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...]
Whats wrong with the Matildas?
Socrates is worried! Here is a lament from the idiot sports philosopher who has coached multiple sports for multiple years but has recently forsaken his earlier loves for Rugby, Rugby League and Basketball for “the beautiful game.” Some people who have only ever loved soccer will argue that he is not a real football person and that he doesn’t know what he is talking about. They … [Read more...]
OLD MEN CAN’T JUMP – and good principles always apply
Despite coaching basketball for over twenty years Socrates still manages to make the same stupid mistakes he tries to teach his young players to avoid. The old fool turns up for a game of pick-up with a bunch of fellow old coots and manages to make a complete goose of himself by doing precisely what he knows doesn't work! The moral of the story? Even if you are playing with a … [Read more...]
Michel de Montaigne on coaching sports
Sixteenth century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne would have been a great sports coach. In the twenty-first century world full of politicians, religious leaders, military people, celebrities, business tycoons, cultural experts, sports and coaching gurus who all seem to know, without question, the answers to all the world’s problems Michel would have been a stand out. … [Read more...]
Small town Rugby League star gives birth to brilliant strategy!
Like many big bloke athletes, a mate of mine (who, incidentally, was the hard man power forward for my high school basketball team), considered himself a tactical mastermind. Not too many years ago, Big David was still playing in the back row for the Warialda Wombats regional Rugby League footy team. As a student of the game and a serious thinker to boot, David used to look for … [Read more...]