Episode 230 | Stuart McMillan on Systems Thinking, Creativity, and the "Philosopher-Coach"
Oct 9, 2023
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Stuart McMillan, a renowned sprint coach, discusses the importance of systems thinking in coaching and life, emphasizing creativity and critical thinking. He shares insights on his coaching evolution, the role of a 'philosopher-coach,' and the challenges faced in the industry. The podcast delves into the future of coaching, balancing technology with human touch, and even explores Stuart's journey from coffee skeptic to enthusiast.
Coaching involves guiding and motivating athletes to achieve their individual goals.
Coaching has evolved to consider athletes' broader objectives and systemic interactions in sport.
A coach's role includes dynamic understanding of athletes' changing goals and needs.
Coaching now integrates systemic understanding of athlete performance beyond measurable improvements.
Holistic coaching focuses on balancing physical training, nutrition, mental health, and recovery for sustainable success.
Deep dives
Understanding the Athlete's Objectives
Coaching involves understanding and helping athletes achieve their objectives, which can vary greatly from individual to individual. The coach's role is to guide, motivate, prescribe, and facilitate an environment where athletes can determine and work towards their goals.
Evolution of Coaching Perspectives
The role of a coach has evolved from simply helping athletes improve measurable aspects like speed or strength to a more complex and contextual approach. Coaches now need to consider individual goals, system interactions, and help athletes clarify their purpose in the sport.
Navigating Coaching Complexity
Coaching requires a dynamic understanding of athletes' changing objectives and purposes in sport. It involves a blend of skills such as pushing, pulling, guiding, motivating, and prescribing to help athletes achieve their desired outcomes amidst a dynamic and interconnected system.
Balancing Improvement Measures with Systemic Understanding
While improvement in measurable aspects remains critical, coaching has expanded to incorporate a systemic understanding of how different variables interact within an athlete's performance. Coaches now consider broader definitions of improvement beyond solely quantitative measures like finish times.
Evolution Beyond Traditional Coaching Roles
Coaching has transitioned from focusing solely on field performance to guiding athletes in holistic development and systemic understanding. This shift includes helping athletes navigate complex goals, purpose clarification, and systemic interactions within the sporting context.
The Importance of a Holistic Approach in Athletic Development
Taking a holistic approach to athletic development involves considering physical training, nutrition, mental health, and recovery as interconnected elements rather than isolated components. By understanding how these aspects interact and supporting athletes in balancing them, coaches can help them achieve sustainable success.
Maintaining Balance in Athlete's Lives
Encouraging athletes to maintain balance in their lives can prevent burnout and enhance long-term performance. Focusing on being consistently good across different domains, rather than occasionally great in one, can lead to more sustainable success and overall well-being.
Systems Approach to Coaching and Athlete Development
Adopting a systems approach to coaching involves viewing an athlete's development as a dynamic process where various elements like physical training, fueling, recovery, mental resilience, social and ethical alignment, and education and environment all play interconnected roles. Striving for a good enough balance across these elements can lead to more effective and sustainable performance.
Embracing a Passion for Craft Coffee
Developing a passion for craft coffee involves appreciating the complexity and quality of coffee, experimenting with different brewing methods and beans, and enjoying the journey of refining one's palate. Transitioning from conventional coffee to specialty coffee can lead to a deeper appreciation for the craft and enjoyment of superior quality beverages.
This week's episode of the podcast is with Stuart McMillan, widely regarded as one of the best sprint coaches in the world. Stu has worked with both professional and amateur athletes in a variety of sports with a focus on power and speed development. He’s personally coached over 70 Olympians at nine Olympic Games, over 30 of whom have won Olympic medals. In addition to his hands-on work with athletes, Stu runs ALTIS, an organization that trains athletes and educates coaches to perform at the highest level.
In this conversation, which easily would have gone another couple hours if we hadn’t run out of time, Stu and I cover a wide range of topics, from coffee and music to Stu’s former life as a DJ. We get into all things coaching, including how Stu got his start and how his approach has evolved over the past 30 years, creativity and how it influences his work, the role of the “philosopher-coach” and putting an emphasis on critical thinking and question asking, taking a systems approach to working with athletes and life in general, and so, so much more.
This episode is brought to you by:
— Tracksmith. If you buy anything on Tracksmith.com, and you’re doing so for the first time, use the code MarioNEW to save $15 on your order of $75 or more. If you’re already a Tracksmith customer, use the code MarioGIVE and you can get free shipping on your next order and 5% of your purchase will go to support the Friendly House in Worcester, Massachusetts, an organization that is near and dear to me.
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Music and editing for this episode of the morning shakeout podcast by John Summerford.