Innovation and Change

I am fascinated by innovation in any field and constantly challenged by change, so when I read the article “Fast and Furious” by Grant Wahl in the February 22 issue of Sport Illustrated, I was both fascinated and captured. Think of this you have a court with defined dimensions, you have ten players and two baskets ten feet high, a shoot clock and a set of rules in a game that is over a 100 years old, how do you change or innovate given those constraints? Vance Walberg did and in the process has started an offensive trend that is spreading fast to all levels of basketball. Back to basics, seeing the same thing through different eyes is the secret of innovation. Walberg the innovator of this offense says this: “The biggest strength of this offense is I feel we’re teaching kids how to play basketball instead of how to run plays.” This article really got me thinking. Are we all too stuck in old paradigms to try new things, to see the world with different eyes? It made me think of Frans Bosch and Roland Klomp who took a relatively primal activity like running and looked at it differently, they certainly have got us all thinking. What other opportunities are out there for innovation in sport and training? Unfortunately too much attention is directed to technology and not enough has focused on the human element. Think of it, how did American football start? Someone picked up the rugby ball and passed it forward. Who will be the next person to pick up the ball, pass it forward and lead change? As Patton said there are clear choices:”You can lead, follow or get out of the way.” I do not know about you, I want to lead, I want to innovate and change, find better more efficient ways to make the athletes I work with better.