Plenty of practice and empty heads – Part 12: Drafting predators

A bit of John Lennon, a bit of Michael Clarke, a bit of IVA Richards and some theories of McGilchrist and Panksepp all make this piece, on predators and prey, in a sporting context, much food for thought.

Plenty of practice and empty heads – Part 9: The place of the sauce in high-performance sport

David Stiff analyses Craig Dodson’s career-best innings and in doing so helps entrench the place of a night on the sauce in heightened performance. [Love it – JTH]

Plenty of practice and empty heads – Part 6: Winning the race to lose.

David stiff looks at some ways to win and applies his thesis to the 2018 AFL Grand Final which he says was a one for the ages.

Plenty of practice and empty heads – Part 3: Simplicity and a secure base.

David Stiff addresses the notion of simplicity in establishing a secure base by which athletes can map and explore their craft. He also challenges the value of statistics generally and their role in that secure base.

Mitch Morton and the worriers

Craig Dodson may well have instigated a rich outpouring of personal angst here in this interesting discussion of sport and anxiety.

General footy writing: It’s all about confidence

Confidence is very definitely a big element in on-field success in any sport. This weekend, well known football identity Kevin Bartlett, on Saturday morning radio, gave his preview of the Round 10 Fremantle Richmond match. ‘KB’ showed a surprising level of faith in the Tigers, when he said he expected Richmond to win and win [Read more]

Dangerous Times When You Are Thinking About Football

by David Mapleston A sports psychologist once told me the two best ways to put someone off their goal kicking. The first way is to ask them a question as they are running in to kick. The theory is, their mind can’t help but respond and therefore they aren’t completely focused on kicking straight. The [Read more]