Etched above the archway of the Kirkaldy Testing and Experimenting Works in the late 1800's, this phrase came to signify what David Kirkaldy, a Scottish engineer, was implementing every day. Kirkaldy established engineering principles and methods for measuring the strength of structural materials.
Driving over that freeway overpass today, David Kirkaldy and the idea of "Facts, not opinions" kept your car from falling earthward and that plane from DRIVING instead of flying from Sky Harbor International airport to Los Angeles.
As coaches, if you haven't embraced science in your coaching knowledge acquisition yet, you will soon be passed by; much like photo mats, new Coke and the rotary phone.
You probably embrace science more than you think. Mathematics of course are the stats you are keeping and using to help decide lineups and positions. Chemistry comes in handy when working with a dozen 14 year old girls. Unwittingly, good coaches employ psychology, sociology, anatomy, physics and several sub-classes of biology to name but a few.
In a wonderful 90 minute webinar entitled "The Game Grows the Brain," USA Volleyball Director of Sports Development John Kessel interviews Dr. Steven Bain about the brain, how it works and how best for us to train our athletes using this knowledge to get the best out of practices AND athletes.
A few months earlier, Kessel had recommended a newer podcast titled, "The Perception and Action Podcast" hosted by Professor Rob Gray. Turns out Gray, an affable Canadian with a background in hockey (duh!) currently works with baseball and softball teams and is an Associate Professor of Human Systems Engineering at the Polytechnic campus of Arizona State University.
Gray's podcast visits research papers and explores topics to help us better coach and train our athletes.
Gray was nice enough to sit down with the Az. Region and talk about his work, his podcast and what his field is working on to take our athletes into the new technological world of athletics. You can find his interview with the Region here.
Gray was nice enough to sit down with the Az. Region and talk about his work, his podcast and what his field is working on to take our athletes into the new technological world of athletics. You can find his interview with the Region here.
Last month the Region also posted an interview with Gabriele Wulf about her work on external v. internal feedback. The USA Women's National team coaches have started taking notice and are working toward using Dr. Wulf's information to better train our Olympians.
Science is making our athletes better, our training more efficient and giving those coaches and teams that embrace it a leg up going forward. Like politics, often times lines are drawn into the sand and the search for better methods becomes a 'my way or the highway' proposition. But open minds and opened ears leads to opened eyes.
You don't need test tubes or Bunsen burners, just the idea that "facts over opinions" can make you a better coach.
If you would like more information on the things discussed or other topics, contact us.
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