Discussion – “The Talent Code”

[Tom Molloy]

I got this email from Daniel Coyle, the author of The Talent Code. He has written a new book called 'The Little Book of Talent". The email is about the book.
I got the ebook version and have been reading it. It is very concise and I think it is a great too for coaches, teachers, parents and in general all human beings. So if you are in one of these categories I recommend it.
I pasted Dan's email below.
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Hi everybody,

I want to tell you that I've got a new book coming out this week. It's called The Little Book of Talent. Here are the basics:

1) It's a manual for improving skills: 52 simple, proven tips for getting better at sports, music, art, and business. Think of it as the practical-minded companion to The Talent Code. A coach that fits in your pocket.

2) The tips are taken from the talent hotbeds I've been visiting for the past five years: top music academies, sports teams, the Navy SEALs, Olympic training centers, and world-class businesses and schools.

3) We've been lucky enough to receive some good early reviews and kind words, such as:

"This book should be given to every graduate at commencement, every new parent in a delivery room, every executive on the first day of work. It is a guidebook — beautiful in its simplicity and backed by hard science — for nurturing excellence." – Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit.

"It's so juvenile to throw around hyperbolic terms such as 'life-changing,' but there's no other way to describe The Little Book of Talent. I was trying new things within the first half hour of reading it and haven't stopped since. Brilliant. And yes, life-changing." – Tom Peters, co-author of In Search of Excellence.

4) I'm eager to get your reaction. If you want to learn more, check out my blog at thetalentcode.com. And here's the Amazon link.

Thanks,

Dan

PS – here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r0JtjasYCU

'The Game is the Greatest Coach'
'Enjoy the Game'

[Tom Molloy]

I read the digital copy of "The Little Book of Talent" and really enjoyed it.

It is a quick reference book to 52 important points about coaching or teaching a person or a group on how to focus and how to practice to become very good at whatever a person wants to become good at.

I really enjoyed it and will keep my reader close by so I can refer to it during the season.

'The Game is the Greatest Coach'
'Enjoy the Game'

[Tom Molloy]

I am halfway through re-reading this small book. I have it online and Dan Coyle had Random Houxe send me a complimentary copy.

I am going to suggest that All of my Players AND their Parents read this book.

There is a good focus on How you can become very good with Deep Practice.

Interesting differentiation between Hard and Soft skills.

Hard skills are technique that use mechanically efficient movements and they must be exact and become movement patterns.

Soft skills are the game reading and creative skills and they must be learned by Playing and recongnizing patterns and the Read -Recognize – React as opposed to Dave KIng's Read and React. Shrink the space and play lots of games.

Limit practicing to 'Only on Days that you Eat'.

I am talking about lots of games for the next few days in the Daily Drill section .

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn something

'The Game is the Greatest Coach'
'Enjoy the Game'

[Rookiecoach]

Tom,
"The Talent Code "was a great read. So good I went over it a second time.

Just received the small hard cover book "The Little Book of Talent" in the mail. After reading the first book I had to read this book.also.

RookieCoach

[Tom Molloy]

I really enjoy the "Little Book of Talent' and am going through it for the third time.

This discussion board now has NO discussion. Dean doesn't post anymore. Haven't heard from Kai in months. Rookie Coach a few postings.

It appears by the hit count that lots of coaches come here 24/7 but no one posts comments, questions, drills or anything.

It is like I am doing a silent hockey class with no feedback.

I will continue because it makes me try to get better all the time but I invite some feedback.

OK

'The Game is the Greatest Coach'
'Enjoy the Game'

[Kai K]

Hi Tom,

I've been quite busy with coaching these few months. I'm assistant coach in U20 team that plays in Finnish U20 Championship league.
But I'll try to bee more active with the forum in future.

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Kai, it sounds like you are really busy. I look forward to your input from the OTHER side of the ocean.
Tom
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Kai

[RookieCoach]

Tom and all coaches,

How many coaches have had the chance to read The Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle ?

If you have read the book .

Is there one tip, or tip number, that really hits home for you as a coach ?

Without giving to much of the book away.

Great read . Tom you must be on your forth time reading it by now ?

RookieCoach
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Rookie CoachI love the book but especially the part that defines hard and soft skills and then the best ways to practice them.
Tom

[Eric Fink]

This is from one of the best all around Conditioning Coaches in the business. A great blog to follow on Twitter or Google Reader. Lists three books on talent development.

http://www.functionalpathtrainingblog.com/2012/10/talent-development-skill-learning.html

[Peter Allen]

I’m just starting to read The Talent Code, but have read a lot of comments about the book. Love the idea about DEEP PRACTICE, and would like to set up drills to accomplish this, but not sure on how to do this. I like to use the following drills in my Novice hockey practices, and feel these do relate to Deep Practice: Would love to hear comments.

Cross Ice 2-2, 3-3, or 4-4 is the equivalent to Futsal, making and correcting errors, lots of puck touches.

2 – 2 Keep away – same reasons as the cross ice.

Circle Monkey in the Middle – 1 or 2 players in the middle of a faceoff circle, 4 to 5 players making one touch passes through the circle. Start with the players in the circle without sticks.

Target Shots – Have the players aim at targets on the boards, kids are really focused to hit the targets. Targets can get smaller as the players get better.

Quick Hands – Players stickhandle through pucks that are spaced out 1.5 feet apart, they see their mistakes when they hit a puck.

I am thinking about doing time trials with the kids for quick turns, and any puck control circuits???
In this way the kids will work on beating their best time. Is this something that coaches in hockey do? Do you guys think this makes sense?
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Peter good to see you taking part in the forum.
I think all of the ideas above are good practice activities. If the players focus and work on correcting any mistake they make right away then it is deep practice. So trying, failing, trying to correct the mistake, failing again, modifying what you are doing to correct the mistake is deep practice.

Do things really well before focusing on speed. If they are competent at a skill then do time trials as it is a way to set up deep practice at going full speed.
Tom

[Peter Allen]

peter wrote:
I’m just starting to read The Talent Code, but have read a lot of comments about the book. Love the idea about DEEP PRACTICE, and would like to set up drills to accomplish this, but not sure on how to do this. I like to use the following drills in my Novice hockey practices, and feel these do relate to Deep Practice: Would love to hear comments.

Cross Ice 2-2, 3-3, or 4-4 is the equivalent to Futsal, making and correcting errors, lots of puck touches.

2 – 2 Keep away – same reasons as the cross ice.

Circle Monkey in the Middle – 1 or 2 players in the middle of a faceoff circle, 4 to 5 players making one touch passes through the circle. Start with the players in the circle without sticks.

Target Shots – Have the players aim at targets on the boards, kids are really focused to hit the targets. Targets can get smaller as the players get better.

Quick Hands – Players stickhandle through pucks that are spaced out 1.5 feet apart, they see their mistakes when they hit a puck.

I am thinking about doing time trials with the kids for quick turns, and any puck control circuits???
In this way the kids will work on beating their best time. Is this something that coaches in hockey do? Do you guys think this makes sense?
——————————————–
Peter good to see you taking part in the forum.
I think all of the ideas above are good practice activities. If the players focus and work on correcting any mistake they make right away then it is deep practice. So trying, failing, trying to correct the mistake, failing again, modifying what you are doing to correct the mistake is deep practice.

Do things really well before focusing on speed. If they are competent at a skill then do time trials as it is a way to set up deep practice at going full speed.
Tom

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Thank you Tom, love your ideas.

[Tom Molloy]

Peter this is a really good clip about what 'deep practice' is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8x2-OyZz4A&feature=related Daniel Coyle is being interviewed and they go to some of the talent hotbeds to demonstrate this method of practice.

'The Game is the Greatest Coach'
'Enjoy the Game'

[Peter Allen]

TomM wrote:
Peter this is a really good clip about what 'deep practice' is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8x2-OyZz4A&feature=related Daniel Coyle is being interviewed and they go to some of the talent hotbeds to demonstrate this method of practice.

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Very interesting. I love being a coach.

[Peter Allen]

Recently finished reading the Talent Code, and love the idea of deep practice. My 8 year old son is in his second year Novice, and loves to practice, and talk hockey. So the two off us decided to practice his wrist shot in the garage, the plan is to take 100 shots a night.

My thought on how to make this DEEP PRACTICE was to have him aim at the 5 hole on his shooting tarp, the 5 hole in this tarp is really small, so he will try a task, fail, learn, adjust, and then repeat. Well this DEEP PRACTICE is really working.

First night he was able to get 3 pucks out of 100 through the 5 hole, now as I said the hole is really quite small, and was just missing on most of his shots.

2nd Night 4 out off100

3rd Night 11 out off 100

4th Night 13 out off 100

5th Night 15 out off 100

6th Night 22 out off 100!!

Thank you Tom for suggesting this book.
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Peter, it sounds like a good example of deep practice.
Tom

[Kai K]

peter wrote:
Recently finished reading the Talent Code, and love the idea of deep practice. My 8 year old son is in his second year Novice, and loves to practice, and talk hockey. So the two off us decided to practice his wrist shot in the garage, the plan is to take 100 shots a night.

My thought on how to make this DEEP PRACTICE was to have him aim at the 5 hole on his shooting tarp, the 5 hole in this tarp is really small, so he will try a task, fail, learn, adjust, and then repeat. Well this DEEP PRACTICE is really working.

First night he was able to get 3 pucks out of 100 through the 5 hole, now as I said the hole is really quite small, and was just missing on most of his shots.

2nd Night 4 out off100

3rd Night 11 out off 100

4th Night 13 out off 100

5th Night 15 out off 100

6th Night 22 out off 100!!

Thank you Tom for suggesting this book.
—————————
Peter, it sounds like a good example of deep practice.
Tom

I watched documentary about Finnish soccer player Jari Litmanen. He used to stay on the field after practices and practice shooting. He took ten balls and tryed to shoot all ten balls e.g. to top left corner. If he got 3 first and missed 4ht he would start from the beginning and do this as long as he got all the 10 balls in a row to the top left corner. I think this is also a good example about deep practice.

So we modified the idea little and we came up with a skills game for our morning skills practice: Group of players each of them with e.g. 5 pucks. one of the players calls the spot where to shoot. First one to shoot all the five in a row to the target spot wins ( if you miss you have to start from the beginning).

Kai

[Tom Molloy]

Great idea Kai. I am sitting in a hotel room in New York waiting for my wife and son to wake up. All of the walking yesterday must have tired them out.

Daniel Coyle wrote another book called 'The Little Book of Talent' where he condenses everything about the centre's that produce champions.

I want to set up a 'Mission Impossible' circuit where the players go from one station to the next and do activities like you suggest and if they fail they have to return to the station they started at to move on. Possible ideas are to score on a breakaway, saucer pass over something to a target. If you have more suggestions I would love to hear them.

Have you tried the videos from this site on your smart phone. I am wondering if they run well in Finland.

I brought my wife to NY instead of going to Stockholm for the coaching conference. We picked up our son in Toronto and brought him here as a graduation from university present.

'The Game is the Greatest Coach'
'Enjoy the Game'

[Author]

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