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Category Archives: Coaching

Olympic Football – It might be good for England!

30 Apr

The Olympic fooball tournament seems to divide opinions. Many don’t think football should be in the games, many think GB should not be fielding at team and finally an awful lot of people really just don’t care one bit about the Olympic football tournament.

For the purposes of this post, I will be discussing the Men’s Olympic football tournament.

Football has been in every Olympics apart from 1896 and 1932. It is an U23 tournament where teams are allowed to select up to 3 over -age players.

I think we would all agree that the Olympic football tournament is certainly not at the top of the pecking order when it comes to international football. If they Olympics is supposed to be the pinnacle of sport (as they in most other Olympic events) then one instantly devalues the tournament by limiting it to U23 players. The very notion of this is wrong in my opinion and devalues the Olympic medal.

Let’s put the oddities to one side and consider some benefits.

Despite all the wrangling from the home nations, GB will have a football team in the games. This is a good thing! If the people in the suits can’t agree then it shouldn’t be the players who suffer and I’m glad that all home nation players have a chance to be selected. I don’t believe that U21 football in England is taken as seriously as it should be. Players are forced into the senior squad early and often find themselves warming the bench when they could be playing in U21 Tournaments. The players that do play in these tournaments then find it difficult to break through to the senior squad because they didn’t get in at 19 or 20. A fundamental flaw in the football pathway.

This Olympic tournament offers a further step in the pathway, against quality opposition and the media spotlight, to develop a group of players who otherwise might have been lost to international football. It could allow some late bloomers to really prove their worth and show they are capable of playing for the senior England team. A chance like this should be grabbed with open arms and embraced and I’m pleased to see the FA taking this tournament seriously. Increasing exposure to a wider group of players is a good thing and will benefit the game in England.

For the other home nations, the situation is slightly different. Gareth Bale will play and get experience of tournament football, I’d also suggest Allan McGregor as one of the over 23 players but I can’t see many more getting in. When these players come back to their respective home nations, hopefully they can use the experience to help inspire more players and this might help their national teams.

I’ll pose a question here. What if GB wins it? Then what? There will be calls from some quarters to defend the medal which means having to qualify. I’d suggest just using England as the vehicle to qualify for 2016.

Perhaps it does offer something of use in terms of player and coach development. I’d suggest we watch the tournament closely this summer and listen to what the British players involved have to say about it.

 
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Posted by on April 30, 2012 in 2012, Coaching, Olympics, Sport

 

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Hodgson v Redknapp

30 Apr

In a first for me and for The Sporting View, I’ve decided to write about football. As someone who works at the higher end of sport I’m often left bemused by football. I love to watch it and I love to play it but when the whole circus surrounding it I just find frustrating.

For months now England fans have endured endless speculation and rumours around when Harry Redknapp would take over as England manager. It seemed that he was the popular choice with fans and perhaps more importantly, with the media. In a game as fast paced as football, people seem to expect that things like changing coaches or appointing new managers should take place instantly. In life, this doesn’t happen. So we had to wait.

The FA, to the outside world at least, have held off making approaches for a new manager until now. During that time we have seen Harry Redknapp continue to prove that he has next to no tactical ability whilst Roy Hodgson has continued to deliver promising results with a West Brom team who seemed like relegation candidates 18 months ago.

What are the qualities needed of an England manager?

First and foremost, they need to be tactically astute. Why? If you can only work with what you have then you need to be dam sure you can get them to play a variety of systems and be able to change tactics depending on opposition, conditions, injuries etc…Spurs have one style of play and this did not change when they lost players to injury. I’ve seen them struggle to hold on to leads and unable to really chase games when they needed a goal.

They need to know international football – Coaches at this level need to know what is happening internationally in regard to styles of play, systems and how players are developed. Mr Hodgson has managed in Sweden, Norway, England, Italy and Switzerland as well as managing the Finnish, Swiss and UAE national teams. The fact that he has been successful in these countries speaks volumes about his ability to adapt and perhaps more importantly communicate as a coach. Redknapp may know the transfer market but this isn’t exactly much use when it comes to international football. The fact that he is termed a “wheeler dealer” to me highlights the fact that he teams are unable to develop their own players, something again which is needed at International level. Hodgson will most likely be involved at all levels within the England set up and have an input on the development of players, something the FA are rightly placing a high priority on.

I don’t buy in to comments about Hodgson not being a motivator. To win things, players and coaches need to be motivated! He has done this. Surely when Spurs went on a bad run recently then Redknapp’s supposed skills as a motivator should have helped get them over the line but it didn’t. Is he really that good a motivator? I also believe that if you really need to get players up for playing in a European Championship or to motivate players who have the honour of playing for their country then England as a country has BIG problems.

Apparently, England fans demand to see strong, attacking football. The sort which has served Spurs so well in recent weeks but surely at International level it is the result and only the result that matters? Are there really England fans out there who would rather see England go out in the group stages but “have a go” or make it to the final by being tactically smart and doing what is needed to win?

England need to look to the long term now. They need a man with international experience who can make England hard to beat. They need that man to work throughout the system to enhance the game at all levels. I believe in Hodgson they have that man.

 
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Posted by on April 30, 2012 in Coaching, Coaching Science, Sport

 

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2012 World Junior Freestyle Skiing Championships, Valmalenco, Italy

29 Apr

This past season I had the honour of being asked to coach the British Team at the 2012 World Junior Freestyle Ski Championships in Valmalenco, Italy. Just like it used to be, I was in charge of the ski cross contingent which for this event consisted of one skier, Marek Behnke. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Marek on and off for a few seasons now and as a ski cross athlete he has really progressed in the past 18 months despite limited training time.

Marek managed to get an extra week away from uni so we headed to Sweden and Norway with Craig Robinson and Pam Thorburn. I think a Dutchman might also have also been in the van somewhere….

The Europa Cup series in Sweden and Norway was designed to blow away the cobwebs, we were focussing on process, not on outcome and by the time we arrived in Valmalenco, Italy for World Juniors (after a journey involving planes, ferries, vans and later a train for me) we were ready to go.

Team GB were proudly supported by TASS for this event (http://www.tass.gov.uk) which meant we had a Chef de Mission, Deputy Chef de Mission and a Team Physiotherapist. The support TASS has provided to freestyle skiing over the past few seasons has been invaluable and we are really seeing a great impact from their support into the performances on the snow.

One of the great things about these championships was that it brought all the freestyle events together in one resort. Whilst ski cross, half pipe, slopestyle, moguls and aerials are all part of freestyle, we virtually never get to meet our freestyle teammates so it was excellent to all be under one roof in the team hotel and to be very well looked after.

Onto the hill!

The week before the champs, the FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup Finals had taken place in Valmalenco so we had the benefit of their track! What a track it was, long, fast and with lots of airtime! Check out this great video of the race!

So with the cobwebs blown away in Scandinavia, we went into the race with one objective. Top 32. Ski Cross races have two distinct parts, qualification and then heats. Only the fastest 32 skiers make it through to the 4×4 action and this is where all the athletes want to be. I’m always wary of  setting a target, especially when you don’t know the quality of the field before we get to the race but we wanted to be in the real action so top 32 was set. Sadly though, we lost the official training day as the weather gods remembered it was still winter and the sun disappeared and about a foot of snow decided to fall meaning we couldn’t accurately detail the quality of opposition.

No worry’s though, back to the wax room, re-focus and prepare to do everything on the one day. This meant 2 training runs, 1 qualification run and if we achieve our target, HEATS!

A perfect day for ski cross racing!

Come race day the weather had improved as you can see from the video and we were left with perfect race conditions! After a two solid enough training runs it was time for qualification. With Marek starting near the back of the field in bib 42 the task was simple. GET IN THERE. Marek skied the best run of his season to finish in 28th place but with 10 skiers to go this meant the most nervous wait of our careers for both athlete and coach. When the final skier crossed the line we started counting back, checking times and waiting…….

The announcer then read out the list of qualified athletes from 1st down to 32nd. By the time they got to 31 we were very nervous. Our count backs suggested either 32nd or 33rd and then they read out “in 32nd, Marek Behnke, Great Britain” and I have to admit I let out a bit of a scream! Marek was under the most pressure of his career and he delivered when it mattered, super proud. This meant we had to get re-waxing and ready for the finals! Qualifying in 32nd does however mean you will have the fastest skier from qualification in your heat and that you are racing in the first heat, the one everyone is watching.

Sadly, Marek didn’t progress through the heat but that’s ski cross sometimes and at least we were in the finals and had a chance. Although disappointed not to progress, we set a target and achieved it. There were quite a few quality skiers who missed out on the top 32 so all in all it was a good days work.

It was a great few days in Italy, topped off with a fun opening ceremony (which took place after our event…) during which I ended up on stage representing Team GB, a proud moment for me!

All in all a great event, fantastic to have a world juniors in central Europe and to have all the disciplines in one place at the same time! Let’s hope we see this again next season!

One final picture which I think shows ski cross in all it’s glory!

Please check out the following web links! Much of what is going on in Freestyle skiing in GB wouldn’t be possible without the support of TASS. The support is much appreciated!

Thanks to everyone who made it a great championships! All the Team GB HQ Staff, athletes, coaches, local organisers and FIS for making it happen! One final mention has to go to all of Marek’s family and “supporters club” who all travelled out to support him at the race and provided us with transport to Italy. The support of friends and family at these events makes a real difference to the athletes!

http://tass.gov.uk

http://fisfreestyle.com

 
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Posted by on April 29, 2012 in Coaching, freestyle, Random, Ski Cross, skiing, Snowsports, Sport, Travel

 

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2011 Winter Universiade, Erzurum, Turkey

28 Apr

Over a year has passed since one of the greatest experiences of my life; being a part of Team GB at the 2011 Winter Universiade in Erzurum Turkey. I had meant to write about the event during my time in Turkey or at least during the week after but one thing led to another and I never got round to it.

As ski cross was one of the last events of the games, we were the last of Team GB to arrive. This meant we missed the opening ceremony and some of our teammates had already left the village and headed back to the UK. Despite this we still spent a whole week in the village so managed to soak up the atmosphere and spirit of the event.

Our transport out to Erzurum is worth a mention! The journey consisted of 3 flights, a 7am Heathrow departure, a 5 hour layover in Istanbul, a quick hop to Ankara followed by 2 hours up to Erzurum. We had the pleasure of circling above Erzurum whilst snow was cleared from the runway and to this day I’m sure I felt the plane slide sideways for a second only for the pilot to apply some opposite lock and steer us to safety. Oh, this happened at 2am so all in all a long day!

Welcome to Turkey!

A bit about village life

The accreditation is your lifeline! Without it there was no access to anything and more importantly there was no food. Thankfully we remained “with accreditation for the whole time” and therefore remained well fed. Food is a good place to start! It can be best described as a school dining hall and the pupils are for every country in the world (not quite but 58 nations were represented, 1880 athletes and 849 officials) so it was quite busy! Food was on hand 18 hours a day and it was quite a random affair. Everyone was happy to share table space and it was great to meet so many people from different countries and competing and coaching in different sports.

I found being in the village quite relaxing. I was able to do my job easier than normal as I knew we had waxing facilities, storage facilities, everything was safe, transfers were taken care of and we had food whenever we wanted! I was able to coach and I think being in this environment allowed me to really focus on my job on the hill.

Team GB HQ

The Hill

We were racing on Palandoken Mountain, about a 30 minute bus ride away from the athlete’s village. The shuttle buses were a bit of a lottery but generally if you stood in the one place someone would pick you up and you’d end up at the hill. Palandoken was a strange experience, it was ruddy cold and there was snow but it had ALL fallen in the previous week so the only skiing was on the race course and one warm-up piste.  This meant we were finding stones everywhere, including on the track!

I ended up as connection coach which meant I had to set the course! (I think I was voted in by the Netherlands) This was quite a challenge, especially as we had to slow the racers down, re-set a whole section after what I found on day 1 on the hill and avoid all the stones. We got there though thanks to the input of some more experienced athletes.

Being up on the hill took us back to our ski cross environment. At the village there are so many athletes from different sports around and because everyone is dressed in team clothing you forget what it is you do! But back on the hill it was all ski cross and that was what we were there to do.

We benefitted from an extra training day and because of the small field our skiers were able to get ample runs on course. In the end both GB athletes qualified for finals and got to race heats; number 1 objective achieved.

Heats took place the next day but sadly for GB both guys didn’t progress. That’s ski cross at times, you give it your all, fly to the edge of Europe, train hard, race hard but it can be over in a split second. It’s what makes ski cross so awesome, it’s what makes many sports so awesome.

The Track!

Final thoughts

For me it was great to be able to talk and share experiences with other coaches and athletes. You realise we are all in the same boat and we can learn much from each other in sport. I particularly enjoyed my trips to the Curling venue and watching a few ends with the Scottish Team coach has opened my eyes to what I already thought was a quality sport.

Another highlight was the ice hockey! We scored some tickets for Canada v Russia (split loyalties for me) and it was a great experience. I loved being surrounded by different sports, it was a huge motivator for me and again, a massive learning experience.

The whole ethos of the event is about friendship and sharing. If you buy into that then you will look back on it with fond memories. It was a great experience for me, eased in to the multi-sport environment which will help me should I ever be fortunate to go to another but if it wasn’t for the two athletes I had out with me I wouldn’t have had the experience. Martin and Max represented their country with pride and they were both a pleasure to work with in Erzurum.

Not 24 hours after landing back at Heathrow I’d driven through France to VT with two new athletes for a Europa Cup and crammed ourselves into a tiny apartment before ending up sitting eating a pizza miles away from Turkey, with a familiar Dutchman looking forward to a new race. The only question was who was paying for the pizza?

Max, Coach Ian and Martin outside our block

 
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Posted by on April 28, 2012 in Coaching, Random, Ski Cross, skiing, Snowsports, Sport, Travel

 

Athletes aren’t the only ones away from home….

04 Jan

We often hear about how hard life is on the road is for athletes. For British winter sport athletes it is really hard! Apart from perhaps Curling and Skating where there are training opportunities at home (although they still spend many a month travelling!), being a Brit in a winter sport means lots of time on the road. A full time ski racer can expect to be out of the country for 7/8 months a year (maybe more) and this is just a necessary sacrifice they have to make. But with every ski team, bobsleigh team or any team there will be a coach, sometimes a team of coaches alongside also making that same sacrifice.

What of the demands placed upon these coaches? I’ll share some of my experiences and I hope you enjoy the read!

I got to spend many a month on the road in my trusty VW transporter. In one season I drove from the very bottom of Spain to the wilds of Norway, well it was just outside Oslo but you get the picture. I spent more time in the van with the athletes than I did anywhere else. It became a second home. The picture below summed up most of a season!

On the road again.....

Perhaps the hardest thing for coaches (and athletes alike) when on the road are those months away from friends and family. In many cases athletes can’t wait to get away from home and out to the hills but it is not always so easy for the coaches. Many leave behind wives, girlfriends, children and this time apart can put a real strain on personal relationships. As many athletes get older they deal with the same issues. You are in constant search of a decent internet connection for that skype call home, thinking about when the next break in the programme is to allow for a visit, planning meal times around peoples schedules who are thousands of miles away so you can squeeze in that call.

I was a solo coach. For the most part I was on my own with the athletes and whilst there were always occasions to have a beer with other coaches at events, you life can be swallowed up and it can be very isolating. Often, athletes are part of a team so have that form of support network but if you are a coach on your own this doesn’t exist. I spent one season based in Nendaz, Switzerland which provides my team with a base and somewhere to call home for the season. It’s not home and never feels like home but it did provide that sense of routine which helped me do my job. I was also able to make some friends in resort which helped me gain a sense of normality. In short, it provided me with the opportunity to speak to people my own age who didn’t give a crap about ski racing.

Living with a group of ski racers is not always easy. You have to deal with the emotional ups and downs, as the athletes have to do with the coaches and sometimes athletes forget that just because we are in the mountains doing an amazing job doesn’t mean we will always be super happy!

It’s a tough life. It’s not 5 star hotels in St Moritz and Zermatt. It’s tiny apartment blocks in places you haven’t ever heard of and occasional nights in the van because you can’t afford a night in hotel on route somewhere. As coaches we know what we are getting in to. We expect this and deal with this as best we can. For me the best thing was text messages. A little and often approach to communicating with folk back home helped me rather than 3 hour emotional skype calls but that is just what worked for me. We do this job for the love of it. Some coaches are well paid and that sacrifice of being away from home is made up by financial reward but for many British coaches this isn’t the case. We do it because we love it!

Arrived in Turkey

The image above was a real highlight for me. With both the athletes we set out to achieve the goal of representing Team GB at the 2011 Winter Universiade in Erzurum, Turkey. As a coach, to be there and to share that experience and the feeling of helping athletes achieve their athletic goals is motivation enough to spend those months on the road!

 
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Posted by on January 4, 2012 in Coaching, Random, Ski Cross, Snowsports, Sport, Travel

 

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Ski Cross in GB. The way forward? (Part 2)

03 Jan

A few people have asked why I’m even bothering writing this. Well, it’s proving to be a useful reflective exercise and I hope it’s useful for any other sports administrators/managers. I have lots of ideas floating around my head, many of which are on paper but this has helped collate them and might actually be good in the long-term for the sport.

The first post seemed to piss a few people off as well, this one might do the same.

Instead of a long winded discussion about what will benefit the sport I will focus on two things; Programmes and Resources.

In order for the sport to progress there needs to be programmes. This seems simple enough but is clearly lost on some people. Programmes need coaches and the the coaches aren’t there because of lack of resources.

Before talking in about resources (money) lets look at a programme structure. There is an argument (based on some desktop research carried out by myself) that GB should focus only on elite, by this I mean world cup, athletes. Once an athlete of suitable standard has retired from alpine or wants a change then they could be supported in ski cross. Essentially then GB would be supporting a very small programme for elite ski cross athletes and not focus on developing younger athletes. This is an easy case to make and there is data to back it up. It would work in the short term but there is no long term focus on the sport.

I prefer a second option which is to create a pathway to develop athletes in ski cross from entry level to world cup. This is the more expensive and resource heavy option but in my opinion is better for long term of the sport and for British skiers. This approach can only work through careful management and partnerships. It requires home nations working together with GB, working in close collaboration with alpine programmes, academies and clubs. As I said in part 1 alpine teams exposing athletes to a bit of ski cross acts as talent id but the next question is where to place athletes who decide they want to go for it in ski cross. A single integrated ski cross programme run by the home nations with GB support to develop athletes at FIS and Europa Cup level would provide this platform. I have the evidence to support this approach. This approach is more expensive but I’ll come on to that.

So if there is some cross working, one programme rather than competing programmes which will never exist due to costs and athlete numbers then we might be able to do something. This programme can then feed into a world cup programme. The key to this is it can pick up athletes who are identified and give them training and competition support as well as providing a vehicle for athletes who want to try out the sport on a trial basis.

So how do we resource this? Well….GB has had fantastic support though TASS (talented athlete scholarship scheme). If support continues there then there is some financial help to pay coaches as well as performance services for selected athletes. Athletes will have to contribute financially, this is the world we live in but if there is one programme then those finances go to the one place and can build a stronger programme. There isn’t the number of athletes or level of finances out there right now for Scotland, England and GB to all separately fund programmes but by working together there might be a way to get 10-12 athletes together to build something.

Perhaps this one programme might also attract a bit of sponsorship. Everyone races for GBR, not England, Scotland or Wales…maybe I’ll avoid that issue for now!

The main stumbling block right now is coaching. Coaches have to be paid. Without coaches there are no programmes. We can have managers all over the place but what exactly will they be managing?

Work together-build a central pathway through one combined home nation/gb programme-get athletes and funding in the one place-we can resource a programme.

I’ll shut up now.

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2012 in Coaching, Coaching Science, freestyle, Random, Ski Cross, skiing, Snowsports

 

Ski Cross in GB. The way forward?

19 Dec

I was lucky enough to be involved with the GB Ski Cross Team since late 2007. Before Ski Cross (BSC) I was another cog in the alpine wheel working with entry-level FIS athletes, Uni Racers and trainee instructors. I love the sport of ski racing, I wanted to be an alpine racing coach but always felt that I wouldn’t get that chance in GB as according to lots of people in the sport, if you were a crap racer (As I most certainly was!) then you can’t coach. This attitude within ski racing in GB is one of its many problems, people won’t admit to thinking that but it’s there, trust me! Anyway, that is maybe for another blog. I, however, did my training as a coach in Canada. I was judged not on how I got down a hill as a spotty 17-year-old who had virtually no training time but on how I performed as a coach. This gave me the confidence to believe I could coach and I could make it my career.

Fast forward four years and I’ve now coached at World Cup, European Cup, set the course at the World Uni Games (the good one, not the bad one we found on that first inspection!) , commentated on my sport on live TV, built ski cross courses, gained a master’s degree in Sports Coaching, had the company of some of the finest minds in British sport and now I have a new job in performance sport.

Ok, so that was a bit of an ego massage so I’ll move on quickly. The point is, I took a gamble in a new sport, tried to do my best for it and the athletes if it wasn’t for ski cross then I wouldn’t be where I am now.

So on to the point of this blog. How does GB move forward in the sport of ski cross? How do we get British racers into the medal zone and how can we sustain that level of performance for the next generation of ski cross athletes?

I’ll break this down under some headings.

Performer base

If you look at the numbers of active ski cross racers in GB you’d be right in thinking it seems very low. GB currently has 9 registered FIS racers in Ski Cross. This is very low compared to alpine racers in GB but if you consider the notion that every one of these alpine racers could also compete in ski cross then it’s not as low as you might think. Take into account all the kids who play on the ski cross tracks dotted around the alps and you widen the base further. Finally, we shouldn’t forget the 60 or so skiers who turned up at the Scottish Snowcross champs at Glenshee last March and actually we don’t just have 9 racers. If we take all the alpine racers then we are sitting on nearer 900. The challenge is getting them into the sport!

Talent Identification

For the record, I’m a fan of alpine racing. I want GB to be up there; I want to see British racers rocking on the world cup but let’s be honest. It’s tough, really tough. I struggle to think of a tougher sport to crack for a Brit than alpine racing. Now, is ski cross easier? It’s far from easy, it’s getting harder with each season but my personal opinion is that it offers a greater chance of success for British ski racers than the traditional alpine disciplines.

One of the simplest ways to get expose more alpine racers into ski cross would be to get our home nation and gb junior teams to race some ski cross as well as alpine. Why not say to these racers “Ok, you made the team, you will have to race ski cross as well.” I can imagine this won’t go down well in some camps. Fine, give an opt out of parents are worried about it being dangerous. The benefits of this are simple. We can see who has the aptitude for ski cross early, it doesn’t cost much, it gets loads more athletes into the sport and coaches can see who would perhaps be better suited in ski cross and guide them in that direction early allowing more alpine resources to be focussed on those athletes who stand a chance of progressing in alpine.

Ski Cross camps would also work. Why not have an open trial? Get some fast guys to come and set some times and lets open it up and see who is out there. This isn’t a cheap option and would be best suited to the younger age groups but would allow the NGB to sell the sport to more athletes at a younger age. The most important part here is that it provides the start of a pathway in ski cross. Without this, there will continue to be a hit and miss approach! We could look to run ski cross races at alpine events. Simple fun courses for the mini’s, k1/k2 and why not run a FIS ski cross next around the alpine events? No doubt the calendar would need tweaked but it can be done. I hear of people complaining about skiers having too many races in a short space of time so we need to be careful with the scheduling but surely everyone can give a little to make this happen.

In short, if we can increase the competitive opportunities, we can increase the number of athletes and we can show that ski cross does offer a credible alternative to alpine racing.

Coaching

This is where it gets tough. Part of the reason there is currently no pathway in place is down to a number of factors. One of which is a very small pool of ski cross coaches.  In order to coach there needs to be athletes, in order for athletes there needs to be coaches. Catch 22. This is where it requires investment. The NGB needs to take a lead on this and employ a coach, they don’t have to be British! Sure, this isn’t cheap and the ££ need to be found for it but with this person in place there is a resource who can be used to help develop new coaches and build on the coach education in the sport. This step is vital. Without it, coaches will continue to operate on a self-employed basis and this doesn’t encourage sharing as why would you give up your knowledge to someone who might then take work away?

There is some research and models in place now for coach education in ski cross (that blog might come later) so it’s not the shot in the dark it was 4 years ago.

So…

1. Employ a national team coach

2. Develop a coach education system

3. Work with alpine race coaches to help build ski cross elements into alpine programmes.

I’m aware this is getting quite long so thanks for staying with me! I’ll build on this later in the week where I will add some depth the talent ID, propose a ski cross pathway and discuss the resources needed to build the sport in GB.

I’m not saying all my suggestions are correct but I hope the open some discussion. Many of you might ask why some of these things aren’t already in place. The truth is much of this is work in progress, nothing new is being suggested but perhaps by raising some of these things to the surface the pace of progress can be increased.

I’d like to finish “part 1″ by offering my thanks to every single athlete I’ve worked with, without athletes we have nothing. It was athletes who blazed the trail in this sport and I was lucky enough to be part of that. I hope its athletes who continue to lead the development (with a bit of help) of this awesome sport!

 
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Posted by on December 19, 2011 in Coaching, Coaching Science, Ski Cross, skiing, Snowsports, sochi, Sport

 

JJC Training

02 Aug

Well……I meant to do some more writing and upload some podcast’s but real life got in the way, as it will continue to for the next month (its thesis time..).

I did, however, get the chance to head to the beautiful Swiss resort of Saas Fee at the end of July for week of coaching with JJC Training. JJC offer Eurotest (timed GS race for ski instructors aiming for the ISTD qualification, the highest BASI award) training for BASI instructors looking to perfect their racing skills and pass the Eurotest.

JJC is run by two of the finest coaches and skiers in the UK, James Bennett and Craig Robinson. With their wealth of experience in teaching, coaching and competition (alpine and ski cross) their clients are in excellent hands.  As well as Eurotest training, JJC also offer ski cross training camps which is where I came in. As Craig is currently recovering from a injury sustained in a world cup ski cross event in December, 201o I was delighted to be asked to assist on their most recent camp.

Despite having to fight the weather gods during the week we managed quality training on and off the snow. JJC focus on every aspect of performance, leaving no stone unturned in helping skiers reaching their goals. I was impressed with the level of detail and knowledge both Craig and James showed on and off the hill with a huge emphasis on what went on off the hill. For me it is the off-snow work which can really make or break a camp.

Having been coaching alone in ski cross for sometime, it was fantastic to be around other coaches and this improved my knowledge massively. I was brought up to date in a few areas and was pleased to see that I was well on track in other areas. I learned a massive amount as a coach, assisting James on the hill and its certainly helped guide where I need to go from here as a ski coach and the areas I personally need to improve on.

So…that was just a few quick words on JJC Training. I had a great time, I learned loads,  the athletes had a great time and they all took big strides forward, on and off the snow. If you need to do Eurotest training or want to improve your personal performance in and out of the gates then I would highly recommend them!

I’ll leave this post by saying thanks to the boys at JJC for having me and I hope I get to work with them again in the future.

http://www.jjc-training.co.uk

 

 
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Posted by on August 2, 2011 in Coaching, freestyle, Ski Cross, skiing, Snowsports, Sport, Travel

 

Developing expertise in coaches

20 Apr

I’ve recently been considering expertise in coaching in relation to sports like my own (ski cross) which as yet don’t have any formal coach education systems.

Schempp and McCullick in Lyle and Cushion 2010 state that there is no substitute for experience when it comes to developing expertise in coaching.  The challenge for myself as a ski cross coach is “where does the expertise come from?”  Many coaches, including myself, have experience in the sport although the sport has changed significantly over the past few years.  Ski cross coaching in my experience comes from doing the job.   This does result in inexperienced ski cross coaches finding themselves coaching at a high level due to experience they have in alpine racing.

Schempp and McCullick 2010 go on to state that many coaches ignore the lessons offered by their experience but in ski cross this might be a good thing as many coaches just don’t have the experience in the sport.  I questioned my own experience in the sport and how this relates to my coaching.  Having competed in the sport, albeit in a different era, I had some experience to fall back on however in a one month block of training the athletes would complete more runs on a ski cross course than I had completed in my life.  Whilst this meant I had limited experience as a competitor, I did mean that I had been through the process of ski cross competition which was invaluable in my early days as a ski cross coach.

I drew heavily upon my alpine racing experience as an athlete and as a coach in terms of planning and structuring the training and competition phase.  I used the experience of ski cross athletes to help with the planning and training activities and I would say that much of my experience now as a coach draws heavily upon the past experience of my athletes.  The first season of competition was a learning experience as I learned that the schedule of ski cross races placed many unexpected challenges on the athletes which led to changes in the program for my second season as a coach.  In a new and ever developing sport it is important to be very open minded, use your own experience, learn from the experience of others (athletes and coaches) and to be prepared for the sport to change direction suddenly.

 
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Posted by on April 20, 2011 in Coaching, Coaching Science, Ski Cross, skiing, Snowsports, Sport

 

Halfpipe Skiing for Sochi 2014

06 Apr

So today the IOC delivered the news many had been waiting for! Halfpipe skiing is to be included in the 2014 Winter Olympics for both men and women.

Its great to see the IOC and FIS make recognition of the fact that winter sport is changing and this move to include another “youth” sport will only help broaden the appeal of the games. Snowboard halfpipe has been in the Winter Olympics since Nagano 1998 and has been a huge hit ever since. The buzz and draw that Shaun White brought to Vancouver 2010 was unrivalled in winter sports and now skiers have the chance to show what they can do in the pipe!

This means freestyle skiing now has 4 medal events (Ski Cross, Aerials, Moguls and Halfpipe) and with Slopestyle still not ruled out (decision pending a inspection visit to Sochi on the 23rd of April) we could see another event added to what is already a diverse and highly appealing array of events.

Halfpipe skiers beware though! This means changes to what you do! FIS competitions will become the mainstay of your competition and the number of talented athletes you thought were out there will double over night. Nations will form national halfpipe squads and the professionalism in the sport will increase to a new level. I’ve seen it in ski cross and GB are still playing catch up to the big nations. Be prepared to work harder than ever before, be challenged in ways you never thought possible and be ready for the toughest of challenges in attempting to qualify for the games. Just has halfpipe fought hard for its inclusion, all you halfpipe athletes out there will have to fight hard for your place in the games! Enjoy the journey, its tough but will sure be worth it.

 
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Posted by on April 6, 2011 in Coaching, freestyle, halfpipe, Ski Cross, skiing, Snowsports, sochi, Sport

 
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