The Coach Doctor Podcast

In Part 1 of this episode I speak to Brian Ashton. Former coach of Bath Rugby Club and the England national Rugby team and now very much a renowned figure in coach education. Brian discusses his initial introduction to rugby, his transformation from an autocratic coach in his early days as a strict schoolteacher into a democratic player centered coach. Brian touches on his experiences during a career of coaching, including the clash of the codes when England's strongest Rugby Club Bath played against England's Premier Rugby League Club Wigan. Brian has years of experience coaching at many levels in Rugby Union and since retiring from professional rugby is involved in coach education and coach consultancy in multiple sports including Netball, Cricket and Football. I hope you enjoy Part 1 with Brian Ashton.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

Matt is a former NRL head Coach with the Canberra Raiders, Penrtith Panthers and NZ Warriors and is currently working in a leadership and assistant coaching role with the St George Dragons. He has also started a business called the Changeroom which we will discuss during the podcast but this is essentially a place that helps people recover from both physical and mental injuries and ill health. Some of the key take aways I got from the discussion with Matt were the importance in developing human connections – while we can do the best form of training and eat the best nutrition, prepare perfectly etc human interaction is key into our wellbeing and this translates into performance on the field, track or pool. I also liked Matt’s message of thinking about the press or the media being about opinions and glorifying things to sell newspapers and in turn do not take any criticism too personally – like he said he’s watched TV for longer than he’s coached the game but that doesn’t mean he knows how TV’s work. The last point that really resonated with me was in the work that the change room are doing – Matt made the point that they do not focus on what is wrong with you but what’s right with you and what you can do and your capabilities and focus on those first and foremost. Links: The Change Room Website: https://www.thechangeroom.info/Instagram: @_thechangeroom_Facebook: @thechangeroomprogramLinkedIn: The Change RoomBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

In this episode I talk to former NRL hard man Ben the boss Cross. Ben has had a distinguished career playing at three NRL clubs, playing in two NRL grand finals and winning one and a state of Origin series with the NSW Blues.Towards the end of his career Ben took up coaching roles whilst playing in the north of England before returning to Australia and working on the development pathway with the Newcastle knights and the NSW Blues Women’s Origin team. Ben was later offered an assistant coaching role with the Brisbane Broncos that didn’t end up going to plan and he discusses the tough times professional coaching can through at you and how he delt with that time in his career. This talk provided some great insight into the intricacies of professional coaching – Ben was able to illustrate some of the traits of his former coaches including the great Craig Bellamy and how he believes developing relationships are vital to being successful as a coach. Ben provided a detailed picture to what he believes went wrong at the Broncos after the Bennet Siebold saga of 2019. After his sacking from the Broncos Ben used the term get better not bitter which personified Ben’s resilience after dealing with a very publicised sacking. He went out and completed leadership and business courses, developed other areas of his life and came back a stronger man following the ordeal. There is plenty to take away from this chat with Ben I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. If you are enjoying these podcasts please make sure you like it and leave a review and also follow me for updates on the podcast and other coaching matters on Instagram @thecoachdrBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

In this episode I talk to Daryl Gibson. Daryl is a former New Zealand All Black and Super Rugby Champion with the Canterbury Crusaders. More recently Daryl has held the role as head Coach of the NSW Waratahs before stepping down after a losing season. Daryl has gone on to research what elite teams do during a losing streak and his findings are brilliant. Whilst there is a plethora of research into successful teams and cultures, the originality of Daryl’s work looking at how to successfully cope with a losing streak will provide much insight for many coaches going through this difficult period. Some of the key takeaways for me were that there is no one losing streak that is the same. Each situation has its own individual differences and challenges however there are commonalities around the mistakes that coaches make during losing streaks. Its important to establish a team identity and keep revisiting it throughout the season, and set up some plans for when adversity strikes.Planning for adversity requires setting up a failure plan. What do we do in the event of a loss -how do we talk to the team, how do we address the media, and how do we address failure.This includes consistency in analysis and interpretation of a loss.Complete buy in from all members of the team is also vital so that all can be accountable rather than turning to blame which often happens in a losing streak. The best coaches revisit their purpose and buy in on a daily basis. Personal meaning within the team – so when things go bad that personal meaning will be called upon. Do we want to have a victim culture or a champion culture that responds to adversity by owning your role on the team.During losing streaks some common responses tend to be -Blame -Excuses-Denial-Criticism increases-Withdrawal from the group/team-Isolation -Silo mentality -Loss of respect -Belief of the coach to work harder - when in reality the coach should be looking more closely at team dynamics. If you would like more information on Daryl’s research you can email me at: James @thecoachdoctor.com.au Please take the time to like it and give a short review and also follow the podcast Instagram page: @thecoachdr for more podcast news, coaching tips and advice all based on the latest research.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

In this episode I chat with Jack Rolfe who is the owner of the Coaching Lab – a business that aims to provide coaches at all levels with tools and resources to improve their coaching, especially within games. One of the resources the Coaching Lab offers are match play cards – a set of cards with a variety of both team and individual challenges that you can apply to coaching in game settings. We discuss a few examples and how they may be utilised in the training environment. Another cool resource is a set of reflection cards that contain open ended questions that engage the athletes and develop a deeper though process in the reflection period. Again, we will discuss specific examples of how to use these. During this chat Jack provides some really helpful examples of you can develop a dynamic and exciting learning environment for your athletes whether it be at the grassroots level or at the elite level. Some of the key messages for me in this talk is that Jack has developed the cards to provide both individual challenges and team challenges. As coaches we tend to focus more on team outcomes and coach the individual less during periods of tactical or game-based training. By incorporating individualised challenges this can provide more individualised coaching within a game-based setting. Explaining why you may be using a games-based approach to all stakeholders, athletes, parents and the wider club community may be important to ensure all are on the same page. Often the science behind this approach is unknown outside of coaching circles so explaining that we can still tick off skill development, conditioning and so forth whilst also developing better decision makers is a useful way to get everyone heading in the same direction. To quote Jack directly “The role of the coach is to create a space and inspire players to be creative” and “creativity in sport is often the ability to have more solutions to the same problem” by providing a space where athletes feel comfortable to develop these skills will often harness the best outcomes long term. For more information on the coaching lab you can go to: Website: https://www.thecoachinglab.org/ Instagram: @the_coachinglab Twitter: @the_coachinglabLinkedIn: Jack RolfeBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

In this episode I talk with Melbourne Rebels player Cameron Orr. We discuss his pathway to becoming an elite athlete and the importance of athlete journaling to help achieve those smaller goals or the 1%’s that add up to greater benefits over the long run. Cameron also talks about the importance of team journaling and how this can assist team performance by keeping teammates accountable to group goals.More recently Cameron started a business with Waratahs player Carlo Tizzano called ‘Elite Performance Journal’ which provides both individual and team-based journals aimed at the young athlete wanting to forge a pathway to success and also the elite athletes wanting to add longevity onto their careers and stay at the top of their game. The key takeaways for me throughout this chat, were that Cameron has shown a growth mindset throughout his playing career. He made the Australian School boys after being selected in his (CAS) school association 2nd team and the NSW Schools 2nd team he never gave up or threw in the towel and let any disappointment drive him towards his next goal.He went wherever he would get an opportunity and made sure he learnt from those senior players around him for example a stint in Gloucester, England where he learnt of payers in the squad who had represented the British and Irish Lions as well as a great coach in Laurie Fisher. In a coach he looks for someone who is open to a chat and is honest about feedback and selections and gives each member of the team the same amount of respect no matter their role in the team be they a super star or a rookie. Sport is also meant to be fun and for that reason Cameron doesn’t mind a bit of banter and being able to connect with his coaches away from the field. We also discuss what it meant to be presented with the “Spirit of Weary Dunlop” award in 2021 for being a great clubman and in Cameron’s case an all-round good bloke. If you would like more information on the Elite performance journals you can visit the website listed below:https://eliteperformancejournal.com/Cameron is active on Linkedin under the name Cameron Orr and is also an administrator on the Facebook Group “Emerging Athlete Network”, which is a group designed to connect and educate Athletes and Coaches.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

In this episode I speak to newly appointed Australian Wallaroos Coach Jay Tregonning. We discuss the team’s preparation leading into a world cup year and the growth and development of women’s rugby union in Australia. Some of the key takeaways for me were that coaching a national team requires a lot of preparation so managing time around family and fulltime work commitments is really important. Balancing a teaching career with coaching a national team provides some hurdles and Jay has put some positive steps in place to make sure this works for his coaching.Jay has been open to learning from other key areas in his life and taken lessons as a teacher and applied them to his coaching and vice versa. As a PE teacher he is effectively coaching all the time so refining his skills in the classroom or in the gym to what he is doing on the training paddock has been a great opportunity for him. Finally, having a growth mindset & not being scared to make mistakes. With limited time & preparation Jay needs to make decisions around selections – does he build cohesion of test new players in the lead up to the world cup. He is comfortable with these hard decisions and knows that success is not on a straight continuum. If you would like to follow Jay's journey, he is active on Linkedin under his name Jay Tregonning.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

This is a story of adaptation involving changing countries, languages, cultures and sports in a very demanding environment. Nico has just finished up a role with Chinese Rowing culminating with his team’s performances at the Olympic games in Tokyo. Originating from the north of Italy and completing his PhD in Sports Science at the University of New England in Armidale, Australia. His background lay in Rugby Union, but he was given the chance to work with the Chinese Olympic Program and found himself part of the rowing staff. Nico talks about the cultural differences between working in China compared with western cultures, the communication hurdles and the variation in training modalities utilised. Some of the key takeaways for me from this chat were that you need to do your homework before you embark on a coaching role in another country especially where the language and culture is so different. Nico was lucky he had experienced changing countries before and this was a massive help for his move to china. In Australia we tend to have a very athlete centered style of coaching – be aware that this philosophy changes nation to nation and a coaching style that fits the culture is generally what is utilised. And lastly as part of the coaching staff, sometimes you are required to speak up if you think what other coaches are doing is not what is best for the athletes and at the very least have that difficult discussion.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

Jamie Feeney is a former NRL player who played for both the Canterbury Bulldogs and Melbourne Storm during very successful periods in both club’s histories. He was coached by Steve Folkes and Criag Bellamy, two of Rugby Leagues most successful coaches. Jamie gives us an insight into the culture of both clubs after being involved in back to back Grand final seasons. Following his playing career Jamie moved into coaching roles. Initially with the Melbourne Storms pathway program and then as the Performance Program manager with NSWRL. More recently Jamie coached the Australian Women’s Rugby League side the Jillaroos and the Roosters NRLW side. Jamie is now based on the Gold Coast working with the Gold Coast Titans NRLW side. Some key take aways from this conversation for me were that there is no one best coaching style, different coaching styles bring different positives, the hard-working Steve Folkes style compared to the detailed Craig Bellamy style both brought success to their respective teams. It’s about choosing the style that works for you and the team around you.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.

Jim is the current Queensland Reds Attack coach and was instrumental in both the Queensland Reds Super Rugby championship season of 2011 in his first stint with the club and this year in 2021 in his second stint with the club. Jim has also been the attack coach for the Wallabies and Head Coach of many clubs in the UK and Japan. Like some of my other guests Jim stands out for his passion to learn and further his knowledge – he has a Masters of Education in Sports Coaching and has published two research papers in the International Sport Coaching Journal. Jim is excited about constraints based learning, dynamic systems and ecological dynamics and is a great believer in the use of analogies to deliver his messages. He talks about attack in team sport being like water- building up and eventually always finding a way through a weakness. The key messages I got from this chat was: - The importance of the coach to create an environment where athletes can learn. If the garden is not growing you may need more water, more sunlight or some fertiliser – in other words improve the environment. - Design practice sessions that best represent the games. Have key principles, but outside of those, let players explore, discover cues, utilise cooperation and be creative. - Do the work, be patient, keep learning and build as a coach. - Have a release from coaching – find a hobby or an outlet so that the job doesn’t consume you and always staying connected with your family and the people you care about the most.If you would like to learn more about Jim’s research you can look up his journal articles listed below: McKay, Jim, Davids, Keith, Robertson, Sam, & Woods. Carl T.. (2021). An Ecological Insight Into the Design and Integration of Attacking Principles of Play in Professional Rugby Union: A Case Example. International Sport Coaching Journal. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2020-0065.Mckay, J., & O'Connor, D. (2018). Practicing Unstructured Play in Team Ball Sports: A Rugby Union Example. International Sport Coaching Journal, 5(3), 273-280. https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2017-0095Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-coach-doctor-podcast--5032805/support.