How would you spend the money?
What would be your first action
We were at an airport and someone asked …..
“If you had £100,000 to invest in your coaching development
and you had to split it three ways, what would you choose?”
The rules
- You can be as selfish or as generous as you like or you can share the experience with others
- There is no limit on the time period
- There must be at least 3 different experiences
- You must spend the full $100,000
What happened
It certainly produced a lively debate and discussion
Some people were accused of only picking visits to Asia because of the food and weather 
(a coaching holiday?)
Others found it much harder than they thought to split it 3 ways, especially finding 3 different themes.
Then there was the question of experiencing the learning with others. Would it be more productive to do it alone or be with some friends? The late evening chats over a great meal certainly sounded attractive.
Would you find it easy to decide how to spend the $100,000?
What did people choose?
The most common reply was to visit different badminton hot spots
All the expected places like Denmark, Malaysia, China and Indonesia were mentioned.
A few coaches thought about going to emerging nations such as France.
Everyone spoke about staying a minimum of 3 – 4 weeks in each. The appeal was clear: full immersion, daily observation, and the chance to absorb a different badminton culture.
Employing or shadowing a mentor was another theme
Many coaches wanted long-term access to an experienced mentor / coach — not just on court, but during quiet moments, meals, and reflective conversations.
Ideas included:
– Two years of mentoring from someone like Kenneth Jonassen
– Working with a sports psychologist experienced in racket sports
– Hiring someone to help refine practice design, decision‑making and coaching behaviours
This wasn’t about copying. It was about being nudged, challenged and supported.
People felt that being able to spend active and quiet time with someone experienced would be interesting and could throw up some surprising insights.
One person wanted to put 60k into starting an academy
One coach wanted to invest 60k into launching an academy.
But questions quickly followed:
– Is that enough money?
– How long would it last?
– Who would help run it?
– Would it become hard work rather than development?
We all agreed that it was a bold idea — but not without risk.
No one offered to share the experience with another coach
More specific respones
- Visit national training centres ie. Brondby x 3 every year
- Mentoring (ongoing for 2yrs) from Kenneth Jonassen for example
- Mentoring from a range of sports professionals to increase their knowledge of Practice Design, psychology, season planning, lifestyle advice
- Employ someone to work with them on a daily basis to develop their coaching skills, their practice design. The choices they made when coaching.
- To attend all the Coach Educatsion course they could find, BWF, BEC Project Advanced, Danish, etc
- Identify an expert (non-badminton) who could listen to their thoughts, help them find their own solutions, and nudge them through challenges in a 'safe' environment and gain honest reflections.
Why consider this question
Sometimes we forget to consider our next step in our coach development
Dreaming big can reveal opportunities that are more realistic than they first appear
The question forces you to ....
- Prioritise what you value
- Consider how you learn best
- Imagine experiences that could genuinely change your coaching
Workshop ideas to start a discussion
Download this free resource
A 3-section worksheet to help Coach Developers stimulate discussion and explore ideas through conversations.
🧩 Step 1 : The challenge: get coaches thinking
🔍 Step 2 : Reflection Task: What Does This Reveal About You as a Coach?
🎯 Step 3 : Quickfire Version: One minute to answer the questions.
This helps coaches see the deeper patterns behind their decisions.
The conversation is often more valuable than the list.
Do you want a conversation?
I’d like to hear from you if you have a viewpoint on anything that you’ve read
We don’t need to agree, but explore viewpoints.
It would be great to hear from you, send me an email : contact@badmintonandy.com
This is part of a series of conversation starters.
Although not in detail, the posts are written to get you thinking and talking with others.
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