Is More Always Better?
Based on the International Coaches Connect Webinar Coaching Myths vs Reality by Prof. Hal Wilson, Professor of Coaching Education, Georgia Southern University
Myth #2: More Is Always Better
VERDICT: BUSTED
If two practices are good, wouldn’t three be better? If watching film helps, wouldn’t watching it for ten hours make a coach even more prepared? This logic is one of Wilson’s biggest pet peeves in coaching. It comes from a place of commitment and dedication but leads athletes and coaches alike toward burnout, injury, and diminishing returns.
“It’s just like medicine,” Wilson says. “A little might be good for me. Too much can be bad.” When we weight train, the body breaks down through micro-tears and micro-fractures in bone. Through rest and recovery—supercompensation—the body rebuilds stronger. The same principle governs skill development, mental preparation, and the emotional reserves of both athlete and coach.
“You are trying to do the right thing, but you’ve actually set yourself back. More is not better—it’s usually not.”
— Prof. Hal Wilson
Wilson knows this trap personally. As a young head coach, he slept in his office. He would unscrew the light bulb in the ceiling so he could sleep on the couch in the dark, because he refused to let anyone outwork him. “I thought that was a good thing,” he reflects. It wasn’t.
He points to a counterintuitive example from American college football: the coach who took the historically worst-performing program to a national championship did so, in part, by running shorter practices—not longer ones. Efficiency trumped volume. With limited time, you cannot afford wasted reps. Every drill has to count.
A practical principle from Wilson’s own coaching: incorporate conditioning into practice rather than adding it at the end. When athletes know they’ll have to run sprints at the close of practice, they unconsciously hold something back during the main session. Integrate the work—and they practice the way they’ll play.
KEY PRINCIPLE
The same wisdom applies to coaching identity. “If your identity is just in this team, just in performance, you’re setting yourself up for a big downfall.” A coach who has no life beyond the sport cannot model the balance they’re trying to cultivate in their athletes. Rest, other interests, relationships outside the gym—these are not luxuries. They’re part of the job.
