Author: Ekaitz Saies
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The Masterpiece of Performance
Excellence in sport doesn’t arrive in a blaze of glory. It’s built quietly, patiently, in the margins — where the unglamorous work happens. It’s in the tiny adjustments, the almost-invisible improvements, the relentless pursuit of better that athletes edge closer to their peak. In high performance sport, success is sculpted detail by…
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Leadership Lessons from Amundsen and Scott
A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about Ernest Shackleton’s leadership blueprint. I’ve always been drawn to stories of explorers, adventurers, and mavericks — those who push the boundaries of what’s possible. I was already familiar with the legendary race to the South Pole between Roald Amundsen and Robert…
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Beyond Talent: How a Growth Mindset Transforms Athletes
After missing out on the opportunity to race at the London 2012 Olympics, I decided to give more attention to my academic career and enrolled in a Master’s degree with the intention of doing a PhD afterwards. During one of the assignments for that Master’s, I came across Carol Dweck’s…
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The Power of Simple, Relentless Preparation
Picture this: it’s the final of a very important competition or the or the last seconds of a crucial match. The pressure is immense, the stakes are high, and there’s no time to think—only to execute. The athletes who rise to the occasion are not necessarily the most talented, but…
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Think Lean, Stay Adaptable: How the PADDLE GAMES Stays Flexible Without a Masterplan
Why the PADDLE GAMES doesn’t have an elaborate and polished masterplan? To stay lean, agile, open to serendipity, and to avoid falling for the Planning Fallacy. Too often, ambitious projects become bogged down by overcomplicated masterplans that assume a predictable future. But reality doesn’t work that way. Instead of relying…
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Changing the Conversation on Body Image in Sport
My first experience as a coach happened quite by accident — both figuratively and literally. At the peak of my athletic career, just nine months away from the 2011 Olympic qualifiers, I was involved in a motorbike accident that left me with a broken leg. With my leg in a…
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When an Expert Thinks It’s Wrong, It Might Be Just Right
As a kid, I spent hours flicking through the hundreds of vinyl records that my uncle Xabi had in his room. Some say he was the first—or one of the first—punks in San Sebastian. He had a band, wrote a fanzine, ran a record label, and even released one of…
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Building a Winning Culture: 15 Lessons from the All Blacks
Some years ago, I was flicking through books in a well-known bookstore in the old part of San Sebastian when one caught my attention. By then, we had just returned from our most successful Olympic Games ever—Rio 2016—where we won three gold medals and a bronze. The book was Legacy…
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Beyond Barriers: Women Leading the Future of Canoe Coaching
The morning air is crisp, biting at the skin. A delicate mist hovers over the still waters of the Holme Pierrepont National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham, catching the pale winter sun. On the water, a group of athletes paddle with quiet determination, their breath curling in the cold air…
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The Power of Unity: Why True Greatness is Never a Solo Journey
Phil Jackson, the legendary basketball coach, once said that during Michael Jordan’s first six seasons in the NBA, he was by far the best player. Yet, despite his individual brilliance, he failed to win a single championship. In his book Sacred Hoops, Jackson explained: “A great player alone can only…
EKAITZ SAIES 