A very Swedish tradition is the week’s break from school that students have sometime from the second week of February to the second week of March. Starting with the southernmost part of the country the break works it’s way up north. It is called the ”sport break” alluding to the fact that a good idea would be for the kids to get out of school and hit the slopes, the ice or perhaps nowadays, even the more or less evergreen grass. Whether kids actually do this is another issue as we know that much of the behaviour of children when they are out of school depends on their parents.

So, with very little winter sport happening around Stockholm, we decided to go on a little family trip. Our youngest child have read a serious of books called Pax. Seriously dramatic and exciting books taking place in the little town of Mariefred, south of Stockholm. The great thing now is that the books can be relived in the authentic surroundings of Mariefred. All it takes is a phone, the downloaded app and a pair of headphones. Five of us entered the world of Grimmen, Alrik and Viggo and in no time we were completely absorbed by the story and our exploration of the little village. An hour later we had clocked up 5km of walking without noticing.

As I return from an EU meeting in Zagreb, Croatia, on the theme of ”Why European sport needs skilled and competent coaches” I think about our experience in Mariefred. The skilled and competent coach is one that can influence people in a positive way and make them do things they did not think they were capable of, and perhaps did not even think they wanted to do. What I wonder though is whether the coach will have to be an actual person? I am still waiting to meet the coach that can tell me the kind of story that will make me so wholeheartedly step into what I am doing as the Pax-app did in Mariefred. Augmented reality simply needs to become reality in coaching!