is you ability to create new, original, different and most importantly, athlete relevant training (A.R.T.) which will ensure your success.

Creativity is the currency of successful coaching. How much do you have in the bank?

H – Help

Remember why you got into coaching in the first place?

To help people realise their full potential as athletes and as human beings? You got into it to make a difference!

Coaches choose to change lives and to help people be all they can be.

Go back to first principles: go back to helping first and writing programs a distance second.

Does not relying on Periodisation mean you don’t Plan????

No. In fact you have to be more organised and better planned than ever.

You actually need to be more of a student of your sport and more of a master of human behaviour than you have ever been.

But you don’t have to be a slave to some rigid, inflexible periodised plan that was written on your kitchen table months ago and which may keep the coach education guys happy and convinced you can coach but has little or no relevance to working with your athletes today.

Summary:

Periodisation should be thrown in a box, along with analog televisions, newspapers and V8 cars as something that was a great idea at the time but now needs to move aside;
The new coaching should be about coaching: that is, coaches should walk away from their laptops, their periodised charts and their guaranteed “never fail” training programs and engage with their athletes at every opportunity;
The successful coach of the future will be the coach who is prepared to actually coach: to give more of themselves, more of their time, more of their human-ness and more of their creativity to the coaching experience.

Wayne Goldsmith

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The Rugby Union and Rugby League Guaranteed to Succeed Game Plan

Wayne Goldsmith — Thu, 26 May 2011 23:34:39 +0000

Is it just me or does it seem like every coach involved in rugby league and rugby union has the same game plan?

With all the money spent on coaching, analysis, technology, video, training programs, performance enhancement, player development, facilities, equipment, ball technology, strength training, conditioning, wrestling, leadership development, boots, nutrition, psychology, protein supplements etc etc you would think that rugby league and rugby union would be havens for innovation, creativity and genius.

So why does it seem like every team, every coach and every player is reading from the same play book when it comes to game plans?

Here it is – the 10 step game plan for every rugby league and rugby union team in the world:

“First we need to muscle up and dominate them in the forwards”.
“We then need make sure we get plenty of ball (possession) and hang on to it”
“We have to dominate the ruck, breakdown and collision areas“
“We have to be aggressive in our defence – really committed – and work as one team in our defensive line – it’s all about attitude”
“Once we have dominance in the collision areas, we can start spreading the ball wide and look for opportunities”
“We got to work hard off the ball and support each other“
“No mistakes – no penalties – let’s not give them anything”
“Keep talking out there – everyone needs to be communicating”
“When we kick the ball in general play, everyone needs to chase hard“
“And above all guys, stick to the game plan“

Sound familiar? That’s pretty much the game plan for every game in both codes at all levels played anywhere in the world.

You have to ask “why”.

I have been really lucky to have been involved both codes at the highest level for the past five years – NRL level here in Australia and Super Rugby and Wallabies level in Rugby. I have been fortunate to work with some outstanding football brains and innovative coaches in both codes so why is it so they all do the same stuff?????……could it be that:

Rugby League and Rugby Union are really simple games? Possibly.
Coaches like to keep it simple for players to understand? Could be.
Coaches are all issued a common master play book during their coach education program and they read from it for the rest of their professional careers? Maybe.

However, the most likely answer is that for all intents and purposes the codes and the games are pretty much the same.

Sure – officianados and zealots from each code will argue about the “amateurs vs professionals days” and the “private school vs public school” stuff and the skill level required in one code is much higher than the other code etc etc.

But in reality every game in Rugby League and Rugby Union is about getting the ball over the line. To do this you need to get the ball off the other team, hang on to it and stick it over the opposition’s line as often as possible. And, at the same time, stop them from doing the same to you.

Has it all become too complicated?

The rest is detail. But there is a massive industry built around that detail. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on figuring out that detail and implementing it in games all over the world.

You have to ask, if both codes are relatively simple in nature and have the same basic game plan, where does all the money go?

Have we overcomplicated both codes (at professional level) for no reason other than we can - that is, because we have the time, the money, the technology and the science to make something simple really complicated, we do?

This is something for greater football brains than mine to think on.

Let me know what you think. If you have a game plan which is significantly different to the above, please send it to me – I live to learn.

Wayne Goldsmith

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Coaching without Periodisation

Wayne Goldsmith — Thu, 26 May 2011 23:34:38 +0000

Coaching 101.

Plan.

Plan.

Buy a copy of Bompa’s classic text on Periodisation, get out there and plan, plan, plan.

You just can’t coach without first developing a written down, detailed, systematic periodised annual training plan.

There is another way.

First…you must unlearn what you have learnt (Yoda).

Stop for a moment.

Imagine you didn’t know what periodisation was, that you hadn’t gone through some sort of coach education and training program and that you were starting coaching without any background knowledge about coaching athletes.

What is the one thing above all that you would base your coaching and training philosophy on?

To ensure that every training session was designed so that each individual athlete received the perfect stimulus at that moment in time.

And as neither we – nor the athlete knows exactly how they will feel physically and mentally until they arrive at training, why would you spend a lot of time and effort writing detailed periodised plans months in advance????????????

Makes you wonder why we do it………..

What if……

What if you didn’t write a detailed annual periodised plan?

What if you based your training on the athlete’s readiness for training after they arrived at the track or pool or gym or field or court?

What if you didn’t write down anything before the workout? What if you only recorded what the athletes actually did?.

What if you started to coach without periodisation?

How can you coach without periodisation?

Again, unlearn what you have learnt.

The critical tool you will need if you are going to coach without periodisation is something which can tell you if the athlete is ready, willing and able to train to their full potential at the session.

This has been the “Holy-Grail” of sports science for the past 30 years: developing a simple, easy to use, reliable, valid, easy to understand test which can be used immediately pre-training and will give the athlete and coach a clear understanding of just how ready the athlete is to train.

A lot of people have come up with a lot of tools, tricks and traps to try and achieve this.

For example, taking morning heart rate (i.e. heart rate when the athlete first wakes up in the morning) has been used since the 1950s in an attempt to determine if an athlete is trained or over-trained.

But it has little relevance to their ability, desire, capacity or intent to actually train to their full potential when they arrive at training at 4 pm that day.

What is needed is something athletes can actually do during warm up which provides clear information to the athlete and coach about what, when, why and how much work to do right now.

And such a thing exists. And it’s free. And it’s simple.

See Part Two of this Post coming early June 2011.

Summary:

Coaching without periodisation.…it can be done…and it just might be the biggest leap forward in coaching for 30 years;
If everyone in the world in your sport is basically following the same planning and periodisation process you do, where’s your edge? Where’s your point of difference? Where’s your advantage?
The key principle is this: every time we work with an athlete, it is our responsibility to ensure that the training we provide is the optimal stimulus for them – at that moment, at that time and specific to their unique physical and mental status as they exist right now;
If this is our goal, to provide each individual athlete with the optimal training session at the specific time they are completing it, then planning training sessions days, weeks and months ahead is not only crazy but is bordering on irresponsible;
There is another way.

Wayne Goldsmith

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Reverse Coaching – Coaching in Reverse.

Wayne Goldsmith — Fri, 06 May 2011 07:56:05 +0000

Coaching is one thing.

But Reverse coaching?

What the heck is Reverse Coaching? Has this Sports Coaching Brain guy gone completely mental?

What is Reverse Coaching?

Reverse coaching is an interesting concept that has probably been around as long as coaches have been coaching and as long as coaches have been coaching coaches how to coach: it’s just that no one has given it a name yet.

Reverse coaching is doing the opposite of what you would think would be the logical thing to do in a coaching situation (isn’t there a Seinfeld Episode about this??????).

Reverse Coaching Example 1:

Coaching situation: Playing a really great team in the next game:
Logical coaching decision: Over coach. Spend as much time as possible with the athletes. Go through every little detail with a fine tooth comb.
Reverse coaching decision: Do the opposite.

Why? Players are usually able to motivate themselves for a real competition. There is no need to over coach – to spend extra time working on all the minutiae of every aspect of the game. Players will know what it’s going to take to win against quality opposition and don’t need some lunatic with a stop watch, video player and a laptop in their face 24/7.

In tough situations against quality opposition, the players want a coach who is calm, composed, relaxed, confident and in control.

Reverse Coaching Example 2

Coaching situation: Athlete makes the Olympic team after winning their event at the selection trials;
Logical coaching decision: Work harder, buy some new equipment, change training and preparation and tapering to find an edge to win an Olympic Gold Medal;
Reverse coaching decision: Do the opposite.

Why? You would think it is logical to work harder once you make the Olympic team as you try to find a few milliseconds or millimetres and be in medal contention.

Yet, experienced campaigners at the Olympics tend to change very very little between their selection event and the actual Games.

They rely on the program that got them into the team to begin with and make only small tweaks and changes to things like training, tapering, equipment, diet and recovery.

They trust in their program, their coaching and themselves and stick to the core principles that have got them into the Olympic team and focus instead on the mental aspects of performance like relaxation, dealing with pressure, confidence and composure.

There is no way to explain Reverse Coaching.

This stuff isn’t in the text books. No one has researched it. No one teaches it.

Wisdom comes from judgement - making the right decisions at the right time.

And judgement only comes from experience.

A lot of this Reverse Coaching stuff is basically the wisdom that comes by making intelligent judgements based on a lot of experience!

Summary:

Reverse Coaching is above all – common sense – but as a wise man once said, “The funny thing about common sense is that it is not all that common”.
To quote George Costanza from Seinfeld, “If everything I have ever done is wrong, then the opposite of what I would usually do, must be right” - it’s a weird logic but hey, that’s coaching.
Don’t be afraid to Reverse Coach! Often your instinct, wisdom and gut feel are superior coaching tools to logic and rational thinking. Back yourself!!

Wayne Goldsmith

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The Greatest Assistant Coaching Article Ever Written (i.e. because we think it’s the only one): 50 of the best Tips on how to be a World Class Assistant Coach.

Wayne Goldsmith — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 23:31:09 +0000

By Lindsay Gaze, Michael Foley, Dave Claxton, Craig Tiley, Scott Johnson, Bill Sweetenham, Andrew Friend, Keith Davies, and Wayne Goldsmith

Foreword:

Leading international Rugby Coach (and former Wallabies Assistant coach) Scott Johnson and I were exchanging emails about coaching. Scott said, “You read a lot about coaching and plenty about being a head coach, but where is there something written about being a great assistant coach”.

I accepted the challenge, contacted some coaching friends and colleagues and this is what we came up with.

Sincere thanks to Lindsay, Michael, Dave, Craig, Scott, Bill, Andrew and Keith for their ASSIST-ANCE.

Communicate – communicate – communicate.
Don’t be afraid to be in conflict with the head coach, (in the appropriate forum), if the issue you believe in can help grow the program and improve performance.
Have an open mind to change, no comfort zones, no complacency and accept no compromise.
Have an outstanding knowledge of the sport and be prepared to share that knowledge.
Publicly share the same philosophy as the head coach and together develop, enhance and grow that philosophy.
Be prepared to assume the head coaching position in case of non attendance of the head coach but convey the same message with the same intent as if the head coach was still present.
Collaborate with the head coach on a partnership basis in the development of the team strategies and individual player development.
Accept and understand that no coach of any sport competing at the highest level can manage all tasks without specialist assistance in a number of elements and as such encourage the expression of the views, ideas, beliefs and contributions of players, coaches and staff.
Be prepared to accept and welcome the contribution made by other additional assistant coaches within your team structure and do not assume that your role is superior in importance.
While financial rewards are important, be more committed to the progress and performance of individuals and the team rather than be dollar driven.
Be aware that if the Club management decides to fire the head coach and you might be an unfortunate victim of the decision, you should still support the head coach.
If offered a head coaching position with another organisation do not seek or accept such a position without first consulting with your current head coach (and club management).
Strive to learn more about coaching, your sport and your role, recognising that no matter how much you might know there will always be more to learn.
Meet with the Head Coach regularly (daily) to make sure you are always on the same page.
Clearly define and understand your role, your responsibilities, accountabilities and limits.
Discuss, argue, relate, disagree on anything and everything with the head coach but develop a relationship where you can challenge each other to find the common ground, new ideas and move forward.
Attack everything you do with a united front. If you can, the effect on the players will be double pronged and more effective. Players will be more likely to develop confidence in the overall coaching team’s methods and philosophy if they see consistency.
Develop a vocabulary and culture of key similarities that all coaches in the team use consistently to reinforce your methods and so that players understand and respect that a strong professional relationship exists in the coaching group. Players will then feel comfortable in approaching any of the coaching team for the answers to their problems.
Resolve conflicts quickly and appropriately. Don’t leave the coaching environment with issues unresolved and conflicts left hanging.
Coach using the 8 “Cs” of coaching - composure, clarity, communication, certainty, confidence, compassion, creativity and calm.
Because you are an assistant under one particular head coach, it doesn’t mean you have an excuse to stop learning from any appropriate source. You probably got where you are by communicating and learning from hundreds of sources: never lose that basic instinct, the passion and desire to learn.
Be a good listener/observer to players but only report what is relevant and necessary to the Head Coach.
Be the best prepared Assistant Coach in skills development.
Be friendly with players in social gatherings but retain an appropriate professional distance – and know where the limits are.
Support the Head Coach in public at all times regardless of the pressure or media scrutiny of the situation.
Do not allow club administration or sporting bureaucracies to compromise you and to destabilize Head Coach.
Have excellent working relations with all support staff.
Have good synergy with all players in particular the younger athletes and emerging stars.
Have a strong interest and knowledge of player’s outside interests, family/education etc.
Keep up with the latest technology in computing, communications, sports science and sports analysis.
Develop outstanding recruiting skills – help the head coach sustain the competitiveness of the team.
Have an excellent current knowledge of all opponents’ individual and team strategies to allow you to have intelligent, informed input to your own team game plans.
Don’t offer “passive” support – be active in your support of decisions and philosophies.
Maintain unquestionable trustworthiness – trust is the cornerstone of any great relationship.
Dress professionally and appropriately at all times.
Publicly and privately be positive and always put the organisation first – no public or private personal player or coach criticism.
Manage and administrate as if it’s your own money.
Pay great attention to detail: the head coach has a strategic overview of all team issues – you are the person he / she relies on for detail.
Develop sport specific skills and knowledge that are world class and even beyond global standards.
Maintain in depth knowledge of medical & strength & conditioning profiles of each player, to assist in player development, training planning, strategy development and tactical plays.
Be innovative and creative: help create the future.
Develop strengths where the programme or Head Coach has weaknesses.
Write workouts and training sessions every day for yourself and offer them to the Head Coach for comment, feedback, learning, growth and development.
Develop a programme that is superior in every way possible and help to incorporate policies and protocols of the Head Coach and programme.
If you want to be a Head Coach, set yourself a goal and a time frame to achieve it. Be the best assistant coach you can be, learn, grow and take on the challenges and opportunities of leadership on your own when the right opportunity presents.
Offer appropriate positive comments to the Head Coach if he / she does something very well – head coaches are human too yet rarely receive positive praise from anyone.
Do more listening than speaking.
Be the eyes and ears for the head coach and alert him / her to potential issues before they develop.
Recognise the times that the head coach is under pressure and look to take some of his / her workload.
Live the team values – don’t just talk about them – and set an example for the players to follow.

Wayne Goldsmith – with a lot of help!

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