I have been thinking and observing...as I always seem to do. The thing I have noticed lately, and forgive me if I seem to be talking almost secretively in my choice of words here, that is not my intent. Anyway, I have been thinking and come up with this...

"It is not that you are doing it ("it" refers to pretty much anything you want it to refer to in this post...), it is how you are doing it that can really make the difference"

I could ask two people to complete the same task and what they produce can and will no doubt be vastly different. Of course. Obvious. No brain wave there Andrew. This thought just came into my mind when I was standing in the gym last week and I thought I could ask someone "do you lift weights?" No doubt they will say yes, most every athlete lifts weights. This is the thing. So many people do it, almost all athletes do it. But I have done a lot of reading lately and I am convinced there is such a vast difference between "doing it" and "doing it." How the very best people do what can be a simple task like squatting can be so different and therefore what they get out of it can be so very different.

How would you distinguish who are the very best people is a good question...and maybe not one I can totally answer here but maybe some of my thoughts below answer that question.

The standards the above 2 people bring to a task and what they understand about how to do it "as well as they can" will very likely mean the task is done with very different levels of execution. I could be saying this in regard to squatting, as I mentioned above, with my athletes, but I think it is everywhere in life. Maybe this is all really just about quality. Quality behaviour and actions will generally bring positive quality results.

What is quality I guess anyone would ask? I don't think I can answer that but my observation is that you ask an athlete or coach..."are you squatting in your training program?" They say yeah, as will pretty much any athlete. But do they do it well? Do they really do it and get as much out of it as they possibly can and therefore maximise its potential benefit? Or do they just do it, generally safely without any mistakes but not really to its fullest potential? The results that come from the former approach over the latter are considerably different in my current observation and opinion.

The people in life who become successful (sometimes doing essentially the same thing as everyone else) are the ones who know how to undertake simple tasks and get the most out of them. They do the task and its benefit is maximised. They do it better than the average Joe. They understand it intimately. They examine the task and see how it fits in with the big picture and they break it down to see how each piece can be executed to maximise what is obtained by undertaking the task.

How does one know what to do to ensure they are getting as much out of the task as they can? A good question. I guess they can observe others and take their ideas on board and therefore refine what they used to do so that the task can now be done in a "better" way. Or maybe they can just analyse what they are currently doing and ask themselves...with a very open mind...is this really the best way I can do this task? Could I do this better? Is this being done with quality or just being done? Do I really understand what is the best way I could do this? Why I am doing this and what am I hoping to get out of it?

I have been through plenty of these questions lately about doing a simple task such as squatting and I believe my thinking and execution of the task is now much more profitable for my athletes than it used to be. I guess time will tell but the change in emphasis when doing the squatting has lead me to think we are now getting much more out of it than we used to. Again, time will tell I guess.

Perhaps my thinking will change again in a few years time and I will get my athletes squatting differently. It's an interesting process to see the evolution and understanding of the task and it is what I do enjoy about coaching and working with athletes.

To have the vision to see that perhaps things need to change and that a task could be done a better way is a great realisation. To then modify what you are currently doing to a new and "better way" of doing it which produces superior results is what I find extremely satisfying and something I think I will always search for. I doubt I will ever be content to just keep doing what I have always done. I will always be looking for a better way to do a task. Not just coaching but in many things in life. I guess I may never find the "ultimate" way to do a task and to keep looking keeps my brain working, which I really enjoy.

Going with this is that I may never be satisfied with what I have. I think I have realised this. This might drive me crazy in some ways but I think it will always help fuel me to keep searching for how I can find the better way.

This is gold, it's from Stu McMillan at http://www.mcmillanspeed.com/2013/08/getting-called-up-to-majors.html?showComment=1376871491391#c3967362121043875113

The more talented (i.e. ‘competitive’) the athlete, the less he or she needs to do to succeed...the less that athlete’s coach needs to do for the athlete to succeed...the less important nutrition, supplementation, sports medicine is for the athlete to succeed.  And without this necessity, there is no impetus for the athlete, and the coach, and the support team, to do anything different.  There is no motivation to drive forward - to seek out more information - to search for optimization of the nutritional plan - to devise the perfect regeneration strategy - to reach out to the best therapists...

The best track and field athletes in the world were generally the best athletes at every age-group they ever competed at.  Used to being the best, there has been no reason for their coaches to expand their current knowledge base.  ‘I’m already coaching the city’s/region’s/state’s/country’s/world’s best - I obviously already know what I’m doing - so why should I change?’  And this is a self-sustaining system - the more success that athlete has, the more athletes that coach can recruit, then the more different managers/agents and shoe companies come knocking - further feeding their confidence in their own abilities.

A bit of a rant really...

So, GFS is in a slight transition state right now. The events that occurred in Christchurch over the last 6 months have meant the future will look different in the next 12-18 months. I may not be in Christchurch over the summer of 2011-2012 so a "heads up" that things will change in the months ahead.

Anyway, partly as a result of the above I have been trying to make some progress on making sure GFS athletes stay healthy and strong in the future. Getting good support staff around my athletes has always been a high priority for me and it is disappointing to say that there are not that many world class experts that live in this part of the world to help my athletes. One who clearly is is my physio Vanessa Trent but sadly she is very likely to be moving out of town in the months ahead. This is a shame but totally understandable as she needs to look after the welfare of her family and children in particular.

Vanessa possesses skills that are world class. She is thorough and logical in her approach. She is well qualified and achieves results. What else do you need? Well to those I have been talking to in the last few days and to many more that I seem to continually come across in my daily existence....I would say you need an openness to learning. An openness to accept that you will never know all there is to know and to always listen to what someone else to say. If it is totally not what you believe then at least it should make you re-evaluate what you believe (which is always a good thing) and examine why do I not believe or agree with that person's point of view? On the converse that person may have something you have never even considered before and therefore it should get you excited that maybe you have a little more of the puzzle solved.

I wish I could say I meet people like this on a daily basis. I wish they were open to learning. To listening. To realising that maybe they don't know it all and to not being scared or intimidated when someone challenges their point of view or belief. This little country would be a far better place if we weren't so closed in our opinions and we sought the viewpoints from as many people as far and wide as we could.

I would certainly like to think that I try and keep myself open to learning, it was part of why I went and travelled the world in 2003 on a Prime Minister's Coaching Scholarship. To try and see what others were doing, to learn and to have more tools in my tool box. I try and keep this attitude alive and kicking on a daily basis. I like to think I am and will always be open to learning new things.

Maybe I should end this now. Enough ranting and raving. Maybe it is not worth the frustration that I feel that people are always wanting to go slower and take more time and not challenge the status quo. I find that so difficult to work with. Bugger.

The last while I have seen two things that have made an impression on me.

One, someone rewarded after a long period of committed training. To this person I am extremely proud of and I take my hat off to them. They have worked tirelessly and have never given up. They have done what has been asked of them and more. They have crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's and now they have been rewarded. I am proud to say that I coach them.

Secondly, to those maybe need to heed the thoughts of the one of the great minds of human kind...to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result is the definition of insanity....are you making the same mistakes over and over yet expecting a different outcome?

So, I have been away for a week driving round the South Island on a road trip holiday and I had plenty of time to think. Think about life, why I do what I do, what and who are important to me, what has meaning to me, what gives me pleasure, what drives me and what is it that I want in my life from here on.

Lots of things came up. Mixing with people who give rather than who take is one of them. People who share the same passion as I do and who want to push themselves to achieve, in any shape or form, was also another one. People who have passion and are proactive are important to me. People who don't sit back and wait for things to be served on a plate get my respect. People who are aware of others around them and how their behaviour can influence the lives of others are people I want in my life.

I saw this post on a friends facebook page this morning...

Richard St. John's 8 secrets of success | Video on TED.com

www.ted.com

and there is a lot in this 3 minute piece that I really like. Maybe some people will read it and see where I am coming from. Maybe this might influence their behaviour, who knows.

There is some serious potential for my coaching job and GFS situation to change in the next few months and I may not be able to work with all those athletes that I currently do. Some athletes will be invited to continue with me whilst others may have to find another coach. Those who continue with me will most likely be those who possess the things that I think are important in life.

So I want to say a few things after the NZ Schools' meeting in the weekend. Firstly, well done to those of you who were there. I think you competed well and most of you were able to achieve personal bests. Some of you achieved medals, some did not. If you did, well done, if you didn't I hope you have come away motivated to work hard for the second half of the season to see what you can achieve.

You can see that NZ Schools is a pressure cooker environment where you have to bring your A game, as if you don't you get left behind. The hard work from the weeks and months prior certainly helps you bring your A game when you need to so I hope this is a clear message for your future training and competition.

I also hope you came away from the weekend realising that you need to work hard to achieve at this level. You need to try and get as much out of each training session and not just go through the motions. Those athletes who turn up to training disorganised and don't do their rehab and don't eat and sleep well will never achieve their potential. They may be successful and beat others but that is not what this journey is about. We are all just trying to be as good as we can be but to do this we need to do all that we can to help our chances. This means no shortcuts and no half efforts at training. We do have fun and we laugh at GFS but we are not an amateur group, we are trying to do this as well as we can, and we the best we can, and that only comes from hard work and a consistently committed approach.

OK, enough serious words. The next few weeks are likely back into some hard work for the comps ahead in Feb and March so I hope you are keen to get into that! I also hope you enjoy the next few weeks with your families and eat some delish food (although not too much!) and get some time out to spend with your friends.

Be F ans S, always...

The week leading into a big meet...

So, here we are, back again. It's been a while, probably a good year by the looks of things...anyway nice to be back at the blog.

Big weekend this weekend. Lots to be gained and a whole lot of work has gone into it from many people. I just want to say that this is a weekend to enjoy not a weekend to be scared of. Don't worry about what anyone else is doing just head on out to the arena and give it your best shot, enjoying it too!

With this weekend being big, it seems a no-brainer from where I sit that this week needs to be one where everyone takes care of themselves and doesn't do anything crazy. Like working all week, or standing up all week or any stuff that is going to mean your performance may suffer. Lie around on your butt with feet up and don't do much. Pretty simple.

Also, this week with not much training is a good one to keep up the rehab work, if you have been given rehab to do. Don't let that slip, it's your insurance policy to reduce the chance of injury as much as you can.

OK, fast and strong, always.