Fifty Shades of Grey

I've been delivering a lot of presentations since the start of 2015 and often the questions from delegates are seeking 'definitive' answers. They want a 'it's black' or 'it's white' answer.

If only it was that simple!

My standard response to the majority of questions is 'it depends'. There are so many contextual issues that need to be taken into account when developing a comprehensive programme of physical preparation for an athlete or team that a simple 'one size fits all approach' simply doesn't work.

I attended a conference this week and one of the keynote speakers, a surgeon, Angus Robertson gave a great one liner that prompted me to write this post. He was being asked lots of searching questions about the most effective surgical procedure for ACL injuries and you could tell the audience wanted a simple 'black and white' answer. This was his response:

'there are a lot of black and white people living in a grey world'

If you are searching for the answer to a question, chances are you'll be dissapointed if you expect a simple answer. Working in performane sport is usually far more complicated and 'it always depends'.

Understand that context defines every decision and get used to working with the stuff that is hiding amongst the greys!