{"id":29882,"date":"2025-04-01T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=29882"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:10:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:10:45","slug":"the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-13","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/the-debrief-a-snapshot-of-powerful-discussions-happening-right-now-across-the-leaders-performance-institute-13\/","title":{"rendered":"The Debrief \u2013 a Snapshot of Powerful Discussions Happening Right Now Across the Leaders Performance Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 1 Apr 2025 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Debrief \u2013 a Snapshot of Powerful Discussions Happening Right Now Across the Leaders Performance Institute<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In March, we explored ways to improve and optimise the relationship between coach and practitioner. Here are four elements to consider with your teams.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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By John Portch with Luke Whitworth<\/h6>\n
What are the hallmarks of a good working dynamic between a practitioner and their head coach?<\/h6>\n

The question came up time and again during March across a range of Virtual Roundtables, whether the primary theme was organisational alignment, sports science, psychology or data usage.<\/p>\n

This month we reflect on those roundtables and bring you four practices that have served Leaders Performance Institute members well when working with their head coaches.<\/p>\n

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  1. Spend time with coaches and athletes<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    It sounds obvious, but coaches need to know how to apply the insights you deliver as a practitioner. \u201cBy always giving information that is contextually useful for that time of the year or by understanding the training cycle, you get more engagement<\/a>,\u201d said Kenneth Graham, a member of the Australian Institute of Sport\u2019s Research Review Committee, who was speaking at an Exercise & Sports Science Australia roundtable. \u201cYou do need that time to build up the credibility and the acceptance of the coach to take on information from you; and over time that becomes a faster process. It can be done over a cup of coffee, you may not need a formal presentation, but being part of the process, seeing the development of the training programmes, being at the training sessions, being at the competitions, looking for the gaps where the information you\u2019re giving is seen as valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    1. Make accountability the norm<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      A department should articulate its goals within the team\u2019s wider vision<\/a>. \u201cWe all have a vision of what each department is working towards and who\u2019s going to be responsible for those elements,\u201d said one attendee during a roundtable discussing organisational alignment. A team can also ask, \u201c\u2018this is what this department is working on \u2013 is that getting us to where we want to go?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

      Where your values are on the wall, they can serve as a useful conversation-starter. Another attendee, who works as a director of performance, spoke of approaching a staff member \u201cstanding in front of our strategy and saying, \u2018where\u2019s the work you\u2019re doing? Where does it fit in our strategy? The acid test is they say, \u2018oh, yeah, I work on this, and I know I contribute to that\u2019. If they can\u2019t do it then that\u2019s on me, because we haven\u2019t made it really clear where their work fits.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Where there\u2019s progress, you can celebrate the wins. \u201cPeople get the chance to be appreciated. \u2018OK, this is what you\u2019re working on, this is how it\u2019s going\u2019\u201d said a participant from a club in the NWSL, \u201cand we can celebrate the victories where we\u2019ve started to move the needle towards that ultimate goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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      1. Timing is critical<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        \u201cTiming is everything with coaches<\/a>,\u201d said one member during a roundtable that focused on the use of data. \u201cThe timing of when you plant the seed or present something new to a coach is really the start of the success or failure of what you\u2019re trying to do.\u201d Another attendee suggested that a practitioner must consider \u201cwhat is it that you\u2019re going to provide? And what is it you\u2019re going to hold back?\u201d A third offered an example of this in practice: \u201cWe\u2019ve introduced not just new technology, like tools and hardware, but also a large number of new datasets and data metrics for the coaches to understand.\u201d An astute practitioner will foster a curious mindset and understand \u201cwhen it\u2019s OK to give the coach a little bit more to stretch them and when we will hold something back.\u201d<\/p>\n

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        1. Find ways to track, test and refine your work\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Some people in sport openly lament the perceived lack of metrics<\/a> in fields such as psychology. This notion frustrates Rich Hampson, the Head of Psychology on the men\u2019s side at the Football Association, as he told a virtual roundtable on the topic of psychological services. He said: \u201cI see psych fall down because it\u2019s not defined well enough early enough.\u201d\u00a0However, if you are clear at the beginning, \u201c90 per cent of it\u00a0can<\/em>\u00a0be tracked. The broader you are, the less defined you are, it\u2019s harder to ask: \u2018is this actually having impact?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

          Benchmarking tends to be an area where sport excels, but not when it comes to psychological services. Hampson said: \u201cI think sports should be more confident in going \u2018if we\u2019re clear on what we\u2019re doing, more often than not, we\u2019ll be able to give you an indicator here, whether that has done what we want it to do\u2019; and then, like any science experiment, if your first intervention doesn\u2019t lead to the outcome that you want, it gives you a real good platform to go \u2018OK, why did that not work? And what do we need to adapt and change?\u2019<\/p>\n

          \u201cI think that\u2019s really hard to do in a really objective way when you\u2019re not setting that in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

          And if you missed it\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Our latest Special Report, High Performance Unpacked<\/em>, is now available.<\/p>\n

          We\u2019ve gathered insights from some of the sharpest minds in athlete performance: the people and the places that are taking their athletes to the next level.<\/p>\n

          With expert contributions from Teamworks<\/a>, Chelsea Football Club<\/a>, The Ryder Cup<\/a>, Swimming Australia<\/a>, NBA<\/a>, Philadelphia 76ers<\/a>, and Clube Atl\u00e9tico Mineiro<\/a>, this report dives into the cutting-edge strategies shaping the future of high performance.<\/p>\n

          Get an inside look at the methods and breakthroughs driving success at the elite level from some of high performance sport’s best problem-solvers.<\/p>\n

          Download the report now<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

          <\/p>\n

          Performance Special Report – High Performance Unpacked<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n