Craig Morris is a canoe slalom coach working within the elite performance pathway of British Canoeing. He has recently been shortlisted as a finalist in the Elite Performance Coach Category of the UK Coaching Awards.
Craig's journey into coaching is not a typical one but what comes across in this conversation is an individual who is thirsty for information and learning, willing to be vulnerable in approaching the application of ideas and completely committed to the needs of their athletes.
Key topics discussed include:
- Why you need to be meticulously planned to enable fluid (no pun intended) transitions in practice
- Whether planning fits an ecological approach to coaching
- The importance of leaving things open to challenge by the athlete
- Why coaching is like improvised comedy
I hope you enjoy
John Kessel works for USA Volleyball, as Director of Sport Development. He currently serves as the staff liaison for Disabled Programs & USA Deaflympic Teams. His main goal is to help make all coaches more efficient, positive and creative, no matter what level - 7 year olds in an elementary school program or National team players and programs. He challenges old ways of thinking and help coaches create what they need, while having fun in the process.
In this fascinating conversation we discuss...
- 'Training in reality and the quest for faster, denser motor learning - Why drills don't work (because humans aren't robots) - The 'white belt mentality' - What coaches can learn from surgeons
It is a great conversation...I hope you enjoy
Links
Ted Suikonen is a Skill Development Specialist Coach that has been working in professional ice hockey for most of his career. He is currently the skill development coach with Locomotiv Moscow in Russia and boasts an impressive track record of developing players to play at the elite level in Russia many of whom have been drafted into the NHL.
In this fascinating conversation which we recorded when Ted was in the locker room straight after a session (forgive the background noise!) we explore a broad range of topics related to skill acquisition including:
Why every player is like a snowflake
Why technical skills camps are a scam
How to develop players with 'perceptual radar'
How Ted encourages players to coach other players to beat themselves
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did
