Watch a coach closely enough, and you’ll see a coach who is likely performing for the crowd. How do I know? I’ve done it myself. If you want them to come back next week — guess what you do? You play it safe.
The danger, of course, is that we don’t run the random session the kids might hate, or the one the parents will shake their heads at. We play it safe.
When I think of maximin decisions, I think of an S&C coach in a Premier League football team. Optimise by any means if you can, but don’t mess it up. Don’t injure the player — the stakes are too high.
The opposite is maximax: if you get it wrong, it’s not the end of the world, so long as it goes right on occasion. Just ask a pro golfer who wins less than 10% of the tournaments they enter but wins the Masters — who’s counting?
If this goes wrong, I shrug?
If this goes wrong, I’m finished?
What are you holding on to?