Eastbourne, October 1997.
I’d been in Eastbourne a matter of weeks, when I started looking at boxing. I enrolled at the
University of Brighton, based in Eastbourne moving down from Cambridge and to be honest I didn’t
have a clue about boxing. Not a clue about much to be honest, especially ‘sport and exercise science.’
I found myself amongst lots of people my age, 18/19 all in a similar boat, pretending we knew it all,
but we didn’t. As I say, not a clue.
On the first evening of moving into ‘Whitworth Halls of residence’ I ran into a young, confident young
Scotsman called, Casey Nachman. Casey was a boxer. ‘I’ve had around 50 bouts and boxed a few
times for Scotland’ he said when I asked about his boxing.
That was a wow for me, because my background was football and growing up in a small rural village
just outside Cambridge in the 80’s and 90’s I hadn’t heard of any boxing clubs near me. It was all
footy as far as I knew at the time.
Me and Casey liked the same kind of music, ‘yeah this is sorta the stuff I like’ I recall saying to Casey
as he stuck a ‘Fun Lovin’ Criminals’ CD in the crappy little stereo in Whitworth common room.
We instantly got on and I asked Casey if he’d take me on the pads when I saw him once shadow
boxing outside the halls preparing for an upcoming bout back home in Fife.
I loved it, I got the bug instantly. I’d constantly badger Casey for more pads and soon we started
sparring. Though I was around 82/83 kgs and Casey around 69, he’d batter me even though he was
going easy.
Casey had already met up with a bloke called Shamus Kelly who was a national kick boxing champion.
They’d spar together in prep for upcoming bouts together but would shoe-horn me in too, again me
ending up with a bloody nose and ribs feeling like an accordion. Many years later I’d be Shamus best
man at his wedding, despite the batterings.
But still, I loved it.
I look back now at 47 at that 18 year old kid, wishing I could bottle that feeling somehow and sell it. I’d be a millionaire.
On the way to lectures, I’d walk past car windows shadow boxing or punching leaves off trees. That
kind of daft, all consuming bug only boxers get.
But I wasn’t a boxer. I wanted to be. And for many reasons. There was the comraderie ofcourse, the
unrelenting challenge, but perhaps most of all, that feeling of control. Casey, Shamus and I resurrected the University of Brighton boxing club which was kind of initially a hybrid between kickboxing and boxing.
I entered the uni championships at some point in 1998 boxing my first 3 bouts all in one day. Losing a
split against a lad who’d boxed a semi final only, and stopping his opponent in the first round. Some
baptism of fire. But again, I loved it.
I ended up boxing 45 times as amateur. I was what I like to call, ‘exceedingly average’.
Throughout all my times I was boxing, I was coaching.
I’m still not sure to this day if that helped me as a boxer or hindered me. But I know for certain it
helped shape me as the coach I am today.
Casey and Shamus were my first coaches. Both, very similar in many ways. They knew their stuff.
Casey who is currently an amateur coach 29 years later in Colchester, Essex and Shamus a Colonel in
the British Army had a similar approach. Clear, concise, lots of feedback. Superb leaders. How they
both coached me, still echo in how I coach today. It makes me smile when certain sayings or quips I
learned from them, or even a mannerism, rears its head on occasion.
We can’t help but absorb from coaches, from influencers in your path. I think it’s what good coaches
do, they are curious and willing to grow.
Dave Bishop Jr then took me under his wing at Hastings Westhill. It was always ‘Feet first, Adam, feet
first.’ Dave, or as I call him now at shows, ‘Lineker’ is great at reminding boxers what makes you
successful. ‘Feet, feet, feet’. Dave hah 89 bouts as a youngster, winning 81. He was always able to
bring that experience to his coaching when many successful boxers aren’t able to translate their
experience into coaching. Afterall, performing and coaching are immensely different.
Dave made a semi come back to boxing in his late 30’s back in the noughties and did a round with
Casey. Casey will remember Dave’s feet being too fast for him in the spar that day!
As I went through my level one and two ABA badges, I recall helping. Matty Bell out at loads and
loads of southern counties coach education courses and squads. I picked up so much from Matt,
‘minimal movement, maximum effect’ and a way to coach which had the hallmarks of energy and
enthusiasm which I noticed all of the candidates gravitated towards.
That was like an apprenticeship in coaching for me. An apprenticeship in coach education too. I took
so much from it, the hard skills, the terminology and how to get buy-in. A mixture of competence
and confidence.
I do think today that lots of coaches and coach educators have missed that step out, the volunteering
on courses and squads. It’s where I arguably grew the most in my early coaching days.
At various other coach education days and at England Squads, I’d often pick up things from coaches
and try to add it to my ball of plasticine. But I learned early to move away from picking up drills, or a
sparing condition, perhaps a comment that maybe could be copied and pasted. I always wanted to
know why something worked. I didn’t want to see if something worked, I wanted to understand the
principle or the concept behind it. That way I could then make it adaptable and useful to multiple
situations. What my epistemological approach was.
Social media wasn’t around in the late 90’s/early noughties so there were less opportunities in
‘picking things up’. So, understanding that ‘why’ and the ‘how’ was equally, or even more so
important than the ‘what’.
I remember watching Stu O’Connor assessing my level 2 badge in Crawley around 2009 and recall
being impressed by a combination of his understanding of the sport, but more so, how he imparted
information. I also remember thinking as I drove home as a proud and shiney new level 2 coach that
‘how’ he delivered the information made the difference between good and great, between taught
and learned.
Stu is great at creating ‘Sticky Learning’. His coaching is full of analogies and metaphors. Ways to
make what may seem complex understandable, easy. And not all seemed effortless. A fine blend of
subject knowledge and pedagogy. The ‘how to’ coach was there in abundance with humour as the
radio frequency it was delivered from.
I took the learning from the clear and concise approach and blended it with an ongoing curiosity
around how to coach effectively.I know just, ‘knowing my shit’ wasn’t enough.
I do think nowadays with the ubiquitous nature of social media that ‘the what’ seems to completely
trump ‘the how’ and new generations of coaches simply cut n paste without the important subtleties
basis of what their pedagogical approach is. There’s a badge of honour (or in this case a fire emoji on
Instagram) for coaches who show ‘what’ with only a few knowing ‘why.’ Biomechanics without
perception. Shape, form and aesthetics before affect.
So, I kept pushing. When I was appointed the DiSE Boxing coach in Brighton (an educational course
owned by England Boxing for 16-18 year old boxers) I started my A1 assessor and then a 2 year part
time PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education). This helped me fill massive gaps I knew were
there. How to actually teach more effectively and I enjoyed trying these strategies out day to day at
the academy.
I could see my coaching improve year on year as boxers improved in the ring, the classroom and as
young men and women. Perhaps hard to quantify because we really know what is transferring to a
boxer’s performance? Can we really measure it well?
CPD sessions and Tenerife camp after Tenerife Camp with my colleagues from DiSE again made me
more curious. I was this (relatively) young coach amongst the giants of coaches who were in the
DiSE, then AASE, coaching team.
Some of the biggest penny dropping moments didn’t come from the sparring sessions we ran or the
camps but the conversation around a table at dinner. It wasn’t all learning, lots of banter and funny
moments made at that table but when we got down into the nitty gritty of coaching, it opened my
eyes again to how much I didn’t know. This and a well timed podcast link sent to me around 2012
was the moment I reassessed everything I knew. Cliche, but from that point I realised there was this
new coaching world out there.
In the early years of AASE I felt like I should have been charged money to listen to round tables
between Ivan Cobb, Tony Challinor, Kevin Smith, Craig Turner, Mark Collings, Steve Cranston and
Elliott Dillon.
This was where I took myself to another level, as it was another, ‘you don’t know what you don’t
know’ period for me.
Sounds like I’m blowing sunshine up the arses of my colleagues (Some working on DiSE still, some
not) but I got something from everyone.
Kevin is recognised as a bit of a coaching enigma. Few words. But carried gravitas. Less is more, no
fluff. But deeper understanding. Seems like there are few Kevin Smiths nowadays.
Tony always regaled us of great coaching stories with England and the countless champions from the
Solly. Lots of these were the 1% conversations he had with boxers that made all the difference. Tony
knows how to work with boxers. Seemingly, that is one of his great strengths. Intuitively ‘getting’
people.
I knew that’s an area I had to develop. Still do massively.
Craig Turner despite his ridiculous knowledge of anything around Blackadder and west end plays,
really impressed me in our IBA 2 star course in Cardiff. Very clear and concise with humour and
cadence in his coaching. I remember thinking, ‘that’s excellent.’ A deep care for his boxers which has
helped him form an amazing coaching team and a club that not only has served the community for
decades but produced multiple champions through a ‘it’s bigger than boxing’ approach.
Mark Collings loves boxing, especially yesteryear boxing. He knows boxing and loves its history. As a
journalist back in the 90s/00’s Mark had a story for every pro boxer and coach. Ray Arcel this, and
Eddie Futch that. First hand experiences or appraisals of great coaching moments all had me
thinking, ‘do I actually know the sport?!’ A real love for the science and social aspects of boxing
which encircles coaching.
Ivan Cobb has always had more to offer than most as both a coach and coach educator. Not only was
Ivan an exceptional boxer with well over 100 bouts to his name (and, of course, a fellow Cambridge
United fan), but he also sees boxing from a different perspective. I believe that perspective comes
from the way he views learning itself. Ivan recently completed his Master’s degree in Sports Coaching
and is challenging coaches and boxers to rethink what they know, how they know it, and how
meaningful change can be created through coaching. Forward-thinking and unafraid to question
tradition, Ivan is helping to push the sport forward. He encourages coaches to look beyond accepted
practices and consider how learning really happens, creating opportunities for more effective and
impactful coaching. Over the years, we’ve had countless conversations about coaching during car
journeys to and from work. Those discussions have always left me thinking differently,and Ivan’s
curiosity, knowledge, and willingness to challenge conventional wisdom are qualities that continue to
influence my own coaching journey.
Elliott Dillon is a new generation of coach but is also a throw back. A Balance of new thinking with
older values. A GB coach with a very wide skill set. Elliott, for me, is the balanced coach. Know the
ologies well – sport science, strength and conditioning with an excellent knowledge of the tactical.
He also impressed me with how he interacts. I’ve been on several camps in Tenerife with Elliott and
seen him work as team member putting others before himself but also stepping up and challenging
standards. Part of that balance comes from his integrity. Elliott, for me is an example of a coach who
never stands still who will stick to his convictions but flex for what is needed within a team.
Steve Cranston gave me the wake up call years ago in a chat around a lunch table in Tenerife. ‘Adam
your boxers like you and think you’re a great coach, but they’re scared of you’. This hit me hard I
obviously had this discipline based approach rather than the I wanted. I wanted creative, problem
solving boxers. These seemed like opposite outcomes. That comment sparked my change in my
coaching. And Steve is one of those few coaches in the world that could help coaches spark that
change. Steve knows his stuff, he really does and he has more life experience than 10 men combined.
There are a handful of coaches I know that when they enter the room, everyone know they are
there. He is one of those. And Steve’s superpower is his story telling. Through that, he gains trust and
respect very quickly. Charisma is a skill I’m not sure can be acquired easily. And although I’m not sure
skills can be acquired, the new generation of coaches perhaps don’t have that level of charisma a
Steve Cranston has anymore.
Fast forward to present day, I’m probably more confused now than I have ever been. Everything I
thought I knew as gospel has been challenged. With 99% of it all seemingly being wrong or at least
less effective. But whilst I’d be lying if I said this step into the non-linear world of coaching wasn’t
frustrating, I do feel it’s something that can accelerate our sport and my development not just as a
coach but how I see the world.
Online, we often see the battle between traditional coaching approaches, information processing
theories, and what some call the “Eco Bros” perspective, which views learning through a completely
different lens. At times, it can all seem a bit messy.
But one positive that comes from these debates is the importance of curiosity. As boxing coaches, we
have to be willing to challenge what we think we know, question our assumptions, and step into
discomfort if it helps our boxers learn, improve, and move forward faster.
Today, I’m fortunate to be part of WhatsApp groups and coaching communities where people
challenge each other every day. We’re all still figuring things out, often fumbling our way through
complex ideas, but we’re learning, questioning, and moving forward together.
The last thing I want to do as a coach is stand still. So, here’s to confusion. Here’s to frustration.
Here’s to being challenged. Most importantly, here’s to approaching coaching with the humility to
keep trying to understand something we may never fully understand.
And thank you to all the coaches I’ve mentioned, to my colleagues, to my team at Eastbourne Boxing
Club, and to the many others I haven’t mentioned in this rather lengthy reflection. You have all
played a part in shaping how I think, learn, and coach