Working with Specialist Players and Coaches

Specialism is nothing new in sport. Athletes will gravitate towards events or skills they often have natural aptitude for, and coaches will often refine and hone specialist skills in order to achieve a desired overall result. And if this means ‘specialist’ coaches for those ‘special’ skills, then so be it.

But what about when there are similar but different ‘types’ of format or elements to a sport? How do coaches of those different but similar formats work with the players, and can those performers transfer skills from one format to another?