This week’s guests on the Pacey Performance Podcast are Jamie Taylor and Jonas Dodoo. Jamie is the former head of Academy at Leicester Tigers, now working with Grey Matters as a Senior Coach Developer. Jonas is a regular on the podcast, a world-renowned speed coach and the head coach and founder of Speedworks.

Jamie and Jonas have been working together on a new education process for optimising coaching and talent development. The pair discuss some of the theory behind what they’ve learned over the years regarding the more reflective side of coaching, and how to make the right decisions at the right times. This includes critical thinking about coaching techniques, the work of peers, and even ourselves.

At the heart of this thinking is the balance between gaining a wider knowledge, such as hoovering up advice and tips on social media, and gaining a deeper knowledge of specific techniques, exercises and sports. A healthy balance allows coaches to adapt exercises through knowing their environment and players, and being able to find the ‘sweet spot’ where athletes understand and trust in training, even if they don’t particularly enjoy it. For all this and where to find out more about Jonas’ and Jamie’s programme, hit the play button now

This week’s topics:

• How COVID led to the growth of Speedworks
• What led to collaboration between Speedworks and Grey Matters
• The questions Jonas receives about how to implement his teachings
• The coaching appraisal process – self-reflection on training sessions
• Critical thinking, on both peer reviewed papers and ourselves
• Utilising technology to provide an objective view of coaching
• Personal development and next steps for Jonas
• The importance of being able to recharge
• Wider knowledge vs. deeper knowledge
• Being able to adapt exercises through knowing your environment and players
• The ‘sweet spot’ where athletes understand and trust in training