Why all coaches should watch this movie…

My colleague at CoachSG was asking me for movie recommendations that will inspire sport coaches and Moneyball by Michael Lewis came to mind. The movie is based on a real story and stars Brad Pitt as Oakland Athletics’ general manager Billy Beane (follow this link for a quick summary of the movie).

Well, the movie did not exactly inspire. Instead, it provoked me into reflecting on how I may have unknowingly limited the potential of the students and athletes that I’ve worked with, especially during my early years as a PE teacher/coach.

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The Paradox of Winning & Losing

It’s definitely counter-intuitive that your probability of winning (in sports and in life) actually increases by focusing less on the win, but it’s true…

“We’re not going to talk about what we’re going to accomplish, we’re going to talk about how we’re going to do it.” Nick Saban, American Football Coach

Let me explain with a recent study that Mr. Tan Mian Ou (Raffles Institution’s Rugby Master) and I presented at the Asia Pacific Physical Education Conference (APPEC). We shared with teachers and coaches about how the 2017 Raffles Institution (RI) ‘B’ Division Rugby team managed to find success by NOT focusing on winning.

news article

The Background Story…

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To Think or NOT to Think…

“There should be NO thinking when fighting…” That’s the reminder my Judo coach Gerard Lim often repeats to us.

“What does ‘No thinking’ really mean?”

“Is it possible to ‘not think’ when you are fighting, or when competing in any sport for that matter?”

Coach Gerard in Action — Picture Courtesy of Jagsport

Many coaches can intuitively relate to what Coach Gerard is referring to – the Performance Mindset, where our athletes fully trust their abilities and simply react rather than over-think.

However, although we are able to relate to the Performance Mindset, we might not necessarily be doing enough to help our athletes foster this mindset.

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