How many is best?

I have been watching the current England vs SA test series with interest, as I believe these two sides possess true entertainers - people you really want to sit and watch play. But one particular thing I have noticed is the size of the management staff on both sides. This is obviously not unique to cricket either if one looks at other professional outfits. I'm not sure of the exact number but if you include consultants, physios, masseurs, analysts, managers etc, the total almost exceeds the number of the playing squad. Gone are the days of the coach, a manager and a physio. Now I personally would never stand in the way of innovation, and I am a firm believer in controlling all that you can control. If that requires more staff then so be it. But where do you draw the line? When do you become over-analytical, risk losing that family atmosphere that sports teams yearn for so greatly, due to such an enlarged squad.

Personally, with the increasing size in management staff, I believe it brings with it a number of issues that need to be addressed. Firstly, the head coach needs to play even more of a leadership/MD sort of role, addressing HR issues such as employee satisfaction, motivation, performance management and the like. This then means the head coach has to have different skills to perhaps what the old type of coach would've needed to have. The second issue I believe revolves around having everyone on the same page. How well do these staff all combine to create a 1 + 1 = 3 result, and work as a team. It's all very well getting all the best experts in to help a team, but if they do not combine well, it will be a waste of time. A great example of this is looking at which management teams work the best in the IPL, where teams have very little time to work together and optimize performance, but are all trying to get the best in their particular fields in their franchise. In reading Bill Walsh's( 5-time superbowl winner and renowned super-coach) book, The score takes care of itself, he mentioned how important it was to have his staff all believe in what he was trying to achieve and to work as hard as he did in their specific roles. In fact he told of how he fired one of the best coaches around from his team as he was not fitting into his way of doing things. Now with the increasing numbers in management staff it is important to make sure that you maintain alignment in the roles of the management staff and that all staff back each other up in public, even if there are disagreements behind closed doors. It is also absolutely vital that everyone fulfills his role and does not meddle in things that they should not. I know Rassie Erasmus at the Stormers had a responsibility matrix where everybody's role was outlined down to the last specific detail and they then were accountable for that role.

My answer to the question of how many is best then, really is that it is not possible to say, but that you will only get the best out of all these experts if they are led properly, as per a small company, and if they are all working in an aligned fashion and creating serious added value as a team. Be wary of a hundred experts, but no alignment because then, I believe, less will always be more.

SA rugby 7s - a matter of time?

It has interested me greatly to see the SA 7s rugby side playing recently. From a sport that used to get a small corner article in the daily papers, it's now getting a huge amount of attention, and for the first time there is real expectation that we should succeed rather than a pleasant surprise every time we win a tournament. This expectation is clearly based on the past successes and the appreciation that Paul Treu and his management really know what they are doing.

I have always been an advocate of the fact that having the right people involved in any team is the first and most important thing, but then also in having them complement each other well. The whole then equalling more than the sum of its parts. Now looking at this team this year, it shows huge difference from last year, with (on my rough count) at least 6 regulars missing. Now take that many people out of any team and there is sure to be a rebuilding phase, especially out of a team that only consists of 12 players. The team is in a phase where they are all having to re-form and discover what roles they all have to play to get the team to the stage where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Already there has been an incident with Ryno Benjamin, but this in my opinion just shows teething problems of a forming team and one where people are trying to work out who needs to do what.


Whether the new players picked are the 'right' people only time will tell, and this will be very important to the success of the team. But I firmly believe this team is now in a forming stage and should not be expected to perform at nearly as high a level as last year. And that's not even taking into account that a number of the other teams in the competition are starting to improve and take the game more seriously!

Cheers

Tom's role with a team

I had the pleasure this year of working with the RBHS first rugby side in a 'mental and motivational' role. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and although there were some frustrations, there was some great learning that took place too. I asked one of the senior players to write an account of my role from his perspective which is below, to give readers an idea of what my role entailed. Thanks to Darryn for this!

Tom’s impact on our rugby side this year has been unbelievable. Sport is the toughest environment to operate in, and it is often your mental strength that decides the outcome of a sporting fixture. Tom provided our team with the belief in each other and ourselves, and instilled in our minds a positive approach to the game. He created an environment where we played for a common cause, and where the love of the game was able to flourish. As any team does, we hit some serious speed bumps during the year. It became a time where the coaches could no longer be turned to for guidance. It was Tom that we found. He helped us to become the team that we so desired to be. He provided individual positivity that would spill over into the team. Tom brought a winning state-of-mind, that relied on enjoyment, to each player and to the team. A marked improvement in our game could be seen when intricate and efficient time had been spent with Tom.

Darryn Berry

Cheers

Good to Great!!

I have just finished reading a book called Good to Great, by Jim Collins. Paul Treu cites this book as one of the main reasons for the turnaround in his 7s outfit. Essentially it is a business book looking at how some companies transformed from good to exceptional. It is thoroughly researched, and gives great comparisons and clear ideas.

This book in my opinion gives so many lessons on the sporting front as well that can be used. I won't go into too much detail now, but I'll write further articles in terms of Getting the right people on the bus which looks at the importance of getting the best people involved in your team, and creating your hedgehog concept, a concept where you find out and focus only on your unique strength, your ultimate passion and find what the best measure of success is. He also looks at maintaining a culture of discipline in thought and in sticking to your hedgehog concept, as well as confronting the brutal facts, which looks at being honest with yourselves about what you have and don't have but not losing faith. If you do get your hands on a copy, be sure to check out those chapters.

Cheers

Giving them an A

I recently read the book the Art of Possibility, by Benjamin Zander. It serves as an inspirational read, as you learn life, business and leadership lessons from an orchestra conductor. I would strongly recommend it.
The most interesting point he made, in my mind, was the concept of 'giving them all A's'. His theory was that he would give his entire music class an A at the start of the term with the proviso that they wrote a letter dated to the end of that term explaining what they had learnt and experienced throughout that year. Now he does not deny that standards are important, as he demands excellence, but he sees giving an A as a way for the coach to create possibility for the player, rather than the player constantly trying to fulfil the often vague standards set by the coach. They benefit from having the pressure of beating the team-mate, or trying so hard to impress the coach taken away from them. This now allows the possibility of the coach and player working together to produce greatness rather than creating a player vs coach situation in reaching the coach's standards (which are often vague or based on the emotion of a game and not fact, or dictated by personal agendas).
We all love to see players thrive and do the extraordinary, but so often we create an environment of judgement and intense competition, that we forget to encourage freedom and greatness. The concept of giving everyone full marks before the season starts may seem very foreign, and I can hear people thinking that internal competition is good, and players must be 'kept on their toes'. This is true, but the message really is, try to co-create a feeling of possibility in players by seeing them as great, marking them as great and then encouraging them to maintain those standards. Try to move away from creating pressure by constant judging and comparisons being made.
In my dealings with a University rugby side this year, it was interesting to note that they hardly ever dropped players, the sense of coach and player standing together to achieve goals was very much prevalent, and players were rarely made to play off against each other or made to feel under pressure. The team won the league! How many great, successful sides were ones where consistency in selection was prevalent and players were seen as great rather than pressured by constant comparison and coach vs player standoffs that serve to detract energy from doing great to impressing or reaching someone else's standards.

The final point of interest, was the proviso that he stipulated right at the start. The students were told to forward-date a letter to the end of the year stating why they felt they received the 'A', what they had learnt and felt and how they did it. What I like about this, is it creates a sense of creativity, it encourages visualisation and helps players think a bit about what leads to success. Why not get your players to forward date a similar letter to the end of the season.

Cheers

So much to do, so little time- any thoughts?

I am a lucky man! I will be coaching the Tornadoes rugby side, an internal league outfit at UCT into the Varisty Cup internal league competition in February 2010. It is a short sharp competition, and the opposition will be fairly strong. Now the question is, what are the most important things to focus on, when you have only 1 month to prepare the guys for it?

I obviously have my own thoughts as to what to do aside from the obvious - get some quality players to play in your team! But I'd be really keen to hear from people what they believe the most important thing to get right/ focus on are.

Cheers

The Complete Coach

The complete coach
Coaching is by no means an exact science. Completely different styles of coaching can work at different times and with different teams, whilst sometimes the world’s best coaches can fail with a certain team as a successful coach-team fit just did not exist. However in studying various trends and asking top coaches it appears that certain commonalties do exist in being a complete coach. Ten aspects have been listed here. It is always important for coaches to play to their strengths, but work on their weaknesses.

1. Sound Technical Ability
• A deep enough knowledge of your field so that you can add value and understand the bigger picture of what your team needs to achieve
• A knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses so that you can bring in outside help in needed areas and be comfortable to do so.
• An ability to lead in your area even if you do have technical shortfalls.

2. Talent identification
• An ability to identify top talent from a vast pool
• The ability to select the best possible team combinations for team success

3. A Values-based individual
• A coach aims to be the character that he wishes to develop in his players
• Shows honesty and integrity in all his dealings with players
• Shows ability to work with other members of management staff as well as with players, displaying similar team ethic in both his dealings with staff and players

4. Commitment
• Displays a passion for the game, and the team
• Shows 100% commitment to current team despite any other interests or aspirations
• Shows high levels of enthusiasm and energy
• A competitive nature
• A resilience and commitment to take on board setbacks and criticism, to learn from them and to stay enthused

5. Care
• Shows an interest in player’s well-being and outside interests
• Takes account of external factors that may affect players performance and seeks to rectify them
• Shows a general empathy to players
• Has ability to take pressure of the players to allow them to play freely.

6. Confidence-Builders
• Ability to make players feel good about themselves and their play
• Creates environment where players feel confident about themselves and their team mates.
• Helps players set goals for themselves and identifies tools and processes to achieve them
• Has ability to balance challenging players and supporting players to get them in best frame of mind
• Has ability to correctly mentally prepare players

7. Motivational
• Ability to fire players up to optimal motivational levels, and push players to be best they can be
• Knows what best methods to use with each player to motivate them
• Knows the difference between motivating through fear and pressure and getting people to want to succeed for themselves and team
• Can motivate teams and players whilst maintaining a focus on processes and tasks

8. Communication
• Has ability to communicate clearly and is listened to by all
• Allows for open two-way communication at all times
• Has a knack for knowing when to say what to players
• Can re-focus a team very quickly when required
• Has a way of listening to people so always aware of what is going on in the team

9. Consistency
• Display a consistency with players in their behaviours and treatment of them
• Have a courage in their convictions and stay true to themselves when in doubt
• They take setbacks and successes in their stride and maintain calm and collected throughout
• Show consistency in moods with players and bear no grudges so as players and staff alike know where they stand at all times

10. Adaptability
• Are able to move with current trends
• Show a continuous propensity to learn and improve as coaches
• Show a desire for change and leading innovation
• Have an ability to read opponents and situations and adapt style accordingly
• Can read a team dynamic and use whatever style is necessary for that situation
These guidelines will be very useful for coaches who wish to use proper introspection and evaluation of their styles and methods. The more honest they are , the more useful they will find it to be. Remember that everything can be worked on and improved, and that it is still necessary to use your areas of strength to your advantage.

Sweat the small stuff- Part 2

I spoke earlier about the importance of detail in the world of sport, and another huge advocate of detail was 2003 World Cup winning coach, Sir Clive Woodward. He had been accused of being over-meticulous and also spending huge amounts of money on 'peripheral' things, but he was adamant that every little detail counted in creating an excellent environment. He learnt about the "Critical Non-Essentails" from an Australian dentist, Paddy Lund. Paddy is another whole story, but essentially Sir Clive learnt from him, that all the little things that surrounded the team i.e. the jerseys, the hotel, the warm up clothing, the way they interacted etc needed to be of excellent standard if his team were to be excellent and to be perceived as excellent from outside as well as, more impotantly, from within.

He left no stone unturned in making sure that his team felt like the best in the world. He believed that these little details needed to be taken care of, and everything that was associated with his English side needed to be the best in order to ensure that they felt like the best and therefore acted accordingly. There are numerous examples of this, but two spring to mind for me. Firstly, Clive, out of his own pocket ensured that the England 'team bible'( a book with all plays, what to do and when to do it, ways to treat hotel staff, diets etc) was given to each player in a leather bound casing and using the best paper at a cost of $40 000, as the photocopied handouts, as suggested by the union, were not deemed worthy of a world class team by Sir Clive. A second example was when he moved his entire team out of the Holiday Inn in Newlands prior to the test match in Cape Town and moved them to the Mount Nelson. He decided the shoddy treatment at the Holiday Inn was not good enough, and that this little detail would help create a better environment for his team.

He did not proclaim that these little things on their own would ensure wins. Not at all! But he did believe that all these little 'non-essentials' were critical in forming an environment where excellence was habitual and high standards were non-negotiable in all facets.

Certainly interested me, and makes you think about the environment you create for your team. Please feel free to comment.

Be sure to sweat the small stuff: part 1

Yes, we've all heard it, "don't sweat the small stuff", "don't bother me with minor details". A few of recent readings and experiences have shown that in sport this is not the way to go. How many games are won and lost by the tiniest of margins? Surely that means details count?

Last week I observed a session conducted by Tim Goodenough, mental coach and author of In the Zone, for the students at the international rugby academy. The topic was visualisation. Now we have all heard about visualisation being important, but how many sportsman actually do it, or more specifically how many do it properly.

The main essence is, that not only should you use your visual sense, but also your other senses - hearing, feel, taste and smell. In doing this you should play out the picture of what you envisage taking place in an extremely detailed way. You should go into every little detail of how you plan to kick that conversion, or bowl that ball, or swing that club. Starting with how it feels, to what the situation sounds like, to what you need to do or see etc. Tim encouraged the students to describe every little detail, for the simple reason that the more you have rehearsed a situation beforehand and taken care of every little detail, the more you can instinctly play the situation when it takes place in real time. So in fact, by "over-complicating' things initially, you simplify them later, when it counts!!

I'll put some more thoughts regarding the importance of detail soon.

Tom

Schools vs Club Rugby- which is tougher?

As the rugby season has now closed and I reflect on my workings with numerous sides, I pose a question as to whether schools rugby is in fact the closest you will get to professionalism in some ways. On numerous rugby sites, recent articles on schools rugby have drawn far more comment than those on club or lower professional outfits. Obviously this alone does not make the game tougher, but it is an indicator as to how much pressure these youngsters are put under when representing their schools.

Having witnessed and been involved in both the Paarl ‘interschools’ clash as well as the Bosch/Bishops derbies, it leaves me in no doubt that for some 90% of those players, this is the biggest game they’ll ever play, in terms of people interested and sheer numbers at the ground. A brief look at any FNB classic clash program will show you that many such derbies exist all across the country, and taking a school like Glenwood, they even went to a world schools championships in Japan. The following of schools rugby is without doubt on the rise, and with the advent of improved media, interest is being fuelled. Taking the Varsity Cup out of the equation there is no doubt that the incentive to play club rugby on a cold Wednesday evening in front of 30 people is hardly comparable to a Saturday morning between SACS and Paul Roos for example. In fact the decreasing numbers in club rugby points to this.

But the question I pose, is from a mental and pressure point of view, I believe that schools rugby places far more of a test on the players than club rugby or even low league professional standards. The schools themselves thrive on results as a marketing tool, the coaches are often ultra-competitive and will thus sacrifice a lot to ensure good results, including educational principles and values. At club level, many games are one-sided, the physical intensity may be big but often the mental preparation is minimal and declining membership means the results are less important.

I was reading just the other day of the KES boys getting up twice a week at 5 am for gym sessions. Admirable it may be, but increased pressure it is too. The issue of scholarships was also raised. How does a 14 year old feel, knowing that three different schools are bidding/have bid for his services, and how much pressure does that boy feel at age 16 when he has not quite grown as much as the other boys and the school and his peers become less keen on him due to his decreased rugby impact. Then at u19 level when boys are being approached by all and sundry for a contract/bursary post-school- who is really advising the boy then? In all likelihood his parents will, and I’m not always sure this is the best thing. Many parents will be keen for the boy to take the offer which is most financially attractive, either for them or for the boy, this is just a reality of economic times.

Do we not need to start looking at the mentoring of these future stars, and ways of helping boys cope with the pressures of representing their school sides, as well as looking at ways and means of excelling as a school. You may be thrown in the deep end and asked to swim at club and provincial level, but by that stage you are an adult. At school, you are still young, very impressionable and perhaps not equipped to make the best decisions, and deal with all that is expected of you.

Strive for excellence, offer scholarships, celebrate your wins, but always remember that the pressure these guys are under is huge, and thus we must support and prepare them for what lies ahead for their own benefit and not just the school’s.