Vésteinn Hafsteinsson: Athletes Are Owned By Society

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Great Coaches: Leadership & Life newsletter.

We believe that there’s no algorithm for leadership, which is why we’ve spent the past few years interviewing more than 200 Great Coaches from across the world of sports, seeking to uncover the practices, ideas and philosophies that have shaped their success.

From our interviews we’ve managed to uncover and gather more than 1,200 fantastic leadership insights, all of which you can access with our yearly membership - keep reading to find out more!

In other news, we’ve just released our latest podcast with the fantastic Vésteinn Hafsteinsson, who is considered the most successful discus coach in the history of the sport. Make sure to give it a listen - we’d love to hear what you think!

The Path To A Medal With Vésteinn Hafsteinsson

Today we released an interview with our very first Icelandic guest, Vésteinn Hafsteinsson.

While Vésteinn is today considered the most successful discus coach in the history of the sport, before he became a coach he was also an incredibly successful athlete. Vésteinn represented Iceland at 4 Summer Olympic Games and 5 world championships, and in 1989 he achieved his personal best with a throw of 67.64 metres.

As a coach, Vésteinn has worked with several high profile names, including World and Olympic champion Gerd Kanter, Olympic silver medalist Joachim B. Olsen, Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Daniel Ståhl, and Simon Pettersson, who took silver at the same games. Altogether, Vésteinn’s athletes have won 19 international championship medals, including 5 medals from the Olympic Games.

Vésteinn brought a very distinct and impressive energy to our interview, keeping me on my toes as we delved into the mind and career of a coach who has a deep functional specialisation.

We spoke on a number of really interesting points, including Vésteinn’s view that athletes are owned by society and must therefore be good role models. We also spoke about his approach to training, combining speed and rhythm in preparation for the way that they must come together during that vital 1 second when someone throws a discuss.

Speaking of training, I was also impressed by the way that Vésteinn lays out the path to an Olympic medal for his athletes, requiring a total of 70 training camps, 200 meets, and 4000 training sessions.

Yet, despite all of the pressure that the above training approach may bring, Vésteinn places a great importance on both happiness and calmness, and I really enjoyed listening to him speak about how he helps his athletes to find those qualities in order to perform at their best.

Make sure to take the time to listen to this interview - it’s a fantastic opportunity to get a glimpse into what it takes to become the most successful coach in your field.

Listen Now: Apple | Spotify

Better Than You Think You Are

As a leader, you will come across a variety of different people, each dealing with their own challenges and viewing the world from their own perspectives. This can be fascinating, but it also means that you really need to consider the way you approach your role and the impact that you want to have on others.

In this clip from our interview with rugby coach Franco Smith, he speaks about showing people that they are better than they think, and helping athletes from different cultures and backgrounds to overcome the limitations that they perceive as holding them back in both life and sport.

If you enjoyed this clip, then you should take a trip over to our website where you’ll find a wealth of insights taken from interviews with over 200 of the sporting world’s greatest coaches.

In Case You Missed It…

On Coaches As Educators

Have you caught our special episode On Coaches As Educators yet?

For this discussion we were joined by two Great Coaches who have both worked for UCLA: gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field (a.k.a. Ms. Val) and Kirk Walker, associate head coach of the UCLA Bruins softball team.

From the way that influencing people can be considered the fundamental role of leadership to how sport can be used as a metaphor to educate people about life superseding the importance of wins and losses, this was a really interesting discussion that truly highlighted the role that education plays in successful coaching.

Listen Now: Apple | Spotify

Emotional Games: A Scientific Approach

We always say that there’s no algorithm for leadership, but for those of you who enjoy delving into the science of success, this excerpt from the Psychology of Sport and Exercise should be right up your street.

Delving into the correlation between a coach’s facial expressions and the performance and emotions of their team, this research confirms something that a number of our Great Coaches guests have mentioned during our interviews: the need for coaches to consider the way their reactions to events and situations can impact athletic performance.

Inspire Your Teams With The Words Of Great Coaches

The Great Coaches team is spread across Europe, North America, and Australia, and together we have interviewed >200 of the Worlds Great Coaches on Leadership; men and women who have won multiple Olympic medals and championships on both national and world stages.

We now bring their insights into presentations that address the challenges of your teams. Our material is inspiring, authentic and unique and can be delivered virtually or live.

If you would like to know more, get in touch.

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