Monday morning. One week to go. The final countdown.
The air in the flat felt different, charged with a nervous energy that had been building since I'd first received the email from Gary Issott.
The first week had been about building the foundations: the research, the philosophy, the session plans. This week was about refinement, about polishing every detail until it shone, about transforming myself from a candidate into the only candidate.
We started the week by revisiting my coaching philosophy document. It was good, but it wasn't perfect. Emma, with her journalist's eye for detail, went through it line by line, her red pen a ruthless but necessary weapon.
She challenged every sentence, every word, every comma. "This section about player psychology needs more depth," she said, circling a paragraph. "You talk about trust and belief, but you need to show them how you build it. Give them concrete examples."
