NEWS
The SNAPSHOT
Watching and listening to the 2nd test between Australia and Pakistan, the modern day phenomenon of the SNAPSHOT was clearly evidenced when Australia won the toss and was bowled out on the first day for 127 and Pakistan went to stumps no wickets down.
Out came the SNAPSHOT lines…. Ricky blunders, Pakistan in position to square series, Ponting’s captaincy under question again, and so on….
I was catching public transport the next morning, and a gentleman who recognised me said, “Well Australia has blown it. They should have bowled……
anyway, I guess it is good for the series”
Those words are fuelled by EXPECTATIONS of what the public expect of the Australian Cricket team, but also fuelled by a society that is fed on a diet of fast food, fast fixes, and fast information. Answers are required now! There is a need to know now! Go to the expert and have them look into their crystal ball of experience, and pronounce what will happen.
Such impatient behaviours and needs champions the SNAPSHOT view of the world, or the particular set of circumstances in which we are actively or passively involved.
There is no doubt that the majority of human beings like certainty as opposed to uncertainty. They like the scientific approach which directly links cause to effect, and hence our never ending chase for the ‘meaning of life’.
So when I said to this gentleman who had made (or had made for him by our respected media of experts) his SNAPSHOT judgement that there was a long way to go in the match and wait for the MOVIE to play out fully, he grunted and moved on probably mumbling something along the lines of ‘what a wishy-washy answer, the guy would not commit…’
Two days later, I was asked by another gentleman at a local shop, “Well what do you think? How long will it last tomorrow?” He had already put his SNAPSHOT together, he just needed some more precise confirmation.
“Well,” I said, “ there is still 2 wickets in hand, Hussey is still there, and Australia never says die. So while this is the case I would not write them off yet.”
“I like your optimism,” he said, “ but I cannot see them getting out of this one!”
By the end of the day, we had our answer – it was one of Australia’s greatest comeback wins ever! Our respected media experts were lauding Ricky Ponting and his team, making new SNAPSHOT assertions, completely ignoring their commentary over the previous few days.
The SNAPSHOTS must be taken. We must live in the present and deal with the present – no question. But while dealing with the present, it is important to keep life and our decision making in some perspective. Patience, only dealing in what we personally control, and the knowledge that the SNAPSHOTS make up the ‘Movie’ will help us deal with our needs to have greater certainty in our busy lives.
It will not prevent our respected media experts from sprouting their SNAPSHOTS – but to all sports followers know that sport, just as life is made up of a myriad of ups and downs. The longer a contest extends, the more we see it happening. Our respected media experts are paid more these days to present entertainment (SNAPSHOT VIEW) than to present sporting analysis.
If we can keep this in mind, then it makes the sports commentary more bearable, entertaining and somewhat meaningful.
Enjoy your sport in 2010!
The role of the Coach is to be the CHAIRMAN of the BOARD of the team.
The more I look at the various models of how sporting teams operate, from the English Premier League, to American professional sport, to Australian Football, and finally to cricket, the more I am of the belief that the role of the ‘coach’ is really that of a Board Chairman of a company.
What do Boards do?
♦ They set the vision, directions, and broad strategies for the company
♦ They set up the policies and procedures of accountability for the company which are managed by the
CEO and his or her staff
♦ They lead the culture of the organisation through the standards of compliance, ethical and legal behaviours
that they accept as appropriate
♦ They establish the risk apetite, tolerance and measurement procedures to give the company competitive advantage as well as ensure its
♦ They enter their role with due diligence and duty of care to ensure they have the best information available to them to make the best possible decisions on behalf of their shareholders
Such tasks and activities are all borne by the Team Coach, in conjunction with his Captain, and the remainder of the team squad.
There is little doubt that the Captain of a sporting team acts like a CEO of an organisation. The Captain with his senior players, senior managers in the case of the CEO, are responsible for team results. They are accountable to (especially the Captain) the ‘Coach’.
A major difference between CEO and Captain will be that a CEO hires and fires. In sport, this happens in certain environments, but not many. It can lead to disharmony within the playing group, and of course, the captain may also be the one who needs to be ‘sacked’ or at best ‘dropped’.
To avoid such a conflict of interest, the captain will be an ‘executive director’ on the Board with the Coach (Board Chairman), and excuse himself or herself from team selections after having had the opportunity to outline their specific thoughts and needs.
The Board Chairman (Team Coach) may choose to coopt another member to the BOARD who will bring relevant links to the PARENT organisation. Or alternatively, the PARENT organisation may choose to place an appropriate ‘director’ to the Board of the team.
It is certainly time for some sports, and some sporting teams to re-consider their structures, reporting mechanisms, accountabilities, and measurement analytics in order to better position themselves for the future.
FORM
Are you ‘in- FORM’? One of the words that has found its way into sporting commentary is this word ‘FORM’.
‘Out of FORM’?
Did you ever have any FORM?
It is an abbreviation for PERFORMANCE.
As a consequence, it is used to describe everything that happens to an athlete, and ultimately the RESULTS achieved or not achieved by the athlete or team of athletes.
It is one of those words which fits nicely into the SNAPSHOT (see previous article) dictionary allowing commentators to condense the vagaries and complexities of preparing for, and then producing, a sporting performance.
So rather than educating an audience, commentary ‘dumbs down’, simplifies what is actually happening, or what has happened during an athletic contest. There is a necessity to convey messages more concisely these days it seems due to the perceived need to have information or opinion or expert knowledge available as readily and as easily digested as possible.
Hence if an athlete achieves a win or a personal best or a satisfactory result then the athlete is recognised and spoken of being ‘in-FORM’.
On the other hand, should results not be achieved or under expectation, then the athlete’s ‘FORM’ is brought into question, sometimes leading to the conclusion that the athlete is now ‘out of FORM’.
Often the movement from ‘in to out of FORM’ or vice versa can happen within the same event, or certainly over a short period of time.
FORM is now interchangeable with RESULTS.
Whereas PerFORMance, from which FORM was derived, is the complex interplay between the Technical, Physical, Mental (EI, Mental toughness), Tactical, Team( if involved in group) skills that athletes practice, train and then attempt to apply in competitive situations.
So in future when we hear the commentary call go up that the athlete has ‘lost FORM’ or they are ‘back in FORM’ know that we are simply getting a SNAPSHOT picture to satisfy getting some information to you.
When ‘great athletes’ lose or have a ‘FORM slump’, or alternatively have a winning streak or are in ‘great FORM’, know that there is something not right with their set of PerFORMance skills, or conversely, there is pretty good alignment with their range of PerFORMance skills.
Therefore the task of the athlete and the coach (if the athlete has one) is to clearly understand their set of PerFORMance skills so that they know what they need to do for preparation and during the course of a contest, to give themselves best chance to PERFORM.
Once athletes know their specific sets of skills that give them best chance to PERFORM, then they become their own best coach. It is these athletes who can then produce results more regularly than their peers, and become recognised as the top sports people of their respective sports.