Interesting or Important?

In my opinion, curiosity is one of the most important qualities of being a lifelong learner.  Like an onion with never ending layers, great practitioners consistently ask themselves “why,” while pushing the limits of their own knowledge ceiling.  These questions continue to expand with the advent of various technologies.  Technologies such as tracking devices, sleep monitors, and the fascination with objectivity have exploded within the past decade in sports science.  If you can measure it, surely it’s more precise?  Surly it matters?  Surly it peels yet another layer of the performance onion?  Well......

“Those who believe that what cannot be measured, doesn’t matter, also believe that what can be measured, does! “

A great reminder recently was from my friend Chad Drummond (S&C coach for the Edmonton Oilers), who said (paraphrase):  Is it interesting, or important?

As I’ve aged, the best way to explain it, is that it’s been a skewed sea saw relationship for me regarding metrics and measure.   

I find so many things interesting, but very few things important.  So much noise, yet so little signal.  We have become proficient at measuring trees, without understanding the impact of the forest, or the unintended consequences of the landscape. So, ask yourself, is it interesting, or is it important?  Does it move the needle?  How does it help the player? How does it affect the scoreboard?  Curiosity is paramount, but it can be both a blessing and curse if not realizing the difference.