Sports Coaching

Articles on sports coaching and developments in performance science for athletes and coaches.

Where is leadership in sport going: the future of leadership.

Leadership in sport is something about which everyone has a view but few understand. As leadership in sport has evolved we have seen the philosophy of leadership shift from centralised (i.e. the head coach and captain) to decentralised (i.e. leadership teams, leadership groups etc). Where is leadership heading in sport? Answer…..There wont be any…that is, leadership will be driven by each individual in the team with each person taking full responsibility for their actions and inactions. This article discuss sports leadership and challenges coaches, players and sports administrators to look at their current model of leadership with the aim of changing it in the future.

By Wayne Goldsmith, ago

Running better meetings in football: too long, too much, too similar.

There are five key elements in professional football these days:

1. Training

2. Playing

3. Recovery

4. Life Activities – e.g. work, study, family life, business.

5. Meetings!

Teams are spending more and more time meeting and discussing past games, future games and all the other games, training activities, travel and logistics issues involving the team. (more…)

By Wayne Goldsmith, ago

Great Coaching – Great Coaches: How to Be the Best of the Best.

Greatness is something that all high performance coaches crave. They pursue it with passion and strive to be considered one of the coaches who achieved success at the highest level of their sport. But what is greatness? Where can you find it? What does it look like? And can you measure it? This article discusses greatness in coaching and presents ten fundamental characteristics of greatness to help every coach realise their potential and fulfil their destiny.

By Wayne Goldsmith, ago

The Top 20 Tips on Being the Best: 20 years of experience in 500 words!

 

I have been lucky to be involved in high performance sport for the best part of 20 years.

I have been very very fortunate to work with Olympic Gold Medalists, World Champions, World Record Holders, Premiership Title Winners, World Cup Winners…champion athletes, teams and coaches in many different sports and in several different countries.

Quite often, when I do professional speaking or training with corporate or sporting groups, someone in the audience will ask, “What do all the winners have in common” or “From your experience, what things do all the great athletes, teams and coaches do that makes them the best”.

There are indeed some things all the great ones have in common: The Top 20 Tips on Being the Best: 20 years of experience in 500 words! (more…)

By Wayne Goldsmith, ago

The Rebuilding Phase..the biggest cop out in sport.

In professional sports where teams are subject to a “draft” system, it is common to talk about a “window of opportunity”, i.e. a year or two when the team has the realistic opportunity to win the title owing to the talent, maturity and experience of their players. For many teams “outside the window”, coaches and management will often talk about the “rebuilding phase” – a period where the team is re-building their playing ranks with the aim of giving them the opportunity to win again sometime in the future. This article looks at the concept of “rebuilding” and challenges it as a valid philosophy in professional sport.

By Wayne Goldsmith, ago