The effect of physical and academic stress on illness and injury in Div 1 College Football players
- weeks of the season categorized into three levels:
1. High physical stress (eg. preseason)
2. High academic stress (eg. weeks scheduled with exams)
3. Low academic stress (eg. regular season, no exams)
- Results:
A) Odds of injury restriction greatest during high physical stress
B) Odds of injury restriction during high academic stress are double that of low academic stress
C) Difference in injury rates in all athletes for high physical stress and high academic stress disappeared if only consider those playing, suggesting high academic stress may have increased effect on playing athletes

Championship coaching starts with relationship building, Dr Wade Gilbert, on ASEP
- Relationships a top priority
- Jill Ellis US Women's Soccer lauded for her open and honest communication style. Emphasis on learning to connect with players in a way meaningful to them
- Steve Kerr of Golden State Warriors: Xs and Os is relatively small part of coaching, 80% is relationships and atmosphere
- Building relationships is an act of courage - the courage to be vulnerable

Hidden Brain Podcast, Episode 22. Originals with Adam Grant, on NPR
- Differece between the great and the ordinary isn't that the great have great ideas, but simply have more.
- Greatest originals are those who failed the most because they tried the most - not that originals have higher hit rates, just more volume with more variety so have a better chance of success
- Many people fall in love with their first idea, which are often the most conventional. You need to weed out the familiar to get to the original. Furthermore, it is hard to judge own findings - need to put our ideas out there for judgement and feedback.
- Fostering creativity = values over rules. High standards.
- Rules = people learn to follow and accept status quo.
- Downside to originality = too much of a good thing and everyone marching in different directions. "Pioneers need settlers".

A coaching system that will help you C the light, on connectedcoaches
- 5 main elements: Connection, Confidence, Competence, Character and caring, creativity
- Jon Woodward = on connections "You have to relate to the person and the sport. If there's no connection there, there will be very little development".
- STEPS framework = Space, Task, Equipment, People, Speed

Let the creative sparks fly, with Richard Cheetham, on connectedcoaches
- Create an environment where it is safe to fail
- Players take ownership and devise/adapt sessions
- 3 stages = Discover, Develop, Consolidate
- Environment where they make mistakes and learn from them encourages them to be robust and resilient
- "Direct instruction equals less coaching"

Formal vs Informal Coach Education, by Mallett et al, 2009
- Ongoing issue about most efficient and effective means of aggregating and accrediting the coach's varied learning experiences.
- Research has shown that coach ed/accred is less valued than experiential learning and other less formal opportunities
- Learning mediated by Knowledgeable Other so learners have less control over what is delivered and learned.
- Debate of F vs In has little value as coaches need access to varying educational opportunities
- Growing evidence that coaches "feel" more learning taking place in informal situations

Formal, Nonformal and Informal Coach Learning: A Holistic Conceptualization, by Nelson et al, 2006
- Formalised learning episodes were found to be relatively low impact endeavours when compared to informal, self-directed modes of learning

Sources, topics and use of knowledge by coaches, by Stoszkowski and Collins, 2015
- Results revealed coaches preferred coaching knowledge from informal learning activities, especially with social interaction.

Emotional intelligence integral to becoming a great coach, on connectedcoaches
- Emotions drive thoughts, thoughts drive behaviour, behaviour drives performance
- The more you know your player, the better you can coach them.
- Emotional Intelligence is the ability to understand and control emotions to be able to perform to absolute potential (Catherine Baker)
- A key term in Emotional Intelligence is Self-Awareness.
- Top tips:
1. Understand your EI make up
2. Work on behavioural agility
3. Reflect!
4. Practice adapting behaviour to the person you are coaching.

Hidden Brain Podcast Episode 15, on NPR
- Itzhak Perlman was teaching Mya Shankar Violin, she remembers him often asking "What do you think you should do to make it better? What tools do you have at your disposal?"
- He explained "the more you learn to think for yourself and how to make decisions for yourself, better it is for the future"

Bruce Arians' philosophy comes from Bear Bryant, on ESPN
- Great coaches have two gifts = to be able to see, and to motivate/inspire
- "Coach 'em hard, hug 'em later" Bryant's parting words to Arians
- Bryant and Arians keen on work-life balance for their staff, "A happy family made for a better football coach"

Bruce Arians knows only one way, on ESPN
- BA "I'm having a blast every day....because I'm not coaching for my next job". Philosophy based upon "Coach it like you stole it"
- On his staff, "guys can do their job if you let them"
- Work-life balance crucial. "All that sleeping in the office stuff - guys can only learn so much"
- Encourages players to ask questions. If the coach can't tell you why you're doing the drill, don't do it.

TED Radio Hour Podcast - Courage, on NPR
- Margaret Heffernan:
"The most dangerous thing in organisations is silence - it's all those brains whizzing around full of observations, insight and ideas that are not being articulated"

Freakonomics Radio Podcast, on WNYC Studios
Episode How to be Less Terrible at Predicting the Future
- Philip Tetlock's 10 Commandments for Aspiring Superforecasters
1. Triage = focus on the questions where hard work is likely to pay off
2. Break seemingly intractible problems into tractible sub-problems
3. Strike right balance between inside views and outside views
4. Strike right balance between under and over reacting to evidence
5. Look for clashing causal forces at work in each problem
6. Strive to distinguish as many degrees of doubt as problem permits but no more
7. Strike right balance between over/under confidence, prudence and decisiveness
8. Look for errors behind mistakes but beware of rear view mirror hindsight biases
9. Bring out the best in others and let others do the same to you
10. Master the Forecaster Balancing Bicycle: can't learn to ride a bike by physics books, learning requires DOING with good feedback leaving no ambiguity about whether you are succeeding or failing.

Wax on, wax off: Way to movement Mastery? By Shawn Myszka, on footballbeyondthestats
- Early in career he bombarded athlete with cues - PARALYSIS BY ANALYSIS
- When athlete thinks about execution too deeply before or during movement, speed of execution and control of positions is greatly hampered
- Focus on EXTERNAL CUES rather than outcome goals
- Intention is the key to perfection

The 6 'Es' coaches need for every session by Mark Watts, on elitefts
1. Be an EXAMPLE - be vulnerable, honest, have integrity
2. Bring all your EXPERIENCE
3. Create an ENVIRONMENT - permeates right culture and attitude to enable success at all levels
4. Communicate EXPECTATIONS - consistent philosophy and methodology
5. Bring ENERGY
6. Have EMPATHY

How to spark creativity in children by embracing uncertainty, on KQED
- if students can be made to feel comfortable with uncertainty, they are more apt to be curious and innovative in their thinking
- Recommendations for how:
1. Address emotional impact of uncertainty - FAILURE IS PART OF INNOVATION
2. Assign projects that provoke uncertainty = invite students to find mistakes, present info for alien viewpoints, provide assignments that they'll fail.

Serial Winners Top 10, on Leeds Beckett
1. Get the right people on the bus
2. Be athlete-centred
3. Partnership not dictatorship
4. Emotional intelligence is as important as sporting intelligence
5. Thick skin is a must-have
6. Work-life balance matters
7. Serial winners suffer from serial insecurity
8. Create simple image of future and plan towards it
9. Develop belief in others
10. Take risks

All Blacks - Learners, on medium.com
- Strive to develop independent learners where players drive their own development
- Not just players who should be viewed as learners but coaches and support staff too
- Key traits are trust, critical thinking, open mind, diversity of experience, humility, courage and letting go of the past
- "the more we talk about learning stuff, and the less we talk about winning stuff, the better we get at developing excellence and the more likely we are to win" Al Smith
- "Nice amenities do not cultivate talent...hardship does" Brett Bartholomew
- "Build a program and a culture that is built on positive expectation and accountability" Chidi Enyie

Creating the Culture, by Brett Bartholomew on McMillanSpeed
- world within us influences world around us = how culture created
- coaches need to be able to "talk in colour"
- START WITH WHY
- When we understand athlete's unique internal environment we can better construct everything around it to bring best out of them

Rugby Skills and Coaching Environment, on KickCoaching
- Not just mechanics = pre-performance routine, distraction, focus of attention, visualisation scripts and emotional intelligence
- Skills sessions should include = perception, context, cues, challenge, variability
- Kicking = 1. Whole Body Movement
                   2. Contact Quality
                   3. Impact line (path of knee, foot and ball)
                   4. Transfer of weight (momentum through impact)

Why we are bad at predicting our own behaviour, on Science of Running
- Coaches job at elite level is to hold the reigns : know the athlete well enough to make best decisions for them as they may not themselves

Carol Dweck on Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset, on examinedexistence
- Fixed Mindset = affirmation of intelligence is success and therefore avoid failure
- Growth Mindset = seeks challenge, failure is a springboard for growth and development
Factor                                     Fixed Mindset                                     Growth Mindset
Intelligence                             Static                                                          Can be developed
Challenges                              Avoid                                                          Embrace
Obstacles                                Give up easily                                            Persist
Effort                                        Fruitless                                                     Path to mastery
Criticism                                  Ignore                                                         Learn
Success of Others                  Threatened                                                Lessons and inspiration
                                                  Plateau early                                             ever-higher level of achievement
                                                  Deterministic view of world                   Sense of free will

Can Creativity Be Taught? on creativityatwork.com
- George Land Test concluded non-creative behaviour is learned
- Creativity skills can be learned by learning and applying creative thinking processes
- Amabile (1998) 3 Components of Creativity: Expertise, Creative Thinking, Motivation.
- learn to be creative by experimenting, exploring and questioning assumptions, by using imagination and synthesising information.
- We don't learn to be creative, we must become creative people
- Fastest way to become creative is to hang around with creative people
- Give permission to be WRONG. Learn from mistakes.

John Fox's NAVY SEAL Stepfather, on ESPN
- "It's amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit"

Whenever I have a free moment I am trying to catch up on various columns, articles, research papers etc - anything that may be able to help me learn and improve as a coach. I scribble down notes in my trusty note pad so that I can refer back to them. However, a few weeks ago I had a slight panic when I managed to leave my bag in a taxi - my main concern was for my two notebooks (one for reading, one where I plan/record/reflect on all my coaching sessions). Thankfully, TFL came through and I was able to get my bag back. However, it occurred to me that I needed to bring my notes into the digital age in case I was to misplace my bag again in the future. They aren't exhaustive or summaries, merely the small bits that I took from the reading. If I found it interesting, then maybe others might so this is the first blog entry comprised of some of my reading notes. 

Firstly, I must thank Jamie Taylor (blog here), Sporticus (blog here), Si Nainby (blog here) and Stuart Armstrong (here) among many many others for their posts, their sharing of articles and papers. All have contributed greatly to my reading and learning since I became a coach full-time in January 2014. This 'series' of blogs will pale in comparison to the work they do, however hopefully it may contain something of interest for some coaches.

by Damien Hughes on Liquid Thinker
- the story of Sir Alex Ferguson who used Bill Beswick when talking to his players about three bricklayers. The first bricklayer is solely interested in building the wall and getting it finished. The second bricklayer is there because it is his job and he wants to earn the money for building the wall. However the third bricklayer sees the bigger picture and takes pride in building a cathedral so that he has something to show his kids. The players were then asked which bricklayer they would be in the upcoming training session and season. 

10 Creative Rituals You Should Steal, on Dailygood.org
- Number 10. Engage in 'morphological synthesis' whereby you segment your thinking process into parts. Pick four to five adjectives or characteristics and brainstorm (eg for me, how might we adapt to not winning any scrum or line outs for the whole season). It encourages you to flip between extremes and explore the outside boundaries so that you can see your sport more creatively.

Telegraph article on New Zealand and Gilbert Enoka
- When thinking clearly and your attention is fully engaged then you are able to make your best decisions. This is referred to as BLUE HEAD THINKING.
- Distraction and intrusive thoughts = RED HEAD THINKING
- Under pressure, ability to think clearly decreases so you rely on emotion and instinct. Therefore you don't pick up on the necessary cues to make good decisions.
- Moving from RED to BLUE requires an anchor to refocus attention and re-engage in the moment. All the NZ players have an individual anchor.
- Culture breeds mental strength - nourish who you are, where you came from and what you are about to become.

Greg Schiano Article on MMQB
- Modern athletes require constant motivation and stimulation. Coaches need to be able to live within this organised chaos.
- As part of this, Schiano bought into the Chip Kelly philosophy of no meetings lasting longer than 30mins to ensure they are focused and efficient.
- Real success is leaving a legacy
- "I didn't know what I didn't know, which is dangerous"

No Days off: Nick Winkelman on blog.champssports.com
- "I'm the driving instructor. My job is to teach them how to drive their car more effectively."

The Power of Positive Coaching - Pete Carroll, on MMQB
- Carroll has a clear vision of how he wants to run the programme
- he seeks relentless competitiveness and the constant quest to identify and maximise the uniqueness of every player and coach.
- commitment to a NURTURING environment that allows people to be themselves whilst still accountable to the team
- Treat each day/session as if something positive is about to happen
- The importance of FUN and COMPETITIVENESS
- Sessions themed to specific aspects of the game
- Can you explain your coaching philosophy in 25 words or less?

The Essence of Pete Carroll's "Win Forever Philosophy", on Seahawks.
- winning forever more important than winning the next game. Constant focus on COMPETING, MAXIMISING POTENTIAL and MAKING THE MOST OF OPPORTUNITIES.
- Help players and coaches to realize potential and be as good as they can be.
- "To accomplish the grand, focus on the small"
- Win forever = ALWAYS COMPETE.

Always Compete: Examination of Pete Carroll's Philosophy, on fieldgulls.com
- The benefit of always competing = FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL
- Approach every game with the intensity of a Championship game. This approach tries to avoid an overreaction to the result such as a decrease in motivation after success.
- The ultimate expression of his philosophy would be that players continually play one way - as if they are about to play a Super Bowl.
- Carroll stresses the importance of TRUSTING THE PROCESS. Don't worry about future events, focus on having best day possible today. Let go of the past both positive and negative.
- Training must be as fun as possible with a competitive element and to build confidence

The Seahawks Success Formula, on Forbes
- less focus on winning/losing, more focus on being at one's best - PROCESS OVER PRODUCT.
- 'Training is where we become/make us'

Pete Carroll's Positive and Profound Approach... on NBC Sports
- Belief system comprises of three rules:
1. Always protect the team
2. No complaining, no excuses
3. Be early
- BUILD CONFIDENCE, GAIN TRUST
- No such thing as a big game
​- Confidence and trust lead to focus.