In The Art of War, Sun Tzu said,

“Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.”

Bamboo copy of The Art of War

In this quote, Sun Tzu uses the metaphor of the soldier and water to describe an idealised way in which a person may function to influence a dynamic and competitive environment. That is, by being able to adapt to the environment in a purposeful way in order to achieve a specific objective. In this quote, adaption is not just about responding to the dynamics of the environment. Rather, it is about understanding the environment well enough to foresee the possible challenges and opportunities ahead and, in turn, flexibly coordinate the necessary thoughts and actions to create a competitive advantage.

In contemporary neuroscience, the capacity to adapt to dynamic environments in an intentional and purposeful manner is referred to as adaptive control. This capacity is portrayed as a person’s ability to use their understanding of the cause-and-effect relationships within the environment to guide their actions, attention, and predictions (about current and future events) in a values-driven way. Positively, the ability to exert adaptive control is suggested to be a common attribute of a brain capable of engaging in adaptive exchanges with its environment. In non-academic terms, this means that if you are currently operating as a sports coach, you are very likely to be able to exert adaptive control over your actions, attention, and predictions.   

Within sports coaching contexts, adapting with purpose (or, otherwise stated, being able to flexibly align thoughts, actions, and objectives to the situation at hand) is often considered a valuable attribute. This is largely because adapting with purpose enables coaches to meet the demands of a competitive and constantly changing environment. Yet, despite the advantages flexibility conveys, many coaches hold a preference for rigidity and doing things the same way every day. Possibly because doing the same things repeatedly is less mentally and physically taxing and provides the appearance of being in control.     

In consideration of the complex, competitive, and constantly changing nature of the sporting environment, it would appear that developing the capacity to exert adaptive control over one’s actions, attention, and predictions would be particularly beneficial for coaching (especially for those operating in high-performance settings). As such, embarking on a path towards becoming a coach capable of effectively adapting to the situation in a purposeful way may be a challenge worth undertaking.

Thoughts and considerations …

It is important to keep in mind that there are continual trade-offs between rigidity and flexibility. For instance, it is unlikely that a coach can be both rigid and flexible at the same time. Additionally, being too rigid or too flexible in one’s day-to-day coaching approach may have disadvantages (e.g., appearing stubborn or uncertain). As such, there are likely to be some trade-offs between when to adapt and when to stay the course. However, for those coaches interested in developing their capacity for adaptive control over their coaching practices, it may be helpful to:

• Ask yourself what you can do to further enhance, expand, or refine your understanding of the game,

• Actively attempt to predict (and refine predictions) about what is likely to happen in your sporting context, and

• Consider how your actions and focus of attention might be influencing your ability to coach in an adaptive but purposeful manner.  

Thank you for your curiosity in the art and science of sports coaching.

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Wishing you all the best in your coaching endeavours.

Andrew Kennedy