Last week, I travelled to Sweden to attend the 1080 Summit alongside friends and colleagues working in high-performance and rehabilitation environments.
It was an excellent opportunity to connect with other coaches, sports scientists, and clinicians who utilize the 1080 Motion technology in the weight room, on the track, and in the clinic.
The scientific programme was excellent and I enjoyed presentations from Martin Buchheit, PhD, High-Performance Football Coach, Sports Scientist, University of Strasbourg (France)
Laurent Meuwly, Track and Field Coach - Sport Manager (Netherlands)
Alistair Murphy, Applied Science Manager at Tennis Australia (Australia)
Matt Price, Director of Strength & Performance Science, LA Kings (US), Jan Seiler, Strength Training expert, Swiss Federal Institute of Sport, BASPO (Switzerland).
All the presenters shared some fantastic information. If you subscribe to my newsletter, you'll know I love quotes, and there were several that had me reaching for my notebook.
' When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.' Charles Goodhart
Also known as Goodharts Law, it's worth remembering as a performance coach. We collect a lot of performance data on the athletes we work with to better understand how their training impacts performance. Sometimes, players and coaches become obsessed with hitting a PB in a particular performance test, and this is the moment it stops being a good measure. Of course, we want to make progress, and whilst the test is important, it's not the most important thing. The athlete's performance on the pitch, court, or track is what really counts and should always be the target.
"Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better."
Pat Riley
"Excellence is not a destination; it's a continuous journey that never ends."
Brian Tracy
These quotes resonated with me, and it was a topic that was featured heavily in a podcast I recorded at the start of the week (more to come on that around September). The hosts of the podcast were interested to find out what the secret to high-performance success is. I explained it was being brilliant at the basics and being prepared to do the mundane. Athletes don't stand on top of Olympic podiums because they have a 'gift' (whatever that means!) - they win medals because they are willing to work at their craft, day in and day out. They have world-class levels of commitment.