Talking Performance Ep 168 - Alex Lascu - Learning Designer & Re-searcher
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Jan 26, 2025 In this engaging discussion, Alex Lascu, a learning designer and researcher focusing on sports coaching, shares insights from his diverse experiences. He highlights the importance of creating supportive, enjoyable environments for athletes, particularly addressing gender disparities in coaching. The conversation covers the balance between fun and seriousness in youth sports and the challenges of parental expectations. Lascu also discusses the significance of nonlinear pedagogy in skill acquisition and the role of technology versus intuition in training.
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Early Sporting Passion Shaped Career
- Alex describes a lifelong love of sport and learning that began in childhood and drove her to play 32 sports.
- She credits both excellent and problematic coaches for shaping her coaching values and curiosity.
PhD Sparked By Gendered Coaching
- Alex pursued a PhD after noticing girls were coached more softly than boys, limiting challenge and development.
- She researched talent and skill development in women's cricket and concluded the system develops players poorly.
Coaching Is Challenge, Support And Enjoyment
- Good coaching balances appropriate challenge, support and enjoyment to help people develop.
- Many club environments neglect simple fixes and fail to create welcoming, developmental spaces.