Summary: - Developing an elite mindset through belief, drive & empowerment - Discover what the “X” factor is in coaching - Learn more at <a href="http://rittersp.com/">RITTERSP.com</a> - <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ritter-sports-performance/id801493885">Subscribe in iTunes</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345472322/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0345472322&linkCode=as2&tag=risppe-20"></a> <a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CP6ZFA2/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00CP6ZFA2&linkCode=as2&tag=risppe-20"></a> <a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/034553025X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=034553025X&linkCode=as2&tag=risppe-20"></a> <a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1599951681/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1599951681&linkCode=as2&tag=risppe-20"></a> This is a classic speech given by the great "Doc" Counsilman. If you haven't come across this yet during your swimming journey it's a must read. And from time to time it's a great piece to come back to. Enjoy! The X FactorFrom a talk given by Dr. James “Doc” Counsilman at Montreal, 1971 Condensed and Edited by Bob Ousley Is there any one factor or trait that determines a successful swimming coach? If there is, could we educate a coach to have this particular trait? The business world has long wondered what makes a good executive, a good administrator, or a good salesman. Research into this ingredient of success has led to the use of multi-million dollar testing bureaus. For example, the executives of U.S. Steel are given personality tests, intelligence tests, leadership ability tests, and others in every possible measurable area. So far they have had very little success in identifying any single trait that their subjects have in common. For instance, they sometimes find the lowest paid filing clerk to have more basic intelligence than the highest paid executive. They have determined that once a person reaches a level of intelligence somewhere above average, that higher intelligence by itself is not necessarily a determinant. So, we cannot give all coaches intelligence tests and determine that the most intelligent will be the best coach. If this were true, then all we would have to do to select a good coach is hire the man with the highest I.Q. It might be just the opposite, a man with a high I.Q. might be too smart to get involved in coaching. Let’s get back to the business world. I personally feel that intelligence has a lot to do with success in coaching, in business, in almost any field of endeavor. However, the type of intelligence I am speaking of is not the type that can be measured by academic testing; it could better be called a type of "perception." The business school at Indiana University has found their search for a common denominator from which to predict success to be rather fruitless. They have, however, isolated an unidentifiable factor which they have named the "X" factor. They can’t sharply define this factor, but they talk about, and they feel they are closing in on a definition. I would like to apply this "X" factor to swimming coaches. They know a little about this factor in business, and I would like to mention a few of the dangers encountered by business in attempting to build a perfect administrator. Business has sent its top administrator to training courses — very much as you have come to this clinic — they send them to universities and sometimes to the Menninger Foundation in Kansas. The most outstanding business training course is given in Kansas at the Menninger Psychiatric Clinic. Here, three times year, a course is offered to top executives at a fee of $1200. Entrance is limited to 20 per group in three groups,
