The British Olympic Coaching Programme

“I passionately believe that you cannot win a gold medal unless you have a world-class athlete and a world-class coach,” Sir Clive Woodward says. “This country is developing bucket-loads of talent. But are we developing enough world-class coaches? I don’t think we are.”

Here is an excellent article written by Owen Slot of The Times, in which Sir Clive Woodward discusses the state of athletic coaching in the UK.  Woodward is the Performance Director of the British Olympic Association.

Whilst knowledge is important, Woodward is focusing on helping coaches teach more effectively.  With this in mind, Slot’s article in The Times exclusively reveals “The British Olympic Coaching Programme [BOCP]“

“Brain Training” games don’t work

At last there is the evidence that brain training games don’t boost brain power. (BBC report)

When doing radio interviews, the most common question I am asked is how good are these electronic games recently promoted to improve brain function.  My reply is always the same…doing lots of sudoku puzzles simply makes you good at doing sudoku.  There is no wider neurological benefit which can be applied to other tasks.

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Funding boost for Australia’s Olympians

Australia is always serious about winning medals at the Olympics.  Recent news shows that they are putting their money where their mouth is as they prepare for the London Olympics.  Today I heard that athletes in Australia’s elite performance programme will receive a funding boost of AUD$120 million in the run up to London 2012 Olympics.

The view as reported in the media is that winning Olympic gold medals give an important boost to National moral.  The cost of $120 million shared by 20 million tax paying people in Australia is seen as a fair price to pay for success. $6 / person is surely a great value price to contribute to bringing home more medals.

I would agree, but then perhaps I am biased being so involved in the Olympics. I see that any support given to athletes is a good thing. As long as the funding gets to the coaches and athletes; not sloshed around management.

In contrast, it was reported that last year Team GB was struggling to reach a £15 million ($20 million) funding target for Elite Performance training.  But this was in the depths of the recession and the funding is now in place. However this funding is in contrast to Australia with a cost per person in the UK of only £0.25 ($0.40).

It is not just about the money, but the quality of the coaching is a key factor in my opinion.  Team GB has made huge advances in this area since Beijing 2008.  As this all plays out in the years ahead, it is going to see what the balance of results are in the end.

If you are interested in reading more about the number of Olympic medals won at Beijing 2008, versus population size and GDP of countries, then this post will interest you.

P.S. many in Australia are disappointed with the announcement of this funding.  They had hoped for $100 million per year, in the run-up to London 2012!

Brain Training Gold at Winter Olympics

Canada’s first gold medallist at Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics used brain training.

The first few reports are starting to come out of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, about those athletes who have utilised brain training technologies.  Various brain training systems are used by an increasing number of National teams.  However for many it is a closely guarded secret to gaining that competitive edge.

Sports Psychology has been applied for many years and is now seen is essential for any top athlete, whatever their sport.  The brain training I refer to is the Sports Neurology – a new field of peak performance giving athletes an extra edge.  This encompasses the maturing field of neurofeedback as well as more cutting edge systems as used by The Brain Training Company.

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NSCA 2010 All American Teams

It is interesting to see that 4 of the top 10 members of the USA “NSCA 2010 All American Team” in sporting clays have learnt mental training skills with The Brain Training Company.

What are your goals in 2010 for your sporting clays, trap or skeet shooting?  Do you need to gain that mental edge?  Perhaps you should also be thinking about attending the same training course as these top level shooters?

Mental Training for Sporting Clays

Brain training the military

The future of military might may not just be in bigger and better hardware of warfare, but in fitter and faster brains of military personnel.

The Brain Training Company is at the cutting edge of mental fitness training.  What was seen ten years ago as kooky executive training or fringe athletic training to achieve the mental edge, may now become a mainstream component of military training.

It is demonstrably possible to improve someone’s mental fitness; be that to increase IQ, manage stress better, enhance levels of focus and concentration when under pressure, or learning information at a greatly increased speed.  The foundation of this at The Brain Training Company is brainwave training.  Developing the ability to consciously control brainwave activity.  From this there are knock on benefits, such as greater neural connectivity and increased blood flow to the brain.

For military personnel this is a critical step in improving personal performance – faster and better decision making when under pressure.

This article from Wired.com looks at this topic:

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USA National Sporting Clays Champion: Gebben Miles

Hot off the Press:

Congratulations to Gebben Miles, who has just become the 2009 USA National Sporting Clays Champion.  It was a tight finish going to a shoot-off.  However Gebben maintained his mental focus and concentration to take the title.

Apart from being such a talented shooter, Gebben will be a wonderful ambassador for shotgun sports as the 2009 National Champion.

“Henry, I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me and the level of care you have. You are an awesome person and thank you for being a part of my National Championship!!” “Henry helped me develop a powerful pre-shot mental routine. He has been like a dependable friend looking after my mental game. I learnt how to control my mental states for strong focus and concentration, regardless of the pressure.” - Gebben Miles. USA National Champion 2009

Effect of brainwaves on movement and peak performance

This scientific study proves and reinforces one of the training objectives in our Peak Performance for Sport training course:- the importance of being able to control beta brainwave production.  Note especially the sentence I have highlighted and put in bold text.

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Study highlights effect of brain waves on human behaviour

Boosting a certain type of brain wave can slow people’s movements, UK researchers have discovered. The findings, published online by the journal Current Biology, offer the first direct evidence that brain waves can influence behaviour in otherwise healthy individuals. They could also lead to the development of new drugs for medical conditions characterised by either uncontrolled or slowed movements.

Different types of brain wave have different frequencies and different locations. In this study, the researchers investigated beta waves, which have a frequency of around 20 Hertz (Hz). Earlier studies have shown that beta waves are linked to sustained muscle activity, such as that employed when holding a book. Beta activity drops just before people initiate movement.

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