Ultimately there are things that are outside of our control. And we need to accept those things as they are. The only thing that we have control over and that we must accept responsibility for is our own effort.

Attaching ourselves to the outcome is what generates fear. “What if I miss?” “What if I score?” In order to get rid of persistent fear, we must stop asking ourselves what if questions. We must learn to accept that the only thing that we can control is our efforts. So, that is what we should focus on.

Different words have different meanings for different people. So, we can’t just expect that someone knows what we’re talking about when we give them instruction.

After each conversation I am left with a real sense of who the guest I am speaking to is as a person, a deep connection to their story and an intense admiration for their diligence, drive and level of self-awareness.

What got the athletes to this point, will likely not get them much further. You can only squeeze so much juice out of an orange.

Contact situations occur in a matter of milliseconds, so it is obviously advantageous to be able to produce force as fast as possible to win the collision.

Article written for the Irish S&C Network (irishscnetwork.com)

So, if you believe you need to improve your aerobic conditioning this off-season, it may only take a couple of nights of dedication. Don’t let time slip by without taking advantage of it.

There are many, many variables that influence sports performance. Lower body fat percentages or body weight will not necessarily always influence performance positively. The same goes for increased muscle mass.

Even the sceptics amongst us, who believe that there is no point in training our GAA athletes to reach higher top speeds, would not argue with us that making the correct decision and executing the necessary skill, as quickly as possible, is one of the most advantageous aspects of performance in sport.

So even if the ultimate outcome doesn’t go our way, but we’ve given our best in the face of adversity, there should be some element of our psyche that is grateful for the loss.

Now given that I am a S&C coach, as well as a skills coach, I may be extremely biassed, but I do believe that we should have a well thought out level of progression when it comes to all of our skills and coaching.