Ever seen this French television commercial from the telecommunications company Orange promoting the magnificent French men's national football team? It shows Gliezmann, Mbappe and Girout in their finest form. Or does it? Perhaps it challenges our perceptions about the supposed performance gap between elite male soccer players and their elite female equivalents. Take a look at … [Read more...]
Didn’t see that coming! – NRL Grand Final 2023
Socrates doesn't normally comment on common, garden variety, pro sports news... but he got his analysis so wrong, on this occasion, that he couldn't keep himself away from his keyboard. How did your prediction go? Did you predict the NRL Grand Final scenario? Over to Socrates for his description of the one he got wrong. The third scenario… the one I didn’t see coming… was … [Read more...]
Penalty shoot-out? Nah. Let’s play Murderball!
The League Cup is over, and Liverpool wins the comp on penalties, 11-10. When I read a post on Instagram that puts the victory down to Liverpool’s exemplary data driven approach, I slap myself in the side of the head, grunt “derr”, and make a silly incensed reply stating what seemed to me the obvious - that the “data-driven approach” had little to do with a win that was … [Read more...]
To smash or be skillful? Can good defense be coached or are accidents like the Latrell Mitchell and Joey Manu incident inevitable?
My soccer playing eight-year-old daughter walked up to her (elite rugby player) seventeen-year-old cousin and asked… “Hey Haz? What do you do when you play rugby?” “I smash people,” responded Haz. While I figured that there was probably a bit more to Haz’s defensive responsibilities (at the top end of schools representative rugby) than his brief description provided, … [Read more...]
Priorities in times of Covid-19
There is a eighteen-year-old girl who, six months ago, left her small country town (and family home) to have a crack at living in the big city. Despite being an above average athlete, she is one of many, in the western world, who battles with anxiety. Settling into the city has not been easy. Finding work. Finding accommodation. Buying food. Making friends. Believing in … [Read more...]