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The Hidden Layer of Sport
From the outside, this layer of sport is almost invisible. But from within, one thing becomes clear very quickly: match manipulation is not rare. It exists in plain sight, but few notice it.
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So, What Have We Learned?
In the final chapter of the sexual assault case referred to in two previous articles; “Where There’s Smoke? Or … Unwitting Target?” and “… And as the Smoke Clears, the Vision Becomes Clear?“, Crown prosecutor Craig Everson officially withdrew five sexual assault charges against the NRL forward Jack de Belin and his friend and fellow…
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Glimpses of a Cultural Nirvana in Sport
Leicester City Football Club’s season ended in a second fairy-tale when they lifted the FA Cup on May 15th this year. The first fairy-tale was achieved in the 2015-2016 season when they were crowned Premier League champions. On both occasions glimpses of what might be called a cultural nirvana appeared through the blue mist of…
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The Power of a Nemesis
The semi-vaccinated public is returning to large gatherings. For over a year, we have either been alone or with close friends and family members. Consequently, now have to face our nemeses once again and learn how to play nicely with them. They didn’t go away, but they are no longer behind a mask and six…
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Popcorn, Heat, and Fans, Not Always The Best Combination
Typically, when one thinks of popcorn, they know that there is heat involved, and fans as well, if getting popcorn from a large popper. However, when it comes to sports, popcorn, heat, and fans, are not always within the same category. For example, the recent incident where a fan dumped popcorn on Washington Wizards Point…
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Red Flags: Patterns of Intolerance
Rugby League star, Israel Folau has upset the LGBTQIA community and contravened the inclusive stance of Rugby Australia in his 2019 social media comment that “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolators” would meet their end in hell. This public declaration saw his contract torn up and his ejection from the club and…
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The Unsung Heroes of Youth Sports
Ever wonder about the work that goes on behind the scenes when you drop off your young athlete at their respective sports clubs. Most likely not because it seems so simple right – and besides who has time to think about these things when your day is already a complex and rammed schedule born out…
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50 Is The New 50
Phil Mickelson shocked the world and thrilled a large gallery last week by becoming the oldest major champion in golf history. He held off a charge by a much younger Brooks Koepka to win the PGA Championship on a thrilling Sunday afternoon. He looked cool doing it, too, wearing state trooper sunglasses and flashing a…
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The Least Interesting Thing About You
Your body is the least interesting thing about you. I stole this from one of my favorite podcasters, Madi Murphy of The Bad Broadcast. Unfortunately, female athletes are still critiqued and judged on their bodies. Liz Cambage of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces was referred to as 300 lbs by the coach of an opposing…
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Five Mistakes Parents Will Make This Summer as Sports Begin Again
We continue to look at avoidable mistakes each of the stakeholder groups in sports will make as sports begin again. This time by looking at challenges this season- and beyond- will pose specifically to and for parents. As tough as it is to be a coach, being a parent is a far tougher status. Coaches…
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Overtraining
When I was a young coach, I used to push athletes to their limits and beyond during practices thinking that it was the best way to physically prepare them for competition. It was a learned behavior from coaches when I was an athlete and as an assistant coach. Sure, my athletes and teams had more…
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The Inequity in Equality
The new strategic roadmap Olympic Agenda 2020+5 will highlight the importance of gender-equality and fair portrayal practices in communications about the Olympic Games as a priority in the new objectives. “To encourage the entire Olympic Movement and its stakeholders to entrench gender-equal portrayal practices in all forms of communication.” “The principles of inclusion, diversity and…
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Selection & Rejection
“Life is not always fair, but you must always appeal if you have been wronged.” – Emma Carney Is it fair to assume that you should be selected just because you feel you’ve earned it? Hundreds of hopefuls all feel that they’ve earned it, they can’t all be selected. Perhaps the bigger issue is are…
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There Can Be Only One, Or Maybe Not
The Highlander movies and television shows were known for the saying, “There can be only one,” when it came to the titular character who was an immortal being and needed to defeat other immortals in combat in order to stay alive and maintain his immortality. Because of the rule about having to defeat his enemy…
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Theories of Motivation: The 3 Big Myths
If the sardonic artist Harland Miller was to design a book cover to highlight an uncomfortable truth about motivation it would state something like: ‘Motivation Ain’t All It’s Hyped Up To Be.’ Most publications you read on the subject tend to refer to two types of motivation, extrinsic and intrinsic. Likewise authors on the subject,…
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Sting Like a Bee
This past Thursday was World Bee Day, honoring the birthday of the world’s first beekeeper. Its purpose is to acknowledge bees and other pollinators in the ecosystem. It’s a good reminder for us to be more like bees. Each bee only makes a small amount of honey in its lifetime. However, its efforts are realized…
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Parents Behaving Badly
How disappointing is it when it’s the parents behaving badly and ruining the fun for the children? Last Sunday an under 13s rugby league game left a 35-year-old father requiring facial surgery. A wild brawl is said to have broken out in which up to 20 people were involved. The injured man is Josh Jones…
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All Is Not Lost
Have you ever coached a team in a game where their brains or hearts were not in it? Maybe your team looked lethargic while playing or in a fog. Or has a team that you ever coached been down by what seemed like an insurmountable amount? In every single case that happened when I was…
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The Impact of Trust
Trust is key in team sports. For optimal team performance, trust should be second nature between coaches and teammates. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, as big egos and the fear of failure can cause a rift within a team’s culture. Trust is not a given, nor should it be. It takes time, and…
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Eat ‘Em Up, Kats!
Congratulations to the Sam Houston State Bearkats for winning the NCAA Football FCS Division championship last week. It was a strange game that ended a peculiar football season, and, in many ways, it may have been a sign of things to come. In Huntsville, Texas, Sam Houston State University is about a half-hour drive north…
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The Power of One
We know there is no I in team, but there can be one (or sometimes a few) player that heavily influences the team. I recently read about Miami Heat veteran player, Udonis Haslem, and his tenure on the team more so as a mentor than a player. The Heat organization considers him invaluable in this…
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Extreme E: Racing Toward Culture Change for the Planet
Whether you believe in ‘climate change’ or whether you are a denier, it has to be agreed that climactic conditions in recent years have impacted on sporting events and this is happening now not in some far-off dystopian future and its global – we’re all in it together. The success of winter sports programs and…
