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Catch them being good

May 28, 2015

Coaches have an eye for development, and the best coaches always see their athletes in the best possible light. We recall their best performances or imagine the performance we know they are capable of, and work to help them repeat those performances at the most important times. This is really what coaching is about. However, that virtue can become a vice if we only focus on what they are capable of and forget to encourage what they are already doing right. My coaching tip is to “catch athletes being good” and encourage what they already do correctly.

Deliberate Practice part 1

May 24, 2015

How does the Principle of 'Deliberate Practice' apply to the coaching of Rugby Union? So lets look at a definition of 'Deliberate Practice': “It is activity designed specifically to improve performance, often with a teacher's help; it can be repeated a lot; feedback and results is continuously available; it's highly demanding mentally, whether the activity is purely intellectual or heavily physical; and it isn't much fun.” - Geoff Colvin

Instilling Belief In Your Players

May 21, 2015

This blog post is about creating an environment in which your player's will be able to believe in themselves, in each other and believe in the coach and what you are trying to achieve together. Belief is of vital importance in sport both individual and team sports, but in team sports individual players not only have to believe in their selves as an individual but also believe in every other individual player in the team. 

The Boroughmuir Road to Murrayfield

May 15, 2015

The dust has settled but it has been replayed so many times on YouTube, in my head, through conversations with those who were there and those who weren’t. It doesn’t get tired and neither do I, but I do miss it. The players got it right and I was proud of the way they had maintained their standards through, what up until that point had been, a challenging season.

Rugby | Talent and Ability back to the forefront in the 6 Nations | Coach Logic

February 27, 2015

I am off to run the Barcelona Half Marathon on Sunday, can't wait! Well maybe I can a little...never run that far before, should be challenging. I suppose after playing rugby for so long, I need a challenge to keep fit and in the gym now that I am watching from the sidelines.

Love Coaching - "It's not about Netball it's about young people"

February 19, 2015

It’s about each individual young person at the club. Every single one of them has a story, every single one of them has something going on in their life, some good, some not so good, and it’s my job as their netball coach to support them with whatever it is. It’s 5.15pm on a Monday and I’m shovelling beans on toast down my neck after a hectic day at work, trying to think about what to do with the team this week. I can’t find my trainers, yet alone my whistle and I haven’t sorted myself a drink for my own training session afterwards. Plate thrown in the washing up bowl, trainers on and whistle found, time to go! I have been involved in netball coaching since the age of 16 when I was suddenly too old to play for the junior teams at my club, and I wanted to help out. I already had my C award umpiring qualification so there I was, thrown in at the deep end with the under 12 team.

Coaching Styles - Teaching Games for Understanding - Part 1

February 13, 2015

You will no longer hear from your players “when can we play a game?” as they will know that they will be playing games all the time during EVERY teaching/training session. Key questions to ask yourself: What are you preparing your players for? What are you wishing your players to be able to do in the game? What are the demands of the game your players are playing? How much time is the ‘ball’ in play for in the area of play? What ‘Method of Coaching’ best provides the opportunities to all the answers to these previous questions? Why use ‘TGfU’? How BIG is the area of play that your players play in, in a real game?

Why I Love Coaching Softball

February 10, 2015

The question of “Why do I coach”; is both the easiest and the most difficult question I could answer. It is easy because coaching is my favourite activity, and most difficult because how can you possibly explain why you love something that is so central to who you are. I absolutely love coaching and working with athletes is my favourite thing to do. When I was in Teachers College, we were given the task of writing an essay about what made us want to be teachers. For me, it was always a vocation but my favourite Professor told me that to be a successful teacher you need to have 3 loves; 1) Love of your subject area 2) Love of teaching and 3) Love o people. He was right, and the same rules apply to coaching.

Why I Love Coaching Netball

January 28, 2015

I'll be honest, when I've had a really stressful day at work or I'm on a three hour drive up the motorway to get to a training session on time, sometimes... I don't want to. So often though, it's those sessions that surprise me. A couple of examples from this week, of why I love coaching: School coaching session I had young player that has not looked happy or engaged playing, and has really struggled with the basics, (netball isn't what gets her up in the morning), but in the last session coaching ' straight-line ball'.

How Sportswomen Are Represented in the Media

January 22, 2015

There's been a lot of press about page 3 this week and The Sun have started publishing topless images of women again after a short break. Here are two videos to watch that show the different ways the media go about representing women in sport and society in general. We'd love to know your thoughts. Leave a comment below or chat to us on Twitter.

How to Film Sports in the Winter

January 14, 2015

With winter well and truly here it can make filming sports quite difficult as you’re stood on the sidelines or up in a stand in freezing temperatures and howling wind and rain! I’ve often found it tricky to film during winter depending on the conditions, but if you’re prepared for bad weather then it can help you out a lot. I film a lot of Rugby Union and have to deal with the elements on a regular basis. I always check the weather prior to getting my gear ready so I can be prepared for anything bad. I usually pack my set of waterproof trousers and jacket in case the rain starts to come down. 

Rugby Coaching: Tales of the Unexpected

January 8, 2015

In the first of our "Why I love coaching" series, we hear from Bruce Aitchison, Head Coach at Boroughmuir Rugby in Edinburgh. I love being a head coach. I always knew I was going to coach. I loved playing, and rugby coaching is a really distant second place to playing. I still miss it and would give anything to have my time again.

Does Video Analysis Reflect Your Organisation's Goals?

January 7, 2015

One of my favourite parts of my job at Coach Logic is that I get to visit lots of different organisations and get an insight into their training methods. A good example of this was when I recently visited West Ham Utd FC, Ealing Trailfinders RFC and Reading HC, I also got chatting to the Director of Hockey at Marlborough College. It was a busy day but a fantastic experience. These teams are really leading the way in terms of their use of video analysis and it got me thinking about how the majority of teams use video analysis and that often its use does not reflect their organisational goals.

Sports Coaching Tips: 5 Great Bits of Advice

December 19, 2014

We've been busy looking back at our blog posts from 2014 and there's a real wealth of great information within them. In this post we've hand-picked five of the best sports coaching tips to share with you. Whether you're just starting out on the coaching ladder or are more experienced, we hope you will learn something from the information below.

Our Most Popular Blogs of 2014: Six of the Best

December 16, 2014

As the end of 2014 looms, we thought it would be a good time to look back at our most popular blog content this year. We'd also like to say a huge thank you to all our guest bloggers who've given up their time to share their expertise with us during the past 12 months.

Stop Commanding Your Players and Feeding Them Objective Data

December 4, 2014

I have to admire the attention to every single detail in American Football; players spend hour upon hour perfecting the smallest of movements. Everything needs to be automatic, every stimulus triggers an involuntary response and every player has an exact role within the team. Even the key decision maker, the quarterback has an earpiece directly linked to the offense coach and a playbook strapped to his arm. The coaching staff leave nothing to chance, it is very coach-centric. Would this approach to detail work in global sports such as football, rugby and hockey? I think not. 

Tackle Contest

November 12, 2014

Ultimately a coach’s philosophy / strategy at the tackle contest will dictate the style of play their teams will adopt. The speed of the tackle contest can hugely influence the ability of defensive teams to react and counter any attack. There are a multitude of techniques that can be used at the tackle contest to ‘win the ruck’ and different competitions have significantly different approaches to the tackle contest and therefore style of play.

What are the principles of attacking rugby?

November 12, 2014

The four environments are very different based on where the off-side line is set. To that end, from lineouts the off-side line is 10m from the line-of-touch; from scrum it is 5m from the hindmost foot of the opposing scrum; from phase play it is at the opponents hindmost foot and from both kick receipt and turnover there is basically no off-side line – in short, the opposition can be completely on top of the ball carrier.

Defence

November 12, 2014

The development of philosophy / strategy around defence can arm his team with the ability to regain possession for the purpose of scoring. I believe that “defend to attack” is one of the simplest yet clearest philosophies there is. We see coaches implementing different styles of defence such as rush, hover, up and out and Jam (Outside in) Then if we look more in depth some coaches implement strategy in relation to the area of the park play enters.

Holistic Coaching - What's Going On Beneath the Surface?

October 29, 2014

I want to start this blog with a scenario, albeit from an extreme example of a 16 year old school student who was a very promising basketball player. She came from a very difficult background; she lived with one parent who struggled to provide for her and her sister, and she had picked up a juvenile record for assault along the way.

Football Business Awards Finalists

October 24, 2014

We are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for the Football Business Awards in the Best/Most Innovative use of Technology (club related) category for all the great work going on with Adam and the guys within West Ham United's Academy. The awards ceremony is held at Stamford Bridge on November 6th and we find ourselves up against some tough competition, but we have our fingers crossed! The combined vision of our team and Adam Crossley, Academy Physical Performance Analyst, resulted in an environment where excellence was nurtured by intense and focused physical exercise in training, and engaging, innovative and interactive analysis off the pitch. In aiming to increase players’ learning opportunities without the physiological strain, Coach Logic’s Video Room provided the perfect solution for West Ham. Players and management could analyse video and immediately communicate and learn as a group or 1:1, encouraging excellence, openness and accountability. 

Get Fitter and Stronger With the Latest Research

October 20, 2014

Below is a summary of current strength and conditioning research out there to help improve your players speed, power and agility. Click on the headings to find out more about each piece of research Body Composition and Muscle strength predictors of jump performance. The study tested their maximal jump height with and without arm swing, their body fat / muscle mass was assessed and their maximal leg press was also tested.

Stats Do Not Develop Players – How to Get the Most Out of Match Analysis

October 14, 2014

Objective data is everywhere in sport at the moment and it gives a fascinating insight into professional sport. I was recently informed that Thomas Muller ran a total of 52 miles at this year's Football World Cup! Unbelievable! Companies such as Opta, Prozone and Bloomberg Sports provide professional coaches with Moneyball type statistics to help them make informed and objective decisions. I have no issue with this, sport is a HUGE business and needs to be run as such and if Brad Pitt can win the American Baseball League with the Oakland Athletics then who am I to argue.

Refuel, Recover, Repeat – How to Maximise Your Recovery Time

October 10, 2014

If you’ve ever watched a multi-day sporting event and marveled at the athletes’ ability to recover for the next day, you’re not alone. Whether it’s Wimbledon, the Tour de France, or the World Cup, the ability of the athlete to perform maximally for multiple days is one of the primary determinants of success. As a coach or medical professional, utilizing certain recovery strategies can help give your athlete(s) an advantage as the tournament progresses into the final, more meaningful, days. Such strategies can fall under the categories of nutrition, training techniques, and device utilization. We’ll briefly review some of the more useful ways to promote recovery in athletes.

Successful People Take Responsibility

October 8, 2014

Coaches and parents regularly ask me how to help young athletes start taking more responsibility. I continually see athletes of all ages (seniors too) who do not have any ownership of their own development. They rely on coaches, parents and other supporting individuals to get them where they want to be. It might be from as little as making up drinks and snacks to competition entry, membership fees or packing bags for a trip. Coaches become involved in sport to help develop athletes and pass on their knowledge, whilst all parents want to support their children in the best possible way. Sometimes, doing these little helpful jobs here and there can actually result in that athlete not learning how to be responsible and independent.

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