Walcott said, " When you are done with your career, you can have a drink. I don't drink at all. I never have done."
" At school, people have a mick at me for not drinking at parties, but that didn't bother me. It's only a short career and the way you are off the pitch makes a big difference."
Very very down-to earth.
Disc In! The Games Concept Approach to Teaching Ultimate Frisbee
Friday, September 12, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Why we cannot get rid of that mental barrier, especially against certain teams
In my opinion, it is about pride. It is the ego. I kept thinking to myself. My team is full of talented players. They are passionate about the game. Then why do they always crack under pressure? It is about their ego. It is the standards that each player set for themselves.
I quickly get the book egonomics and read through the first 2 chapters. True enough, I got my answers. Allow me to share with you.
1. Ego can make the individual better or worse. Competition blurs our focus. I remember reading this. If you keep an eye on winning, you cannot keep both eyes on your opponent. If you keep both eyes on your opponent, you cannot focus on your performance. When the comparison gets personal, the level of internal competition leads to behaviours that make individual less effective.
In 4 different group experiment, team members withheld information from the team leader assigned to make decision. They give inaccurate information to the team leader when they perceived the decision maker to be ULTRACOMPETITIVE. Just remember, the opponent seems larger or better doesn't make us any weaker or 'lesser'.
2. These comparisons could be due to the following three reasons.
a. Wrong Goal. What are we comparing? The number of wins we have over this opponent? Sustainability? No. of members in the club? Financial status? Are we envy of the opponent?
Envy is a strong motivator, but a weak navigator.
The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on improving all the time.
b. Goal set too high. High expectations can lead to initial motivation but it can also be discouraging and expensive in the long run. Can we beat Pyro in the next tournament? Frankly speaking, not even near...
c. We get comfortable where we are. Are we really that good? There are so many teams that look good out there who can beat us anytime. Look at some local clubs. If we put our foot off the accelerator, they will overtake us. Did you see the Philipines' Youth Team. Men, 2 more years and the Philipinas could be in two semis-finals. Are we capable for more? You bet. The enemy is ourselves. The enemy of Great is Good. We need to constantly improve. How? Shiok must be a learning club.
We need to achieve Personal Mastery at all levels. The beginners, the aspiring players and the leaders. Every player must take charge of their learning and improvement. Once a week training is not sufficient. If you feel like slacking after Opens, you are the worst professional player ever. Yes, you can rest. But why waste all the efforts, especially if you have peaked during opens. Don't allow your body to crumble and go to waste.
We must make sure every player has the same mental model and shared vision. Shiok's vision is very simple. Always do our best, develop players to their fullest potential and contribute actively to the community. If every player can achieve that, then team learning can take place and Shiok can move forward together. We cannot allow laggers. They are a pain to the team and the team has to slow down to wait for them. We should get rid of weeds asap.
Lastly, we need to create our own future. We create our own directions. If you find yourself playing a few sports, you might need to sit down and consider which one is the best for you. As working adults or even students, it is not possible to be the best in both sport. You can only play and train hard in one game. You will definitely sacrifice the other game. Choose one and be the best you can be. Focus.
Shiok's destiny is in our hands.
I quickly get the book egonomics and read through the first 2 chapters. True enough, I got my answers. Allow me to share with you.
1. Ego can make the individual better or worse. Competition blurs our focus. I remember reading this. If you keep an eye on winning, you cannot keep both eyes on your opponent. If you keep both eyes on your opponent, you cannot focus on your performance. When the comparison gets personal, the level of internal competition leads to behaviours that make individual less effective.
In 4 different group experiment, team members withheld information from the team leader assigned to make decision. They give inaccurate information to the team leader when they perceived the decision maker to be ULTRACOMPETITIVE. Just remember, the opponent seems larger or better doesn't make us any weaker or 'lesser'.
2. These comparisons could be due to the following three reasons.
a. Wrong Goal. What are we comparing? The number of wins we have over this opponent? Sustainability? No. of members in the club? Financial status? Are we envy of the opponent?
Envy is a strong motivator, but a weak navigator.
The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on improving all the time.
b. Goal set too high. High expectations can lead to initial motivation but it can also be discouraging and expensive in the long run. Can we beat Pyro in the next tournament? Frankly speaking, not even near...
c. We get comfortable where we are. Are we really that good? There are so many teams that look good out there who can beat us anytime. Look at some local clubs. If we put our foot off the accelerator, they will overtake us. Did you see the Philipines' Youth Team. Men, 2 more years and the Philipinas could be in two semis-finals. Are we capable for more? You bet. The enemy is ourselves. The enemy of Great is Good. We need to constantly improve. How? Shiok must be a learning club.
We need to achieve Personal Mastery at all levels. The beginners, the aspiring players and the leaders. Every player must take charge of their learning and improvement. Once a week training is not sufficient. If you feel like slacking after Opens, you are the worst professional player ever. Yes, you can rest. But why waste all the efforts, especially if you have peaked during opens. Don't allow your body to crumble and go to waste.
We must make sure every player has the same mental model and shared vision. Shiok's vision is very simple. Always do our best, develop players to their fullest potential and contribute actively to the community. If every player can achieve that, then team learning can take place and Shiok can move forward together. We cannot allow laggers. They are a pain to the team and the team has to slow down to wait for them. We should get rid of weeds asap.
Lastly, we need to create our own future. We create our own directions. If you find yourself playing a few sports, you might need to sit down and consider which one is the best for you. As working adults or even students, it is not possible to be the best in both sport. You can only play and train hard in one game. You will definitely sacrifice the other game. Choose one and be the best you can be. Focus.
Shiok's destiny is in our hands.
Managing Stress- Ultimate at the highest level
How many times do you see people crack under pressure? Can you handle failure like how you handle success? What is your reaction when you face adversity? Do you have the adversity quotient(AQ) to pick it up and move on from there? As leaders, do you have what it takes to control yourself, pick it up from the failure and inspire your team to move forward?
We are not full time athletes. We need to balance work, study, family and other commitments. Full time athletes do crack under pressure. Can use some tips from these athletes and apply to our game?
5 essential Cs to mental strength
1. Composure.
2. Concentration.
3. Confidence.
4. Coping with challenges.
5. Cohesion.
1. Learning from mistakes. Competition is getting stronger and stronger. Even if you are breaking the exisiting world record does not garantee you a spot on the podium. You got to even win your compeititors who are also breaking world record. But you need to quickly snap back after making an error and no dwell on past mistakes. Some sports allow us to do that. Ultimate is one of them. Weight lifting, swimmng and relays do not allow mistakes. But we can stop our negative thoughts to dictate our attitude. NO point blaming yourself. The worst action is to blame the team. Do you think they want to lose the game?
No point scolding players. Leaders take full responsibility for the team's loss. If you can do the above, your players will die for you.
2. Coping with pressure. Universal point. Some players stepped up and make it theirs. Others ran away or hide to avoid being called upon. Which one do you fit in? You need to go through all the "what ifs". Do lots of self-reflections and really know yourself. What am I lacking in?Identify the problems and take small steps to change it.
3. Set Goals. Think big but start small. Learn to distinguish what is within your control and what are not. Whenever pressure hits, negative thoughts fill your min first. No doubt. Learn to meditate and control your mind. Relax your mind. You can see good players not able to perform at the highest level. They are out of their comfort zone.
Are you having difficulty sleeping before the tournament? Use these techiniques to overcome it. After the game, you feel that it is not that bad and you are cursing yourself why you didn't rest enough. Maybe if I rest enough, I can do better!
Making decisions. There are no right or wrong decision in tactical or strategy. It's just different point of view. Respect each others call. Debate and talk it out...
Rest today, peak tomorrow. Learn to stress your body(training ) and take time to recover. Rest helps you to keep performing at your highest level.
We are not full time athletes. We need to balance work, study, family and other commitments. Full time athletes do crack under pressure. Can use some tips from these athletes and apply to our game?
5 essential Cs to mental strength
1. Composure.
2. Concentration.
3. Confidence.
4. Coping with challenges.
5. Cohesion.
1. Learning from mistakes. Competition is getting stronger and stronger. Even if you are breaking the exisiting world record does not garantee you a spot on the podium. You got to even win your compeititors who are also breaking world record. But you need to quickly snap back after making an error and no dwell on past mistakes. Some sports allow us to do that. Ultimate is one of them. Weight lifting, swimmng and relays do not allow mistakes. But we can stop our negative thoughts to dictate our attitude. NO point blaming yourself. The worst action is to blame the team. Do you think they want to lose the game?
No point scolding players. Leaders take full responsibility for the team's loss. If you can do the above, your players will die for you.
2. Coping with pressure. Universal point. Some players stepped up and make it theirs. Others ran away or hide to avoid being called upon. Which one do you fit in? You need to go through all the "what ifs". Do lots of self-reflections and really know yourself. What am I lacking in?Identify the problems and take small steps to change it.
3. Set Goals. Think big but start small. Learn to distinguish what is within your control and what are not. Whenever pressure hits, negative thoughts fill your min first. No doubt. Learn to meditate and control your mind. Relax your mind. You can see good players not able to perform at the highest level. They are out of their comfort zone.
Are you having difficulty sleeping before the tournament? Use these techiniques to overcome it. After the game, you feel that it is not that bad and you are cursing yourself why you didn't rest enough. Maybe if I rest enough, I can do better!
Making decisions. There are no right or wrong decision in tactical or strategy. It's just different point of view. Respect each others call. Debate and talk it out...
Rest today, peak tomorrow. Learn to stress your body(training ) and take time to recover. Rest helps you to keep performing at your highest level.
First post after Singapore Opens - Can we groom enough players to replace ourselves?
Great Singapore Opens. Great finals. Looking at the level of play during the finals, I must admit we are still far away from these players, individually and as a team. The Philipinas trained twice a week for the national team and twice for their club. On top of that, they play league every week. That is a total of five high quality training every week. In Singapore, we can even hardly meet to play pick up. Can we be committed and follow their system? Yes, certainly, but not until every player and club put down their ego and come together to play.
Decentralising the community and forming individual club identity is great. I never deny that. But for every policy, there are weaknesses and problems. Clubs start to have their own training or even pick up in their own truf. We used to have THE 'community spirit' and every Singapore player looks forward to Tuesday and Thursday pick. With the huge pool of hard core players, one will travel all the way from the east or west to play just because, he or she knows, there is bound to have people tossing around. Fast forward to now. Tuesday and Thursday are gone. Some clubs have training that clashes with Wednesday pick up. And the stupid security does not help at all. Level of pick up starts to get lower and veterans decided to give it a miss and call for their own club training. Looking at the size of the current clubs, it is not tough to call for their own training or pick. So where is the camaraderie of the community. Aren't we part of the Ultimate Community? Can we exist without the community?
Who is stepping up to ensure that we are replaced in the community? Who is ensuring that every player who is joining Ultimate receives the correct training and play with the right values?
For every player that is playing right now, we need the same number of beginners to replace us. We cannot leave this job to the JC teachers. It is not enough. How can we ensure that these youth players continue to choose Ultimate as the sport for them to pursue in their Uni lives?
I had a hard time trying to gather people. To unite people. Everyone want to play. As every club and players look to protect their own territory, they usually forget that in this small community there exist even more. How can we reach out to more people? Can we do it without the lure of financial benefits and focus on the greater calling? If Ultimate is your passion, then ask yourself what have you done to make it better for the next generation?
Decentralising the community and forming individual club identity is great. I never deny that. But for every policy, there are weaknesses and problems. Clubs start to have their own training or even pick up in their own truf. We used to have THE 'community spirit' and every Singapore player looks forward to Tuesday and Thursday pick. With the huge pool of hard core players, one will travel all the way from the east or west to play just because, he or she knows, there is bound to have people tossing around. Fast forward to now. Tuesday and Thursday are gone. Some clubs have training that clashes with Wednesday pick up. And the stupid security does not help at all. Level of pick up starts to get lower and veterans decided to give it a miss and call for their own club training. Looking at the size of the current clubs, it is not tough to call for their own training or pick. So where is the camaraderie of the community. Aren't we part of the Ultimate Community? Can we exist without the community?
Who is stepping up to ensure that we are replaced in the community? Who is ensuring that every player who is joining Ultimate receives the correct training and play with the right values?
For every player that is playing right now, we need the same number of beginners to replace us. We cannot leave this job to the JC teachers. It is not enough. How can we ensure that these youth players continue to choose Ultimate as the sport for them to pursue in their Uni lives?
I had a hard time trying to gather people. To unite people. Everyone want to play. As every club and players look to protect their own territory, they usually forget that in this small community there exist even more. How can we reach out to more people? Can we do it without the lure of financial benefits and focus on the greater calling? If Ultimate is your passion, then ask yourself what have you done to make it better for the next generation?
Friday, August 22, 2008
I am at the Beijing Olympics!
Some of the photos taken from the Beijing Olympics. Very Very fun and defintely an experience of a lifetime.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Structure vs Free Flow
There are several pros and cons to structure and free flow (samba). I think the most powerful strategy is to have a structure with room for innovation. Ultimate is really a game where you should not take risk. The higher your chances of completing a pass to your team mates, the higher your chances of winning the game. With a structure in your offence or defence, the players will be able to time their cuts and move to the correct position. However, sometimes, the defence will also be confused or the defence come up with a more unconventional strategy. This is where the offensive team needs to innovate and get out of the defence. If they continue to follow their structure, the offence will collapse. The best example is to insist on executing the vertical stack against the zone defence. I would acknowledge that if a team changes from vertical to zone offence, this is innovation!
I still remember playing the Japanese team in Perth. They are very structured and discipline (very very important in a structure). You know that where the next cuts are, but you cannot stop them as there are many options to that cuts and of course, the handlers know where the options are. They time their cuts so perfectly that they can get the flow once the dead disc leaves the hands of the handler. They just keep running and clearing. By the time they reach the middle of the field, the defenders will be panting and catching their breath. This is the time when they put the dagger into their opponents and score!
Too fast too furious. NO. Too fast too accurate. Too discipline too systematic. Looks like I need to take out the Toyota Way and the Toyota Culture to learn about the Japanese culture man...
I still remember playing the Japanese team in Perth. They are very structured and discipline (very very important in a structure). You know that where the next cuts are, but you cannot stop them as there are many options to that cuts and of course, the handlers know where the options are. They time their cuts so perfectly that they can get the flow once the dead disc leaves the hands of the handler. They just keep running and clearing. By the time they reach the middle of the field, the defenders will be panting and catching their breath. This is the time when they put the dagger into their opponents and score!
Too fast too furious. NO. Too fast too accurate. Too discipline too systematic. Looks like I need to take out the Toyota Way and the Toyota Culture to learn about the Japanese culture man...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
