In anticipation of the upcoming Dublin Elite Skills Clinic, Mark Earley interviews the coaches as well as president of the Irish Flying Disc Association for The ShowGame.
Next weekend Sion ‘Brummie’ Scone and Daniel ‘Colonel’
Furnell are travelling to Dublin to coach players and coaches alike. This is
the first time such a clinic has taken place outside of the UK. We spoke to
Brummie about his coaching, about the start of Elite Skills Clinics, about
how the trip to Dublin came about and what his plans are for the weekend in
question.
TSG: When did your focus switch from playing to coaching and
why?
SS: 2010; it was time for another GB cycle, but I wasn't really
interested in getting involved unless there was a different approach than we'd
had in the past. It was my opinion
that basic skills - even at the top teams - were too poor to allow GB to
compete when it mattered most. I
therefore wanted to coach the team, to make sure things were done properly,
even if that meant that I didn't get to play.
TSG: What in your opinion is the most important facet of
coaching?
SS: An
analytical mind. I actually think
that people who aren't "naturally good" players - but who are good
players - tend to make good coaches, because they have to learn what to do and
work out where they have gone wrong in the past. Watching ultimate is also important, but with an analytic
perspective; how does that cutter get open, how does that defender always get a
block, etc. By watching footage
and looking exclusively at a single player, you are able to watch them set up
their movements a long time before they actually make a play. Take that away and teach it, and
everyone learns that skill. I
think between all of the players in the UK, our collective knowledge is
probably just as good as anywhere else in the world, I just think we're really
bad at collaborating and sharing that knowledge.
TSG: How long have the Elite Skills Clinics (ESCs) been
taking place? How did they first come about?
