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Many years ago now, in the early stages of writing this blog, I wrote a blog called ‘The Stream of Consciousness’ you can read it here if you like.

It was an expression and a description of what the blog was supposed to be and, if nothing else, I think I have held true to that through moving towards 2000 posts.

The problem with that though is that when I hit the busy times like the last few weeks I can’t remember what I posted last week so you’ll have to forgive me if I’ve harped on about the Level One FA Coaching Course too much already. I didn’t want to do this course, it’s way too much time out of my life but the club told me they’d shut down my football team if I don’t do it because we’re an FA charter club and every team has to have a Level One coach!!

I shouldn’t have to do this course because I’m a brilliant football coach and I’m a brilliant football coach because it’s worked so far.

The mighty Mustangs went from the bottom division to division two and are doing not too bad there thanks very much. We’re also in the semi-final of the cup and my boys know how to kick a football, therefore I don’t need to learn.

That was in fact the attitude I had two weeks ago in the lead up to this course. I was suffering from the flu, at least the after effects of it and it could not see a way through March and adding this type of commitment into an already overcommitted diary.

Then I did three modules out of the nine on the course and realised that I know nothing and I’m ashamed and embarrassed.

Maybe if I’d done this course three years ago when I started coaching the boys, things would have been a lot different for them. Maybe their experience would have been a lot better, maybe I’ve let them down.

Maybe I lost the next Ronaldo or Messi because I didn’t coach them properly (although, if truth be told, I think that’s unlikely) I don’t think my guys have had a bad experience, I think they’ve had a great time and I’ve tried my best under the circumstances but unconscious incompetence is bliss because you can convince yourself that you don’t need to do that and that you’re too good for that.

I suppose the question for me going forwards is where is the rest of the unconscious incompetence… where are the rest of the gaping holes?

Football coaching is one thing but clinical practice is another.

You start that examination with something called intellectual honesty, as written about beautifully by Matthew Syed in Black Box Thinking and as soon as you get to some degree of intellectual honesty and an ability to ask people that you trust and respect where you sit and what it looks like (and be prepared at least in part to take some of their advice) at least you’re moving in the right direction.

Arrogantly I thought I was better than that, but I clearly wasn’t better than that when it came to football and if i’m prone to it in football coaching in what other aspects am I prone to it?

Blog Post Number: 1943