If we are only learn by following instructions we are likely to learn to fear mistakes.
If we fear mistakes we can learn to not do anything unless we are 100% sure it is correct and that we can do it. Anything less is failure. Anyone less is a failure. It is stressful, exhausting, and harmful way to live. It stops us exploring our potential.
It's also dangerous. We don't learn how to deal with mistakes. When things go wrong, we can make things worse.
@ LifeSkills21.club we use sports to give everyone, all abilities, all ages, from beginners to pro's an experience of the opportunities of being a little less perfect. A real-time, in the moment experience of learning through trial and error to make a moment of it going wrong ... a moment of success.
This helps everyone to reduce their fear of failure. To see that mistakes are opportunities to learn what we didn't know we could do.
CONTACT US
We are agile thinkers when we can think on our feet to turn a moment of struggle to a moment of success
Coach Jon Thorne
Playing sports to coach agile thinking
Founder of LifeSkills21.club
"Most of us want to avoid things going wrong. It's why most of us put most of our energy into making things go to plan. And less effort into improving our ability to handle the moments it goes wrong.
But things go wrong. It is a truth of life.
We all struggle at times. Nothing always goes to plan.
This is where we come in. We use sports to help players practice for the moments it goes wrong. To think on their feet to turn a moment of struggle to a moment of success. To trust their struggle. To go with their struggle. To see where it takes them and not be scared of things not going to plan"
"EVERYONE HAS A PLAN TILL IT GOES WRONG"
Our events have coaches who use a quicker bite-size version of the trial-and-error learning process used by many elite sports coaches. They break a sport down into bite-size actions that end with a pause point. Coaches coach players to use these pause points to learn moment-to-moment. To think and act in an agile way. In the moment it goes wrong, players think on their feet to build their own unplanned sequences of bite-size actions to create a moment of success. Players turn a moment of struggle to a moment of success.
“At first glance we look like sports coaches but our sessions feel very different. Our coaching CV is all agile thinking. A sports coach's CV, say a basketball coaching CV is about what teams they coach.
Our goal is good agile thinking. The sport is a means to an end. The end is better agile thinking. The quality of play is less important to us.
A basketball coach wants good quality basketball. Agile thinking is their means to their end. The quality of agile thinking is less important to them.
I would expect a good basketball coach to get their players playing basketball to a higher level than I could. I would expect to get the same players to a higher level of agile thinking than a good basketball coach could.
A technically good basketball coach and a technically good player will achieve higher performance if they are better at thinking in an agile way. We can come in. Lift agile thinking and leave.”
"When we are over coached, over taught, over managed we tend to become good at following instructions
We tend to over plan, over control, and over stress. We tend to under perform when things don't go to plan
It is a truth of life. Things go wrong.
We all struggle. Nothing always goes to plan"
Coach Jon Thorne
Playing sports to coach agile thinking
Founder of LifeSkills21.club
PLEASE NOTE
WE ARE EMPLOYED AS AGILE COACHES. NOT SPORT COACHES. WE MIGHT LOOK THE SAME, BUT WE PLAY TO COACH AGILE THINKING. WE ARE LESS TECHNICALLY FOCUSSED. OUR SESSIONS FEEL VERY DIFFERENT.
"Our world is full of ever more ways to coach us, teach us, manage us giving us less space to grow life skills to make our own effective, connected, micro-decisions. When we make poor micro-decisions we are often subject to more coaching, more teaching, more managing. This lowers our performance and it will fail because no one has enough control to make everything always go to plan.
"Our world is full of ever more ways to coach us, teach us, manage us. This is stopping us from growing life skills to make our own effective, connected, micro-decisions. The resulting poor micro-decisions are often used to justify more coaching, more teaching, more managing.
This lowers our performance. It is harming us. Killing us even. We are not meant to be this controlled. It will also fail because no one has enough control to make everything always go to plan.
We provide an alternative to more coaching, more teaching, more managing. We help everyone grow life skills to make effective, connected, micro-decisions"
"As well as our own events we run agile thinking programs for schools, the workplace, and sports clubs.
We play games to coach agile thinking.
Our goal is play sport to coach players to become effective, connected, micro-decision makers. To think on their feet - to turn a moment of struggle to a moment of success.
We give schools more agile students. Employers more agile employees. Sports coaches more agile players.
The agile are far better at not over planning, not over controlling, and not over stressing. They are far better at performing. Far better at finding a way to make things work when they go wrong.
WE OPERATE UNDER OUR "BE KIND" RULE
The opposite of agile thinking is to operate on the premise that not getting it wrong equals getting it right. To think that if we can eliminate all mistakes we will get everyone performing at their best. BUT, the absence of mistakes doesn't equal the presence of success. It never has.
Our "be kind" rule means we give ourselves and others room to perfect what we know works AND room to stand back to use our intuition and empathy to respond to the dynamic, evolving, living, changing interconnections between individual players that none of us perfectly understand or control.
Our "be kind" rule means we can be both technical AND intuitive. Practical and empathic. See the detail AND the bigger picture. We give ourselves room to think in an agile way.
WORKSHOP ON HOW TO AVOID BEING
ANTI-AGILE
Anti-agile is the belief that no mistakes equals getting it right. If all mistakes can be eliminated everyone will perform to their best.
The opposite of anti-agile is NOT all mistakes are allowed. To be agile is to perfect what we know works AND stand back to use our intuition and empathy to respond to the dynamic, evolving, living, changing interconnections between individual players that none of us perfectly understand or control. It is to be both technical AND intuitive. Practical and empathic. To process detail AND the bigger picture.
Given similar athletic abilities an agile team will beat an anti-agile team any day of the week.
THE AGILE SPECTRUM
Anti-agile is the belief that no mistakes equals getting it right. If all mistakes can be eliminated everyone will perform to their best.
The opposite of anti-agile is NOT all mistakes are allowed.
The opposite of anti-agile is to perfect what we know works AND stand back to use our intuition and empathy to respond to the dynamic, evolving, living, changing interconnections between individual players that none of us perfectly understand or control. It is to be both technical AND intuitive. Practical and empathic. To process detail AND the bigger picture.
"Most of us want to avoid things going wrong. It's why most of us put most of our energy into making things go to plan. A common response to things going wrong is to increase our control over events and people. Taken to the extreme the ultimate project manager tracks and traces all tasks. They control who does what tasks, when and to what quality. Avoiding mistakes equals getting it right.
Agile project management is about working flexibly within a plan. Agile project managers accept that mistakes happen and nobody can or should ever have absolute control over everything and everyone. Nothing always goes to plan. Things will always go wrong. It is a truth of life. We all struggle at times. Our struggles often lead to better.
An Agile project manager has a plan, and within that plan they help people to flex what they do. They help people make their own effective, connected, micro-decisions. To be good at think on their feet to turn something going wrong into a success. It works because it is how life works. Complex projects are delivered on time and on budget"
APPLY AGILE THINKING SKILLS DEVELOPED MANAGING COMPLEX TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS TO THE WORLD OF SPORT
BY JON THORNE
Agile coach operating in the world of sports
Founder of LifeSkills21.club
LIFTING PERFORMANCE LOWERED BY
OVER-COACHING,
OVER-TEACHING,
OVER-MONITORING
BY JON THORNE
Agile coach operating in the world of sports
Founder of LifeSkills21.club
"EVERYONE HAS A PLAN TILL THEY GET PUNCHED IN THE FACE"
"The world of sports has ever more ways to coach us, teach us, monitor us in the technical aspects of the sports we play. But, when we are over-coached in the technical parts of a sport it is easy for us to think it is more important to get our technical skills right than to think in an agile way to flex what we are doing to connect to teammates.
The absence of this connection lowers team performance. It makes playing sports less fun. Boring even.
We might make fewer technical mistakes, but we are predictable, isolated, and easy to disrupt and upset.
We can struggle to make meaningful connections with our teammates because all we want to do is fix our teammates technical problems, which often triggers ego’s and disputes. We become more disconnected and team performance drops further."
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships"
Michael Jordan
"Learning technical skills relies on understanding reasoned practical details that can be measured
When technical skills are over-coached we tend to fix our teammate's technical problems. We don't see the bigger picture of what is happening to our teammates
We lack the imagination, intuition, empathy to be agile thinkers to connect to our teammates in a kind and meaningful way
We might end up being technically talented but we lack the agile intelligence to be in agile teams. We can win a game but not a championship
My workshop will show you how to avoid the limiting effects of technical skills being over-coached"
Jon Thorne - Agile coach operating in the world of sports
"Unfortunately, there are lots of coaches who are overly focused on coaching technical skills. This tends to create teams that are good at pointing out the mistakes of others in a way that lowers performance, connection, and participation.
Things like:
Do it my way or the high way
Intimidating those who don’t do as they say
Scripting everything players do
Punishing those who make too many mistakes
Etc...
These tactics can be effective in the short term, but any coach who uses them is putting their ego before the development of their players, and also stealing the “fun”, kindness and connection out of playing games together.
Which isn’t good.
So, here’s my goal today:
I’m going to show you how you can develop technically talented players with agile intelligence to make kind, meaningful, useful connections with their teammates.
As Michael Jordon says "talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships"
So let's make sure we don't stop players from developing the agile intelligence to connect with teammates by over-coaching the technical skills.
Jon Thorne - Agile coach operating in the world of sports
DROP-IN
AND PLAY
MAKING KIND CONNECTIONS
All our events operate under our "be kind" rule
JON THORNE
Jon has applied his agile thinking skills developed turning around failing technology projects to the process of learning.
When we only learn technical skills it is easy for us to stay in the detail than it is to pull back and see what is happening to our teammates. It is easier to execute a technical skill than it is to flex what we are doing to help out a teammate. The absence of this connection lowers team performance.
We need the best of both worlds. Ways to improve our technical skills AND ways to improve our ability to connect to our teammates.
During his 5 years playing sports at Leeds Beckett University (Carnegie campus), Jon discovered that he was a little short in one or two of all the athletic abilities to make a top world class athlete. Not much, but enough to mean he would need a lot of luck, in terms of training and no injuries to make it. Jon also discovered that his best attribute is to read a game situation and think on his feet to find ways to turn an adverse situation to an advantage. This meant his best chance of being an international athlete was to play sports where his ability to read the game and think on his feet gave him the biggest advantage. But when he left Leeds he bumped into coaches who would drop him from the team as soon as he didn't follow instructions to the letter. He was disciplined for thinking on his feet. Especially when it worked.
Meanwhile, in Jon’s working life, he was discovering that employers valued his ability to think on his feet more than his technical qualifications. Jon developed a career turning around struggling multi-million pound projects doing complex technical work that had never been done before or using technology to change how a workforce operated. Jon has never had a job that was being done by a predecessor. He is always the first. During this time the type of work Jon did, became known as agile project management.
When Jon’s children were being harmed by following the educational pathway, Jon gave up his career to home educate.
Jon found his children, when they where 8 and 10, would do nothing if they didn't have instructions to follow. Become overly stressed by an internal pressure to avoid making mistakes. They would only do what they knew they could do. They were inward and disconnected from the world around them. Jon found that their behaviour was based on a belief that making no mistakes equalled getting it right. This was why they would only listen to those who could help them get it right and ignore everyone else. Jon wanted more for his children. He wanted to add a sense of connection to their focus on getting things right. He knew that connecting to others means standing back from a need to get it right to use intuition and empathy to respond to the dynamic, evolving, living, changing, interconnections between people which no one can perfectly understand or control. Doing that required his children to become good at making effective, connected micro-decisions. Good at thinking on their feet. Good at converting a moment of struggle to a moment of success. Good agile thinkers. This became Jon's home education journey.
Jon set up a youth club and grew St Albans Lions basketball club to over 350 players and coached at Kardale Netball club. He learnt that playing team sports was the best way to coach the skills to learn in an agile way. To be effective, connected, agile thinkers.
Jon is coming out of lockdown with LifeSkills21.club
"We have used the left side of our brain to stay safe. Many of us have correctly followed scripted, standardised "right" ways to stop the virus from spreading. The price of staying safe this way is that we narrow our focus to the technical, the practical, the detail. We have dialled down our intuition and our empathy. Social media has created echo chambers to further feed our left-brain perception of the world. We spend less time looking at the bigger picture of what is happening to individuals around us who look like they are living in an unsafe changing, evolving, interconnected dynamic world that we can never fully understand or control. We feel safe but pointless. Safe but isolated. Safe but empty.
As we come out of lockdown our left brain can think we need to jump over to the right side of our brain to get some emotional connections. We forget about safety and feel a bit more connected. The infections go up and we return to the safety of left-brain thinking until we get to the point where we feel safe but pointless again. Then we go again. We can't live like this. We need to use both sides of our brain at the same time. To balance the virus risks with levels of emotional connection. And that balance varies on who we are as individuals in a given moment of time.
I have created LifeSkills21.club to help everyone develop the ability to learn using both sides of their brain. To find their own balance at any given time"
Jon Thorne - founder of LifeSkills21.club
"When we learn technical skills we use the left side of the brain. If we don't also use the right side of the brain we can lose the connection to the bigger picture of what is happening to teammates. Performance drops. All the talent in the world won't take us anywhere if we can't connect to our teammates.
We coach players to be agile thinkers. To use both sides of their brain for everything they do, all the time, from the beginning.
Agile coaches start from the middle of the brain. We start coaching players to make micro-decisions on when to act on the left brain and when to act on the right side of their brain. We then build outwards to increase players' ability to execute a bigger range of technical skills and a bigger range of ways to help teammates. Each player makes their own unplanned sequences of their micro-decisions that suit their circumstances of each given moment. All the talent, of all of us, is connected. We do what we never dreamed we could do. Connected brain, connected team"
Jon Thorne - founder of LifeSkills21.club
We call ourselves Agile Coaches where "agile" is the ability to use both sides of the brain. The left brain We coach players to be agile thinkers. To use both sides of their brain for everything they do, all the time, from the beginning.
To connect all the talent, of all of us, to do what we never dreamed we could do. To be people of value rather than someone who wins. To be individuals who are part of a whole where the value of the whole depends on opportunity individuals have to grow.
Agile coaches start from the middle of the brain. We start coaching players to make micro-decisions on when to act on the left brain and when to act on the right side of their brain. We then build outwards to increase players' ability to execute a bigger range of technical skills and a bigger range of ways to help teammates. Each player makes their own unplanned sequences of their micro-decisions that suit their circumstances of each given moment. All the talent, of all of us, is connected. We do what we never dreamed we could do. Connected brain, connected team"
Jon Thorne - founder of LifeSkills21.club
"We believe we are in a *pandemic of left-brain thinking where we only do what makes sense to us, and if that doesn’t work, we keep doing it because we don’t know what else to do. It never occurs to the left brain to ask the right brain to imagine what else can we do?
We want to change this by building a network of events that help us all to use both sides of our brain. To connect all the talent, of all of us, to do what we never dreamed we could. To become people of value rather than someone who always does things correctly. To be individuals who are part of a whole where the value of the whole depends on the opportunity individuals have to grow"
Jon Thorne - founder of LifeSkills21.club
*If you want to know more about this left brain dominance we recommend reading Iain McGilchrist book called the Master and his Emissary
Jon Thorne - founder of LifeSkills21.club
*I recommend reading Iain McGilchrist book called the Master and his Emissary
"Accelerating technological advance has put machine guns in the hands of toddlers" Iain McGilchrist
When we use our left brain we look for what we think should be there. If we only use the left brain to apply accelerating technological advancement we use it to keep track of what we know needs to happen. We use technology to maintain control and order. To maintain what makes sense to us. To measure, monitor, and rank left-brain performance in education, the workplace, and increasingly in health management.
It becomes natural for us to see a lower ranking as a problem that we solve by working hard to avoid mistakes to lift our ranking.
It becomes natural for us to use social media to confirm to ourselves that we are correct, that everything does make sense, that we do know all that we need to know. We learn to distrust and doubt those who say things that don't make sense to us. It is this type of thinking that inhibits access to the right brain. We stop seeing the need to imagine what is beyond what we know. We forget about the right brain and become locked in our left brain. In this way advances in technology have created a pandemic of left brain thinking.
Left brain thinking will keep us doing what we know doesn’t work even when we know this will escalate situations into a major crisis. We do this simply because we can’t imagine that we can do anything else.
We know we are running towards a cliff, we know that if we don't do something different, we are going to die, but we keep doing it because we don't know what else to do. It never occurs to the left brain to ask the right brain to imagine what else? As Albert Einstein once said the intuitive mind is a sacred gift (the right brain) and the rational mind (the left brain) is a faithful servant. When the left brain dominates we create a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.
We have developed a way to use sports and games to coach players to use both sides of their brain and break free from the left brain trap.
"We start coaching from the middle of the brain. Everyone is encouraged to make lots of micro-decisions to execute technical details (left brain) and when to imagine other ways (right brain). Players connect the brain.
Players who only use their technical left-brain double their potential. Teams reach levels of performance beyond the sum of their left-brain technical expertise. Participation across all ages and all abilities increases because players enjoy sharing moments of kind connection.
Events will start to appear below all depending on lockdown"
Jon Thorne - founder of LifeSkills21.club
WE SEE USING BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAIN AND ACT USING BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAIN
WE PLAY SPORTS TO CONNECT THE BRAIN AND FIND POTENTIAL NOBODY KNOWS IS THERE
When we only use one side of the brain we tend to only see with one side of the brain. When we only use our left brain we tend to only see the technical flaws in ourselves and others and think the only way to improve is to lift our technical skills. The only way to compete is on who has the most advanced technical skills. We limit our potential to what the left brain sees.
WE EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF USING THE BRAIN HOW SCIENCE SAYS IT SHOULD BE USED
WE ADD FLOW AND CONNECTION TO MECHANICAL TECHNICAL SKILLS
WE IMPROVE ORGANICALLY, NATURALLY, BY ENJOYING OURSELVES. 🙂
WE FIND POTENTIAL NONE OF US KNEW WAS THERE
Image is designed by macrovector / Freepik
WE KNOW FROM THE SCIENCE OF THE BRAIN THAT CONSTANT REPETITION OF THE MECHANICS OF A SPORT STOPS US FROM USING THE BRAIN IN THE WAY IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE USED
WE APPLY THE SCIENCE OF HOW THE BRAIN IS DESIGNED TO COACH PLAYERS TO ACCESS THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE BRAIN AND DO WHAT THEY, WE, OTHERS DIDN'T KNOW THEY COULD DO
Image is designed by macrovector / Freepik
“I am not sure the default answer for everything is to talk
What helps me
is growing my ability
to mentally move how I think
When I can move how I think
I know I am not stuck
as I am now”
Jon Thorne - founder of LifeSkills21.club
WE ARE NOT STUCK AS WE ARE
WHEN WE ONLY DO WHAT MAKES SENSE TO US ... WE ONLY DO WHAT WE KNOW BECAUSE WHAT WE DON'T KNOW DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO US.
WHEN WE ONLY WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT WE KNOW ... ABOUT WHAT WE KNOW. STOP. THERE IS MORE OPPORTUNITY IN THE BIGGER PICTURE.
WE DISCOVER WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW WE DIDN'T KNOW BY APPLYING THE SCIENCE OF THE BRAIN TO ACCESS THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE BRAIN.
WE USE THE PROCESS OF PLAYING SPORTS AND GAMES
TO HELP EVERYONE
APPLY THE SCIENCE OF THE BRAIN
TO ACCESS THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE BRAIN
Many of us spend large parts of our day using our left brain to either learn in a mechanical way or follow mechanical processes that have been mapped out for us. We know from the science of the brain that always using the left brain inhibits access to the right brain. We only use half the brain. This lowers our performance and lowers our health, and lowers our well-being.
Our sessions and retreats provide an opportunity to step back from the mechanical left brain world by doing activities that trigger us to use both sides of the brain. To apply the science of the brain to access the full potential of the brain. To perform in a way that grows our health and our well-being.
WE USE THE PROCESS OF PLAYING SPORTS AND GAMES TO HELP PLAYERS APPLY THE SCIENCE OF THE BRAIN TO ACCESS THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE BRAIN.
THE SCIENCE OF THE BRAIN SUGGESTS THAT WHEN WE SPEND TOO MUCH TIME USING OUR LEFT BRAIN TO FOCUS ON LEARNING AND FOLLOWING MECHANICAL PROCESSES WE INHIBIT ACCESS TO THE RIGHT BRAIN.
WHEN WE DON'T USE THE RIGHT BRAIN WE DON'T SEE THE WIDER PICTURE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND US AND WE LOSE THE ABILITY TO CONNECT AND FLOW WITH THOSE AROUND US.
WHEN WE ONLY USE THE LEFT BRAIN WE ONLY DO WHAT MAKES SENSE TO US. WE ONLY DO WHAT WE KNOW BECAUSE WHAT WE DON'T KNOW DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO US.
WHEN WE ONLY USE THE LEFT BRAIN WE ONLY WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT WE KNOW ... ABOUT WHAT WE KNOW. WE CAN START TO BELIEVE WE ARE STUCK AS WE ARE.
WE CHANGE THIS BY RUNNING ACTIVITIES THAT TRIGGER EVERYONE TO USE BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAIN AND ACCESS THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE BRAIN.
WE ARE NOT STUCK AS WE ARE.
WE ACCESS THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE BRAIN BY PLAYING SPORTS AND GAMES TOGETHER
Image is designed by macrovector / Freepik
WE ARE A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
WE HELP PEOPLE EXCLUDED OR VULNERABLE TO EXCLUSION TO DEVELOP LIFE SKILLS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY TO LIVE A LIFE OF THEIR MAKING AND CHOOSING.
WE USE ALL THE PROFITS FROM OUR EVENTS AND RETREATS TO GIVE THOSE WHO ARE EXCLUDED OR WHO ARE VULNERABLE TO SOCIAL EXCLUSION EXPERIENCES OF A WARM WELCOME WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO USE THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE BRAIN TO DISCOVER THEY ARE NOT STUCK AS THEY ARE. TO GROW THE BELIEF IN THEMSELVES THAT THEY ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO NOT FEAR REJECTION BECAUSE THEY KNOW HOW TO USE THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE BRAIN TO BECOME MORE. TO PROVE TO THEMSELVES THEY ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO LIVE A LIFE OF THEIR CHOOSING AND THEIR MAKING BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY CAN USE THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE BRAIN
Image is designed by macrovector / Freepik
When we access the full potential of the brain we are never stuck as we are now because we can imagine other ways. We can use mistakes to find what is next and grow to become more. We can find what we don't know we don't know
Image is designed by macrovector / Freepik
With so much change happening in the 21st century, a life that worked for someone up to this point is very unlikely to work in the future. Life in the 21st century is going to be about living beyond what we know now.
But, when we only learn what others know, we tend to want them, need them even, to tell us if we are doing it correctly. We can develop a habit of wanting to succeed in their eyes. We can care so much about doing things correctly in their eyes we limit our potential to what they know. We can become stuck because we can’t use our imagination to see beyond what others know. Being stuck as we are now while facing massive disruptions of the 21st century is not a good idea.
We have created LifeSkills21.club to provide a broad range of experiences to help everyone develop the life skills to imagine different ways to find what we don’t know, we don’t know. To develop life skills for the 21st century.
DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE REACHED YOUR POTENTIAL?
A common assumption is that by learning new skills we lift our performance. But struggling to learn new skills can confirm to us that we have reached our level of performance.
At LifeSkills21.club we coach the brain to work the way science says it works best. As people lift the performance of the brain … new skills follow. It's brain first. Skills second.
By starting with the brain, not the skills, people learn they are not trapped by what they know they can do. They are not trapped by their ability to learn what others are teaching. They are not trapped by what others think they can do. Because they know they can always modify and reconfigure the circuitry of the brain to do more than they thought they could do.
DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE REACHED YOUR POTENTIAL?
For many years now we have been developing a way to use sports, especially basketball to coach people to use the brain the way sciences says is the best way. The emphasis is on the brain first. Getting better at basketball flows from this.
We are now in a position of offer a performance programme for serious basketball players who think they have reach the limits of their potential. We will not coach you any new basketball skills. What we will do is coach you to use the brain the way sciences says it works best. We are confident players will find performance they didn't think they had.
Typically players learn how use the brain to let motion flow naturally no matter how much pressure there is. To be selfish and selfless at the same time. To use a greater awareness of the bigger picture to use off ball movement to influence the dance of a game.
Clubs get players with higher basketball IQ. Players who can self manage. Players who solve puzzles set by the opposition without needing a time out.
WE SPRINT
SPRINTING IS A GREAT WAY TO PRACTICE MODIFYING AND RECONFIGURING THE CIRCUITRY OF THE BRAIN. IT'S IDEAL BECAUSE TO GO FASTER REQUIRES LEARNING THE MECHANICAL COMPONENTS PARTS OF SPRINTING AND CONNECTING THESE COMPONENTS TO FLOW.
AS ATHLETES MASTER THE BRAIN NEW SKILLS FLOW AND THEY RUN FASTER THAN THEY THOUGHT THEY COULD.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF HOW THE BRAIN WORKS BEST.
WE PLAY COMPUTER GAMES TOGETHER
We know gaming can also stop players from using the full potential of the brain. It is easy to become obsessed with the mechanical skills required to complete the game. We know this can limit the potential of the brain. We can become disconnected from our own bodies, our world. Obsessed with everything going to plan. We don't do anything different or uncertain. We miss out on the joy of being connected to others.
The answer is not to stop playing. Or if it is, it will only work for a short time. The answer is to play the same game in the same room with others with coaches to help players connect and flow as a team. To get the brain working in the way science says it's meant to work. To access the full potential of the brain.
PLAYING COMPUTER GAMES IS AN IDEAL WAY TO PRACTICE MODIFYING AND RECONFIGURING THE CIRCUITRY OF THE BRAIN BECAUSE WE HAVE TO EXECUTE THE INDIVIDUAL MECHANICS OF THE GAME AND EXPLORE THE BIGGER PICTURE OF THE WORLD CREATED BY THE GAME.
AS PLAYERS MASTER THE BRAIN NEW SKILLS FLOW AND THEY PLAY THE GAME BETTER.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF THE HOW THE BRAIN WORKS BEST
CONNECTING PLAYERS WITH HIGH BASKETBALL IQ WITH CLUBS WHO RUN AGILE THINKING TEAMS
As Michael Jordan called it players with "think power"
For many years now we have used the joy of improving at basketball to help coach people, of all abilities, to use the brain the way science says is the best way. The emphasis is on the brain first. Improving basketball skills are secondary.
We are now in a position to offer coaching to those whose priority is basketball first. We don't coach basketball skills. We coach players to use the brain the way science says it works best.
Experience to date suggests players often learn to think and see clearly to find the best balance between being selfless and selfish. They tend to be awake and in tune with what is happening around them. Players who "think on their feet" to adapt to connect and flow as a whole to find a way to win. To be players with "think power".
A challenge is that "think power" doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet or the highlight reels.
We will run sessions for elite players who want to grow their "think power". At the same time, we are developing relationships with clubs that want players with "think power" for their agile teams. We play friendlies against these clubs. Clubs find players with "think power". Players get to play in agile teams that use their ability to use the brain the way science says is the best way.
We are doing this because there is a tendency, especially in the UK, for coaches to overly fixate on making players operate in structured mechanical plays and systems to avoid mistakes. Mentally awake players tend to avoid playing this way. They want to use their brain playing in agile teams.
WE PLAY BASKETBALL
BASKETBALL IS THE FIRST ACTIVITY WE USED TO HELP PEOPLE PRACTICE USING THE BRAIN THE WAY SCIENCE SAYS IS THE BEST WAY.
IT'S IDEAL BECAUSE BASKETBALL IS DYNAMIC, FLUID, AND CONSTANTLY CHANGING GAME THAT REQUIRES PLAYERS TO BE BOTH MECHANICAL AND PREDICTABLE AS THEY EXECUTE TECHNICAL SKILLS AND SET PLAYS AND AT THE SAME TIME BE CONNECTED, FLOWING, AND INVENTIVE.
AS PLAYERS USE THE BRAIN THE WAY SCIENCE SAYS IS THE BEST WAY ... THEY DO MORE THAN THEY THOUGHT THEY COULD DO.
WE PLAY BASKETBALL, NETBALL, SWIM, CREATE ART, COOK, BUILD TO KEEP USING THE BRAIN THE WAY SCIENCE SAYS IT WORKS BEST
We are a social enterprise.
We use all profits to give those vulnerable to social exclusion free access to our events to learn they are not limited by what others think they can do. We can all use the brain to be more than we think. No matter our age, IQ, or athletic ability.
Technology photo created by kjpargeter - www.freepik.com
3 WAYS TO SEE OPPORTUNITIES TO MODIFY AND RECONFIGURE THE CIRCUITRY OF THE BRAIN TO DO MORE THAT WE THINK WE CAN
Technology photo created by kjpargeter - www.freepik.com
A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE SCIENCE
It is accepted by many scientists that the brain is plastic. By that, scientists mean the brain is able to constantly modify and reconfiguring its circuitry to adapt to situations and build expertise. We know this because scientists have seen people recover from brain injuries by another part of the brain rewiring itself to take over the functions the damaged part of the brain was doing.
We also know that when one part of the brain is better at doing something we tend to default to using that part every time. If we do too many things by default, without thinking, it becomes harder to modify and reconfigure the circuitry of the brain. Harder to use the brain the way science says is the best way.
There are three ways to see opportunities to modify and reconfigure the circuitry of the brain to do more than we think we can.
NUMBER 1
Look at the bigger picture
When we only look at what we know... we can start to think we know all that we need to know and no longer need to modify and reconfigure the circuitry of the brain. We can think we no longer need to use the brain the way science says is the best way. Seeing the bigger picture helps us see beyond what we know.
NUMBER 2
Do something we don't know how to do and see where it takes us.
When we spend hours practicing doing what we know how to do … it becomes an instinct, a habit, that we do without thinking. This makes it hard to modify and reconfigure the circuitry of the brain. Harder to use the brain the way science says is the best way.
Trying something we don't know how to do and seeing where it takes us is a way to learn something that is beyond what we know now. It makes us modify and reconfigure the circuitry of the brain.
NUMBER 3
Think on our feet by building our own unique unplanned sequences of micro-decisions that us the whole brain
To avoid defaulting to using the same part of the brain to do the same job without thinking we need to think on our feet to build our own unique unplanned sequences of micro-decisions that use the whole brain. That switch or flip between the narrow and the bigger picture, the mechanical and the flowing, the known and the imagined, the selfless and the selfish.
Each unique unplanned sequence of micro-decisions is us modifying and reconfiguring our brain's circuitry to do more than we thought we could do. We use the brain the way science says is the best way.
HOW TO USE THE BRAIN THE WAY SCIENCE SAYS IS THE BEST WAY
It is accepted by many scientists that the brain is plastic. By that, scientists mean the brain is able to constantly modify and reconfiguring its circuitry to adapt to situations and build expertise. We know this because scientists have seen people recover from brain injuries by another part of the brain rewiring itself to take over the functions the damaged part of the brain was doing.
We also know that we can hardwire the brain by always using the same part of the brain, to do the same things, in the same way, without thinking. This is not using the brain the way science says is the best way.
If we want to use the brain to its full potential we need to see a bigger picture of what is going on around us so that we see other ways to try. To try these different ways and see where they take us. To think on our feet to build our own unique unplanned sequences of micro-decisions that use the whole brain. That switch between the narrow and the bigger picture, the mechanical and the flowing, the known and the imagined, the selfless and the selfish. Each unique unplanned sequence of micro-decisions is us modifying and reconfiguring our brain's circuitry to do more than we thought we could do. We use the brain the way science says is the best way.
Technology photo created by kjpargeter - www.freepik.com
We are a social enterprise. We use all profits to give those vulnerable to social exclusion free access to our events to learn they are not limited by what others think they can do. We can all use the brain to be more than we think. No matter our age, IQ, or athletic ability.
OUR AGILE SUPPORT PROGRAM KEEPS AGILE TEAMS... AGILE
Team members can mentally switch off if they spend too long following mechanical processes that are mapped out for them. If that happens team members can drift into always relying on their ability to overpowering what is in their way. Forcing their will onto others. The team becomes predictable and mechanical and easy to stop. The team fails as soon as it comes against someone who can resist it.
We help team members to stay mentally alert with what Michael Jordan calls “Think Power”. Able to think their way around problems. Able to connect and flow around barriers. Able to find a way forward in the space between accepting things for what they are and what they wish them to be.
WE SWIM
IT IS COMMON FOR SWIMMERS TO BELIEVE THEY NEED TO TRAIN THEIR BODIES BY DOING 10,000 HRS OF PRACTICE AND TECHNICAL DRILLS TO MAKE EVERYTHING AUTOMATIC. DONE WITHOUT THINKING. THERE IS ANOTHER WAY. TO USE SWIMMING TO TRIGGER US TO MODIFY AND RECONFIGURE THE CIRCUITRY OF THE BRAIN AND THINK OUR WAY TO SWIMMING FASTER. AS SWIMMERS GET BETTER AT USING THE BRAIN THE WAY SCIENCE SAYS IS THE BEST WAY THEY NATURALLY SWIM FASTER THAN THEY THOUGHT THEY COULD.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF THE BRAIN.
WE ARE IN PLANNING PHASE FOR THIS.
WE PLAY MIXED NETBALL
IF WE WERE TO DESIGN A SPORT TO ENCOURAGE PLAYERS TO THINK. TO MODIFY AND RECONFIGURE THE CIRCUITRY OF THE BRAIN THE WAY SCIENCE SAYS THE BRAIN WORKS BEST… IT WOULD BE NETBALL.
THE FACT THAT PLAYERS CAN’T MOVE WHEN THEY HAVE THE BALL, PLAYERS ARE RESTRICTED TO SPECIFIC AREAS OF THE COURT SO THAT ONE PLAYER CAN'T MOVE FROM ONE END OF THE COURT TO THE OTHER, PLAYERS CAN ONLY HOLD THE BALL FOR 3 SECONDS, AND WHEN A PLAYER HAS THE BALL THE OPPOSITION HAVE TO STEP BACK A METRE ... ALL MEANS PLAYERS HAVE TO USE THE BRAIN TO FIND WAYS TO CONNECT AND FLOW TOGETHER TO SCORE AND DEFEND.
OUR SESSIONS ARE MIXED. JUST LIKE ALL OUR OTHER SESSIONS. THIS CREATES A BIGGER DIVERSITY OF ATHLETIC ABILITIES FOR PLAYERS TO USE THEIR BRAINS TO FIND WAYS OF CONNECTING AND FLOWING TOGETHER.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF THE BRAIN.
WE ARE IN PLANNING PHASE FOR THIS.
THE SCIENCE IS VERY CLEAR
THE BRAIN OPERATES BEST WHEN IT IS EVER-CHANGING. WHEN IT CONSTANTLY MODIFIES AND RECONFIGURES ITS CIRCUITRY
Our events help everyone to maintain the brain's ability to rewire its circuitry to tackle challenges, leverage opportunities, and understand the social structures around us. This is probably one of the most important life skills of the 21st century.
We are a social enterprise. We use all profits to give those vulnerable to social exclusion free access to our events to learn they are not limited by what others think they can do. We can all use the brain to be more than we think. No matter our age, IQ, or athletic ability.
Technology photo created by kjpargeter - www.freepik.com
WE CREATE ART
WHEN A GROUP OF US CREATE A SINGLE PIECE OF ORIGINAL ARTWORK WE HAVE TO NARROW OUR FOCUS ON THE ART WE ARE CREATING AND AT THE SAME TIME SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE WE ALL ALL CREATING TOGETHER. THIS HELPS US TO PRACTICE MODIFYING AND RECONFIGURING THE CIRCUITRY OF THE BRAIN. AS WE MASTER THE BRAIN NEW SKILLS FLOW. WE DO MORE THAN WE THOUGHT WE COULD DO.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW TO MASTER THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE BRAIN.
WE CREATE MUSIC
WHEN A GROUP OF US CREATE AN ORIGINAL PIECE OF MUSIC WE EACH NEED TO NARROW OUR FOCUS ON CREATING INDIVIDUAL NOTES AND WORDS AND AT THE SAME TIME FEEL THE BIGGER PICTURE OF HOW ALL OUR INDIVIDUAL LINKS TOGETHER TO CREATE MUSIC. THIS HELPS US TO PRACTICE MODIFYING AND RECONFIGURING THE CIRCUITRY OF THE BRAIN. AS WE MASTER THE BRAIN NEW SKILLS FLOW. WE DO MORE THAN WE THOUGHT WE COULD DO
CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW TO MASTER THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE BRAIN.
WE COOK
WHEN A GROUP OF US COOK A MEAL WE EACH NEED TO NARROW OUR FOCUS ONTO COOKING ARE PART OF THE MEAL WHILE AT THE SAME TIME SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE OF HOW ALL THE FOOD COMES TOGETHER AS A MEAL. THIS HELPS US TO PRACTICE MODIFYING AND RECONFIGURING THE CIRCUITRY OF THE BRAIN. AS WE MASTER THE BRAIN NEW SKILLS FLOW. WE DO MORE THAN WE THOUGHT WE COULD DO.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF THE HOW THE BRAIN WORKS BEST
WE BUILD
BUILDING SOMETHING IS A GREAT WAY TO PRACTICE MODIFYING AND RECONFIGURING THE BRAIN.
OUR FOUNDER, JON THORNE, USED TO TURN AROUND FAILING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS.
IT WAS COMMON FOR HIM TO FIND EXPERT ENGINEERS, OFTEN GLOBAL LEADERS IN THEIR FIELD, SO FOCUSSED ON DELIVERING AS SPECIFIED THEY DIDN'T COMMUNICATE THE UNSPECIFIABLE MICRO-DECISIONS THAT ARE ALWAYS NEEDED TO ENSURE IT ALL WORKS TOGETHER AS A WHOLE.
WE BUILD SOMETHING. SOMETHING SIMPLE THAT CAN BE DONE QUICKLY. FOR EXAMPLE LEGO. EACH PERSON BUILDS A COMPONENT PART KNOWING IT NEEDS TO BE CONNECTED TO OTHER PARTS TO ENSURE IT ALL WORKS TOGETHER AS A WHOLE.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN THE SCIENCE OF HOW THE BRAIN WORKS BEST.
Alan Turing
"Sometimes it is the people we can never imagine doing anything that are the people who end up doing the things noone could imagine"
THE SCIENCE IS VERY CLEAR
THE BRAIN OPERATES BEST WHEN IT IS EVER-CHANGING. WHEN IT CONSTANTLY MODIFIES AND RECONFIGURES ITS CIRCUITRY
LifeSkills21 has been set up to help everyone come together for fun, fitness, and kindness to maintain the brain's ability to rewire itself.
Our events help everyone to maintain the brain's ability to rewire its circuitry to tackle challenges, leverage opportunities, and understand the social structures around us and bring us together. This is probably one of the most important life skills of the 21st century.
We are a social enterprise. We use all profits to give those vulnerable to social exclusion free access to our events to learn they are not limited by what others think they can do. We can all use the brain to be more than we think. No matter our age, IQ, or athletic ability. Don't let a lack of money stop you from coming. We have free tickets to give out. Just pick an activity and an event and come along. A warm welcome is guaranteed.
Technology photo created by kjpargeter - www.freepik.com
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW DO WE MEASURE THE PERFORMANCE OF THE COACHES?
Our coaches are less sport-specific, more brain-specific. They use a range of activities to create a space that triggers players to maintain the brain's ability to rewire itself.
They use activities to create a dynamic, disruptive, ever-changing environment while coaching everyone to resist trying to order and plan the space and instead see, feel, connect and flow through it by ...
Seeing a bigger picture of what is going on around us so that we see other ways to try.
Trying different ways and see where they take us
Thinking on their feet by creating micro-pauses in which to make micro-decisions that switch between the narrow and the bigger picture, the mechanical and the flowing, the known and the imagined, the selfless and the selfish and build our own unique unplanned sequences of micro-decisions that use the whole brain.
New levels of performance and kindness always lie beyond what we know. When we livewire the brain we step beyond what we know.
ARE YOUR COACHES PSYCHOLOGISTS?
Nope. Psychologists tend to study how the brain works. Our coaches use what the psychologists agree is the best way for the brain to operate. While our coaches are practical like many sports coaches they are less sport-specific more brain-specific. And our coaches are not mental health experts. While maintaining the brain's ability to rewire itself is a useful skill to avoid becoming mentally ill or to recover from mental illness it's not what our coaches do. They use activities to help everyone maintain the brain's ability to rewire itself.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT PSYCHOLOGISTS, NEUROSCIENTISTS, ETC AGREE ON?
Our founder Jon Thorne has spent 30 years trying to find out what, if anything psychologists agree on. This includes his late father, Paul Thorne. The other important scientist is a guy called Iain McGilchrist. He helped Jon learn why so many of us tend to not use the brain the way scientists agree is the best way. This is Iain's website. https://channelmcgilchrist.com/
And David Eagleman provides a great summary of the science in his new book called "Livewired". Here is his website https://eagleman.com/
WHAT KIND OF TRAINING DO YOUR COACHES HAVE?
We operate an apprenticeship model which starts with people coming along to our sessions. When they demonstrate they use the brain the way science says is the best way we ask if they are interested in becoming a coach. Jon Thorne, our founder, runs workshops to explain how the scientist think the brain works best. Trainee coaches go to as many events as possible and learn by doing. All coaches are experienced at doing whatever activity or sport they are using to help players livewire the brain.
WHY DO I NEED TO BE KIND?
Yes, I am asked this question. Science says it is impossible to fully hardwire a brain because there are always new parts that can be rewired. But, if we assumed we could observe a fully hardwired brain in operation, that brain would think it knows all it needs to know. If someone doesn’t make sense to a fully hardwired brain … the hardwired brain will think they must be wrong and be of no value. A fully hardwired brain will help others correctly do what it knows. If they fail the fully hardwired brain will reject them. A fully hardwired brain will see any questioning of its correct ways as an act of disrespect and selfishness because there are no other ways. A fully hardwired brain is harsh and unkind. And has limited performance because no brain can ever know all it needs to know in our complex dynamic ever-changing world.
Luckily the science says it is impossible to fully hardwire a brain. We can maintain the brain's ability to rewire itself throughout our life. When we livewire the brain we see those who don’t make sense to us, who we struggle to understand as people who can help rewire our brain to learn more and do more than we thought we could do. This is why we say we play for fun, fitness, and kindness to maintain the brain's ability to rewire itself.
WHY CAN'T I USE MY SUPERIOR ATHLETIC ABILITIES?
You can but at other clubs. Not ours. We help players use the brain the way science says is the best way. If you solely rely on being bigger, faster, stronger, and better than opponents you will lose every time you come against someone who is bigger, faster, stronger, and better than yourself. Our coaches help you to develop the "Think Power" to beat players who are better than yourself by learning how to think your way past, not power your way past all players of all abilities. If Michael Jordon and the Chicago Bulls had to maintain “Think Power” we are pretty sure we all do.
WHY ARE YOU STOPPING ME FROM COMPETING?
We are not stopping you from competing. We are helping you to be a good competitor. The convention is to compete by making fewer mistakes which is why many coaches and players practice what they know. This can hardwire too much of the mechanics of play into the brain and this reduces the ability of the brain to rewire itself. We know this from science. If we hardwire too much into our brain we are less able to adapt when things are not going our way. A desire to win with an inability to adapt can lead coaches and players to be poor competitors. They often get upset with others, give up or resort to fouling and aggression or only compete when they know they have athletic superiority. Keeping the brain livewired means we treat winning and losing as the same because both help us to find new ways to improve beyond what we know we can do. Especially if we can rewire during a game. The late Kobe Bryant called this his Mamba Mentality. I am pretty sure he knew how to compete.
HOW DO I JOIN?
You pick a session and turn up and play. We don’t run trials, squads, or teams because we want to create an ever-changing environment that encourages everyone to modify and reconfigure the circuitry of the brain. Having different players each week helps with this. We are not trying to correctly do what we know how to do. We are stepping beyond what we know how to do to find ways to keep rewiring the brain.
CAN YOU HELP MY CLUB PERFORM TO A HIGHER LEVEL?
We are less sports-specific coaches and more brain-specific coaches because we know higher levels of performance always lie beyond what we know. Michael Jordan called it “think power”. The late Kobe Bryant called it his mamba mentality. Their pursuit for greatness meant they always looked beyond what they knew they could do.
It is my experience that many basketball, swimming, and netball performance programmes could well have too much emphasis on avoiding mistakes. They are too well planned. To hardwired. The more hardwired coaches and players become the more they lose the brains ability to adapt when things go wrong. Hardwired coaches and players win when they have athletic superiority and lose as soon as the opposition is good enough to disrupt the hardwired way of playing.
It is my opinion that many performance programmes need a bit less hardwiring of the brain and a bit more livewiring of the brain to find new levels of performance that lie beyond what club coaches and players know they can do.
Yes, we can improve your performance programme by reducing the levels of hardwired and lifting the levels of livewiring. Players get sports-specific coaching and brain-specific coaching.
WHAT IS YOUR INCLUSION POLICY?
This is a story about how easy it is to divide a community posted on Linkedin by Emine Fougner
One of my friends told me about a powerful lesson in her daughter's high school class recently. They're learning about the Salem Witch Trials, and their teacher told them they were going to play a game.
"I'm going to come around and whisper to each of you whether you're a witch or a regular person. Your goal is to build the largest group possible that does NOT have a witch in it. At the end, any group found to include a witch gets a failing grade."
The teens dove into grilling each other. One fairly large group formed, but most of the students broke into small, exclusive groups, turning away anyone they thought gave off even a hint of guilt.
"Okay," the teacher said. "You've got your groups. Time to find out which ones fail. All witches, please raise your hands."
No one raised a hand.
The kids were confused and told the teacher he'd messed up the game. "Did I? Was anyone in Salem an actual witch? Or did everyone just believe what they'd been told?"
We have one rule “be kind”. It means we see those who don’t make sense to us, those who we don’t understand as opportunities to step beyond what we know to maintain the brain's ability to rewire itself.
WHAT IS YOUR SAFEGUARDING POLICY?
All coaches are trained in safeguarding. We do more. The biggest safeguarding risk is the big power imbalance between coaches and players. A coach can see a player who wants to try different ways as disrespectful and selfish. Our coaches want players to question them. They encourage and challenge players to try different ways to livewire the brain. Coaches challenge players to make mistakes. They want players to try ways they have never done before. This is why all sessions are drop in and we don’t run squads. If a player with a hardwired brain insists on staying to try to fix others to conform to their hardwired world, or if they insist on trying to overpower or force their way past anyone in their way rather than use their brain to think their way forward… they are asked to leave. We are a club for those who want to maintain their ability to rewire their brain. We play for fun, fitness, and kindness.
ARE YOUR SESSIONS NEURO DIVERSE?
We exist to help everyone maintain their ability to livewire their brain. We help everyone to resist hardwiring their brain. For us, there are no fixed ways for brains to operate. We can only be neurodiverse. There is no other way to be.
CAN YOU HELP ME WITH MY MENTAL HEALTH?
We are not mental health experts. What we do is help people use the brain the way science says is the best way. The increased ability to modifying and reconfigure the circuitry of the brain makes it easier for us to adapt ways of thinking that are not working for us. This gives us all the potential to use difficult and dark times to grow. We are confident that helps us avoiding becoming mentally ill.
I KNOW MY BODY IS SLOWING DOWN BUT I WANT TO KEEP PLAYING SPORT. CAN YOU HELP?
Yes. Getting old is as an opportunity to rely less on our ability to force or overpower what is in our way and instead use our brains to think of other ways. The brain doesn't slow.
AM I TOO OLD TO REWIRE MY BRAIN?
Although the brain's ability to rewire itself reduces over the years it’s doesn’t go completely. Even when we have hardwired large parts of the brain there are always other parts we can rewire. Even if parts of the brain are shutting down we can rewire other parts. The brain is amazing.
CAN YOU HELP MY CHILD MANAGE THEIR ANGER?
It is our experience that anger can often come from a place of believing we are stuck as we are now and we hate being as we are now. The more we believe we can rewire the brain the less we feel stuck as we are now. The less angry we feel because we know we can adapt to find a way forward.
CAN YOU RUN A YOUTH CLUB FOR MY ORGANISATION?
Yes. Please email jon.thorne@LifeSkills21.club
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Policy stuff
WHAT IS YOUR INCLUSION POLICY?
This is a story about how easy it is to divide a community posted on Linkedin by Emine Fougner
One of my friends told me about a powerful lesson in her daughter's high school class recently. They're learning about the Salem Witch Trials, and their teacher told them they were going to play a game.
"I'm going to come around and whisper to each of you whether you're a witch or a regular person. Your goal is to build the largest group possible that does NOT have a witch in it. At the end, any group found to include a witch gets a failing grade."
The teens dove into grilling each other. One fairly large group formed, but most of the students broke into small, exclusive groups, turning away anyone they thought gave off even a hint of guilt.
"Okay," the teacher said. "You've got your groups. Time to find out which ones fail. All witches, please raise your hands."
No one raised a hand.
The kids were confused and told the teacher he'd messed up the game. "Did I? Was anyone in Salem an actual witch? Or did everyone just believe what they'd been told?"
We have one rule “be kind”. It means we see those who don’t make sense to us, those who we don’t understand as opportunities to step beyond what we know to maintain the brain's ability to rewire itself.
WHAT IS YOUR SAFEGUARDING POLICY?
All coaches are trained in safeguarding. We do more. The biggest safeguarding risk is the big power imbalance between coaches and players. A coach can see a player who wants to try different ways as disrespectful and selfish. Our coaches want players to question them. They encourage and challenge players to try different ways to livewire the brain. Coaches challenge players to make mistakes. They want players to try ways they have never done before. This is why all sessions are drop in and we don’t run squads. If a player with a hardwired brain insists on staying to try to fix others to conform to their hardwired world, or if they insist on trying to overpower or force their way past anyone in their way rather than use their brain to think their way forward… they are asked to leave. We are a club for those who want to maintain their ability to rewire their brain. We play for fun, fitness, and kindness.
ARE YOUR SESSIONS NEURO DIVERSE?
We exist to help everyone maintain their ability to livewire their brain. We help everyone to resist hardwiring their brain. For us, there are no fixed ways for brains to operate. We can only be neurodiverse. There is no other way to be.
A YOUTH CLUB FOR ALL AGES TO MAINTAIN THE BRAIN'S ABILITY TO REWIRE ITSELF
WE FIND PERFORMANCE WE DIDN’T KNOW WAS IN US.
WE ARE LESS SPORTS-SPECIFIC, MORE BRAIN-SPECIFIC. IT'S MAINTAINING THE BRAIN'S ABILITY TO REWIRE ITSELF.
IF WE ALWAYS DO WHAT WE KNOW WE WILL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH MORE WE COULD HAVE BEEN.
MICHAEL JORDAN CALLS IT “THINK POWER”. THE LATE KOBE BRYANT, HIS MAMBA MENTALITY.
IT’S LIVEWIRING THE BRAIN TO EXPLORE WHAT IS BEYOND WHAT WE KNOW.
OLDER PLAYERS USE THEIR CHANGING BODIES TO DISCOVER DIFFERENT WAYS TO PLAY. YOUNGER PLAYERS DISCOVER HOW TO BEAT PLAYERS WHO ARE MORE ATHLETIC THAN THEY ARE. TOGETHER WE PLAY FOR FUN, FITNESS, AND KINDNESS.
We are a social enterprise. We use all profits to give those vulnerable to social exclusion free access to our events to learn they are not limited by what others think they can do. Don't let a lack of money stop you from coming. We have free tickets to give out. Just pick an activity and an event and come along. A warm welcome is guaranteed.
A YOUTH CLUB FOR ALL AGES TO MAINTAIN THE BRAIN'S ABILITY TO REWIRE ITSELF
WHEN WE SPEND TOO LONG FOLLOWING PATHS OR HELPING OTHERS TO FOLLOW PATHWAYS WE CAN HARDWIRE THE BRAIN TO ALWAYS DO WHAT WE KNOW. THIS REDUCES OUR ABILITY TO REWIRE THE BRAIN MAKING US LESS ABLE TO ADAPT.
IN THESE TURBULENT TIMES MAINTAINING THE BRAINS ABILITY TO REWIRE ITSELF COULD BE THE MOST IMPORTANT LIFE SKILL OF THE 21ST CENTURY.
We are a social enterprise. We use all profits to give those vulnerable to social exclusion free access to our events to learn they are not limited by what others think they can do. Don't let a lack of money stop you from coming. We have free tickets to give out. Just pick an activity and an event and come along. A warm welcome is guaranteed.
WE PLAY FOR FUN, FITNESS AND KINDNESS
WE EXPLORE BASKETBALL BY TRYING THINGS BEFORE WE UNDERSTAND WHY AND BEFORE IT MAKES SENSE. WE GET LOST IN THE FUN OF IT. THE CREATIVITY. EACH PLAYER ENJOYS THEIR OWN LEARNING JOURNEY AT THEIR OWN SPEED WHILE PLAYING IN AGILE TEAMS THAT CONNECT, ADAPT, AND FLOW TOGETHER.
A warm welcome is guaranteed.
We find ways to rewire what is wired into our brains. New ways to perform that lie beyond what we currently know. It's like the late Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Mentality. Older players use their changing bodies to rewrite their brain's wiring to find different ways to play. Younger players rewrite their brains wiring to personalise their standard skills to play to a higher level. Everyone develops what Michael Jordan calls "Think power". The ability to think our way around players who are more athletic than we are. Together we play for fun, fitness, and kindness.
We now have a help centre where you are welcome to ask any questions
A YOUTH CLUB FOR ALL AGES TO MAINTAIN THE BRAIN'S ABILITY TO REWIRE ITSELF
WHAT WE KNOW IS WIRED INTO THE CIRCUITRY OF THE BRAIN. WE MAINTAIN THE BRAIN'S ABILITY TO REWIRE ITSELF BY DOING THINGS BEFORE WE UNDERSTAND THEM. BY DOING THINGS BEFORE THEY MAKE SENSE TO US. BY GOING BEYOND WHAT WE KNOW WE CAN DO. WE FIND NEW WAYS TO MEET THE CHALLENGES WE FACE.
IN THESE TURBULENT TIMES MAINTAINING THE BRAIN'S ABILITY TO REWIRE ITSELF COULD BE THE MOST IMPORTANT LIFE SKILL OF THE 21ST CENTURY.
We are a social enterprise. We use all profits to give those vulnerable to social exclusion free access to our events to learn they are not limited by what others think they can do. Don't let a lack of money stop you from coming. We have free tickets to give out. Just pick an activity and an event and come along. A warm welcome is guaranteed.
THE SCIENCE IS VERY CLEAR
THE BRAIN OPERATES BEST WHEN IT IS EVER-CHANGING. WHEN IT CONSTANTLY MODIFIES AND RECONFIGURES ITS CIRCUITRY
It is accepted by many scientists that the brain is plastic. By that, scientists mean the brain is able to constantly modify and reconfigure its circuitry to adapt to situations and build expertise. We know this because scientists have seen people recover from brain injuries by another part of the brain rewiring itself to take over the functions the damaged part of the brain was doing.
The brain has neuromodulatory systems that increase and decrease the brain's ability to rewire itself. A formula of neurotransmitters is required for the brain to rewire itself. While scientists all over the world are trying to learn more about how this works, we can translate them into the real world as a creative curiosity. To think outside the box. To try things before they make sense. Before we are sure we know how to do them. If we don't trigger these neurotransmitters we inhibit the brain's ability to rewire itself. We stop using the brain the way science says it works best.
Our coaches will use activities to create opportunities for players to step beyond their current wiring of the brain to find new ways to rewire the brain. They use activities to create a dynamic, disruptive, ever-changing environment while coaching players to resist trying to order and plan the space and instead see, feel, connect and flow through it by ...
1. Seeing a bigger picture of what is going on around us so that we see other ways to try.
2. Trying things before they make sense and before they understand how to do it and then see where it takes them.
3. Thinking on their feet by creating micro-pauses in which to make micro-decisions that switch between the narrow and the bigger picture, the mechanical and the flowing, the known and the imagined, the selfless and the selfish and build their own unique unplanned sequences of micro-decisions that use the whole brain.
Each player personalises their skills to meet their challenges and take their opportunities while playing in agile teams that connect, adapt, and flow together. We all get lost in the creative curiosity of it all. We play for fun, fitness, and kindness.
Technology photo created by kjpargeter - www.freepik.com
ADD REWIRING
THE ABILITY TO REWIRE THE BRAIN HELPS US SPEND OUR LIFETIME DOING MORE THAN WHAT WAS WIRED INTO OUR BRAIN WHEN WE WERE YOUNG
COACHING SPORTS IS MAINLY GEARED TO WIRING NEW SKILLS INTO THE BRAIN
The science of the brain says we learn by wiring new skills into the brain AND rewiring what it is already wired.
Wiring new skills into the brain is a process of understanding what is required and practicing it. It’s doing as instructed. Rewiring skills is a process beyond that. It's seeing a bigger picture and trying other ways. We don't necessarily know that those ways will work but we evaluate and see where they take us. It's thinking on our feet and learning to switch between the smaller and bigger picture learning as we go, and teaching ourselves by rewiring skills we already have.
If we lack the ability to rewire, and we reach the limit of what we can wire, which lowers with age, it is easy for us to think we are as good as we can be. We limit our potential to what is wired. We can stop trying because we can't see any way to improve. Sports coaching's fixation on only wiring new skills into the brains of players inhibits performance to what can be wired and makes people give up. We change this by providing opportunities for everyone to learn new skills by rewiring what is wired.
Players learn to think and move as one with their teammates, to use their brains to beat those who are bigger, faster, and more experienced than they are, to use their brains to adapt to aging and changing bodies. We can all be more than is wired into our brains.
Technology photo created by kjpargeter - www.freepik.com
WELCOME TO OUR HELP CENTRE
Sports coaching is largely geared to wiring new skills into young brains. Coaches need to know what to wire and young players need to do and practice what they are told.
Our coaches provide opportunities for everyone to learn by rewiring what is already wired into their brains. Each player's brain is different. All rewiring is rewiring different wiring. Coaches who rewire show how to rewire. They don't tell. They encourage players to be comfortable in not having all the answers and doing it anyway.
When we learn by rewiring we all get lost in the creative curiosity of trying other ways and seeing where they take us. Other ways to think and move as one. Other ways to think our way past those who are bigger and faster than we are, other ways to adapt to aging and changing bodies. Sessions go at the pace needed by the players. Everyone is welcome.
Lots of information and frequently asked questions are below.
WE PLAY FOR FUN, FITNESS, AND KINDNESS
WE GET LOST IN THE CREATIVE CURIOSITY OF IT ALL
WE SHARE AN ADVENTURE OF TRYING THINGS BEFORE THEY MAKE SENSE BEFORE WE KNOW HOW TO DO THEM
WE CONNECT AND GO WITH THE FLOW AND SEE WHERE IT TAKES US
TOGETHER WE STEP BEYOND WHAT WE KNOW
Intergenerational, mixed, all ability, we all find ways to improve
Everyone is welcome. Players of no clubs or all clubs. We don’t run teams or squads. We are a club of clubs if you like.
Everyone picks a sport, picks a session, and comes along. Every session is “pay as you go”. We have a “pay it forward” option so that those with more money pay for those who don’t. And we never let money stop someone from coming. There are always free tickets. We have sessions in St Albans, Hemel Hempstead, and Watford.
We have a help centre where you are welcome to ask us any question.
Upcoming Events
Thu, 19 SeptHemel Hempstead19 Sept 2024, 20:30 – 21:30Hemel Hempstead, Hill Common, Hemel Hempstead HP3 8JH, UK
Sun, 22 SeptBushey22 Sept 2024, 18:00 – 19:00Bushey, Aldenham Rd, Bushey WD23 2TD, UK
Sun, 22 SeptBushey22 Sept 2024, 19:00 – 20:00Bushey, Aldenham Rd, Bushey WD23 2TD, UK
Wed, 18 SeptSt Albans18 Sept 2024, 18:00 – 19:00St Albans, Hatfield Rd, St Albans AL1 3RQ, UK
Wed, 18 SeptSt Albans18 Sept 2024, 17:00 – 18:00St Albans, Hatfield Rd, St Albans AL1 3RQ, UK
Sun, 15 SeptBushey15 Sept 2024, 19:00 – 20:00Bushey, Aldenham Rd, Bushey WD23 2TD, UK
Sun, 15 SeptBushey15 Sept 2024, 18:00 – 19:00Bushey, Aldenham Rd, Bushey WD23 2TD, UK
Thu, 12 SeptHemel Hempstead12 Sept 2024, 20:30 – 21:30Hemel Hempstead, Hill Common, Hemel Hempstead HP3 8JH, UK
Wed, 11 SeptSt Albans11 Sept 2024, 18:00 – 19:00St Albans, Hatfield Rd, St Albans AL1 3RQ, UK
Wed, 11 SeptSt Albans11 Sept 2024, 17:00 – 18:00St Albans, Hatfield Rd, St Albans AL1 3RQ, UK
