Creative Coaching: Teaching coaches to be Creative and Innovative.

Quick.

Write down your own list of the top ten skills of quality coaching. What does it look like? Something like this?

  1. Communication skills;
  2. Passion;
  3. Empathy with athletes;
  4. The ability to engage with athletes and inspire athletes to fully engage with the program;
  5. Enthusiasm;
  6. Technical knowledge;
  7. An understanding of the relevant principles of sports science and sports medicine;
  8. Energy;
  9. Curiosity (which inspires a passion for learning);
  10. A commitment to continuous improvement and accelerated learning.

You could add hundreds of skills to this list: experience, drive, initiative, the will to win, attention to detail, commitment, vision, determination, a strong work ethic…………there are as many desirable coaching skills as there are coaches.

But, in this century, there is one coaching skill to rule them all – creativity: creative coaching.

The question is…...can you teach coaches to be creative?

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The Rugby Union and Rugby League Guaranteed to Succeed Game Plan

 

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? (more…)

The W – Word: Winning.

 

I am getting so sick of people talking about high performance environments, about following a process, about systems, about structures, about programs, about initiatives, about workshops and about strategies.

The name of the game is Winning – oops – there I said it.

Winning. Winning. Winning. There, I said it again.

That felt great. I’ll say it some more. Winning. Winning. Winning. Winning.

That felt so good I’ll do it again. Winning!! Winning!!!! Winning!!!!!

The W Word: Winning. (more…)

Becoming a Great Coach – What’s holding you back?

Memoirs of a great coach…..Biography of a great coach….Lessons on coaching from one of the greats….seems like greatness and coaching are often talked about in the same breath. But what is great coaching? Can any coach become great? And if so, how can a coach go from just coaching to great coaching? This article discuss the key aspects of greatness in coaching and challenges readers to look at and overcome the barriers and limitations they are facing in their own personal quests for coaching greatness.

Responsibility for Performance in Professional Football: Where the Buck Stops!

The key to understanding why professional football teams win or lose is understanding who is most responsible for the team’s performance at any point in time. In this article, we suggest there are four key points in every football season where the primary responsibility for the performance of team can be clearly identified. Ultimately, the players must accept the responsibility for winning or losing the big games at the end of the season but it is the responsibility of the non-playing members of the team to make sure the players are ready: physically, mentally, technically and tactically to win when it matters.