A different sport?
The planning day has become an important event in the Team GB calendar. We reflect on this years performance and discuss plans for the coming year...and beyond.
Looking back at our performance has become more interesting with the increasing array of data available. Behind the highlights the emerging picture and trends often tell a different story than the one we see in the headlines.
One consistent comment I heard this year was: 'This is a completely different sport to the one we play at home'. We all compete with dogs, we share the same scoring system, a part from that everything else is a variation on a theme.
Different equipment specs; different surfaces; different rules; different ring size; I could go on. How we better prepare ourselves for these differences in the future was one topic dominating the Planning Day conversations.
Improving our performance is at the heart of everything we do in the Coaching Team. We are constantly looking to shave fractions of a second off each run. We're looking for ways to increase our clear round rate and gain the competitive edge; It's an ongoing focused endeavour.
Having data to support this focus helps...albeit if it's shining a spot light on information that's hard to acknowledge.
With all the enthusiasm and change in our sport, one necessity remains today as it did when the sport started at Crufts in 1978. You still need to go clear to stand any chance of winning a trophy.
Looking back at our performance has become more interesting with the increasing array of data available. Behind the highlights the emerging picture and trends often tell a different story than the one we see in the headlines.
One consistent comment I heard this year was: 'This is a completely different sport to the one we play at home'. We all compete with dogs, we share the same scoring system, a part from that everything else is a variation on a theme.
Different equipment specs; different surfaces; different rules; different ring size; I could go on. How we better prepare ourselves for these differences in the future was one topic dominating the Planning Day conversations.
Improving our performance is at the heart of everything we do in the Coaching Team. We are constantly looking to shave fractions of a second off each run. We're looking for ways to increase our clear round rate and gain the competitive edge; It's an ongoing focused endeavour.
Having data to support this focus helps...albeit if it's shining a spot light on information that's hard to acknowledge.
With all the enthusiasm and change in our sport, one necessity remains today as it did when the sport started at Crufts in 1978. You still need to go clear to stand any chance of winning a trophy.
Comments