A Letter to the 15,000!
Dear budding sport scientist So you have enrolled on a sports science degree eh? You start this week? Exciting times ahead then. So what lies ahead for you at the end of your studies? I believe sport is more important…
Tag ProfessionalDevelopment
Collective Purpose
“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” John F. Kennedy I was recently invited once again to speak at the brilliant Cheltenham Science Festival in June. It is always a privilege to be surrounded by not only…
Summary of 2018 Supporting Champions Conference
On 20 and 21 March 2018, ~180 delegates, partners and speakers gathered at the Emirates Stadium, London for the second Supporting Champions Conference. Which, once again, had an unadulterated focus on finding a better way to create remarkable performance and…
The Angel and Devil of Opportunity: Reflections on a bobsleigh run
This extract is taken from Chapter 2 of How to Support a Champion, with some further reflections below… Toni Minichiello is the coach with whom I have had the longest working relationship. It stretches back to 2001 and is still…
Make progress with two essential perspectives
We all know that new year’s resolutions aren’t particularly effective that the end of the year feels like a good time to look back, to look forward and reset our hopes and ambitions. As we get closer to the…
CORE skills aren’t SOFT
In 1958, as NASA began it’s search for aerospace pilots, the job description listed the need for the following characteristics; · Male (how 1950s?) · Approx 5’11” /180cm · Aged between twenty-five and forty · A science degree ·…
The base camp of high-performance
If I look back over my career as a sports scientist working in elite high-performance, there is one key concept that I wish I had had in place much earlier. I came across this concept, received some training and acquired…
Maximising experiences
I am a lucky boy. Lucky, lucky lucky (apologies if after only 8 words you are now singing Kylie Minogue’s hit or reciting sections of Monty Python’s Holy Grail). When I first started to work in high-performance I was fortunate…
Five books that changed my life
William Styron — ‘A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.’ I love to read. When I read, I love to write in the margins (at…
Mind the gaps: An opinion piece about future needs in high performance
The inexorable rise in elite sport has done wonders for the soul in many ways. Who doesn’t appreciate the resilience of Sergio Garcia or the artistry of Marta? Who doesn’t enjoy the dizzying radiance of Simone Biles or the…