Caution is needed when goal-setting
Goals can be very useful things, which is why they are so often encouraged. There is a downside to them, though, that is little talked about.
Tag
team psychology
Turning around 4 years of losing
Taking on a program with a losing history is tough. For me the most important thing is building trust and confidence in support of cultural improvement.
The cultural risks in taking over a new program late
If you take over a new team close to the start of the season you have to make sure you do the right work on team culture or risk long term repercussions.
Selecting a team captain – one view
How do you pick your team captain(s), if you have them? He's the approach of one of the most successful coaches of all time, which closely matches my own.
Structure things to keep them coming back
Psychological insights, combined with an understanding of player motivations, can help us structure practice and training sessions to keep them coming back.
Do you foster a culture of alibis?
Once upon a time, volleyball coaching legend Julio Velasco made some comments about what he called "the culture of the alibis" which continue to resonate.
Reversion to the mean and why you need to understand it
As much as we may wish it otherwise, players (and teams) don't always play at one consistent level. They have a distribution of performances. This has implications for our coaching.
Creating pressure in practice
How do you create pressure situations in your practice? It really depends on whether you're talking about individual or collective pressure.
What are you playing for when there’s nothing to play for?
It's the end of the season and you can't make the playoffs. What do you do to keep the players - and yourself - motivated through the rest of the season?