Welcome back to the Inside Edge Podcast, this is the show that turns the journeys of some of the leading coaches, athletes, and leaders into actionable lessons you can implement into your own lives.
Today we welcome back Coach Viv Paver onto the podcast. If you haven’t listened to viv;s previous podcast with us, I highly recommend going back to episode 2 where we had an incredible discussion about his journey as a cricketer and a coach, as well as the philosophies that make him different from so many. Calling Viv my batting coach doesn’t quite do his skill set justice, not only is he outrageously good at understanding the mechanics of batting, he has an incredible ability to understand the mechanics of performance, which includes so much more.
We start the discussion with the most common question we both receive as coaches: Why can't I transfer how I'm playing in the nets, or at training to a game? Or alternatively, why don't I perform to the same standard when I'm playing at a higher level of cricket?
Viv explains things very simply in terms of the equation: performance = potential - interference. We have to do the work to keep increasing our potential to execute in any given moment. Most athletes and coaches work with increasing their potential through physical training - hitting balls, getting in the gym, running, and even having a mental routine to train their focus. To then realize this potential, we have to decrease what gets in the way - known as interference. The more variables, or noise you allow in, the less your performance is on the other side.
Both Viv and myself deeply believe in a holistic approach to performance, and this includes helping each student to understand what variables they need to work through. There are the obvious ones that include conditions, a type of bowler and the game situation, but it you dive deeper - most interference stems from emotional variables.
These emotional variables are mostly stemmed around our perspective - what is our relationship with the game? Do we place our entire self worth on outcomes achieved, on looking good to others, or do we value ourselves on growing, serving and connecting? Do we become perfectionists as a result of living in fear of future outcomes? Or are we able to embrace imperfection and have excitement for the unknown? Curiosity for what might happen if we have the courage to be all we can be now. For me, this is the key, it's the courage to work as hard as you can, and then be completely present in the moment, even though that might not get you to where you wan to go.
What has been amazing to see as I've embarked on deeper levels of coaching, is that this approach tends to get people to not just where they want to be, but they often exceed their expectations and go well beyond what they initially thought was possible.
Viv and I ended up having an incredible discussion as he asked me some excellent questions around my values, my personal philosophies and the background story behind them. He is a master of bringing philosophy into performance, which is critical part of maximising potential.
As always, if you know you have more in you and are struggling to get the best out of yourself when it matters, feel free to get in touch with either myself or Viv. I hope you enjoy this conversation.
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