Coaching, Competition, Caterpillars & Cats - A random conversation on youth sport with Nick Leve

A slight change of pace in this episode. I am joined by regular contributor, Nick Levett who unloads his brain with me on all manner of topics related to the youth port experience.

In this episode we cover:

• What is the point of coaching for kids? Is it actually doing them any good?

• Is adult risk aversion ruining play for children.

• Why formal competition for youngsters should be banned.

• Why adult conceptions of what should feature in a child's sport experience may be destroying their enjoyment and harming their chances of progression.

• Practical methods to enable children to develop skills through games using an approach called 'Playperation'

And so much more....

Hope you enjoy

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Moving away from being a 'playstation coach' - A conversation with England U18 Basketball Co

Alan Keane coaches the England boys U18 basketball team. Alan Keane has been on a journey! I know it's a cliche but if ever the phrase was applicable it with Alan.

In this remarkably honest and refreshingly candid conversation Alan shares his transformation from being a coach that only cared about results, tactics, techniques and compliance to becoming a coach that cares about the person, their learning, their development and their ownership of the process of development.

Highlights from the discussion include:

• Alan's developmental journey and how he has a 'triangle of influences' that guide his learning.

• How he had to get more vulnerable than he thought possible to expand his horizons

• How he called a time out and only said 3 words "talk to me"

• How letting the players guide their timeouts led to transformational insights (from the quietest player on the team)

• His experiences of taking what he had learned into his work environment as a teacher and the unbelievable results for the teachers and the pupils

There is so much in this podcast...I challenge you to take it all in in one sitting!!

As always, subscribe in itunes here or listen in the player below

Enjoy

Addressing our biases within talent identification - A conversation with Professor Joe Baker

Joe Baker is a professor at the school of kinesiology and life sciences at York University in Toronto, Canada. He is one of the most respected and well published researchers in the field of expertise, talent development and lifelong physical activity.

In 2013 Joe was a key player in contributing to a the creation of a consensus statement on talent for English Rugby. This document went on to become a central pillar in bringing about a lot of change throughout the talent system for young rugby players in England.

It's fair to say that Joe knows a thing or two about talent!!

In this fascinating conversation we cover a lot of ground including...

• Joe's take on the 10,000 hours of deliberate practice debate.

• His theory that deliberate practice may assist in the talent identification process.

• How 'confirmation bias' can affect our decision making and leave talented athletes deselected.

• His surprising research that shows that experienced coaches aren't necessarily better than ordinary people at identifying talent.

• Why he doesn't have much time for coaches that think that they "know a player when they see one".

• Why he thinks professional leagues should stop throwing money away at talent ID and start investing in intellectual capital to make people better at it.

Joe can be found on Twitter at @bakerjyorku

As always, you can listen to the episode in the player below or subscribe in itunes here.

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