Extract from the book…
…the real ability of a coach … to discover those qualities in a player which were not evident. This meant recognising and developing latent ability..a real challenge. It could even be the kid who finishes last then improves to second last. You have to really watch this kid because you don’t know when he will stop getting better….
I found out over the next 50 years that each of us is in some way gifted, but, sadly, so many of us just don’t seem to want to undo the wrapping…
…the pre-game and post-game yelling of coaches was a so-called quality used by club committees to assess the ability of true coaches. It meant the level of stimulation was the means of judging a coach rather than the motivation and preparation…
…Jack Gibson OAM told me there were three types of players that make up a team. The first are the ‘can do’ people. They have a God-given genetic talent and are mostly going to make it as they will be successful on the back of talent alone….The ‘can’t do’player is the one who works harder than anyone, does everything right, has a great attitude but may lack the physical attributes of the ‘can do’ player. No team can get by without these people; you can’t just walk out on the street and replace them…The third type, the’question mark’ player has it all:speed, strength-the skills are in-built, but for some reason the player just doesn’t measure up. The real test of a coach is to turn the kid around and make him a ‘can do’ player. He can be the difference between winning and losing.
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