Journal

(Week of November 4th, 2024)

A Nod to the Trailblazers

Haven’t put anything out this week on the game cards app, instead thought I’d take the chance to highlight others who have led the way…

working with the Skill Acquisition OG, Prof Damian Farrow, in a pro team sport in the early 2000’s, we put up “skill cards” in the players indoor warm up area. Nothing but laminated A4 paper, they were quite effective in engaging and challenging players (no doubt, given Damo’s background, something he picked up from the many great “phys edders” before him)
I started thinking more closely about “gamification” around 2012 and, a couple of years before that, the one and only Brian McCormick, PHD produced a blog post on it from a coaching/youth sport perspective. Here is a more recent version of his - https://brianmccormick.substack.com/p/learning-from-video-games
The “magic men”, Rusty (Russell Earnshaw) and Fletch (John Fletcher), took things to another level with “challenge cards” - https://www.themagicacademy.co.uk/the-origin-of-challenge-cards
…and then Craig Morris joined in at British Canoe - https://www.ukcoaching.org/resources/topics/stories/using-challenge-cards-to-put-the-athlete-at-the-ce
finally, Jack Rolfe and the The Coaching Lab’s “matchplay cards” have spread across the globe - https://thecoachinglab.org/

A big tip of the 🎩 to you all! 👏👏👏

P.S. who have I missed?

(Week of October 28th, 2024)

Game Zones

Excited to show off how the Game Zones concept works in the app, enabling powerful collaboration and scaling:

⛹🏻‍♀️…from a young person using it in games with their friends at a local field or court

🏫…to students and teachers in educational institutions

🏟…to professional teams, clubs & academies

🌏…to state, national and global sport communities and organisations

💡…and more!

There has been serious thought put into the design and architecture to enable this, embracing emerging web protocols around identity and data storage/sharing.

Take a look at the Game Zones tutorial video below.

Get involved here - https://gamecards.zone

Bring Practice Sessions to Life

🏀⚽️🏑🏉🏈⚾️🎾🏐🏏

Recently overheard this question and response after a practice session….

“how was the session?”

player: “yeah, pretty much boring as bat s**t”

Fortunately, there are alternatives! https://gamecards.zone

Amplifying Team Dynamics & Synergies

In many sports one of the greatest balancing acts is between the individual and the team - harnessing and valuing both the “me” and the “we”.

So far this series of posts has focused on using the app for individual tasks/challenges, however that can be complimented by the “team award” feature which enables:

highlighting and recognising game situations that require synergies between two or more players to be explored and formed, ie “pick ’n roll” in basketball
situations where it requires “all hands on deck” to complete the task/challenge

Watch the tutorial video below to learn how awarding of cards to “teams” can super-charge the “me” and the “we”…

Get involved here - https://gamecards.zone

Card Examples

A few example cards to highlight the vast range of ways you can use the app to facilitate…

on & off-ball skills
creativity
focus
fun!!! 😃

Get involved & create your own - https://gamecards.zone

Game Cards App - how might it be used???

After inviting people to “play” last week I received a number of great responses from folks sharing a range of ways they might use the app.

Below are just a few quotes, and I’ve compiled some others here - https://gamecards.zone/usecases.html

Also, I will keep a “journal” (the page you are on right now! 🙂) for the purposes of aggregating posts from here and other platforms. This might spark some ideas and applications for you.

If you would like to be part of the “game”, express your interest here - https://gamecards.zone

(Week of October 21st, 2024)

Player Development & Game Cards App

🏀⚽️🏑🏉🏈⚾️🎾🏐🏏

Finishing off the week with a look at what the recently released “card decks” feature in the Game Cards app offers, either for one-off sessions you might run or as part of long-term player/talent development.

In regards to the latter, consider creating a deck that is specifically for tracking skill progression markers for individual players, and “award” the cards in the deck to players as they complete the tasks/challenges that define that marker.

For example, in basketball, you may create a deck that is for the range of perimeter shooting scenarios and situations that players a) attempt, and b) successfully make shots in…

catch ’n shoot (“feet set”)
contested
off the dribble (step backs, escape)
coming off screens at high speed and/or change of direction (“movement shooting”)
etc etc

You decide whether the markers should be evaluated and cards awarded only during formal competition, or whether representative activities in practice and scrimmages also qualify??? 🤔 (good discussion topic this one)

Also a great way to co-create with players, fostering an autonomy-supportive environment that gets them exploring their own development. Players may start coming up with their own cards (tasks/challenges) that they want to use…then you are flying! 🚀🚀🚀

Check out the video below to see how easy it is to create card decks, and request to “play” here - https://gamecards.zone

Game Cards + Game Hubs

🏀⚽️🏑🏉🏈⚾️🎾🏐🏏

The Game Cards app is a complimentary component of the ‘Game Hubs’ initiative, enabling many of its underpinning principles…

⛹️‍♂️ Play & games-based (promoting freedom, creativity, collaboration, competition)

🗣 Voices and choices of young people shape the “what” and “how” of games (games may or may not resemble established sports)

🤝 Adults = facilitators/activators/enablers/co-designers

⌚️Flexible (in terms of time commitment and ways to participate)

💰 No/low cost

🏚 Place-based (created “with” and “by” people in the local community)

(find out more about Game Hubs here - https://gamehubs.network)

If you are a young (or older!) person who runs games and events with mates, or an adult involved in facilitating them, then the Game Cards app might be something you want to try…

Game Cards App - Coaching Approaches

🏀⚽️🏑🏉🏈⚾️🎾🏐🏏

Not surprisingly, it hasn’t taken long for some coaches and educators to see how the Game Cards app could compliment and enhance:

constraints-led | game sense | game-based approaches

…either in their own coaching or when guiding emerging coaches/teachers.

Creating and using cards through the app is a good entry point to practically explore concepts such as “representing”, “modifying”, “shaping”, “exaggerating”, “constraining”…significant given these ideas are often spoken/written about with greater frequency and quality than is evident in practical application 😉

Game Cards App - end deflating experiences!

🏀⚽️🏑🏉🏈⚾️🎾🏐🏏

Often the experiences of (young) people in and through sport deflate and disengage them…

Therefore it has been reinvigorating to receive requests from people to “play” with the Game Cards app this week; articulating creative ways players, coaches, students and teachers could co-create better experiences…

Get in touch if you want to find out more and be part of this emerging project…

Help make those deflating sport experiences a thing of the past!

Game Cards App - creative coaches are playing!

🏀⚽️🏑🏉🏈⚾️🎾🏐🏏

This week I’m sharing info and inviting participation in a little side-project that is getting off the ground.

Yesterday saw creative coaches involved in golf, hockey and gaelic football get in touch and request to “play”.

Take a look at the quick-start tutorial video and then go here if you would also like to play…

Game Cards App - ready for launch 🚀

🏀⚽️🏑🏉🏈⚾️🎾🏐🏏

“Coaches and players can use the app to co-create cards for a wide variety of purposes

…including those that are purely about having a heap of fun!

…and also for situations where the agreed intent is exploration and tracking of technical-tactical or psycho-social skill development”

Another little side project about to launch - find out more and get in touch if you are interested in trying it out…