Talent: Nature vs. nurture, is it relevant? Top PDP contributor and coaching innovator, Todd Beane discusses the preconceptions around talent and the role of the coach observing and assessing performance before adding value through a considered program of training. Was Leo Messi born a star? Is talent innate or acquired? While we may find the nature vs. nurture debate interesting it is completely irrelevant to us as coaches. A player will show up for training on day one and that is where we begin. Our…
coach education
Clifford Mallett and Sergio Lara-Bercial The Big Idea The rub for these researchers is that the empirical basis for the vocation of sports coaching is seriously limited exactly at the time it is most needed. The burgeoning growth of national and international high performance sports in the last few decades certainly calls for professional coaches. It is a surprise then that the process of professionalising high performance coaches is still so little understood. The Research What we know already about highly successful coaches? Surveying the…
Tania Cassidy and Lynn Kidman The Big Idea When most anyone—whether in or out of the institution of sport—brings up the idea of coaching education programs, the quick response is “Yes, but . . .”. The “yes” is near-universal agreement that such education is necessary; the “but” is near-universal hesitation about what such programs should entail. The typical compromise results in creating programs that are big, dependent largely on generic and formal coaching courses, and entail elaborate qualifications and certificates. Cynicism usually follows. And coaching…
Join us for a video discussion with National Coach Education Manager from Football Federation Australia, Sean Douglas. PDP Editor Dave Wright is joined by Lead Researcher, James Vaughan in a wide ranging discussion. We cover topics including: Image Source: depositphotos.com
Player Development Project Technical Advisor, Dan Wright discusses the importance of knowing your player, building relationships and coaching the person. Building trust between coach and player is vital for success at all levels. If your goal as the coach is to aid development of youth players or to win the Premier League it is impossible without the relationship between athlete and coach. The intangible bond between athlete and coach is very noticeable, at training sessions, in conversations and at games and yet at the same…
Can happiness impact performance? Former Professional golfer and President of New Edge Performance, John Haime explains how putting enjoyment before achievement can maximise performance. Sometimes things get fuzzy in sports and a reset is exactly what you need. Very often my phone will ring, or I’ll get an “emergency” text and an athlete client will be in a funk. Their focus unconsciously shifts to the many distractions around them – often to things they have no control over. Alternatively, an obsession starts with the outcome…
PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan examines the simplicity vs. complexity debate using one of the great quotes from Johan Cruyff and asks if we have misinterpreted its true meaning. “Football is simple, but the hardest thing is to play simple football.” Consider how this famous quote influences your training session design when the emphasis is placed here: “Football is simple, but the hardest thing is to play simple football.” Or here: “Football is simple, but the hardest thing is to play simple football.” I think this…
Stewart A. Vella, Lindsay G. Oades, and Trevor P. Crowe The Big Idea This study continues the line of research by these authors into the stubborn problem of improving coach education programs. They believe that transformational leadership is a promising partial solution. Historically, transformational leadership and its modern extensions is an approach to create positive change in individuals and social systems. As a leadership concept it has been around since the late 1970s. Over time the approach has been used by government, the military, and…
Stewart A. Vella, Trevor P. Crowe, and Lindsay G. Oades The Big Idea One of the remarkable features of youth sport participation is its voluntary nature; another is how many youngsters actually participate—about two thirds of all youth according to both Australia and USA census records. But why is it then that formal coach education programs are largely unremarkable by comparison? The big idea of this paper is to offer one way to increase the effectiveness of formal and non-formal coach education. In order to help…
Hakon Grøttland is the Head of Player Development for the Norwegian FA. The Player Development Project were lucky enough to have an inside look at how Norway develops young players and how this is influenced by the nation’s culture. Hakon Grøttland never played football at an elite level due to injury. However, he counts himself lucky in that the series of events which led to the end of his playing days meant he could start his coaching career early. It is clear from talking to…
Susan Salzbrenner, founder of Fit Across Cultures discusses mindfulness and its benefits to athlete performance. Dennis was concentrating. “This is it. You got this! Stay focused. Just like in practice. Don’t miss this. It will cost us the game”. With the last seconds on the clock, he takes the last free throw. The score is 79-79. He shoots and …misses. A routine situation like a free throw in basketball, a serve in volleyball, or a penalty in football or hockey are habits that you have practiced…
Dan Micciche has a reputation as an innovator and someone who encourages creativity in player development. Player Development Project, Editor Dave Wright was lucky enough to have 90 minutes with Dan to discuss his own story and pick his brains around session design, creativity, positive learning environments and more. In part one of this two-part feature interview we went on a journey inside the mind of one of The FA’s most talented young coaches. Micciche’s Evolution as a Coach After a number of years working…
Stewart Vella, Lindsay Oades, and Trevor Crowe The Big Idea For nearly a century youth organizations having anything to do with sports have claimed various and sundry positive outcomes as a result of such play. Besides just keeping children occupied and out of the work force, it was generally believed that playing sports were character-building experiences. The authors of this study are fully aware of this history. They update the reader on the status of the current research on what is called positive youth development. It is their view that…
PDP Contributor, TEDx Speaker & Founder of Raising Excellence, Reed Maltbie delivers 10 practical steps on coach communication in the age of millennials who have grown up on social media. “One could change the world with 140 Characters”. February 8th, 2007 at approximately 6:57PM PST, Jack Dorsey “tweeted” this now famous line. At the time, Twitter was still in its nascent stages as a company. These words changed Twitter forever. Even in 2007 they wielded a powerful effect on the company and its small group of rabid…
Zlatan Ibrahimovich is one of the great characters and creative players of modern football. PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan examines some of the reasons why. Watch this… Zlatan is the best example of affordances in action. Ibrahimovic sees and plays passes that very few players can because he sees the opportunity to move in ways that most people can’t. This allows Zlatan to make passes and score goals that no one else can. He is one of the most unpredictable, innovative and therefore creative players of…
Are we measuring the stuff that really matters or focussing too much on hard data that neglects the human element of development? Former FA Talent Identification Manager & now Head of Talent & Performance at UK Sport, Nick Levett discusses the impact of sports science. So I was having a trip round a Professional Sporting Academy, being given the behind-the-scenes tour by the Academy Manager. We walked through the indoor area into the next room to “where the sports scientists live” I was told. And…
Talent: a dangerous word for players and a highly infectious idea for coaches. This article by PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan explores the possibility that talent is a ‘meme’. Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins coined the term meme to explain an infectious idea that spreads from person to person: the cultural equivalent of a gene. Incorporating theories from motor learning and psychology, this article discusses talent as a meme and highlights its potential influence as a socio-cultural constraint – inhibiting the development of skill and creativity….
The Pschology of Coaching Are you a scientist or more of an artist? Is coaching an art or science? These were questions asked of UQ’s coaching and sports psychology research group last week and this post explores the possibility that science and accounting are hijacking football and slowly killing the art of coaching. The simple answer to the art vs. science question is that coaching is an ever-changing mixture of both, but after a little digging some additional and pretty fundamental questions emerge. Precisely, what…