Wayne Goldsmith: coaching expert on how to turn a team into a cohesive unit in a limited timeframe

Coaching expert Wayne Goldsmith joined Piney to reveal how a team can turn into a cohesive unit in a limited timeframe.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport Podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalks EDB Geller.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Listeners to the show will know that on a regular
basis we get the benefit of the wisdom of our
coaching guru, Wayne Goldsmith. Wayne, thanks for joining us in
your regular slot. I wanted to talk today about REP
teams with state of origin in the weak ahere the
British and Irish lines about the head down Under and
the challenges of pulling together players from a bunch of
different places and trying to mesh them effectively. What is

(00:35):
the best way, in general terms to start with to
bring together players from different teams into a unified, cohesive unit,
often with very limited time.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
Well, the word you use there is the key piney
is unified. Is when you've got a group of people
coming together that have been selected in a REP team,
who are going to play other great players. It's not
really an issue of talent, and it's certainly not an
issue of motivation and well it's figuring out what have

(01:08):
I got to do to unify this group and get
them all heading in the one direction and doing it
in a way which allows them to play to their
full potential. And you know, in the past, some coaches
have gone, well, I'm going to bring them in to
got a model, and I'll make everybody play to my model,
my system, And then other coaches will go, well, you know,

(01:31):
instead of me telling them what I want them to
do for me or to play my way, the smarter
way to go seems to be to get to know
the players really well and understand them almost as well
as their home coach will, and then in that context,
creating an environment where they can really play at their

(01:51):
full potential, but within that single focus. But it's a
tricky one because, as you say, good often they've got
no time to do it.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Just on the time factor, Then what is the best
use of limited time in a situation like this, What
should I mean there must be one hundred things you
could focus on. What are the most valuable things to
focus on?

Speaker 3 (02:15):
Yeah, I think the general belief, and that you haven't
talked to a lot of rep team coaches over the years,
is you've got to make some assumptions. So you know,
if you're coaching at club level, there's an assumption that
you can improve fitness, and there's an assumption you can
improve skill level and you're working on all these things.

(02:36):
I think you've got the best of the best. You've
got to assume they can catch a ball. You've got
to assume they can pass a ball. You can make
some assumptions about things that you don't have to do
and you can eliminate them. So so well, you know,
we might do a little bit of skills work in practice,
but we don't have to do that because these are
the best players in the game. So we don't have

(02:57):
to do a lot of basic stuff or speed work
or conditioning. You don't have to do any of that
stuff in the majority of REP teams because you're going
to assume they're doing that anyway. The things that matter
that you've got to prioritize. Okay, what are the things
that are going to stop us from winning. They're going
to be skill execution in that environment, so that's a

(03:19):
mental and a physical thing, or it's going to be
cohesion of playmakers. So if you look at you South
Wales in the current state of ourgent team, now they've
got playmaker Cleary, they've got playmaker Moses. They've got people
who are normally running the show developing the players who
are directing player around the field who are now side

(03:39):
by side. The message the best message I've ever got
on this from a REP coaching friend of mine. He
just said two words, Simplify, clarify. He said, don't over
complicate these guys, don't over coach them, don't be overly
hung up on detailed game plans. Simplify the situation in

(04:00):
the environment and clarify it because they will then do
the rest. The biggest mistaken on I think it's totally
right REP coaches make is they over complicate the REP
environment believing that they've got to do something extraordinary or different.
I think it's the It's a great case and argument
for under coaching.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
Simplify, clarify. A lot of businesses could could take note
of that as well, and I'm sure some are writing
notes as they listen to you say the words. The
nature of REP teams as well, Wyane, is that they
often bring together players who are captains at their club,
and if not captains, certainly part of the leadership team
at their clubs because they are so good, they're often

(04:41):
seeing your players. How do you manage the too many
Chiefs and not enough Indians syndrome and a REP team?

Speaker 3 (04:49):
Yeah, again point it's I know it does sound simplify,
say simplify, but that's really what it comes down to
is when they're in their team, their role, one of
their main roles, is to lead the team, to make
the key decisions about how where they're going to take
a penalty or whatever it might be. But they're going
to make those key on field decisions. I think the

(05:12):
key is getting them together, getting the leaders together and say, right, guys,
how are we going to make this work. Quite often
I've found that the players have already figured it out,
so I have no doubt. Say in New South Wales
for example, and Queensland have just masters at it with
the people that they've got as well, and in all
rep teams, quite often the players have already got a

(05:34):
solution that they will come to you with. And I
think that's the beauty of the modern era is that
we've gone from a coach sitting there and figuring out, right,
you will do that, and you will do that, and
then hoping it works. The beautiful thing we've got now, Pony,
with this player empowerment model that you see all over

(05:55):
the world, is it quite often the players have already
out of coffee and or hopefully not too many beers.
But they've already had a meeting and said how are
we going to make this work? And they will go
to the co and say, listen, we're then thinking about this.
We know each other's game, we played each other, and
we think the best way forward is this. Now. Of
course the coach can say thanks fellows, I'm the coach,

(06:16):
I'm running the show. But what I see, certainly with
modern coaches, is they're going if I'll let these guys
know what they're doing, assuming that they're there because they're extraordinary,
and they'll come to you with solutions. That's the player
generated solutions, quite often the best and then the smart

(06:37):
you know what, that's a pretty good idea. I've also
what do you guys think about this? And they'll work
together with a solution. But I don't think it's a
problem like it was about you do what I say,
you follow my bill. You see this collaborative approach, and
it's all about the players coming up with solutions because

(06:57):
in the end they're going to deliver the result.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
I just want to ask a question, and it doesn't
really relate to the origin teams because the only name
twenty their squad, you know, the starting thirteen in the reserves,
sorry to change in the reserves, but in the British
and Irish Lions, it's a big squad that Andy Farrell
has to manage when he brings them down Under. And
everybody in the British and Irish line squad is used

(07:22):
to being a main player for their national team and
for their club team. But on a British and Irish
Lions tour, some of them are going to be fringe
players on that tour. How do you manage those blocks?

Speaker 3 (07:35):
Yeah, that's a really good one, is right at the
beginning of the tours. I've been lucky to be involved
in a couple of big tours of that nature. But
what you've got to do right at the beginning is
be very clear again on what is the overall objective
of the tour. It is to destroy the Wallabys. That's

(07:55):
all that they will be concerned about. And that's the
collective focus. That's the goal and objective of the coaches,
the doctor, the physios, the message, the assistant coaches and
of course all the players united under that single goal
and within that once that's established, is that's what we're

(08:17):
here to do guys, it will be no compromises. That's
what we're here to do. Then it goes from being
what is our role And the importance of this I
can't stress enough is that everybody in any rep team,
even if it's a relatively junior team, the clarity of
roles and responsibilities in the achievement of the collective objective.

(08:41):
Well that should be the name of a books and
the collective objective but pattern pended pine golfspit. But because
someone will piss that one. But you know that's the
thing is to say, as a group, guys, collectively, what
are we here to do. We're here to go home
through ZIP ideally with the best for and against, to
win all the leading games, to be uncompromising and relentless

(09:03):
in our execution. Okay, we all get that. What role
can you play in order for us to deliver that outcome?
And even if you're player number twenty seven on the
selection list, that if your role is to provide a
great training environment, support the fifteen and the players on
the bench, to drive them hard in training, to play

(09:26):
some sort of organization or management role, if that's your role,
to contribute to the collective outcome, then you do that
better than anyone. When I know, when I work with
proteins pinty, I'll often say to physiotherapists or nutritionist or sits,
I'll say, are you striving to be the best in
your role in this competition? Because if you're not, you're

(09:51):
a loose coggan this organization. Because the players and the
coaches are striving everything they do to achieve their outcome
and winning a competition or winning a tour, and everyone
associated with the team has to have the same mindset
that even if I'm a massage therapist, am I striving
every day to be the best massage therapist that has

(10:12):
ever been associated with the British and Irish Lions, the
best massage therapist who's ever been involved in rugby at
international level anywhere in the world. And if everyone buys
into that that I've got a role, I've got a
job which is consistent with being the best in the
world or best in the competition, best in the region,
then things work very smoothly. And again that simplicity and

(10:36):
clarity is the two most powerful weapons that you've got.

Speaker 2 (10:41):
I'll never leave a conversation with you wane without being
enhanced in terms of my wisdom and my knowledge around
the coaching philosophies that you and part for a loving you,
my friend. Thank you for giving us the benefit of
your knowledge, expertise and wisdom as always, look forward to
doing it again soon.

Speaker 3 (11:00):
Yes, so now I have to finish a course and
come on your spurs of course.

Speaker 2 (11:05):
Yes, Tottenham fans, Wayne Goldsmith, congratulations to you on that
as well. Wayne Wayne Goldsmith, one of our regulars on
the show. WG Coaching dot Com is this website if
you want to find out more about the work that
Wayne done.

Speaker 1 (11:18):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
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