The Constraints Collective #90 Dave Keelty and Sam McKenzie
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Apr 30, 2026 Sam McKenzie, an AFL coach developer supporting regional coaches and player pathways. Dave Keelty, NZ Cricket high performance coach developer building coach networks. They discuss Balance Is Better, delaying early selection, individualising training within teams, representative session design, embedding constraint-led practices, and translating ideas into everyday coaching.
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Balance Is Better Keeps Pathways Open
- Balance Is Better is a national philosophy in New Zealand to delay early specialization and keep funnels open for teenagers to maintain participation.
- It emphasises late specialization, multisport opportunities and minimising early national competitions to reduce drop-out at 14 and 18.
Under Nine Final Forced Whole Squad Penalties
- Ian recalled an under-nine national football final where every squad member had to take a penalty so finals used whole-squad involvement.
- The following year the format changed after the team lost and coaches protested the rule.
Bio-banding Reveals Large Maturation Skews
- Bio-banding exposes stark physical and play-style differences: early developers dominate top fields while late developers play differently and may be underselected.
- Ian's Auckland maturation project found 60 kids had 30 early, 29 on-time and only one late developer.
