The B+ Hypothesis: strength through adversity in sports coaching?

Abstract

Some years ago whilst gathering research interview data from athletics coaches I came across the following quote in regards to the achievement of athletic potential: It is often the B+ people, not the A’s who will eventually come through. You can get so far on natural ability, but if you’re not bothered to train, or things come too easy… it takes a good coach to keep you at the top of the tree. This resonated with me in regards to my own coaching observations in the martial arts. Some novices would quickly take to the skills and techniques involved with apparent ease, and experience early success in comparison to others. But it often transpired that the former would tend to drop out in the longer term, and those that had encountered initial difficulty would work through their problems, persist and eventually flourish.