Sports Thoughts

Wayne Goldsmith

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

  1. One session to change their lives.

    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
  2. Facilities Don't Win Gold Medals

    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
  3. There Are No 7-Year-Old Champions

    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

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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