Sports Coaching
The Jersey is Dead: Long live the Players
By Wayne Goldsmith |
The Jersey. The Strip. The Colors. The Jacket. The Jumper.
Doesn’t matter what you call it – the “jersey” is dead.
Gone are the days when a bunch of blokes could train two or three days a week, have a poor diet, skip training sessions, enjoy a few beers and then, come Saturday, suddenly get Amazing Super Powers because of the magic of putting on the “jersey”.
In those days, poorly prepared players relied on the emotion of the jersey for their performance. Putting on the old “black and green” colors – usually incorporating a “rev-up” by a former player about the “pride of the jersey” etc was enough to fire the spirit and inspire the soul.
That’s not to say that tradition is wrong or respecting and celebrating the past is a bad thing. The point is that the jersey is just that – a jersey – a piece of clothing (usually made in China) – and, as a performance enhancement tool in 2008 – it is dead.
Why do I say the jersey is dead? (more…)
