Function

Bringing a Performance Mindset to Dealing with Sports Injuries

Bringing a Performance Mindset to Dealing with Sports Injuries

Sports injuries pose arguably the biggest trials for aspiring performers, challenging not only the body but also the mind. How the performer and those around them approach and handle the process that follows more severe injuries in particular can prove to be pivotal. What mindset the performer and those around them bring to the task of dealing with injury is hugely influential in shaping the route this takes. A performance mindset goes a long way when contemplating the path forward following an injury. Indeed belief alone plays a role in shaping the eventual outcome. There is evidence that those who express high expectations of making a successful return as they enter the process (such as prior to surgery) are more likely to ultimately achieve that outcome in reality.

The Merits of Becoming an Athletic Virtuoso

The Merits of Becoming an Athletic Virtuoso

Raw physical attributes and performance in junior competition are not good predictors of future success until late adolescence. Technical skills, tactical awareness and character traits are more reflective of future potential. Beyond the specialist skills of the sport, more evolved talent ID and development systems are also starting to recognise the value of general movement proficiency or athleticism. As with skills and character, these qualities are less biased by the transient influence of growth and maturation, making them a much more reliable indicator of future potential and a crucial asset regardless of the sport. From the performer’s perspective, developing athleticism is therefore a very good investment in the future.

Realising the Full Benefits of Youth Sports

Realising the Full Benefits of Youth Sports

A notable casualty amid the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic has been organised sport below the elite and professional level. In recent weeks kids have cautiously returned to school, but youth sports and school sport in particular remain off limits for many. Competition schedules for the coming year are still in limbo. There is a question mark over whether there will even be a competitive season for some sports and this uncertainty extends to college sports, which is the end-goal that many high school aspire to. Against this backdrop, the numbers of kids who have returned to participating in training and practices are way down since the lockdown and returning to school. There is an understandable reluctance among parents and the kids themselves to reengage in sport, given the perceived risks. Some authors are already sounding the alarm that the present generation of high school kids may be lost from participating in organised sport.

The Opportunity of Early Adolescence with Young Performers

The Opportunity of Early Adolescence with Young Performers

Without doubt a unique opportunity to have a profound impact and see dramatic changes presents itself as young performers enter the adolescent years. The theme for this latest offering is this overlooked but crucial phase in the development of young athletes.

As most who read this will already be well aware, there are fertile windows of development in the childhood years. It is widely recognised that young kids are a sponge for learning and acquiring cognitive and motor skills, including language. What is less known is that there is similarly a distinct window of development that coincides with the transition from childhood to adolescence.

Preparing for Re-Entry

Preparing for Re-Entry

Greetings to everybody (and welcome to new readers). With the COVID-19 restrictions gradually being eased many of us are contemplating making a return to ‘normal’ training, including practices and perhaps even competition. As we are seeing in the professional leagues that have restarted after the enforced break, the return to action has been accompanied by a number of soft tissue injuries. Based on discussions I have had with coaches and practitioners involved in various sports around the world from professional to college and high school level, everybody is grappling with how to best manage this transition. So with this latest offering I decided to offer some thoughts for performers on what they need to consider and how they might best prepare for re-entry…

Weekly Reflections: Go Armed with Questions..

Weekly Reflections: Go Armed with Questions..

The theme for this week’s offering is the need to go armed with the right questions when working with a coach or practitioner of any kind (the credit for this idea goes to a former colleague of mine who had the dubious pleasure of being my line manager). There are numerous steps and a host of pertinent questions when we embark on the search to assemble the best team of professionals to provide guidance, assistance, and support for our chosen mission.