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What must it be like to be Michael Jordan's son....
....and a competitive basketball player?
Marcus Jordan is 17, a high school junior looks like he might be following in his father's legendary footsteps. At least that's what people are likely to believe.You would also think that the expectation would create incredible pressure for him, but Marcus seems to handle it well:
"I just go and play my game," he said. "I'm sure people look at me and say 'Oh, that's Michael Jordan's son,' but I don't even think about that. I just play."
I also noticed Nelson Piquet Jr is now in Formula 1, adn Kasper Schmeichel is making his own way as a goalkeeper (soccer).
Any other examples? Any particular stories about the pressure of following in the footsteps of a sporting legend?
Here's the full story on Marcus.
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Can this man make Twenty20 cricket the most popular team game in the world?
Texan Billionaire Sir Allen Stanford (as a 'Sir', I imagine that he's not really Texan) believes that he can turn Twenty20 cricket into the biggest team sport in the World and is putting his money where his mouth is.I can only imagine that his calculations are based on the popularity of the game in India and the increasing wealth of that country, rather than the likelihood of converting non-cricketing nations. Maybe the popularity of the Indian Premier league (IPL) hs got him all excited.
Has he overestimated the popularity of the game?
Has he underestimated the challenge he's set?
Is he a visionary?
Is he a marketing genius?
Or is he raving mad?
Here's the story on the BBC website.
What do you think?
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New Coaching Framework Announced by Sports Coach UK
This week Sports Coach UK announced their new UK Coaching Framework, which is designed "to create a cohesive, ethical, inclusive and valued coaching system where skilled coaches support children, adults, players and athletes at all stages of their development in sport, and that is world-leading by 2016".The emphasis appears to be not only on elite sport, but on helping create coaches that can build participation at grass-roots level too. The framework will also create a clearer career structure for sports coaches, "within a professionally regulated vocation".
I'd be particularly interested to find out if anyone knows more about this. I was only able to find the executive summary of the framework. The rest of the story is here.
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Do we have a Gladiator in our midst?
Did you know that Gladiators is returning to our screens in the UK - on Sky One?Well, have a look at this Gladiator , and then Shirely Webb from Red Sky Management's profile. Definitely some commonality there.....
Look out for (former Olympic Hammer thrower) Shirley. I hear she's a bit of a battleaxe ;)
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Sport business development: How do you respond to enquiries?
I received a call this evening from an athlete that wanted some help.So, I did what I would normally do. I asked her what was happening and instigated a conversation.
After about 15 minutes we started to explore some of the practicalities - where was she, could we meet etc.
At that point she made an interesting comment. She said that she had called a few people and only felt that she'd clicked with me. This wasn't the first time I'd had a comment that suggested we were developing rapport already, and I was genuinely interested to know: What was different about me?
She said she was put off because the other professionals she spoke to didn't seem to really be that interested in her issue, but just wanted to set up a consultation. In other words, they were rushing to get to second base without getting to first.
I've been in consulting for 10 years, and I'm still a relative novice when it comes to business development, but I thought I'd share some thoughts on how to deal with consulting enquiries.
1. This is first step in a process. Don't try to rush to next steps.
2. Find out what the key issues are from the enquirer's point of view. Ask questions and more questions, and demonstrate understanding by playing back the issues to them.
3. Be prepared to invest some time in the person on the phone. It doesn't matter if you don't know straight away whether they have a budget, or whether there are other barriers to you working together. Yes, establish these, but not at the expense of rapport.
4. Try to help them, even if that means passing them on to someone else in your network. What goes around, comes around.
The first call is about establishing that you are competent and trustworthy enough to move to the next step with. For an individual client the next step might be a paid consultation, while for a bigger prospect it might simply be a meeting to discuss their needs in detail. If you treat the person on the end of the phone as a person, you're more likely to get to that next step.
Share business development tips and experiences in the sports entrepreneurship and business development club.
Just how fast can a swimsuit be?
It is interesting to note the furore over the latest Speedo swimsuit, the LZR Racer bodysuit. It has been designed with the help of NASA and, get this, apparently "aids streamlining and reduces skin vibration and muscle oscillation". It has welded, rather than stitched, seams, and is partly made from neoprene, so may increase buoyancy.Of course people are going to say that it has been responsible for 36 world records so far since its release 2 months ago, but there's another side to this story.
First of all, it is Olympic year. Athletes the world over are essentially 'jockeying' for position in the run-up to the games. Some of the major Nations have had their Olympic trials. The Aussies broke eight records at their trials. But even the best swimmers have to be at their best to qualify for the Australian team. LZR suit or no LZR suit. We've also had a European Championship, and a World short course championship. That's a lot of fast swimming in a small amount of time.
And 18 of these records were set at the World short course champs. Now, I know that there were some real stars that didn't turn up, but there were plenty of great swimmers there, in great shape after - or before - attempting to qualify for the Olympics and - perhaps importantly - treating it as a bit of fun. That makes for fast times. The Olympic finals will be a whole lot more serious, more about winning than anything else - including times.
Perhaps Speedo realised that the stage was set for them to release their new costume, and planned the release to coincide with this period of frenetic competition. No? Maybe the release date was an accident and not a clever piece of marketing at all?
We'll never know what difference the suit can make until there are controlled tests and the results released. But that may now be impossible anyway, if the swimmers believe that it will make a difference. As Kirsty Coventry, one of the world record breakers said "Getting this suit on for me is a lot about mentality, having that extra edge and confidence, but it's about the swimmer at the end of the day."
Rob Robson
Sport Psychologist, WarwickshireThe Relative Age Effect - Are We Wasting Sporting Talent?
I stumbled upon this report today, released by the SportNation "think tank" (in November 2006), using research commissioned from Loughborough University, into the question of whether children born later in the sporting year are missing out on selection and development opportunities.The answer to this appears to be a pretty resounding 'yes'. One sport that showed signs of ucking the trend was swimming, who have introduced more 'age on the date' competition. But sports like football, cricket, athletics, basebal and tennis, for example, showed clear signs of the Relative Age Effect.
What's interesting is that this effect appears to continue into senior and elite competitiion - so opportunities missed because of a child's birthday can have lasting effects (or at least that's the implication as strictly we cannot conclude cause and effect from the data). The effect was more pronounced for males than females.
Here's an anecdotal example - Steven Gerrard of Liverpool Football Club and England - who overcame the effect:
Steven Gerrard, one of England’s most talented
footballers, was born in May 1980 and was also a
late developer. He describes in his autobiography
his huge disappointment at not getting into the
FA school at Lilleshall and subsequently not
playing for England under-16s. Michael Owen,
born some six months earlier in December and
more physically developed made both squads
easily. Steve Gerrard wrote in his autobiography:
“The one nagging doubt in the back of my mind
was that my rivals were bigger: I was really small
and facing some tall, strong units in my position.“
Steven resented his rejection but had coaches
and mentors at Liverpool who knew he needed
more time. Most children are not so lucky.out.
footballers, was born in May 1980 and was also a
late developer. He describes in his autobiography
his huge disappointment at not getting into the
FA school at Lilleshall and subsequently not
playing for England under-16s. Michael Owen,
born some six months earlier in December and
more physically developed made both squads
easily. Steve Gerrard wrote in his autobiography:
“The one nagging doubt in the back of my mind
was that my rivals were bigger: I was really small
and facing some tall, strong units in my position.“
Steven resented his rejection but had coaches
and mentors at Liverpool who knew he needed
more time. Most children are not so lucky.out.
This is clearly an important issue for any Nation that wants to create a system that maximises the potentional of all of its athletes, in all sports. Have others come accross this as a problem, or seen examples where structures have been changed or coaches recognised the need to give younger atheletes more time?
Download the full report
Download the executive summary
Rob Robson
Sport and Business Psychologist, WarwickshireMikhail Youzhny's Self-Inflicted Head Injury: Anger in Tennis!
I'd imagine that it takes a lot of anger to hit yourself so hard that you draw blood (see the video below)!Note too, the change when the other player comes over. Youzhny perhaps sees the silliness in the situation, and the players share a bit of a laugh. That looks like a 'Reversal' from the serious to the playful state that, anger being a product of the serious and rebellious states...
What's also interesting is that Youzhny went on to win the match. Perhaps 'acting out' his anger helped him to reverse out of the states that contributed to it, to become more playful and focused on the here and now. Although this is speculative, a possible set of steps could have been..
He saw that he was close to losing the match (true)... ....invoking the serious state (and probably at that point conforming) ... and the likely emotion experienced would be anxiety
His frustration built as he lost his advantage and went back to deuce This might either of caused a reversal to anger, or he realised that he needed to do something drastic, and he deliberately brought out his anger. This is something that McEnroe was said to do - his anger has been described as a strategy and not an uncontrolled state.
He then sat down and the other player ame over and laughed. He realised the silliness of it all and reversed into the playful state, which would mean that his anger would subside but he would also no longer feel anxious.
Anyway, that's pretty speculative, but hopefully shows how reversals can work, and how they contribute to extreme changes in emotional state in a short period of time.
Click for a brief overview of Reversal Theory and its motivational states.
Rob Robson
Sport and Business Psychologist, WarwickshireFootball giants bring in a sport psychologist....
Yes, Cambridge United have brought in a sport psychologist. Full story (not much detail) here.Keep an eye on their end to the season!
Incidentally, they are in the Blue Square Premier League and are away to Droylsden this weekend.
Rob Robson
Sport and Business Psychologist, WarwickshireWhat's harder to find? A Sport Psychologist or a consumer of Sport Psychology?
I'm not sure how much the question in the title makes sense, but let me enlighten you. By no means for the first time this year I had a call from someone in another part of the country that was looking for a sport psychologist and was having trouble finding one. That's a customer (a professional sports person, by the way) that can't find someone to buy from.How crazy is that?
I immediately thought of two people in this guy's area that are members of iStadia. He wanted to get started with some face-to-face work very quickly, so needed phone numbers. One, it turns out, the guy had done some work with before and he was looking for something different. Fair enough. The other didn't have a phone number on their profile. A consultant that doesn't want to be called by a prospective customer...?
From where I'm sitting, it seems like this:
Sport psychologists often believe that the market for their work is limited or hard to access, that it is difficult to make a living in sport psychology.
Sportspeople that don't have access to sport psychologists through a programme of support often find it difficult to find the help that they need.
Think about that. If you aren't a sport psychologist, maybe you could just substitute the words and the issue would be just the same...
Are you making yourself easy or difficult to find?
Maybe you've got lucrative work coming out of your ears and don't need to put yourself out there....
Maybe you do, but don't know how.
If it's the latter, I'm not a marketing guru, but I'm more than happy to share what I've learned through my own experiences. Give me a shout. That's what networking is about.....
One small thing you can do if you are a member of iStadia: tick the box near the bottom of this page. It will certainly help us to promote you.
Something else - check out Keith's blog on forming an entrepreneurship and business development club.
If you aren't a member, maybe it's time to sign up?
Rob Robson
Sport and Business Psychologist, WarwickshireNew Research Suggests Cheese Diet Improves Performance by up to 60%
New research from the Institute de Fromage et Sport, in Saint Nectare, France suggest that an all cheese diet can boost performance in sport by up to 60%.
The results of trials from a number of sports including football, rugby, swimming and petanque, as published in the most recent edition of the little-known French journal 'Science du Sport', suggests that the benefts of a cheese diet are felt in sports requiring both power and endurance, and the effect is explained due to an adaptation of the body to the overload of proteins and fat, aided by the bacteria that is present. Indeed, results were stronger in an experimental group fed only unpastuerised cheese than in both a pastuerised and a control group. These results are thought to partially explain the otherwise inexplicable success of the French in sports such as rugby, football (soccer) and recently swimming. A spokeperson for Cheese Research And Production (International), Flo Porail, was quoted as saying "Whey!".
