Emphasis should be put on enjoyment

Wayne Goldsmith talks to a group of local sports coaches at the Otago Regional Sports ForuM at...
Wayne Goldsmith talks to a group of local sports coaches at the Otago Regional Sports ForuM at the Caledonian Ground yesterday. Photo: Peter McIntosh.
One of sports coaching’s best minds has been imparting his knowledge to coaches, parents and sporting leaders in Dunedin this week. Jeff Cheshire caught up with Wayne Goldsmith, touring the country as part of the Performance Coaches Advance programme.

Breeding elite athletes is not dissimilar to making a fire.

Just as you have to start with flame, keep it going and then, when the time is right, ignite it into a fire, it is important not to overload young athletes too early.

If that flame goes out, after all, you are left with nothing.

That is one of Wayne Goldsmith’s key messages as he looks to educate those involved in nurturing pre-elite athletes.

Having been involved with a plethora of high-level teams, the Australian brings with him plenty of elite experience.

Putting a greater emphasis on enjoyment is something he stresses as a key trend in global sport, with that being the precursor to the hard work that comes later.

"Not just in New Zealand, but all around the world, we’re seeing a decline in kids playing competitive sport.

"It seems what we’ve been doing to really focus on competition and winning and success is just not working the way we hoped.

"So sports are saying ‘can we do this another way?’

"I think the solution is make it fun, make it enjoyable, great experiences for families.

"As that fun and enjoyment becomes part of what they do, the ones that want to will say ‘I want to be great at this, what can I do?’

"And then you’ve got competitive sport set up to take them."

He said that was key to developing the drive that came later. The idea of doing things for enjoyment as kids was a key pattern evident in elite athletes.

"Motivation is like a flame that’s burning inside, and if the flame’s already there, as coaches we can throw petrol on it through helping them to believe anything is possible.

"So the fundamental concept is that if they’re enjoying it and they’re loving it, then that’s the flame ... they make a commitment and a decision.

"Because that little flame’s already there, the little flame’s been flickering since they were 8.

"If we do it the old-fashioned way and we get them in at 8 and say ‘you’ve got to train and you’ve got to do laps’ and all that, the flame goes out and there’s nothing you can do about that."

He felt that by making things enjoyable at younger ages, the ones that want to go to the next level could around the age of 14.

At that point the idea of doing "extra" kicked in.

For the elite athletes, it was those who did more that excelled, just as a pupil who learned more beyond their homework would generally do better.

Former Wallaby captain George Gregan, Australian triathlete Loretta Harrop and swimmers Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps were among those that stood out in that regard.

"When you see exceptional athletes with high goals, they’re self-driven to do those extra things.

"Ian Thorpe was one of our [Australia’s] great swimmers of the 2000s.

"In training camp with him in Cairns, there was a training session that everyone did and down the bottom it had ‘Ian plus 2000’.

"So everybody trained and they got out, then he did another 2000m by himself.

"I don’t know why that’s so hard for people to get their head around. The best swimmer we’ve ever produced was doing more than anyone else."

Goldsmith regularly  talks to groups of people and one of the things he enjoys most is interacting with parents.

"I think parents have undervalued and underestimated the impact they have on their child’s lives.

"Whereas coaches can do a great job with strength and fitness and learning how to throw a ball and how to kick, the parents have got them the other 23 hours a day.

"Parents have a huge influence on their diet, and their sleep, and who they are as human beings, and their values, and their honesty, and their work ethic.

"The response to most parents is that they think it’s about coaching sport and teaching them how to kick and how to be good athletes.

"But their role is much more important.

"When you talk to those guys, and you’ve got a room full of parents and they realise they’ve got the capacity to change the lives of their kids, it’s really exciting.

"But they don’t get a lot of information.

"As coaches we go to coaching courses, athletes go to coaching and programmes, but there’s not a lot of things done specifically for parents.

"So to get the chance to impact on them, that’s the best part of the job."

As far as coaching went he felt New Zealand had made big strides over the past four to five years.

He said the country was performing highly on a world stage and it was one of the world’s best in developing its coaches.

The other key difference was a change in mentality, so New Zealand no longer saw itself as the underdog, but as a genuine major player in world sport.

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