Archive for March, 2009
Team
Monday, March 30th, 2009Congratulations to Teri McKeever and the Cal Bears
Thursday, March 26th, 2009Thoughts on personal success
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009The Greatest Ever?
Monday, March 23rd, 2009Passing it along
Thursday, March 19th, 2009Folks–
Below is the body of an email I received and wanted to share
Great piece in the most recent ASCA newsletter, a reprint of an article titled “The Making of an Expert” from the Harvard Business Review July-August 2007. Worth the read.
“To people who have never reached a national or international level of competition, it may appear that excellence is simply the result of practicing daily for years or even decades. However, living in a cave does not make you a geologist. Not all practice makes perfect. You need a particular kind of practice — deliberate practice — to develop expertise.”
This next selection on coaching poses an interesting question for us, as we coach swimmers of different abilities and inner motivations, often in the same group:“It [research on world-class performers] also has shown that future experts need different kinds of teachers at different stages of their development. In the beginning, most are coached by local teachers, people who can give generously of their time and praise. Later on, however, it is essential that performers seek out more-advanced teachers to keep improving their skills . . . The development of expertise requires coaches who are capable of giving constructive, even painful, feedback. Real experts are extremely motivated students who seek out such feedback. They’re also skilled at understanding when and if a coach’s advice doesn’t work for them. The elite performers we studied knew what they were doing right and concentrated on what they were doing wrong. They deliberately picked unsentimental coaches who would challenge them and drive them to higher levels of performance. The best coaches also identify aspects of your performance that will need to be improved at your next level of skill. If a coach pushes you too fast, too hard, you will only be frustrated and may even be tempted to give up trying to improve at all.”
Body Weight to Strength Ratio
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009Earlier this season I relayed to some of our coaches the incredible feats of some of these men/women/kids. And as it was just highlighted on cnn.com, I thought I might pass it along to you…the masses.
“Find a place within yourself where success and failure don’t matter, a place where you can engage in battle without compromise.”
Monday, March 9th, 2009Role Models
Monday, March 2nd, 2009Inspiring Story. One which I hope all can relate to.