How many times have you seen athletes killing it in training only to fall flat on their face in competition? Translating training results to competition results is not as easy as it seems, and a number of factors could contribute to why athletes may fall short on competition day. On this week’s GAINcast we explore this issue and share some examples of how to close the gap. Read more
When Great Britain’s field hockey team won the gold medal at the 2016 Olympics, coach Danny Kerry had a lot to be happy about. Over the course of the prior eight years his team had finished five spots higher. But it was Kerry himself who had perhaps an ever bigger transformation. He had changed from a tactical-obsessed coach ready to quit into a culture-focussed coach ready for more. On this episode of the GAINcast Kerry joins us to discuss how his coaching philosophy has evolved, and how he has put that philosophy into practice in terms of creating a team culture and better designing training sessions. Read more
This weekend, I witnessed via my television screen one of the biggest blunders in college football. The situation of course was the fumbled snap, the re-fumbled recovery of that snap, and the subsequent recovery of that fumble for a last second touchdown. Michigan State wins and beats Michigan in their big in-state rivalry, and one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the football. The person who fumbled that snap has a name, and his name is Blake O’Neill. After October 17, 2015, every Michigan football fan will know his name. @blakewoneill on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets went crazy! The comparison of this young man’s blunder and Ray Finkle, the fictional character from the Ace Ventura: Pet Detective movie, are alive. I don’t know a lot about Blake O’Neill, but the little that I do know, and the bit of science has grown to help us understand performance, should tell us all he alone is not the only one to blame. Given his lack of situational experience any one of us could do the same thing, and the coaches had the primary responsibility to give him more situational practice. Read more
