Darren Roberts popped up on my radar back in the early 2000's and he sounded like someone who would really annoy me! Eventually after doing our best to avoid each other for a number of years we met for a coffee in Manchester. He made a remark about my 'decaf' coffee to which I pointed out he was the hulk of a man driving the Fiat 500!
Over the years we've developed a solid working relationship on a range of projects and if pushed I may even consider him a friend! He's different to me but I've learnt a lot from just being in his company (I learnt way too much during our road trip in the USA!).
When he mentioned that he was thinking about writing a book about training action sport athletes I told him he should do it. When he later asked me to contribute to the book I jumped at the chance. Darren released the book (Embrace The Chaos) last week and it's terrific. Full of great insights from Darren, other coaches and most importantly the athletes themselves. I reckon the book will annoy some of the established S&C community. I don't agree with everything Darren has to say and I know he doesn't agree with some of my thoughts in the book. But that's the great thing about Embrace The Chaos. It's not an echo chamber. It's a resource that every S&C coach should read...even if...actually...in fact, especially if you think all that Darren does is play Nerf battles and Mario Kart.
Darren has a proven track record with world champion athletes across many sports stretching back to 2002. He's not just making this stuff up (well, he may be making it up....but it works!). Not only will you gain valuable insights from this book but you'll being contributing to a couple of great charities. The author profit for this book is split between The Chris Jones Riders Fund, Simon Andrews Rider Fund and Wings For Life.
If you work in 'mainstream sports' you need this book in your life. Action sports athletes are innovators and rule breakers, pushing the boundaries of what's possible, challenging beliefs and inspiring others. The system of support in place has to be as innovative and unique as the athletes themselves, the nature and demands of the different sports pushing the boundaries of sports and exercise medicine.
The landscape in action sports has changed dramatically over the last few years. The days of turning up to an event after pulling an 'all nighter' are in the past, action sports athletes are asking more of their physical capacity than ever before and that means physical preparation.
This book gives you a roadmap for your coaching journey, from other action sports coaches and more importantly - from the athletes themselves; Adam Sterry, Andrew Cotton, Ben Watson, Bradley Smith, Billy Morgan, Catie Munnings, Danny MacAskill, Eugene Laverty, Gee Atherton, Jonathan Rea, Katie Ormerod, Korahn Gayle, Leah Crane, Nathan Watson, Paddy Graham, Shauna Coxsey, Steve Peat, Sam Sunderland, Tahnée Seagrave.