Sports Thoughts

Wayne Goldsmith

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Real talk on coaching, leadership and sports parenting from Wayne Goldsmith — 30+ years working with Olympic programs worldwide. Challenging conventional thinking. Building better coaches, better parents, better athletes. waynegoldsmith.substack.com

1D AGO

Parents — sometimes you have to say NO.

Parents — sometimes you have to say NO. And mean it. We all love our kids. I’ve got eight — I get it. But I can’t tell you how many arguments I’ve had with sporting parents whose child didn’t get selected in a team and who want to blame the system or the coach or the selectors or anyone and everyone they can find. Instead of saying: “You didn’t make it this time. I love you. I’ll be right here beside you as you work to get there next time — if that’s what you choose to do.” …….the parents abuse the selectors. They write letters to the national body. They whine about how the system is unfair, how it’s all geared against their child, how their kid is better than the others and a million other gripes. Every time a parent does this, the child learns: “The word “no” means my parents will negotiate a “yes” for me”. Kids need to learn they can’t win all the time. They need to learn that no matter how hard they try, life isn’t always fair. They need to learn they can’t always get what they want. Teach them to accept setbacks. To learn from disappointments. To move forward quickly without regrets. That’s not cruelty. That’s parenting. What’s the best lesson a setback taught your child? Wayne Goldsmith This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit waynegoldsmith.substack.com/subscribe

6 min
6D AGO

One session to change their lives.

What would you do if you had ONE session with a team you don’t know, in a place you’ve never been, sometimes in a language you don’t speak, in a sport you don’t understand? I am very lucky. I get to travel the world and work with coaches, athletes, teams and sporting parents everywhere. Often, coaches will invite me to visit their training sessions and spend time with their team. This can vary between taking a full session, to a “motivation” style talk or just to walk with the coach kicking ideas around about coaching. So I’ve got one shot - to coin a phrase - one opportunity to do something of lasting value for the coach and their team. The question is - what do I do with that one opportunity? Here’s my answer: I make them feel good about themselves. I can’t improve their physiology in one session — so I don’t try. I can’t fix their technique in a single workout — so I don’t waste their time or mine. What I CAN do is inspire them to believe in themselves — just a little. Be a spark in their hearts that could change everything. Coaches — our job, above all else, is to inspire people to believe in themselves and that anything is possible. Yes, we coach technique, tactics, speed, strength. But the effectiveness of our coaching comes down to one thing: our ability to inspire everyone we coach to believe in themselves — and in us. Wayne Goldsmith This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit waynegoldsmith.substack.com/subscribe

8 min
FEB 5

Wayne. How do I coach "good"?

By Wayne Goldsmith Thanks for the incredible response to the "Good Boys Make Great Players" video. A coach wrote to me and asked, "Wayne. How do I coach "good"? Great question.My answer: Stop seeing them as athletes. Start seeing them as people who do athletic things.This re-framing of your coaching is essential because you shift your focus from talent, skills, winning, losing, performance etc. to how can I coach this person standing in front of me to be the best version of themselves.You go from thinking in terms of coaching new skills, improving techniques and enhancing physiological capabilities, to how can I coach this person to be a decent human being first and foremost.You start to recognize coachable moments and coaching opportunities where their hearts and minds are open to learning and where you have the chance to maybe change their lives by teaching important life lessons.Have a great coaching day. Thanks again everyone for your support. Wayne Goldsmith This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit waynegoldsmith.substack.com/subscribe

6 min
FEB 1

Good boys make great players.

I was visiting the Collingwood AFL Club here in Australia. Impressive facilities. Long history of success. Well resourced. Professional football team. They had a guy whose job was to take care of the players’ boots. Clean them, repair them, dry them. He’d been there for years doing the same job — and he loved it. I asked him: “You’ve seen some of the game’s greatest players over a long time. What have you learnt?” He said — perhaps the most important five words you’ll ever hear about young men and sport: “Good boys make great players.” If you’re a parent of a boy, if you coach young men, if you aspire to be a great player - those words should be on a billboard outside your house in 50-foot high letters. Forget talent. Forget how much they can lift in the weight room. Help them to be good boys. They’ll become great players — and more importantly — good men. Wayne Goldsmith This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit waynegoldsmith.substack.com/subscribe

6 min
JAN 29

Facilities Don't Win Gold Medals

A lot of coaches, club committees and sports administrators complain that the reason their program, their team and their athletes are not competitive is due to poor facilities. “If we had a better court, our kids would be able to train and play better” etc. In 30 years in this business I’ve seen kids in Africa train in dirty swimming pools with no starting blocks, lane ropes or backstroke flags - and win gold medals at the Olympic Games. I’ve seen kids in Fiji train on the beach and play on rough, barely grassed fields where the lines are marked in sand - and win gold medals at the Olympics. I’ve seen kids shooting baskets in Midwest-USA on courts that are cracked and broken and with the backboards hanging off and smashed - and win gold medals at the Olympics. But I’ve never seen a negative attitude built on complaints about facilities win anything. Here’s the thing. Sure - it would be great to have a world class training centre with brand new playing facilities, a recovery centre, a state of the art gym and a stack of the latest high-tech training equipment. But for most of us - that’s never going to happen. What will happen is kids will turn up to practice and look to you to deliver an exceptional experience: a fun, engaging, enjoyable, challenging session where they can learn, get better and have a great time doing it. Coaching is what matters. Your energy and your enthusiasm matters. Forget complaining about what you don’t have. Just coach with extraordinary passion everyday. I’d take a committed, passionate, happy coach over a new grandstand and a bigger strength training facility any day. Wayne Goldsmith This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit waynegoldsmith.substack.com/subscribe

6 min
JAN 26

There Are No 7-Year-Old Champions

There are no 7 year old champions, There are no sporting super-stars at 9 years of age. There are no “great” athletes at 11 years of age. Recently a sporting parent said something to me that I wanted to share with you. I promise you - NONE of this is embellished or made up. “Wayne. I need your advice. My kid plays sport and he’s great at it. Everyone tells us that he’s a champion. I want to help him be the best. So I’ve set up a training track at home and I make him train on it every day. The other day I got angry at him because he wasn’t doing it perfectly. That’s what his problem is. He often starts training really well and does it perfectly then he loses focus and starts making mistakes. I tell him “you have to stop making mistakes if you want to be the best”. What can I do so he stops making dumb mistakes?” And the kicker…..THE KID IS SEVEN YEARS OLD. This is - without doubt - the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard from any sporting parent in 30 years in this business. Here’s what’s going to happen. * The kid will never be a champion. * The kid will quit by his mid-teens. * The kid will grow up hating sport, training and worst of all probably his parents. My advice? Let him be seven. Let him play. Let him make mistakes. Let him love it. What would YOU tell this parent? Wayne Goldsmith This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit waynegoldsmith.substack.com/subscribe

8 min
JAN 22

Stop Telling. Start Asking.

By Wayne Goldsmith n the old days, coaches talked a lot. We’d go on and on about what to do, how to do it, how many times to do it, why to do it. Now, athletes want something other than a “sage on a stage”. They want a coach who works WITH them — not AT them. They want more than telling and yelling. Questions are a powerful coaching tool. Why? Because when you ask an athlete a question, they stop, think and solve a problem. The brilliance: when the athlete solves the problem — THEY OWN THE SOLUTION. It’s THEIR sport. THEIR game. THEIR development. The more they own their learning, the faster they learn. What’s a question you ask your athletes that makes them think? Wayne Goldsmith This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit waynegoldsmith.substack.com/subscribe

8 min
JAN 19

Player Power.

Player Power doesn’t mean the players are in charge. It means they take ownership. Traditional coaching was simple: tell them what to do, yell when they don’t. Command and control. Modern coaching is different. The coach leads by painting a vision — telling the story of the team’s future with the same clarity as they can describe the past. Someone still needs to lead. Someone still needs to see the destination. But Player Power means athletes take ownership of the standards, attitudes, behaviors and actions — as individuals and as a team. The coach sets the direction. The players drive the car. In this video, I explain what Player Power looks like in high-performing teams — and how coaches can lead while empowering players to own their success. Who’s really calling the shots in your team? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit waynegoldsmith.substack.com/subscribe

10 min

Real talk on coaching, leadership and sports parenting from Wayne Goldsmith — 30+ years working with Olympic programs worldwide. Challenging conventional thinking. Building better coaches, better parents, better athletes. waynegoldsmith.substack.com

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Wayne Goldsmith
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2K
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37
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Clean
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© Wayne Goldsmith
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Sports Thoughts