Rugby Coach's Corner Podcast - interview with Richard Cheetham
- Over a season, potentially 126 warm-ups which provide chances to learn. Be creative, don't miss opportunities. Set the tone.
- Compares it to a Bond film = first 3 mins end one story and start the next, loads of adventure to hook you right away - get active quickly!
- Session must be purposeful with designed outcomes
- People are a product of their environment. Discover, Develop, Consolidate. Enable players to be fearless.

Perception-Action Podcast 21D - interview with Noel Rousseau
- Explicit intervention leads to cognitive loading and change of attention so many golfers will reach overload. Circumvent that by not giving them time to think.
- What makes an intervention work? Could be temporal eg. Time golfers can stand over the ball before swing.
- Common thinking was 'don't think about technique under pressure' and many golf psychologists saying the same. Research by Noel found different, some people react favourably and some worse.
- Recent experiments on the individual to measure Working Memory Capacity and their propensity to be visually or virtually oriented. People with increased WMC better with coaching intervention. Key is understanding individual difference.
- No one right way but important to be aware of trends
- Load minds as little as possible, be explicit only when need to be.
- ANALOGIES = provides lots of info that they are already aware of to help understand what is expected from them in a movement.
- Look to rhythmic and whole movement cues - bigger movements and less detail.
- Consider the Key Movement Effector : what will make the biggest difference?

Perception-Action Podcast 27C - Effects of Mental Fatigue on Attention and Decision-Making
- Perceptual and attentional demans are mentally demanding. The need to constantly stay focused, shift gaze and detect subtle changes in opposition movement leads to fatigue.
- Physical and Mental fatigue. Interesting part of research found gaze behaviour didnt change during game, so why did performance decrease later on? 1. Limited supply of mental energy, therefore still focused but less effective? or 2. Motivation decreases and attention is drawn elsewhere.

Freakonomics Podcast - What are gender barriers made of?
- Megan Sumner: perception of listener depends on how and what is said ie. class, geography, gender. Gendered listening starts by age 4.
- Iris Bonet: Interviews are generally useless and do a bad job of predicting future performance. Some useful information, but tough to sift through and separate valuable from less valuable. There is a need to change how we listen - eg. Women penalised for being assertive, men are rewarded.
Need to redesign how we hire and assess people. Try to measure which questions do a good job of predicting future performance and use them in same order with all candidates. Ensure that looking at results you are blind to the candidate and demographic.
Do away with Self-Evaluation: if people differ in self-confidence then different self-appraisal, influencing how a manager appraises them and their colleagues. Consistent gaps between men, women, cultures etc in how they self-evaluate.
- Devise solutions that factor in your biases. Don't rely on people making good decisions, design a system so success isn't relying on every decision being good so that it is crippled by everything that could go wrong.

Hidden Brain Podcast - Google at Work
- How do you find talent that isn't looking to be found?
- Google looks for 'Emergent Leadership' - when individuals see a problem they step in to make it better.
- Project Aristotle studied what makes teams effective. Underlying factor was found to be PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY. Those who normally stand back feel ok to come forward. Teams with higher PS outperform teams with lower PS. Higher PS also found to benefit greatly from diversity.

Rugby Coach's Corner Podcast 22 - interview with Graeme Moffat
- Find the right balance and start with the end result first. So reverse the process of scoring a try - 1v1 skills and scoring, trace back to line breaks and scoring from them, back to phase play and set pieces etc.

Rugby Coach's Corner Podcast 16 - interview with Dave Walder
- "Don't be afraid of silence"

What Steve Hansen can teach leaders about empathy, on McAlpine Coaching
- Empathy is more than to sympathize, it allows people to use their knowledge to improve their companies in subtle but important ways.
- How to cultivate empathy?
1. Listen deepy and actively
2. Be curious
3. Be vulnerable
4. Work on your self-awareness
5. Put yourself in other people's shoes

Why do you make stupid decisions.... on TheConversation
- One reason for making stupid decisions is our inbuilt cognitive biases = we make quick decisions then seek to prove ourselves right.
- Humans tend to avoid Cognitive Dissonances = if a fact doesn't fit our beliefs, we seek to change the fact rather than our belief.
- A further reason to ignore experts us to avoid social discomfort, it is easier to rely on the judgments of our peers instead.

Leadership lessons from the All Blacks, on i-l-m
1. Build a "We" culture
2. Empower your teams. Individual responsibility. Create a self-managing, self-improving environment.
3. Create an environment where individuals learn to make great decisions.
4. Make it fun.
5. Get the mindset right.

Captaincy: Why authenticity matters, on espncricinfo
- Many different approaches to leadership. "Only prerequisite is a degree of authenticity. So long as the captain is being himself, he has a fighting chance".

Why cultures beat policies every time, on growingleaders
- A new culture creates a new normal
- Culture is shaped by:
1. Action and behaviour of leaders
2. What leaders pay attention to
3. What is rewarded and punished
4. Allocation and attention of resources

Seven tools for thinking....  on learningspy.co.uk
This is a series of 7 blogs commenting on Daniel Dennett's 7 Tools for Thinking.
1. Use your mistakes
- trick to making good mistakes is to not hide them. Savour your mistakes and delight in understanding what led to them.
2. Respect your Opponents (Principle of Charity)
- The Principle of Charity is to assume, until proven otherwise, anyone who disagrees with us is as intelligent, informed and ethical as we are, and we should strive to interpret their claims and evidence in the most positive way possible.
3. The "Surely" Klaxon
- Use of the word "surely" often indicative of weak point in argument.
4. Answer Rhetorical Questions
- Rhetorical questions show willingness to take a short cut. Pursue the line of reasoning, is there an unobvious answer to be considered?
5. Employ Occam's Razor
- "All things being equal, simplest solution is usually the best one"
- "It is pointless to do with more what is done with less"
- Remember it is only a heuristic device and proves nothing
6. Don't Waste Time on Rubbish
- there is plenty of substandard if you look for it. Don't waste time with it, focus on the best stuff you can find and critique that to learn.
- Don't trust sweeping statements. In a complex system, average isn't very useful.
7. Beware of "Deepities"
- Deepity = proposition that seems important, true and profound, but achieves this by being ambiguous.
- Something may sound profound but is it bland to the point of being meaningless? Avoid ambiguity.

No foul mouths on this field, on NYtimes
- Jimmy Graham on Carroll's Seahawks = "here, they feel like you guys are already men and we're going to treat you like men. It's literally all positive reinforcement."
- Gervais' psych and emotional input possible as Carroll built a team that valued keeping an open mind.
- Carroll and his staff are "supportive and nurturing"

How to increase mental toughness: 4 secrets of Olympians and Navy SEALS, on Bakadesuyo.com
1. Talk positively to yourself.
- Optimists have the view that bad things are temporary, bad things have a specific cause and aren't universal, it's not their fault.
2. Set goals
3. Practice visualization. Don't seek perfection, try to see problems you may encounter and how to solve them
4. Use simulations

Billy Bean on making better decisions... , on farnamstreetblog
- When he hired he looked out of sport to someone who didn't have his biases - Paul dePodesta was a Harvard Econ major.
- Remove the emotion from decision making - your own experiences are tied to an emotion. Take blind eye and look at things fresh. Don't make assumptions.
- Always analyze your process, make sure you weren't correct through serendipity but because the process is good and you are doing things properly.
- "I think, if anything, we certainly didn't fear failure, because we felt like going a traditional path was certainly the surest of failure based on revenues and the payroll we were on"
- Always analyze your foundation as culture and tradition are ingrained quickly. If you wrongly assume you are correct, it can really go awry.

Importance of friendship groups in sport, on SCUK
- understand young people's motivations for coming
- take time to understand friendship groups
- Encourage more/bigger/new friendship groups
- Allow time for social (media) breaks

The Rocky Road of Excellence, on changingthegameproject.org
- You must risk being uncomfortable to achieve something worthwhile
- Alan Stein = "Do the habits you have today match the dreams you have for tomorrow?"
- As coach, give players and team accountability. Hold to high standards. Make it tough, then be there after to debrief and understand outcome.

Greetings from Cub Med, on si.com
- Joe Maddon's Cubs Spring Training they seek to go about work with a collegiate confidence, a rapport in which the joy of playing together is greater than the burden of having to meet expectations individually.
- "Embrace the target". They welcome expectations.
- Joe Guru stressed Individuality and Authenticity. Spring Training isn't about reps but to think properly.
- 1st week Maddon has meetings with all players and he gives players the freedom to be most relaxed self.

Jameis Winston: What I learned, on MMQB
- A lot of what we did was just developing good habits

Drills. Why not? on rightbackonthebench
- Games based training works due to amount of touches, "players practicing everything the need to improve at football - practicing assessing the football situation, making a decision based on that assessment and then executing that decision all at the same time"

Is your feedback process false and failing?, on Coach Logic
By Allistair McCaw.
- A lot of coaches not consistent enough in providing honest feedback - regardless if nice or not.
- Many talk of 5:1 ratio in favour of positive comments, AM is more like 3:1 as need to be honest and realistic
- Eastern Euro coaches brutal honesty compared to US or UK
- Not 'criticize' but 'information'.
- Feedback centres around
1. Timing of it
2. Feedback based on facts, with proof
3. Feedback that is honest
- Lying to athlete and self if not giving the info they need
- "You don't improve with criticism, rather you improve with the right information"
- Effective communication 80% how delivered and 20% what.

Old Trafford kids buying into my philosophy, on DailyMail
- Louis Van Gaal - "I think being a teacher is part of my function as manager"

Don't Decide Like Martians, on psychologyblog.com
- The most common team decision strategy (voting) is probably the worst
- Team decisions have competing agendas and interpretations
- 3 options for decision making: Leader decides; team broker action to reflect the desires of members; vote.
- Vote puts huge social pressure to conform, therefore if using voting then confidentiality is key

The Coach's Coach, on hmmrmedia
- Becoming a better coach is more than methods
- Find a mentor, observe then build a bridge between theory and practice
- Art of coaching not just about training methods but communication and understanding athletes
- Nothing replaces experience
- In the end you have to try to do it yourself. The trouble is in knowing how you are doing.
- Everyone needs a coach

Secret Ingredients of Great Coaching, on Changing the Game Project
- Coaching is a RELATIONSHIP business
PERFORMANCE = (POTENTIAL + BEHAVIOUR) - INTERFERENCE
- Too many coaches ignore 'interference'
- Trust is the secret ingredient of great coaching.
- Steven R Covey: characteristics of high trust teams include:
Common purpose and values; Respect; Commitment; Resiliency; Love which decreases fear; Few discipline issues; Intrinsically motivated players; celebrate each other's success
- Coaches must intentionally build trust in team
- Coaches need to be worthy of trust, coach the person not the sport
- Trust works by Blanchard, Olmstead and Lawrence:
ABILITY / BELIEVABILITY / CONNECTEDNESS / DEPENDABILITY

What a Fighter Pilot Can Teach About Teamwork and Focus, on inc.com
- Feel the fear, do it anyway
1. 80% is good enough. 80% of the information is enough, follow up and follow through
2. Prioritize. Three priorities is enough
3. Deal with fear. Question is not whether you will fail but how you will respond to it.
4. Trust
5. Focus. Simple statement of purpose, adaptability easier if everyone is oriented to one singular purpose.

Why Organisations Don't Learn, on internettime.com
- Real Learning features:
* Destigmatize making mistakes
* Embrace growth mindset
* Avoid attribution bias
* Don't work to exhaustion
* Take frequent breaks
* Take time to think
* Encourage reflection
* Leverage your strengths
* Know the person

Knowing How You Decide is as Important as the Decision, on nymag.com
- Traditional research = keeping options open ultimately makes you less happy with your choice. It is better to choose and move on with it.
- New Research = reversible decisions can still make you happy. Depends on what type of decision maker you are.
There are two types:
1. MAXIMIZERS - concerned with making BEST decision having considered every option
2. SATISFICERS - know what they want, find an option that meets that criteria then pick and move on
- Satisficers tend to be happier with choices
- New research (R Shiner) indicates Satisficers happier with permanent decision, Maximizers happier knowing they can change their mind. This suggests, at least for little things, Maximizers better off recognizing tendencies around decision making and adjust accordingly
- Key to better decision making may be understanding how you make decisions

Reflective Practice, on SCUK
- Reflective Practice basically = thinking/reflecting on what you do
- Difference between casual and purposeful thinking - making considered and cognitive effort to consider and recall what happened, the part you played and your view against it as coach with expected outcome
- Reflective Practice is a conduit for experiential learning. A PURPOSEFUL and COMPLEX process that facilitates the examination of experience by questioning whole self within context of practice
- Reflective Practice transforms experience into learning
- Must develop critical thinking and open mindedness

Establishing Athlete Behaviour Standards, on ASEP.com
- Athlete behaviour should be evaluated against flexible team standards, not rules
- John Wooden = equal treatment is not equitable treatment
- Rules punish negative behaviour whereas Standards promote positive behaviour
- Urban Meyer has a three-tier system:
BLUE LEVEL = entry level for all. Lowest status and fewest earned privileges. eg No unexcused absence from class
RED LEVEL = show record of good academic performance and adherence to team standards. Earnt more freedom and trust.
GOLD LEVEL = shown they desire to be treated like 'grown men'
His coaches meet weekly to review and move athletes up or down the levels.

How SEALS Train For Excellence, on hbr
- "under pressure you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training"
1. Produce excellence, not 'above average'
2. Incentivize excellence not competence
3. Incorporate new ideas from the ground
4. Lead by example

Rocky Road To The Top, by Collins and MacNamara, on innovatefc
- Talent Development nowadays often aims to be as supportive as possible so players focus on the task.
- However, developing resilience, growth mindset and mental toughness are crucial to TD
- How do young players acquire, build confidence and sharpen mental skills if not through overcoming adversity?
- Most dev pathways try to smooth process so challenge is minimized
- But CHALLENGE and TRAUMA are essential to eventual high level performance
- Overcoming trauma develops coping skills
- Encountering and overcoming challenges develops set of skills and attitudes that strengthen individual for future experiences
- Setbacks can be used as focus for critical reflection, learning and subsequent application

Gary Curneen: Decision Making on CoachLogic
- Keys to DM
1. Technique
2. Timing
3. Positioning
4. Communication
5. Reading play in real time
6. Tactical repetition

LTAD 1, Pathway for all youth by Lloyd et al
- A structured, progressive and integrated approach to youth training is viewed as developmental pathway for all abilities
- Athletic development programs should be grounded in developing movement competency and muscular strength
- Ath Dev programs should NOT be designed in accordance to 'windows of adaptaion'

Mental Toughness and Non-Cognitive Skills in Learning, on Psych(ed)
The 4 C's of Mental Toughness:
CONTROL
CONFIDENCE
COMMITMENT
CHALLENGE

Winning the Trust of Players on goalnation
- Care for them
- Coach them
- Blame yourself
- Constant feedback

LTAD, not winning, is key to age group training, on swimmingworldmag
- Winning and development not mutually exclusive - they go hand in hand
- Long-term means not trying to make people as good as possible as young as possible - focus on correct training, competition and recovery

Golden Rules of Leadership, on farnamstreetblog
1. Know thyself
2. Office shows the person
3. Nurture community in the workplace
4. Do not waste energy on things you can't change
5. Always embrace the truth
6. Let competition reveal talent
7. Live life by a higher code
8. Evaluate info with critical eye
9. Never underestimate power of personal integrity
10. Character is destiny

Decision-Making in Team Sport, on clearinghouseforsport
- Uncertainty should be embraced in training = emphasise adaptability and variability NOT repetition and stability
- To develop DM training tasks and games...
i) Identify DM problem
ii) Identify information needed for effective DM
iii) Manipulate key constraints to develop modified task to represent and exaggerate the problem
iv) Guide athletes search to relevant information
v) Continue to adapt level of chaos to athlete's ability to overcome the problem
vi) Monitor, evaluate and adapt session to athlete performance and learning
- Key Constraints:
SPACE - boundaries
TIME - start positions, in/outs, swaps, floaters, timed challenge
DIRECTION - sequential direction, dynamic direction, multi-direction
PLAYERS - manipulate opponents, time outs, manipulate athlete's search, manipulate task rules and equipment