Gym Culture

We all have a desire to be skinny and have a ripped body, but how much does this impact on our lives? And what effect do digital effects have on our mindset?

It is vital that athletes spend a large portion of their time ensuring that their body is in prime condition for their sport, but at what stage does the gym culture take over? Professional sporting organisations very often have gyms at their training facilities, and the athletes use these for an hour or so a day. The sporting organisations employ strength and conditioning coaches to help the athletes to ensure that their body is primed for their sport. But it is the semi-professional and amateur athletes that have the most trouble with body image. They participate in their sport, and on the side they head to the gym to get ‘big’. They get caught up in the gym culture of society, and focus on getting stronger. But when these athletes go to the gym, they rarely go for the purpose of developing their sport, they go for looks.

If athletes can’t have confidence in themselves and their image, what message does that portray to those that look up to them? As I mentioned last week about Idols, people hang off everything that their idols do and say. Whilst this can be positive, it can also be very negative. Children these days need to be taught that body image is not important. They should just be out running around with their friends rather than worrying about how they look. When they see athletes being photo shopped in magazines, and worrying about their body image, these children are of course going to become conscious about their own bodies. This should not be happening. Children should be taught that nutrition is vital, and any other resistance training and cardio training should be done to ensure better performance in sport rather than aesthetics.

Idols and Big Dreams

We all have idols in sport, but why is this the case and what influence do they have on us?

We must admire their onfield personas, as that is the main reason that they are playing the sport at a high level. What characteristics do they display for us to like them better than other players? It has to be different for each individual, and the team that you barrack for must have an influence also. For example, many Fremantle Dockers fans love Hayden Ballantyne, but those that support other teams hate him. The same can be said for St Kilda’s Stephen Milne. Those that don’t love him hate him! I happen to hate most of the Collingwood players, and I think most of the reason why is because they play for the pies!

But how much of an influence does a player’s off field antics have on us? A true AFL supporter should be able to able to separate onfield and off field characteristics. Brendan Fevola and Ben Cousins have both repeatedly done stupid thing off the AFL field, yet that shouldn’t detract from the fact that they were both amazing footballers with incredible talent! And one could only imagine what they would have been able to do if it wasn’t for the alcohol and drugs being involved. However, when someone is your idol, it is hard not to let their entire life become something that you want to replicate, being paid to play sport would be an amazing opportunity! You can also feel extremely disappointed in the player for being so stupid away from the sport!

On a personal level, do you relate to that player? Or do they have something that you want to learn or to become? My absolute hero is Nick Riewoldt from St Kilda, and I am not certain of why I began to idolise him, but looking back I would say that it is his ability to be an onfield and off field leader that makes him stand out. Yes, he is talented, but so are all AFL footballers, but he has this incredible talent to be able to lift himself and his team in big games. I don’t relate to him because of positions, as we play completely different roles, and I don’t think that realistically I would ever have to opportunity to do what he has done, but there are parts of his game that I admire, and that I want to be able to carry over into my game.

But hey, one can only dream!    ;D

Sport as a Spectacle

Last Friday night I attended the AFL NAB cup match at Manuka Oval which saw the Bombers and the Giants clash. It was the first time that Manuka had been lit up for an AFL match, and got plenty of people excited, including myself! This got me thinking about sport as a spectacle. Gone are the days of running around on a beaten up paddock, footy fields are now surrounded by massive structures to ensure that a maximum number of people can watch the matches.

Rather than buying a general admin ticket into the game, I bought tickets to a function that allowed me to gain entry, get a reserved seat in the Bradman Stand, which is the best seating, and a 4 hour food and drinks package and talks from politicians, AFL Canberra employees, and football superstars, such as Tom Harley, Jason Saddington, Craig Bolton and Kevin Sheedy. And the price I paid for all of these things? A measly $80. These entertainment packages are quickly becoming the most reasonably priced forms of viewing the footy, with ticket prices, in-ground food and drinks and the cost of parking, public transport, etc becoming more and more costly. These package deals enhance the experience of the supporters that buy tickets, and make the games seem even better. It safe to say that I incredibly enjoyed the night, not only because of the match itself, but because of all the ‘extra’s’. (My night was made even better by meeting some of the players after including Jobe Watson! :D)

However, do things like these package deals being offered take away from the actual game itself? Many people argue that these packages, combined with pre-game entertainment, half time entertainment and things happening around the ground detract from the actual game itself. I do not believe that this is the case! These things only enhance the game, and can even help to better it, by bringing others to the game that might not have come if it was purely the game. The game as a spectacle is a good thing for the growth of the game!

Women in Sport

As today is International Women’s Day, and we have celebrated Women in Sport week last week, I wanted to take the opportunity to write about something that I am passionate about. The role of women in sport, and indeed society, has changed, but there is still a long way to go! The fact that we need to have a day and a week dedicated to women shows that the role of women is largely undervalued. I want to discuss the difference between the way that male and female athletes are treated and portrayed.

Women are more often than not steered towards individual activities such as gymnastics, dance and figure skating, where men commonly participate in aggressive, competitive, physically demanding team sports such as football. The type of coverage also differs greatly for females when compared to that of males in terms of descriptors used and language. Specific descriptors used when talking about athletes vary greatly between genders. Female athletes are commonly referred to by their first names, which presents them as soft and girly, whereas men are identified by their last name, which makes them sound more powerful and imposing.

Language used also makes perceptions of an athlete’s physical ability differ, depending on the words chosen to represent an action. For example, a male athlete would ‘miss-fire’ when taking a shot in basketball whereas a female would just miss. Similarly, if a male were to ‘crash’ against the defence of a tackle, a female would simply ‘move against’ it. Another fault of the type of media coverage female athletes receive is that of task relevance. Achievements are often downplayed, or omitted, which would suggest that the sporting accomplishments of female athletes are of little importance. This issue is further escalated with the addition of images to print media. Images that are chosen to accompany articles are usually very sexualised images, most often with very little to do with the sport itself, and rather just about the attractiveness of the athlete. Images of men are most commonly ones taken during a game, portraying the courageous and strong side to the male, when compared to women’s imagery in the print media is more of the glamour shots, posed to be raunchy rather than action shots. Another discrepancy between male and female athletes in the print media is the display of emotions. Pictures of female athletes crying after a loss or an injury are regularly seen, whereas when a male is seen crying it is seen as a sign of weakness, and he is taunted or called ‘a big girl’. When being talked about in print media, a female may have been ‘crying with disappointment’, whereas a male would only ‘shed a tear’.

And what is lacking in quality is certainly not made up for in quantity. Whilst studies report that there has been an increase of female newspaper coverage by 500% from the late 1980’s, when you look further into the issue, the figures have risen from a mere 2% of newspaper coverage to 10.8%. Disgusting when you think that horse racing alone makes up more percentage of the coverage than all female athletes. So how do we expect to have aspiring Olympic and international female athletes, when they are given no coverage at all, and the ones that are get portrayed in another light?

There is a massive culture change required in society for female athletes to be able to feel comfortable in the sporting arena, and this has to come soon. Why should females be treated any differently to male athletes? Why do we need to have ‘male’ and ‘female’ defined sports? Shouldn’t anyone be able to play any sport they like without being judged and criticised? I am sick and tired of females being under represented and treated unfairly in the sporting arena, and it is time for things to change!

Team Culture

Team culture is described as a “social and psychological environment that maximizes a team’s ability to achieve success.” So while traits like team cohesion, leadership, communication and motivation are important to the success of a team, the team culture is what makes that group of individuals think alike, act alike and really come together as a team. A strong team culture is vital for any successful sporting team!

When trying to develop team culture, don’t try to force values or you won’t get anywhere. You need to have a player led culture, which makes the players more accountable for their actions and those of their teammates. The main thing, regardless of what sort of team culture that you want to create, is that the players need to band together and that they need to believe that anything is possible.  

To begin creating the culture, ensure that you explain what you are trying to achieve and the importance of the culture. As a team, hold a meeting and come up with team rules, expectations and responsibilities. While you are setting these in place be sure to discuss punishments and stress to players that any rules broken will be punished regardless of excuses. The players need to make themselves and their teammates accountable, and by having them create it, there is no excuse not to.

As a coach, you must watch out for those that are destructive to team culture and target it straight away. If it is not dealt with early i can lead to many further problems. Once the team see’s that the coach is letting things slide that should be punished, they will realise that they can get away with breaking team rules and the culture can break down. If it is stopped early, the team members will see how strong the team culture can be and will continue to enforce it themselves. A major problem is what these players are the better ones. When it stems from the top, it is even harder to get a buy-in from all players and to enforce. For example, if you have a team rule that no one can miss more than one training a week, and your star forward is only turning up to training once every few weeks but you still play them, the other players will take note of this and then begin to wonder if there is any point in them turning up. The team culture then falls into a heap, when instead, if something was done the first time to enforce the rules, the players would have learnt.

The first team that comes into my mind when I think about a strong team culture is the Geelong premiership teams of 2009 and 2011. Whilst I have no idea of what Mark Thompson and Chris Scott instilled in their players, the culture around that club must have been very strong because you could see the belief that each and every player had, not only in themselves but in the roles they played and their teammates. From all reports of players from that team, those players shared something that not every team can, and in the end resulted in a premiership for them. Not to mention coming from being behind in all breaks to win in the 2009 grand final.

So whatever the style of team culture that you and your team choose to adapt, if you ensure that you won’t let it be broken and you can get a buy-in from all players, your team will be able to do amazing things with the strength and belief that it creates.

Helping Athletes Grow

Not only is sport all about having fun in a welcoming environment, but it is about growing. Growing as a person, as an athlete, and as a mentor. When you compare yourself when you first started out in a sport to a few years later you will always notice a large difference. You have much better skills and are much more knowledgeable, but you are also a much different person. You can look back and see that you now, like those before you, can help the newer players, and that the younger players now look up to you. But as a coach, there are a number of ways that you can fast track this growth and help your players of all development stages get the best out of their sport and most importantly, them selves.

One of the most important things to achieving this is to encourage your athletes to set goals. This encourages all athletes to give their everything in trainings and games, and teaches them that small steps can lead to massive things. The main thing is that they are taught not to give up. Ensure that the goals they are setting are realistic and achievable, so as not to discourage them, and the sense of achievement when they realise their goal will be amazing for them. This will in turn encourage them to set more goals and grow and grow.

Not only does setting goals help the athlete to grow as a player, it also allows you, as the coach to individualise each person’s learning. Not all athletes respond to the same types of environments and learning experiences, so taking the time to set goals with your athletes allows you to explore what works for them and to design sessions around each team members requirements.

Also, engaging in social activities outside of training and games can help the confidence of players. If your team feels like friends that play sport together, it will turn training and games into another chance to spend time with their friends, rather than a chore or something they have to do. It is important to encourage the bonding over things that they have in common, such as trips to sporting events, watching it on television or helping out at other teams’ games. Also, having a vested interest in the sporting club helps the athlete to grow. Getting involved with the other teams and people around the club helps to create a culture that everyone wants to be around and where everyone can help each other and learn from each other.  From a personal experience, becoming involved in the club and teams outside of my own has made my playing experiences so much more fun and rewarding.

As a coach you have a major impact on the players that you coach, both their sporting abilities but also just their life in general. The more that you can help them develop in all aspects, is not only more beneficial for them, but you can be so rewarding for you too!

Passion

Passion is defined as an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something. But how important is passion in the participation, coaching and study of sport?

The best experiences in sport often come when we attach a fair amount of personal meaning to things. This is where the passion comes in. The living and breathing of it. Sure, motivating yourself to train or play at your best isn’t hard because you bleed the sport, but what about those teammates that turn up, do the minimum and then leave. This can taint your sports experience. What is it exactly that makes you love the sport? It can be all different reasons, but together, you and your teammates share a bond.

Being a passionate supporter of a team can be wonderful. Walls covered in posters, jerseys and memorabilia, face paint and temporary tattoos on every possible occasion, and the countless pieces of merchandise that you own. This may be the team you have grown up with, a team built on superstars, or colours that you like, whatever it is that makes you so passionate about them. But when it all goes wrong for your team, scandals, losing streaks and financial struggle, it separates the fans from the fanatics, the ones who like the idea, from the ones that would move mountains to make a difference.

Trying to coach unmotivated and unpassionate players can be a huge challenge. It becomes so wearing on you, test after test they resist everything that you try to throw at them. Soon enough it’s no longer fun for you, because you are sick of chasing, sick of trying to make them do something they won’t. This negative energy becomes a weight on you, and it gets passed onto the other players as well. But how do you break that cycle without it breaking you? The key thing to understanding these people is to decipher why they play the sport and what they like about it.

Studying something you are passionate about makes staying up late and spending weekends doing assignments all worth it. You learn so much because you want to gain as much knowledge as you can on the area. Not only that but you get to do it all with people that have all the same interests, and you can learn endless amounts of information from.

From all of this, we can see that passion is a key ingredient in the sports industry, whatever role you play.