Show Notes
In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Alex Lascu - a coach, researcher, and learning designer whose work sits at the intersection of skill acquisition, coach development, and practice design. Alex has worked across community and performance sport, has researched talent development and skill acquisition in cricket, and is currently connected with the Queensland Academy of Sport and the University of Canberra. Across her work, she focuses on bridging the gap between research and real-world coaching.
I love spending time with Alex, and this was a really fun conversation, but also one with plenty of depth. We explored what coaches can learn from thinking like gardeners, why the environment matters so much in practice, and how laughter, challenge, and co-design can all tell us something meaningful about learning.
In this episode we cover… Coaches create conditions, they do not control learning Alex opens with a brilliant analogy: the coach as a gardener.The point is simple, but powerful - coaches do not “make” learning happen on command. Instead, they shape environments where learning is more likely to emerge. We explore:
why practice design is really about the conditions we create how behaviour is always a response to something in the environment why coaches need to think beyond what players are doing and pay closer attention to what is shaping it
Better practice starts with better design A huge part of the conversation centres on constraints, representative practice, and the relationship between the person, task, and environment. We talk about:
why space is one of the first constraints coaches should think about how training environments can accidentally teach the wrong things why starting with a game first can be a far better diagnostic tool than jumping straight into drills how co-designing challenge with players can help practices land more effectively
Laughter, challenge, and waiting longer We also get into:
why laughter and learning are not opposites what coaches can notice when they listen, not just watch why sometimes the best intervention is to wait 10 more seconds how not rushing in can leave space for players to solve problems for themselves
There’s a real thread here about trust: trust in players, trust in the process, and trust that learning does not always need rescuing.
A few standout ideas from the episode
Start with the game and see what falls out Ask more questions instead of assuming you already know Design with players, not just for them
Links
Tom’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhartleycoaching/ Alex’s podcast — The Deep End: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-deep-end/id1686774407 Feedback form (share feedback, suggest guests, propose episode ideas): https://forms.gle/SDCdYhS799nxgfrG9
If this episode gave you something to reflect on, whether that’s practice design, player voice, or simply the reminder to hold back for 10 more seconds I’d love to hear from you. Use the feedback form to share your thoughts, suggest future guests, or tell me what topics you’d like us to explore next on the podcast.
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