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What is High Performance?
By Wayne Goldsmith | In High Performance Sport
One of the most commonly asked questions in this business is, “What Exactly is High Performance?”
People talk about, write about, think about sports science, sports medicine, exercise physiology, talent identification, performance psychology, biomechanics, skill acquisition, elite coach development, recovery, sports physiotherapy, sports massage, performance analysis and all the elements and components of high performance sport, but what is it?
What is this thing called High Performance?
I can summarise it all in one word………Change.
People make High Performance seem a lot more complex, tricky and mysterious than it really needs to be. Sure there is some really cool technology and terminology involved – as there is in all industries – but the essence of High Performance is Change – or rather, accelerating the rate of it.
High Performance Mindset.
Two people pick up a book about exercise and read that jogging 30 minutes a day for six weeks will improve fitness – specifically endurance.
Person A – reads the book and gets up the next morning and jogs 30 minutes.
Person B – reads the book and gets up the next morning and jogs 30 minutes. Along the way, they start thinking, if I increased speed and covered more distance in the 30 minutes, I would improve faster. And maybe if I included a few hills, I would get stronger and that will help me to go faster. And I wonder if I increased the time to 40 minutes, how much more benefit would I get. And if went faster, added some hills and a few sprints, maybe I can get the same benefit from running for 25 minutes, etc etc etc.
And that’s the core philosophy behind High Performance. Not so much the latest technology or the most up to date sports drinks or the greatest facilities – it is much simpler than that.
It is the attitude that things exist in sport only to be improved and enhanced.That what we know, is only the starting point for what we can know. That there are no absolutes, no “onlys”, no “always” and no “nevers” in high performance sport – there are only limits to be ignored, boundaries to break and obstacles to overcome. Nothing is static – nothing is permanent – nothing is fixed.
No record is unbreakable. No title unwin-able. No contest impossible. No opposition unbeatable.
High Performance at its core is a belief that anything is possible and that nothing is impossible.
Money.
Money helps create world class high performance environments. There is no doubt that funding helps build the best facilities, buy the best equipment, support innovative research programs and so on.
But money alone does not make high performance programs successful.
It is the attitude and beliefs of the people who drive the environments that makes the difference.
You are either someone who is passionate about change – or someone who is equally passionate about keeping things the way they are.
Around the world this morning, thousands of people involved in sport woke up, got out of bed and started to think about their jobs.
A few thought, “I wonder what is least amount of effort I can put in today and still get paid?”
Most thought, “I wonder what’s for dinner tonight when I get home from work?”
A few – the real High Performance people thought, “I wonder how far I can push the limits of what I do and how fast I can accelerate the rate of change in my sport?”
Which one was you?
Summary:
- The essence of High Performance is Change. If you are a person who loves the challenge of change, who looks at things in terms of how much they can be improved, someone who passionately seeks continuous improvement, then High Performance is for you.
- Decide if you are a “make the car go faster” type of person or a “how can we make the car safer” type of person. High performance people are risk takers who know no limits, no boundaries and see “what is” only as the starting point for “what can be”.
- High Performance is not so much secrets and mysteries and big words about muscle energy and applied physics. It is a mindset – a mindset that actively seeks and embraces change – accelerating the rate of change faster than the competition.
Wayne Goldsmith
© 2011, Wayne Goldsmith. All rights reserved.
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April 28, 2011
Tags: AFL, American Football, Athletics, Baseball, Basketball, Coach education, Coaching, Cricket, Cycling, Diving, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Netball, Performance Science, Rugby, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Training, Triathlon
Comments
6 Responses to “What is High Performance?”
How to compare change to consistency in high performance programs?! Would love to hear your opinion, cheers, Marcos.
Thanks for the comment.
High performance is like going to church…many attend, few understand.
WG
I totally agree that high performance is a state of mind, a philosophy if you will about change. However even though this is the first and most crucial step, it by itself is not enough, by no means.
The reality is that if you are Person B, in an environment that does not allow, support, facilitate the expression of that drive, level of commitment, etc Person B would never be able to achieve High Performance.
This is a problem with simplifying a complex topic like High Performance to simply one component, in this change.
Thanks Valentin.
I have to disagree. I have seen people achieve great things with limited resources and with little more than hard work, dedication, vision and drive.
Conversely I have also seen wealthy programs with outstanding facilities and plenty of money fail miserably.
Attitude is everything.
WG
No argument from me that attitude is everything.
However, when you say “you have seen people achieve great things with limited resources” i ask you, what did they achieve it in? This may be possible in a certain endeavours or sports such as soccer for example, where one can practice, play, participate with nothing more then rags bundled together (as done back in the oldddd days). However i would like to see that happen in swimming for example. Would a swimmer who never had access to a Olympic size swimming pool, ever really be able to achieve competitive high performance level. I highly doubt it.
Having infinite wealth, or opportunity does not guarantee by any means success, and i was not implying that. However high performance is essentially a lot of factors coming together. From personal, environmental, and social (political and economical). Yes high degree of performance is almost always! possible even in the most disadvantaged conditions given the right attitude, but true high performance i would argue is very very unlikely.
For a coach, i want to be able to provide the opportunity for high performance to my athletes, and if they are able to bring to the equation the necessary x,y,z, then the formula for high performance is possible.
I am interested in your thoughts on this
Hi Valentin.
When I get into discussions like this I ask coaches what do they think they could do without and still win.
For example, could a swimmer win a gold medal at the Olympics having never swum in a 50 metre pool – unlikely but possible.
Could you coach a swimmer to a world record without using a heart rate monitor? Yes.
Could you coach a swimmer to a world record without ever having a lactate test done? Yes.
Could you coach a swimmer to a world record without them ever taking a supplement? Yes.
Could you coach a swimmer to world record without access to a world class gym? Yes.
What I am saying is that I see poor coaching rationalised by “we don’t have enough money” or “we don’t have the resources the other nations do” – when money would not make a difference – the real problem is poor coaching, no innovation, a losing attitude and a philosophy of copying – not leading.
Thanks again,
WG