Why the Next Chapter Is About Coaches, Not Content

Over the past year, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on what the Academy has become.

Not in terms of numbers.
Not in terms of content volume.
But in terms of what it’s actually doing for coaches.

And if I’m being honest, that reflection has led to a clear conclusion.

2026 needs to be different.

Not louder.
Not bigger for the sake of it.
But deeper, more intentional, and more aligned with how coaches actually learn, grow, and sustain themselves in this profession.

This article is about that shift.
And why, if you’re a coach who feels slightly out of step with traditional coach education, you’ll probably want to be part of it.

From “More Content” to Better Learning

For a long time, coach education has followed a familiar pattern.

More drills.
More frameworks.
More acronyms.
More courses stacked on top of each other.

The Academy was never meant to replicate that. But even well-intentioned spaces can drift.

What’s become clear is this:
Coaches don’t need more information. They need better understanding.

In 2026, the Academy moves away from being a place where coaches consume ideas and towards a place where coaches think, test, reflect, and adapt.

That means:

• Less “copy this practice”
• Less surface-level certainty
• Fewer neat answers

And more:

• Why learning looks the way it does
• How players adapt in real environments
• How constraints shape behaviour
• How coaching decisions actually affect development over time

This is not about being anti-practice or anti-doing.
It’s about grounding action in understanding, not habit.

A Community of Practice, Not a Content Library

One of the biggest shifts in 2026 is this:

The Academy is no longer centred on content. It’s centred on people.

Most coach platforms operate like Netflix.
Log in. Watch something. Log out.

But coaching doesn’t work like that. Learning doesn’t work like that.

The Academy is being redesigned as a community of practice:

• Coaches sharing real problems
• Coaches testing ideas in messy environments
• Coaches reflecting honestly on what worked, what didn’t, and why
• Coaches learning with each other, not being talked at

This is where ecological thinking actually lives.
Not in theory slides.
But in shared observation, dialogue, and experimentation.

In 2026, being a member means:

• You contribute, not just consume
• You reflect, not just apply
• You are part of the thinking, not just the audience

Moving Beyond Recipes and Shortcuts

A lot of coaches arrive at the Academy frustrated.

Not because they lack effort.
But because they’ve followed the recipes and still feel stuck.

They’ve:

• Run the drills
• Copied the sessions
• Followed the pathway advice
• Done what they were told was “best practice”

And yet, players still struggle to transfer skill.
Parents still ask for more.
Sessions still feel busy but shallow.

The 2026 direction is clear:

We stop training recipe-followers and start developing decision-makers.

That means:

• Understanding why technique changes
• Accepting variability instead of controlling it
• Designing environments, not just activities
• Letting go of the idea that learning is linear, predictable, or coach-controlled

This isn’t comfortable.
But it’s honest.

And honesty is what many coaches tell me they’re missing.

A Place for Coaches Who Are Still Learning

One thing I’m committing to more openly in 2026 is this:

I’m still learning.

Despite the perception of expertise, publications, or presentations, the Academy is not built around me having “the answers”.

It’s built around asking better questions.

That creates a very different culture:

• One where uncertainty is allowed
• Where reflection is valued
• Where changing your mind is seen as growth, not weakness

If you’re a coach who feels you’ve outgrown being told what to do, but don’t want to retreat into dogma or ego, this matters.

The Academy is becoming a space for coaches who:

• Care deeply about players
• Question what they were taught
• Want evidence without arrogance
• Want progress without pretending certainty

Why This Matters Now

Coaching is changing. Quietly, but fundamentally.

The old systems are still loud.
The old messages are still dominant.
But more coaches are starting to feel the cracks.

They’re tired of:

• Performing confidence
• Selling certainty
• Chasing validation
• Repeating ideas that don’t quite sit right anymore

The Academy’s direction in 2026 is for those coaches.

Not the loudest.
Not the trend-chasers.
But the ones who care enough to rethink their craft.

If You’re Reading This and Nodding…

Then the message is simple.

This isn’t a platform you “join”.
It’s a place you belong.

If you want:

• To think more deeply about learning
• To coach with less control and more clarity
• To be part of a thoughtful, challenging, supportive coaching culture
• To stop chasing drills and start understanding skill

Then 2026 is the year the Academy becomes your professional home.

Not because it has all the answers.

But because it asks the right questions — together.