Master Dawson

Congratulations to Matt Dawson for his stunning win of celebrity Master Chef!


Who would have thought that he had it in him! I am no food critic, but I love my food and what he cooked on the show looked absolutely fantastic,I would certainly have eaten it.


It was quite interesting how Matt referred to his training as a rugby player during the programme and how it has enabled him to be disciplined in his approach to the challenge of Master Chef. A lesson to be learned there I think. There are many transferable skills that a professional athlete may possess and a strong sense and application of discipline is certainly one of them. This skill proved useful not only for Matt in the sporting arena but also, of all places, in the kitchen!


It just goes to show you that we all have skills that can be effective elsewhere and there are no exceptions.

TLW

"Leaving the real you at home"

Roy Keane admitted recently that, when playing, his 'hard-man image was just an act'. He used it as a means of intimidating both his team mates as well as his opponents.
What issues does this give rise to in coming to terms with the 'real you' when sportspeople retire from active sport and seek to make a transition to the next stage of their life? In the words of Paul Gascoigne " I was living a plonky life, being a plonky person, being Gazza instead of being Paul Gascoigne".

On the same theme, Matthew Syed of the Times wrote the following, when at The Masters tennis tournament in London, December 2004 "Wilander and Mikael Pernfors were most at home with their post-tennis identities for the good reason that they never surrendered their pre-tennis identities. With Scandinavian common sense, they partook of the fame without ever believing in it"

Me! Me! Me! to You! You! You!

Following Roy Keane's recent appointment as Manager of Sunderland FC, Sue Mott in the Telegraph raised the interesting issue of whether world class players can successfully make the transition into world class managers.
She quotes Arsene Wenger who says that a footballer thinks Me! Me! Me! whilst a manager has to think You! You! You! Do players have the transferable skills required to become managers? Are they skills that can be acquired or are they intuitive? What selection procedures do Chairmen and boards undertake when considering the appointment of a new manager?

"The heart and Soul of an athlete!

What do you think about Darren Campbell's action at the EuropeanAthletics' Championships in Gothenburg when he declined to do a lap of honour and clearly looked very unhappy on the rostrum? What was his motivation, since he had the ability to choose whether or not to run in the 4x100m relay? How was he honouring his core values by his actions, especially when his coach, Linford Christie, has also been banned for testing positive in a drugs test, as has Dwain Chambers?

We'd love to hear your views.

Sporting Soul"

Welcome!

Welcome to Sporting Soul!

This blog aims to explore and share with readers the (slightly!) deeper side of British and International sports peoples' careers.

Enjoy!