WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:05.960 How are you doing. Welcome to the Rugby League Coach Podcast, 2 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:09.080 episode two hundred and fifty one and we're in season 3 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:11.800 four of it. My name is Lee Addison, the owner 4 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:15.240 of Rugby League Coach dot com to tay you. If 5 00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:18.879 you want some online resources, You've got two days from 6 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:23.000 the release of this podcast to get everything that's online 7 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:24.800 at Rugby League Coach dot com to tay you and 8 00:00:24.839 --> 00:00:30.760 it's courses website for thirty percent of the normal price. 9 00:00:30.839 --> 00:00:35.560 Thirty yeah, thirty percent of the normal price. So it's 10 00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:38.640 a ridiculously good deal. It's an end of financial year 11 00:00:38.679 --> 00:00:41.520 deal for those in Australia, but obviously in England even 12 00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:44.079 though your financial year is April to April, you can 13 00:00:44.119 --> 00:00:46.159 still take advantage of it. So if you listen to 14 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:49.560 this podcast and you've always fancied some online resources, I'm 15 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:51.640 telling you now now's the time to get everything for 16 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:55.399 that price. But I'm also a coach mentor, coach educator, 17 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:59.039 coach consultant and I authored a book called Rugby League 18 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:05.040 Coach Team Game Changing Conversations to Transform your coaching. First 19 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:10.560 of all, apologies, this isn't out Monday morning Australian time. 20 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:14.719 Sunday evening in England, although I am now recording it 21 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:17.359 on Monday morning, so I said it'd be out Monday afternoon. 22 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:21.879 Hopefully you'll get it earlier if you're in Australia, and 23 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:25.000 of course if you're in England, and I use those 24 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:27.719 two countries as the opposite ends of the Earth. I 25 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:31.200 know we have listeners all over the rugby league world. 26 00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:34.439 You will get that ready for your drive to work 27 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:36.280 on Monday morning if you're in if you're in the 28 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:41.400 Northern Hemisphere. As you know, the Soccer World Cup, the 29 00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:46.400 Football World Cup, they have something called an hydration break. 30 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:51.640 Now when they use the term hydration brak, that leaves 31 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:55.159 it open, doesn't it. They could be using pickles to rehydrate. 32 00:01:55.239 --> 00:01:59.319 It could be injecting liquids into themselves. But I assume 33 00:01:59.319 --> 00:02:03.159 it's a drink break and they have one all the time, 34 00:02:03.239 --> 00:02:06.319 even if they don't need one. You could also argue 35 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:09.479 that's something I do on this podcast. But I'm lucky 36 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:12.840 that I get my water sponsored by Global League Network 37 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:20.319 and you can find them at Global League dot Network. Obviously, 38 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:23.759 Andrew Johns listens to our podcast. Andrew Joey Johns gave 39 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:29.680 an interview recently without even realizing it has probably supported 40 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:33.159 something that we've been talking about on this podcast for years, 41 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:37.560 so obviously he listens obviously. When asked about coaching New 42 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:41.400 South Wales, Joey admitted that part of him would love 43 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:45.479 to do it, but he believes that taking the job 44 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:49.520 would be selfish and wrong because he doesn't possess all 45 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:52.919 the skills required to be a successful head coach. Wow, 46 00:02:53.199 --> 00:02:58.879 thank you, Joey. Let's think about that the greatest player. 47 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:01.800 Many of us have a scene or one of is 48 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:07.400 saying that a great player doesn't necessarily automatically make you 49 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:12.479 the right coach. And we think very highly of Joey 50 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:15.280 as a player and as a rugby league mind. So 51 00:03:15.319 --> 00:03:21.319 it's a huge statement. Most of you listening to this 52 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:29.319 the coaches. Coaching is a profession, not a reward, not 53 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:33.080 something to do because you've got nothing else to do 54 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:40.479 you can't play anymore. For many, coaching is the next 55 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:45.840 step after playing. But playing rugby league and coaching rugby 56 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:48.840 league are two very different things, whether you do them socially, 57 00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:55.360 whether you do them professionally. Being a player gives you 58 00:03:56.319 --> 00:04:01.280 knowledge of how to be coached, how to conduct yourself 59 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:05.919 in a training session, and if you're minded in that way, 60 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:10.520 then you'll be taking note, either mental or writing it 61 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:13.000 about what the coaches are doing with you. But it 62 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:20.399 doesn't mean those coaches are the best mentors. Even if 63 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:25.000 you're at the elite levels or semi elite levels, doesn't 64 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:26.519 mean you've got the best coaches. 65 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:31.319 So you'll get your. 66 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:33.759 Football knowledge, and you might get some knowledge of drills 67 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:40.120 and games in training, but head coaching demands so much more. 68 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:45.240 And I've never ever ever read out a list or 69 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:48.639 read a list or heard a list that covers all 70 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:51.759 the bases. I still don't know. I've been coaching for 71 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:54.399 twenty seven years. I've been on the earth longer than that, 72 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:57.480 I've been around rugby league longer than twenty seven years, 73 00:04:57.519 --> 00:04:59.600 and I still can't come up with a definitive list, 74 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:03.560 because if I were to say to you things like leadership, communication, 75 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:10.199 organization planning, emotional intelligence, staff management, media skills, player welfare, 76 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:15.600 culture building, and long term program development, I still think 77 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:17.279 there'd be other things that you could add to that. 78 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:21.800 Football knowledge is only one part of the job, isn't it. 79 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:31.480 Joey actually believes he can contribute more as a specialist 80 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:34.720 and as the person running the whole program, and I 81 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:38.439 guess that's how high performance sport is evolving. And I 82 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:41.560 guess that's part of my role up clubs too. I 83 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:48.600 specialize in coach mentoring, but also in identifying performance improvements 84 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:53.519 within clubs, and it speaks to the fact that no 85 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:57.160 one person can be an expert in every area that's sold. 86 00:05:57.160 --> 00:06:03.720 The best clubs and coaching staffs in specialists in attack defense, 87 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:10.759 maybe kicking, performance analysis, leadership, strength and conditioning. I always 88 00:06:10.920 --> 00:06:14.000 laugh when strength and conditioning are in the same bracket, 89 00:06:14.040 --> 00:06:15.839 because some people are very good at strength and not 90 00:06:15.879 --> 00:06:18.000 good at conditioning, and some people are good at conditioning 91 00:06:18.040 --> 00:06:20.319 they're not good at strength. Then, of course there's the 92 00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:22.959 mental side of the game, the mental performance side, so 93 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:27.040 sports psychology, and really a head coach of a club 94 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:30.759 of any kind is probably in a place where they 95 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:35.959 have to bring all those talents together. Humility is also 96 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.920 a coaching strength. I mean, I'll be talking plenty about 97 00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:45.600 Lori daily, the new South Wales coach, and I want 98 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:48.279 you to remember that word humility. If I get to 99 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:51.800 that today, that topic that I told you about last 100 00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:55.759 week I was going to save, then I want you 101 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:57.279 to remember that word humility. 102 00:06:57.480 --> 00:06:59.120 When I talk about Lori daily. 103 00:07:01.240 --> 00:07:09.639 But also Joey's comments in this humility were stand out too, 104 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:12.839 saying he doesn't think he's the right person even though 105 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:15.360 he'd love the job, and I think that's really refreshing. 106 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:18.680 So many coaches out there, and you'll know, these coaches, 107 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:20.920 they watch some Friday night football and they think they 108 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:27.319 know the game. And recognizing limitations is one of the 109 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:29.920 great qualities of great leadership. I always used to use 110 00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:33.680 the analogy that if you were an owner of a business, 111 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:36.879 and an owner of a business and you couldn't type, 112 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:40.720 because many people of certain generations couldn't type, right, you've 113 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:43.279 got somebody to do your typing for you. Well, he 114 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:46.519 dictated to them, that was you still ran the business 115 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:53.199 just because somebody else wrote the letters. Regular listeners to 116 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:56.959 this podcast will remember I wrote a column on zero 117 00:07:57.079 --> 00:07:59.800 tackle dot Com, which I do every week, called Recruited 118 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:04.399 to Fail, where I argued that rugby league still doesn't 119 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.519 understand what head coach actually does, and therefore it appoints 120 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:13.839 people on playing reputation, name recognition, maybe even football like you, 121 00:08:14.439 --> 00:08:18.240 the questions that need to be asked and you need 122 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:22.199 to ask yourself this as a coach, and if you're 123 00:08:22.519 --> 00:08:25.319 a committee member or a club president, you need to 124 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:29.040 be asking your coaches this, can you build a program? 125 00:08:29.319 --> 00:08:31.800 Can you develop players? Can you manage staff? Can you 126 00:08:31.879 --> 00:08:36.279 create culture? Can your crisis manage? Can you improve people 127 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:43.039 year on year on year? That list, as well, is 128 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:47.759 by no means exhaustive. The problem in rugby league we 129 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:53.519 still worship former players and then every time New South 130 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:57.480 Wales lose a series, the conversation becomes, should George Johnes 131 00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:02.879 be the coach from Matthew Johns be the coach? Not 132 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:06.240 who is the best coach? Who has the best development record, 133 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:10.919 who consistently improves teams, who can demonstrate leadership, who's up 134 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:13.639 to date with how to run a program, if even 135 00:09:13.960 --> 00:09:18.799 only for three times ten days, who can spot players, 136 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:24.000 who can pick the right team. But our first instinct 137 00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:26.120 to support as a sport is to look at the 138 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:28.240 greatest former player all the time, and that goes for 139 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:32.519 every level. Every level we still have captain coaches running around. 140 00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:38.799 If somebody is high in the game, As Andrew Johns believes, 141 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:43.720 playing greatness doesn't automatically qualify to be a head coach, 142 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:50.120 then surely that would make every club in Australia and 143 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:56.159 every coach in Australia at least there question that philosophy too, 144 00:09:56.320 --> 00:09:59.440 that the best players always become the best coaches. But obviously, 145 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:01.840 if you listening to this podcast, you could be anywhere 146 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:04.879 in the rugby league world and if you've listened to 147 00:10:04.919 --> 00:10:09.039 me for a while, that's what I've always said. Coaching 148 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:11.960 deserves to be recognized that its own skill is its 149 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:21.320 own profession. A few coaches I'm dealing with now on 150 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:24.639 my coach mentor program Rugby League coach dot Com to 151 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:29.000 to you for last coach mentor if you're interested, are 152 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:31.639 in the middle of their seasons, so that the midway 153 00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:36.360 point and sometimes the analysis can be just a chat 154 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:42.879 between coach and president or coaching other coaches. Sometimes you 155 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:46.120 get time to present it to players. So I thought 156 00:10:46.200 --> 00:10:51.159 i'd go through some things that you should consider when 157 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:54.799 you're doing a mid season review. What I do at 158 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:59.639 this podcast each week is always try and get into 159 00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:02.279 your mind about where you are in your year. And 160 00:11:02.600 --> 00:11:05.120 I've got to thank you all for the really kind 161 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:08.080 messages I've got about the quality of last week's podcast. 162 00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:11.279 I hope this one takes the same boxes for you 163 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:17.879 when it comes to reviewing the season, Coaches often spend 164 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:21.799 too much time analyzing what has gone wrong rather than 165 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:24.519 focus on what's been achieved. This is at the midway point, 166 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:30.639 right players already know what they've done wrong. A review 167 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:35.759 really should be about building belief and not destroying confidence. 168 00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:39.120 So if you've won most of your games, for example, 169 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:42.960 let's say you've played ten and you've won nine, don't 170 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:46.320 begin by talking about the one. What's start with the 171 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:51.279 achievement before the improvement. You'll have probably heard of a 172 00:11:51.320 --> 00:11:54.080 positive sandwich, or some people call it a shit sandwich. 173 00:11:54.440 --> 00:11:58.039 You hit them with positives first, and then you come 174 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:03.360 in with way that you can improve, and then round 175 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:06.799 off with positive. So it's a very arbitrary system, but 176 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:12.799 there's merit in it. Players definitely perform better when they 177 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:20.679 feel there's progress happening rather than failure. One loss or 178 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:25.480 any loss shouldn't define your season. Momentum matters, and you 179 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:29.919 should celebrate what's been achieved and then work out why 180 00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:34.240 you've been successful. I always remember reading Clive Woodward, the 181 00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:36.559 old England rugby coach when they won the World Cup 182 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:39.519 in two thousand and three, and he dined out on 183 00:12:39.559 --> 00:12:44.639 that and wrote books and did leadership stuff and got 184 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:48.440 paid a lot of money for the rest of his life. 185 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:51.039 And he's still alive, so I assume he's still earning. 186 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:55.159 And he also had something that stuck with me that 187 00:12:56.919 --> 00:13:00.600 when you work in a company and you've got deadlines 188 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:07.759 to reach or quote us to meet, or time I 189 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:11.840 gets to read them. On a Friday, everyone goes out 190 00:13:11.879 --> 00:13:15.360 and celebrates the week. If you don't reach them, if 191 00:13:15.399 --> 00:13:19.360 there's a mini crisis, you will sit there and review 192 00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:25.480 it and have a power wow. I always say to 193 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:28.879 coaches it's more important to look at your winds and 194 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:33.399 look at the warning signs in your winds as to 195 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:38.679 what could cause you to lose further down the line. 196 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:45.519 Also have a look at why you've done good things, 197 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:49.799 what those good things are, and if they're successful, why 198 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:57.120 you've been successful. It's obviously a coaching habit and it's 199 00:13:57.159 --> 00:13:59.000 a natural thing to do to focus on things that 200 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:02.159 you need to improve, but we probably need to get 201 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:07.679 that balance right between making people feel confident too tell 202 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:09.960 you something else coaches do too much of as well 203 00:14:10.039 --> 00:14:16.559 as you just talk, which is ironic considering I sit 204 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:19.399 here on the Rugby League Coach podcast talking sometimes from 205 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:23.799 up to one hour. Well, if you're having a meeting 206 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:25.399 with your players, If you're having a chat with your 207 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:27.600 players and you're talking for an hour and nobody else 208 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:31.039 gets a word in, the players will be learning very little. 209 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:36.720 They'll be drifting off into their own headspaces. Great coaches, 210 00:14:36.759 --> 00:14:44.039 great teachers, great social people facilitate discussion. So you've got 211 00:14:44.120 --> 00:14:47.120 to ask questions questions. You've got to let your players 212 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:51.240 own the standards. And examples of this can include, instead 213 00:14:51.240 --> 00:14:53.720 of saying, here are our standards, ask your players, what 214 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:56.679 should our standards be? Instead of saying, here's what we 215 00:14:56.759 --> 00:15:00.840 need to improve, ask your players what's stopping us becoming 216 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:02.919 a better team or where do we need to improve. 217 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:09.000 A lot of coaches will put emphasis on the presentation, 218 00:15:09.879 --> 00:15:15.039 and it always strikes me that many clubs who recruit coaches, 219 00:15:15.080 --> 00:15:19.720 particularly the highest levels, get blown away by PowerPoint presentations. 220 00:15:21.159 --> 00:15:24.720 And I do PowerPoint presentations all the time, but they're 221 00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:29.559 just words to remind me what to say. So my 222 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:33.480 presentations are quite simple. Quite often in terms of the 223 00:15:33.559 --> 00:15:37.879 visual I have key words on the screen, but I 224 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:43.840 talk around them too. Many coaches have overload slides with 225 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:46.799 words and players stop listening. They'll either try and read 226 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:52.399 them if they can read, or they'll just drift off. 227 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:56.519 Your slides should contain themes that you want to discuss. 228 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:02.720 The coaching, the inter action comes from the discussion and 229 00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:10.360 simple will always beat clever. Instead of paragraphs, just have 230 00:16:10.440 --> 00:16:15.519 simple words things like standards, culture, accountability, preparation, and then 231 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:20.600 talk around them for example, or exit and then talk 232 00:16:20.600 --> 00:16:26.960 about exit goodbae, and then talk about my friend who 233 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:29.399 is a Courier male or was a Curier male. Journalist 234 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:32.200 always said that the Courier Male in Brisbane is written 235 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:38.480 with a grade three primary school level person in mind 236 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:48.720 as the reader. And that's really interesting because you would 237 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:52.600 think most people in society can read very well, but 238 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:56.279 they can't. So you don't want your place to read. 239 00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:59.720 You want them to hear and learn things and see 240 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:05.440 things and basically coach to something like a year three level, 241 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:10.480 because I can almost guarantee that your team is not 242 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:13.960 full of Oxford scholars unless you are coaching Oxford University 243 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:22.720 or so if a grade three student couldn't understand your 244 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:27.240 slide or your presentation or your piece of paper that 245 00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:29.920 you give or anything like that, or anything that you're delivering, 246 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:37.519 it's too complicated and avoid coach language. So many coaches 247 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:41.599 think that if they can come up with catchphrases that 248 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:45.160 coaches use such as, I don't know. There's a few 249 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:47.400 that's that have crept in, such as we've got to 250 00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:52.319 ice this moment or we've got to do this in 251 00:17:52.359 --> 00:17:57.000 this space. Well, when I think about ice, I think 252 00:17:57.039 --> 00:18:01.599 about an ice cube. When I think of space, I 253 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:07.640 think about astronauts going on the moon. But we hear 254 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:09.519 them on the telly, and then you hear them in 255 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:15.200 dressing rooms from coaches or or on TV or in 256 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:17.680 the media. They all repeat them. They didn't ice that 257 00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:24.240 moment is in the recruitment space. Things like that are 258 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:28.319 coach language, and I can come up with others such 259 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:33.920 as knowledgeable assists. What's one of them? Well, what I've 260 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:36.440 just told you about is somebody coming in and finishing 261 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:42.960 off the rout control. What is a defender, B defender, 262 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:46.279 C defender? Sometimes people don't know that. Sometimes if I 263 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:51.279 say three in defender, somebody doesn't know what that means. 264 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:54.559 And the other thing you should never do if you've 265 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:58.440 got a good team, don't over coach them. Coaches always panic. 266 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:04.000 If a teams winning, you probably don't need to invent 267 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:08.119 new systems, because your players will then start to get confused. 268 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:13.079 Your best coaching is coaching less, and many coaches lose 269 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:15.519 premierships because they tried to be clever. One of the 270 00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:21.720 good analogies is that coaching is like parenting. If you've 271 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:23.799 got an eighteen year old and you're still wiping their 272 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:29.559 ass and brushing their teeth for them, then they've got 273 00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:35.160 a problem some kind, haven't they. You teach your kids 274 00:19:35.160 --> 00:19:40.559 to be independent, and you want your players to be 275 00:19:40.599 --> 00:19:53.880 independent too. You need your players to own your team. 276 00:19:53.960 --> 00:19:56.519 A review or any coaching full stop only has value 277 00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:58.839 if your players get a chance to speak and contribute 278 00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:06.079 and decide and commit to things. And when you're videoing review, 279 00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:12.039 you're doing a video review, be careful of your words 280 00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:15.359 because you want them to own what they see too. 281 00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:24.400 Let the players discover, let the player. A good coach 282 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:27.519 can bring the genius, for want of a better term, 283 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:36.839 of their players together. The goal of your coaching is 284 00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:39.039 not to get players to rely on you every week. 285 00:20:39.240 --> 00:20:42.079 Is to create players who can solve things without you, 286 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:46.839 because they always will. They always will. They will do 287 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:48.640 things in the game and you think, why the hell 288 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:51.880 have they done that? And that's because when they were 289 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:55.039 in that game, they thought they could see something better 290 00:20:55.079 --> 00:21:01.799 than you were thinking. A great coach doesn't build dependence, 291 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:06.759 they build independence. And when your players own the standards, 292 00:21:06.759 --> 00:21:13.400 when your players own the game, your team then becomes 293 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:21.200 truly coachable. I need a hydration break, Thank you, Global League. 294 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:26.799 Don't it work? It's not even hot here in Brisbane 295 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:27.839 right now. I've got a hoodie on. 296 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:38.559 Rugby league is quite thin skinned, isn't it. One of 297 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:41.200 the things I've always loved about our sport is it 298 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:43.279 it's a blue collar game. It's a working class game. 299 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:49.200 Always full of big personality, strong opinions and used to 300 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:52.799 be full of healthy debate. But more and more I 301 00:21:52.920 --> 00:21:55.039 wonder if we've reached the point where the game is 302 00:21:55.079 --> 00:22:01.039 becoming too sensitive to criticism. In this last week, former 303 00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:08.599 NRO player ready Mateya Matua lost in New South Wales 304 00:22:08.680 --> 00:22:14.559 Rugby League community ambassador role after publicly criticizing the New 305 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:23.039 South Wales Blues on his podcast, and he was told 306 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:27.279 that that led to the decision his comments. He's done 307 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:31.519 four years working in community programs and he was very 308 00:22:31.559 --> 00:22:38.880 passionate about them. Again, if you've listened to this podcast 309 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:42.960 for so long, you will know that I'm all about 310 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:51.480 rising tides, lifting all boats and uncomfortable conversations can create 311 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:58.200 better teams and groups and everything else. But unfortunately our 312 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:03.119 administration struggle with that. The unwritten rules seem to be 313 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:09.279 don't criticize selectors, coaches, administrators. You've got to stay inside 314 00:23:09.319 --> 00:23:14.720 the tent. And when someone steps outside that line, they 315 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:19.720 often find themselves outside the organization. And that's a dangerous 316 00:23:19.720 --> 00:23:27.680 culture for any sport. And I want to once again 317 00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:31.160 talk about I am still getting comments on my Facebook 318 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:34.799 in particular, which is at Rugby League Coach Socials at 319 00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:39.839 Rugby leg Coach a little clip whereas I asked the 320 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:43.759 question why do we always go down the middle, I'm 321 00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:48.400 still getting comments of people who can't understand that there's 322 00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:55.319 other ways of creating go forward or exiting your own 323 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:57.799 area of the field rather than just going down the middle. 324 00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:01.440 And that is a perfect example when we talk about 325 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:10.039 being inside tents or just following the crowd. The best 326 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:13.640 organizations for the best clubs, the best teams, the best 327 00:24:13.640 --> 00:24:23.359 coaching groups ideas improve when they challenged. If everything has 328 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:28.279 to be a positive all the time and wrapped in 329 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:31.720 cotton wooln warm and fuzzy, then nobody says what they 330 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:36.680 really think are we Are we trying to improve our team, 331 00:24:36.680 --> 00:24:38.720 Are we trying to improve our sport, or we're just 332 00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:46.720 simply protecting reputations. And I'm not saying this always happens, 333 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:53.960 but Rugbyley has got a long reputation where outspoken folken 334 00:24:54.039 --> 00:25:00.279 figures find opportunities disappear. It happened in the podcast world 335 00:25:00.279 --> 00:25:04.359 a couple of weeks ago with somebody from Paramatta. Of course, 336 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:07.279 people in the media that reported it, or one person 337 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:11.720 did took Paramatter side didn't even look or listen to 338 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:18.880 the full thing. And this informs most of what you 339 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:24.319 lot do out there, because you're scared to speak openly 340 00:25:24.359 --> 00:25:27.200 in case that affects your team or affects your club. 341 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:32.160 The amount of people who write to me about Shonky trials, 342 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:35.680 the amount of people who write to me about shonky 343 00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:41.079 practices with regards to transfers. But fans as well want 344 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:45.759 honest analysis, don't they. You don't tune into this podcast 345 00:25:45.880 --> 00:25:50.720 or any others, or read anything to hear everyone agree. 346 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:54.359 If everyone says the same thing, the conversation that dies, 347 00:25:54.400 --> 00:26:01.359 and we're becoming an echo chamber. As a sport. And 348 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:04.359 the irony of all this is that rugby league exists 349 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:07.920 because it wasn't an echo chamber. Rugby league was born 350 00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:12.359 because a group of people in the North of England 351 00:26:12.359 --> 00:26:20.400 disagree with the status quote. And we pride ourselves on 352 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:25.720 being tough, tough players, tough coaches, tough communities, tough sport. 353 00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:31.839 Quite often it can feel like the toughest game on 354 00:26:31.880 --> 00:26:34.079 the planet can be one of the most sensitive off 355 00:26:34.119 --> 00:26:35.599 the field. It can be one of the toughest to 356 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:36.799 navigate off the field. 357 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:38.480 But if we're. 358 00:26:38.359 --> 00:26:41.319 Serious about making the game better, making our teams better, 359 00:26:42.119 --> 00:26:45.559 we need to challenge status quote. We can't send our 360 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:47.279 teams down the middle all the time. We need to 361 00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:54.920 think differently. We need more honest conversations, not fewer, because 362 00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:57.720 the moment people feel afraid to disagree is the moment 363 00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:08.559 innovation stops. I will be in Yanko in Leyton in 364 00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:11.839 a couple of weeks. If you're interested in a coach 365 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:18.160 development night, please get in touch admin at Rugby League 366 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:20.519 Coach dot com and I use my email at Rugby 367 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:23.640 League Coach on socials. Message me on Instagram or Facebook. 368 00:27:24.519 --> 00:27:28.160 The day after there is a player's clinic and I 369 00:27:28.200 --> 00:27:31.039 will be overseeing the coach who is running that for us, 370 00:27:31.720 --> 00:27:34.640 who's one of the coaches I've mentored for four years, 371 00:27:34.680 --> 00:27:41.079 Carl Longford, and players from everywhere within Cooey welcome to 372 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:44.880 come to that. Please get in touch on those contact details. 373 00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:46.160 I've just mentioned. 374 00:27:49.400 --> 00:27:50.839 What should we talk about next? 375 00:27:57.440 --> 00:28:00.680 I'm trying to find what to Sorry that was an 376 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:03.519 awkward silence, wasn't it? Trying to find what I'm scrolling through? 377 00:28:03.559 --> 00:28:08.440 I've got I've got a quote for you. Jurgen Klop said, 378 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:10.440 I know I'm good at a couple of things, and 379 00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:12.680 really good at a few things, and that's enough. My 380 00:28:12.759 --> 00:28:15.160 confidence is big enough that I can really let people 381 00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:17.720 grow next to me. That's no problem. I need experts 382 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:21.519 around me. That was Jurgen Klop, the former Liverpool manager, 383 00:28:21.720 --> 00:28:24.480 very successful manager. So that ties in with what said 384 00:28:24.519 --> 00:28:28.319 at the start about Joey's comment vis a v not 385 00:28:28.440 --> 00:28:30.880 being good enough to be the coach in his eyes, 386 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:38.799 or not being qualified enough. Somebody wrote to me and said, hey, mate, 387 00:28:38.839 --> 00:28:43.200 can I stay hidden on this one. At under twelves, 388 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:46.039 my boys execute a set of six structure in training, 389 00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:48.440 but it's like they know what to do without knowing 390 00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:51.519 why i e. Why do we get to this point 391 00:28:51.519 --> 00:28:54.960 of field to then set ourselves up for that specific 392 00:28:55.039 --> 00:28:58.640 thing in a game. So under real game pressure, with 393 00:28:58.759 --> 00:29:02.920 crowd noise, fatigue, familiar combinations, the structure falls apart because 394 00:29:03.799 --> 00:29:07.759 they're not actually reasoning through it, just following steps. And 395 00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:11.160 this person asks is that a normal development stage at 396 00:29:11.160 --> 00:29:13.599 this age or is there a specific way to coach 397 00:29:13.680 --> 00:29:17.079 the why? So it holds up under pressure like maybe 398 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:22.960 a post sessions against another team. So, mate, you've answers 399 00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:26.519 your own question. Okay, So when you are teaching your players, 400 00:29:27.559 --> 00:29:29.960 we need to get to this point of field of 401 00:29:30.039 --> 00:29:35.559