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Keith Irving's blog: sport & exercise consulting
Performance in Sport, & Activity in Exercise
Does iStadia Work for You? Networking
It's fascinating to watch the activity of our members and trying to find ways of helping them do what they want to get the most out of iStadia whether it's to try and get them more exposure, assist with self-promotion, get more business, find work or build their networks.
Some recent comments have made us rethink the way we see use of the site. Despite regular instances of networking and referral success most members have networks that consist of only three or four other members. With the basis of networking built on a desire to help others then I wonder what this suggests?
However it may be that members are relunctant to invite others on the basis of a perceptive inability to help anyway. It seems that another reason has surfaced in that there seems to be a reluctance (read shyness) to do this.
We have found that it doesn't matter who you are or at what level (student upwards) you can always help others, put them in touch with someone for some reason eg. it's always good to have contacts in complimentary roles. This can be a nutritionist for a sports psych, lawyer for an agent, coach for an athlete etc. and it doesn't necessarily mean that it has to be relevant now but should be looked upon as in investment. This is especially true if you think you might want to work with someone or need them to help you find a job. And all you have to do is send them a sitemail, it takes a matter of seconds. To help you do this, we provide you with a list of other members (on Mystadia when you sign in) that might be good to connect with. It sends a sense of value and community to do this. So go on, if you only invite one other member, it will increase most members networks by 25%. Click here to see a list of members.
You don't have to stop there, you can invite others from outside iStadia to be part of our expanding community - click here.
Now many of you will have networks outside iStadia so to make this easier we will be launching a new application this week which will make it easy to import contact lists eg. from Outlook, Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo, Gmail, LinkedIn etc. These will appear on the Networks homepage and MyStadia.
If you have any ideas as to how we can encourage members to build their networks as a genuine professional investment then we would love to hear from you.
Keith
Keith Irving
iStadia
Another Soccer Club Appoints a Young Inexperienced Manager - Right or Wrong?
With the walkout of Keane at English Premier League Club Sunderland and under pressure Ince at another Premier League Club Blackburn, both young inexperienced managers, is it too much to expect in such a high pressure, almost instant results expected environment that such inexperienced managers are not given enough time to make their mark.Now another inexperienced young ex-premiership player has been given his chance - Lee Clark (Fulham and Newcastle United) at Huddersfield Town. Although Huddersfield is not a Premier League Club, it is in the next division down, in the Championship, they have a long term plan even though Clark will be the fourth manager there in tow years! Clark has only managed Norwich's reserve team (another Championship Club) for the last couple of seasons or so. So what has he got, why have thee club's management teams (read Chairmen) made these risky decisions. Well, I guess they are cheaper (no experience, right?), young, enthusiastic, possess lots of energy, have great ideas (probably naive ones but hey!) but have they got innate people management experience to deal with all levels, all types and abilities of player. Generally this tends to come with age and of course lots and lots of experience.
However and I think this makes a huge difference, they have this embedded in the manager's back up team. Now Huddersfield have two highly experienced and successful individuals to give Clark all the help he needs. He has Derek Fazakerley who has immense coaching experience with England, Manchester City and Newcastle United and Steve Black a great motivational, performance and fitness coach with experience at Newcastle Falcons Premier Rugby Union side, Newcastle United and personal fitness trainer to Jonny Wilkinson. This is potentially a great combination. Clark can use his own football experience as a quick passing midfielder, draw on his strength of character and then all has to do is listen (to his back up team). We'll see!
Keith
Keith Irving
iStadia
Should Golf be an Olympic Sport?
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge has said consistently since the 2004 Games in Athens that the IOC is looking to do everything possible to open up the Olympic Games to young people, and the ability of a prospective Olympic sport to make a younger generation passionate about sport is believed to be a crucial factor for selection. Would golf do this?
With seven sports on the shortlist for inclusion in the 2016 Olympics Games, the International Golf Federation (IGF) set out its bid to the IOC last week with the youth-engagement work of the UK Golf Foundation a central topic of discussion.
OK the IGF is doing it's best to encourage youngsters play golf but despite Tiger Woods undoubted influence globally does today's younger generation think this is a great sport compared to others? Does today's streetwise savvy kid with all the instant gratification available through computer games, desire for instant celebrity and fast immediate sports like soccer, football and now 20/20 cricket have want to spend half a day on a golf course.
Notwithstanding that, is golf an olympic sport? It does not have a tradition as such but that does not matter if it's a matter of considering the future. Well anything goes nowadays so why not, given the acceptance of synchronised swimming, bmx cycling etc. Hmm.... Strictly Come Dancing will be next on the list. And why not - it's one of my favourites!
Views?
Keith
Keith Irving
iStadia
Evidence that Networking on iStadia gets You More Business
Some six months ago, Rob Robson called Mike Garth for some help providing sport psychology support to a karting client. Rob through his iStadia network was aware of Mike's strong connection, history and target market in motor sport. Mike helped Rob and didn't expect anything in return - that's networking.Then in June, Rob called Mike and referred him to a medical doctor (and part-time national rally driver) who was updating his book 'Fit For Motorsport' and was looking for a sport psychologist to re-edit and update the psychology chapter. Mike subsequently carried out the work.
An opportunity then came Mike's way (by other means) to work on a TV programme which involved the co-author of the Fit For Motorsport book. The quality of the rapport between Mike and the co-author was vastly increased by the fact Mike had already worked on his book. This working relationship has increased to the extent that they are now arranging a joint venture between themselves, which involves a major motorsport manufacturer!
Rob's used his iStadia network to get some help which opened a door to further networking and in Mike's words 'Rob opened a opened a door, but without that open door, would I now be arranging this powerful joint venture?' The answer is clearly no. The true value of networking is to provide help without expecting anything in return but the more you help others the more likely they will think of you when an appropriate opportunity arises.
Mike kindly posted this to the Referrals Forum 'to give evidence for the true power of networking and the available power of iStadia to us all'.
http://www.istadia.com/forumread.php?tid=263&page=1
It is easy to build your network, just invite those that you might be able to help or subsequently may be able to help you. When you sign in to iStadia, you are presented with your MyStadia - recommendations of those that have interests in similar fields to yourself and all you need do is click on the relevant name. Otherwise you can search the directory for others you may be interested in, particularly those who have complimentary skills to you eg. a physiologist may want access to a nutrtionist, an agent working on a sponsorship deal may need a sports lawyer, a sport psychologist may want to refer a client to a strength and conditioning specialist and so on.
Your network can get you business - it is worth investing the time to build it up.
And if you are interested in the book, Motorsport Fitness Manual: Improve your Performance with Physical and Mental Training by Dr Raj Jutley published by Haynes, you can find it here. Mike edited the chapter called 'Spirit'. It is published on 18th December.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorsport-Fitness-Manual-Performance-Physical/dp/1844255433/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226343132&sr=1-2
Keith
Keith Irving
iStadia
Goings on at iStadia 30th September 2008
It's been an interesting few weeks here at iStadia Towers. We've seen visits shoot up to over 36000 per month partly due to the interest in the Olympic Games which in turn has generated more interest in iStadia itself. We now get visitors/members from over 160 countries so we are definitely global!
Closer to home, a member contacted me recently to say that the new revamped BASES website bore a remarkable similarity to iStadia. I guess we should take that as a form of flattery not that I am alleging that they might have copied anything of course.
That brings me to my pet subject of BASES accreditation and it's value and the long held view that I hold, that in principle, accreditation is clearly a good thing but in practice nobody outside NGB's really knows what it is because BASES do not market this. This makes doing it rather pointless other than developing a bit of applied practice which is also valuable but that is only as good as your supervisor. As supervisors aren't trained or supervised themselves it makes the quality of accreditation dubious or at least questionable to say the least. For some cracking debate on this and various related subjects amongst others - marketing what 'sport psycologists' do, the use of the word psychologist, academic qualifications, the use of testimonials etc see the forum discussion on this. By the way I am with you on this Dan all the way!
Consultants who post regular content on iStadia are getting clients through this site which is great. I for one can vouch for that ie. that iStadia does work and brings clients to practitioners and consultants. If you have found a client through iStadia I would love to hear about it as I still think some members need convincing. Any mention of this will be anonymous so please feel free to tell me about it.
Again I can only emphasise the importance of adding content through iStadia Blogs, Articles, Forums, News and Events which are linked to a well constructed Profile. Much greater visibility (both through search listings and search engine opitimisation) is given to Premium or Premium Plus members so it's certainly worth considering paid membership.
A new academic year has started and we have made a great offer to students to bring them into our community. Students only have to spend £25.00 or equivalent on iStadia's MarketPlace to get 67% off Premium membership which then provides further benefits such as additional discounts on products and services, discounts on workshops as well as the ability to form private study or specialist interest groups. There are of course many other benefits and for a full list click here. As to why students or in fact anyone should join, click here.
We are getting a high level of demand and interest from the USA, Canada and India in iStadia's MarketPlace and to support that, we have reduced our postal charges to these countries by 50% which should make it more cost effective to buy from us.
To promote networking we are working on simpler ways of getting members to invite their own networks to join iStadia using contact software which we have just purchased. To encourage this we will be looking at rewarding such activity with a free month(s) Premium or Premium Plus memberships. Premium Plus will be given to those that are already paid members at the Premium level. There will be more on this shortly.
Keith
Keith Irving
iStadia
Can the Success of the GB Cycling Team be Replicated for 2012
So far the GB cycling team have won about half of GB's gold medals total. Given the pressure, media attention and expectation beforehand this team has really delivered. This success has been building over the last 10 years so it's not just a flash in the pan. Is this kind of success repeatable in other sports? Could this be transferred to other teams, say athletics where GB are not quite so successful. It's an interesting question.There are many issues to take into consideration but the main ones appear to be location, funding, talent development, team spirit, ambition and management.
GB cycling is located in one location - Manchester. Everyone is based there, trains and works there. They all see each other every day. On this basis friendships develop and it forms the basis of team spirit as everyone sees what kind of an effort everyone else is making all the time.
Funding. Other than athletics they have received the most ~£26m which has built up because of their improvement and gradual success. They have used this money wisely.
Money is no good of course unless you have the talent to develop which has been successful because of the support team and management. They have always sought to be the best in the world bar none and to increasingly push the bar further upwards ie. limitless ambition which everyone buys into - resulting in not just winning but broken world records. They have gone for not only the best equipment and facilities but the best in coaching, physiology, biomechanics, sport psychology and nutrition.
One factor that can make a big difference is that this team works together, everyone has equal input, there is real synergy. It's not just about lip service but real commitment from everyone in the support team and that I believe is very special.
Finally the last factor that has made a big impression on me is their team spirit. Every single one of them has identified the sacrifice others have made to make the whole team successful. Some have given up single events to make a team stronger, team members have understood the risks taken by others who compete in individual events.
Can this be replicated? In my opinion yes (time allowing), but the critical factors that stand out for me that are different from other teams are location, genuine belief in team goals (ambition), management and team spirit.
I would be interested in those that may have a greater understanding than me on what makes teams tick and why some are successful and others not quite so, particularly from other countries.
Keith
Keith Irving
iStadia
Rehabilitation, video and software
Spanish telco Telefonica has been showcasing some of the research underway at its e-health facility in Granada - one of seven R&D facilities the company has worldwide, employing more than 1,900 people. Telefonica claims to have spent more than £4.3bn on 'innovation' last year.
Pictured above is a broadband-based telemedicine tech which could help doctors remotely monitor patients recovering from injury by ensuring their rehabilitation is on track.
The patient attaches a small accelerometer device to - for instance - their leg. This device communicates with the PC via Bluetooth and the patient's leg movements appear on screen, via an avatar.
As the patient exercises, the avatar displays the movement enabling the doctor to monitor the exercise and ensure it is being done correctly. The software keeps track of how many times the exercise is performed, calculates the angle of movement and its speed which takes it a significant step further than just using video.
Using a webcam and videoconferencing window, the doctor can also easily communicate with the patient and even demonstrate adjustments to the exercise if necessary.
So, would this be useful to physiotherapists, physiologists and biomechanists?
Keith
Keith Irving
iStadia
Nutritionist Sued for Advising a Client to Drink Water
BBC Oxford News relayed a story last night of a non-medically qualifed nutritionist who advised a female client to drink too much water. The nutritionist has been sued and an out of court settlement has been reached worth £880 000. The client suffered organ failure and as a result suffered brain damage.
This opens up a larger debate about the value of qualfications including accreditation and when something like this happens, the subject of not being a qualified doctor is mentioned. The report did not mention what qualifications the nutritionist had or what had been recommended in terms of how much water to drink which in this case was mineral water.
This is potentially damaging to qualified nutritionists so it would be interesting to hear what you think and if anyone can shed further light on this story. I would like to think that we can argue the case for qualified nutritionists who can do a safe job without recourse to being fully qualified in medicine. Or is there a case for the latter?
Keith
Keith Irving
iStadia
Interest in forming an Entrepreneurs and/or Business Development Club
Several discussions with members involved in building their own businesses have led me to believe that there would be some interest in forming an Entrepreneurs and Business Development Club. In fact many of our members run their own one man businesses as practitioners/consultants so I would hope that many of them too will see benefits in forming/joining such a Club.The way I see it is something like the following but hopefully I can add to this based on your ideas too:
- To help those who have just started or are about to, or even thinking about starting their own business in the sport/exercise/fitness sector
- To bring in experts/specialists in an online and hopefully at some point an offline (regional meetings?) basis to provide specialist advice eg. outsourcing, finance, accounting, legal issues (terms of business, contracts, agreements etc), sales lead development, marketing (especially digital marketing) etc. etc
- Use existing member expertise as well as external advisors to contribute to and/or assess business plans with a view to assisting further development
- To invite those with sources of finance - business angels, private investors, vc providers to network with members regarding funding
- To provide details of other networking opportunities for entrepreneurs, advisors and investors
- To create an online centre ie. the Entrepreneurs and Business Development Club (title's a bit long isn't it?) for sharing problems, sharing experiences and generally providing help to each other
If you are interested in being part of such a club as well as having additional ideas then post a comment below.
Keith
Keith Irving
iStadia
Athletica Nervosa
It's seems to be a relatively new term, Athletica Nervosa - anxiety about one's physique which for men means a desire for a more muscular shape.A study by Giles and Close (Winchester University) found that men who read most 'lads mags' (FHM, Maxim, Loaded etc) seemed to internalise the way a man's appearance is portrayed causing them to have an unhealthy obsession with their own bodies. This is supported by researchers at the University of Florida which showed that young men's belief about the perfect body shape had changed over the last twenty years towards a more muscular ideal.
Another study at the University of Illinois (2006) by Harrsion and Bond showed that computer gaming magazines affected the way young boys sought to try and build their muscles.
Giles added "All men who read these magazines wre affected, but non-dating men much more so than those in stable romantic relationships. It could be that they become less anxious or it could be that they just have less time to go the gym when they have a partner.
Has anyone come across this or suspected this from the point of view of a coach, personal trainer, sport psychologist, nutritionist or significant other? Or indeed does anyone believe it is affecting them or know of anyone suffering from this condition?
Keith
Keith Irving
iStadia
