sporting-parents

Sports Science: Observations of Philosophies in Sports Science and Sports Medicine in High Performance Sport

Sports Science has to Change

Over the past 20 years I have had the fortunate experience of working with some of the leading sporting nations in their quest for elite sporting excellence.

I write this article as a plea to all sports scientists, regardless of discipline, to evaluate what they are doing and think about being more innovative and creative in their methods and practices. (more…)

By Wayne Goldsmith, ago

Bye Bye Bompa, Bompa Bye Bye….the death of periodisation.

First let me say I have total, 100% complete admiration and respect for Bompa himself – a true pioneer of the sports coaching and the sports performance industry. This article is in no way a criticism of him personally but rather a proclamation that Periodization as a concept is now officially dead and buried.

Periodization – that is, the traditional sports training planning model involving long blocks (cycles or phases) of training which emphasise specific aspects of training is 20 years past the use by date and it’s time we all moved on to something more relevant and more effective for the training and preparation of athletes in this century.

The popular version of periodisation was developed in the Eastern block, 40 years ago, for senior athletes: another time, another system, another world – and totally inappropriate for today’s athletes. (more…)

By Wayne Goldsmith, ago

English Premier League (EPL): Doomed to Fail.

The E.P.L – the English Premier League, is arguably the most exciting professional football competition in the world. It is also the most at risk. The history of professional sport has taught us one thing above all….long term, sustainable success is nearly impossible to achieve. And, the teams and competitions which are most at risk are those who have not learnt from the mistakes of the past. This post discusses the dangers in store for the EPL and suggests some ideas on how the EPL can choose to survive and thrive or die.

By Wayne Goldsmith, ago

Winning Ugly: Win When No One Expects You To.

Sometimes you win. Occasionally you win easily. But most of the time you win when it’s difficult, challenging and when things go wrong…winning ugly.

Winning.

Sometimes you win.

Very rarely do you win easily when everything goes the way you planned it to go in training.

Sometimes winning is about winning ugly.

So what is winning ugly?

Question:

How may times do you actually go out on the field with all of your best players 100% fit and healthy and in the best form of their lives?

Answer:

a. Sometimes

b. Often

c. All the time

d. Never.

If you answered d. Never – give yourself a round of applause.

The aim of the game is to win. In a perfect world the “football-fairy” appears and magically transforms your team into a perfect performance powerhouse that seemingly wins with ease.

In the real world, there is no “football-fairy” and you’ve got to win when you’re tired, when you’re fatigued, when you’re not feeling great – you gotta find ways of winning ugly.

(more…)

By Wayne Goldsmith, ago