Warning. The following is not an anti-lockdown story! According to scientists and health experts lockdowns (and masks and vaccines) play a critical role in the management of the pandemic we are currently experiencing. This story does, however, highlight some of the potential health consequences of the lockdown when used as a tool to protect our communities well-being. … [Read more...]
Hey sports coaches – slow it down! (Ideas from a guitar teacher)
There is a myth in coaching that sports practice should be performed at game speed… to emulate the pressures of a real game. The theory is that it is pointless to learn a new skill at a slow, unrealistic, speed which will never get the job done against a real opponent. Of course, once an athlete, in training, has achieved a high degree of competence at a sports skill, that … [Read more...]
Training mysteries in the times of COVID
Strange and mysterious stuff happens during Covid lockdown. Even stranger stuff happens when attempting to train under Covid lockdown conditions. A good example of the mysterious times we live in happened to me yesterday. I turned up at my local lap pool, in the morning, ready to knock out two kilometres of freestyle. The sign on the door demanded, not surprisingly, that … [Read more...]
Just six words…
I met a former NBL point guard, who, for the sake of anonymity, I will call Dave. Dave told me how he remembers the day he approached Shane Heal (one of Australia’s greatest ever basketball guards), before a game, and told him that there was no way that Heal was going to drop 38 points on his head in the way that he had to other guards in recent matches. Shane and Dave had … [Read more...]
New State of Origin Format Proposal – Exclusive!
A senior Australian Rugby league official recently leaked to Socrates that the ARL are looking at experimenting with the State of Origin team selections for future interstate matches. While not being totally dissatisfied with current arrangements the official argued that it was experimenting with selection rules that turned interstate Rugby League fixtures into the success that … [Read more...]