Rhys Desmond

Training Theory & Coaching

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  • How to coach with positive psychology

    The days of yelling at players for not making it to first base are over! Or at least, they should be. Coaching has changed dramatically over the past twenty years.

  • Games-based learning for optimal athlete development

    Across the past decade or so, we’ve seen a massive shift in youth athlete development toward a games-based, game-realistic approach to training. If I die on one coaching hill, it would be within my proclamation that this is the most optimal way for training athletes toward what practice is generally for – the game itself.

  • Understanding the five corner model for athlete development & performance

    As coaches, we must recognize that players have an array of qualities that make them unique on the pitch. We must also recognize that each of these unique pillars need to be paid attention to with dedicated attention and care

  • My method for optimal recovery: POSSM

    In my own recovery journey and subsequent battles through injury, I’ve developed my own acronym for how I want to recover in time for the next effort. I call it ‘POSSM’.

  • Consultation, Performance Analysis & 1-on-1 Coaching with Rhys

    My services include an $81 per month based on what you want to see, unlimited email/text, and as many sessions as you want per week/month. I make the coaching specific to you and your needs, and work to make the experience FUN utilizing non-traditional ‘new-school’ coaching methods, that I have years of experience teaching to…

  • How can you inspire others, if you can’t inspire yourself?

    To kick off 2023, I’ve had the privilege of teaching a coaching & leadership class to undergraduate students at Western University. To end the final class, I asked them one simple question – how can you inspire others, if you cannot inspire yourself?

  • My theory on race stimulation: 2x race practices

    For every short distance run I’ve done over the years, I’ve always held onto a critical rule of thumb. Sometime in training, usually with three and then two weeks to go until race day, I practice my race distance at tempo pace. The point of these runs is not to actually test the intended race…

  • The anti-stick with a pack agenda – Around the Bay Recap

    I will forever be dramatic. But three months ago I half-heartedly told my parents that I was going to have to retire from running. I had been out with plantar fasciitis for thirteen weeks, with minimal improvement and no end in sight for the vast majority of that time.

  • High ambition, high caution: my new running motto

    As I enter a new phase in my running career and take on a cautious approach to dedicated training, I find myself balancing the line between all of these crazy ambitions I have within my running career, and accomplishing those ambitions in the most cautious ways possible.

  • Around the Bay & the quest for intentional training

    Since March has rolled in, it’s been all the more imperative me to slightly adapt my approach to what’s coming at the end of March – Around the Bay 30k. Around the Bay is one of Canada’s most famous races, and is often stacked with a deep field of runners from a variety of categories…