Folks,

Last week was a week of choices; at times, it was exhausting. 

Which book cover design was I going to go with?

Who was going to narrate my book? 

And then, which photo was I going to choose for my author bio?

It all comes down to “spec” - are you trying to be the best in the world, the best in your street, or to do the best you can with a budget even a church mouse would turn their nose up at. 

I learnt that even when you have a good idea of what your spec should be, it’s not until you face the decision for real that you get very clear on what your spec really is, and the urge to do some “man maths” is real! 

Anyway, here’s a great book, with my notes, if you haven’t already read it. It’s called the Athletic Skills Model. 

And finally, it might be worth thinking not about “how do I get a better answer,” but whether we need a better question. Sometimes we create false choices. 

A question came up recently that got me thinking:

“Education leaders in football, how do we solve the problem of limited coach education in grassroots football?”

This is a problem when we constrain ourselves to the process.

Time becomes an issue. There is only limited contact time with coaches. We know this because few complete the step-wise process to mastery.

It’s rather like having 98% of doctors in surgeon training still dissecting frog hearts. Few get off the first step.

When you constrain yourself to the outcome, rather than the process, you get to design a different system.

Here’s to better questions. 

Simon

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