I just returned late last night form a wonderful educational. motivational and uplifting four days in Glasgow Scotland at the IFAC (International Festival of Athletics Coaching http://tinyurl.com/3bevtmh). This is the brainchild of my good friend, mentor and professional colleague, Frank Dick. Frank is a great coach, communicator and visionary and IFAC reflects his vision. The vision and the mission are to raise coaching to a professional status and to recognize that sporting excellence is coach driven. If you are interested in coaching and advancing the coaching profession then I highly recommend you attend next years IFAC 2012 (October 28 to 28) in Glasgow Scotland and if you want to make another giant leap forward come to the GAIN Apprentorship http://tinyurl.com/3jwyo6q June 12 to 17 in Huston Texas.
What makes gathering like IFAC and GAIN special is the sharing. The formal presentations are great and stimulating but even more stimulating are the gatherings in the hotel lobby where ideas are challenged, new ideas hatched, training methods discussed. Professional growth and learning still excite me after 42 years, now I am more excited than ever. It just reminded again how important is it is to know what you know, know what you don’t know and then to find someone who does know. I found a whole bunch of people at IFAC who do know that helped me chip away a bit at what I don’t know.
This is going to be a short week for me as I have to be in California for an all day meeting on Friday, but over the next few days I will post some thoughts and ideas stimulated by discussions and presentations at IFAC.
Quickly reflecting on this past weekend and my three weeks in OZ it is easy to summarize one overall impression. The Aussies are ten years ahead of us in terms of putting it all together and the Europeans in turn are five years ahead of us. We need to get past the marketing, blind following of pseudo sports science, and internet training porn or we will be passed by like a freight train leaving a tramp! We need applied sports science that is coach driven and we need to get back to basic physical education in the schools taught by trained physical educators with a strong pedagogical foundation. The responsibility for change rests on the coaches and teachers, it can be done – who among are will to get out and do it?