Athletic Development – Defining the Field
Living & Learning – Keeping Score
I personally have found that keeping score of my life to be helpful. Don’t get me wrong I am not obsessive with this, rather I see it as a tool for occasional use to renew, reset and refocus. How do I...
Looking Back to Gain Perspective
I started coaching and teaching in 1969. It was a different era. All my coaches & the coaches I coached with early in my career were part of the so-called "Greatest Generation." T...
Coaching is:
Teaching,Work, A Craft, Leading Change, Changing Habits, Fun, Uncomfortable, Continual Learning, Blending Art & Science, Accountability, Process, Results, Satisfying, Frustrating, and A Way of Lif...
Very Basic – WWWHW
No, I have not lost it. As any follower of my work knows I am a big believer in the basics. The most basic of the basics before anything else is Who, What, Why, How, When. Let’s look at each: WHO – Wh...
Good Enough?
Good enough is never good enough! That seems harsh and leaves no room for nuance but watching people in my 52 years of coaching has convinced me that accepting good enough is a clear path to mediocrit...
Connecting the Dots
Perhaps I am borderline ADD but as soon as I start to answer a question or explore something new my mind starts racing with ideas that connect. Some of the ideas are dead ends but others have proved v...
Making Shapes
Shapes was brought to the forefront of my thinking about 10 years ago when I was working with one of my swim teams. The coach kept talking about getting smaller into the wall and taller off-the-wall o...
Systematic Sport Development
Sport systems have always fascinated me, even before I started coaching. When I was in college, we played the great San Diego State Football teams coached by Don Coryell. It was obvious they had a sys...
“Accidental Fitness”
“Accidental Fitness’ is a great concept articulated in a recent GAIN Coffee talk by University of Portland, Assistant Cross Country and Track Coach Jack Mullaney. Essentially “Accidental Fitness” is t...