Coaching the best
Issue: Volume 30 Number 1
During recent years, elite sport in Australia has taken giant steps. It has become much more commercial and professional, and our athletes have enjoyed great success on the international stage. We are now regarded as one of the premier sporting nations in the world.
However, success has not come just by chance. Behind the scenes we have been fortunate to have some outstanding coaches to prepare our best athletes for the highest level of competition. Coaching at this level is much more demanding than it was in the past. With additional financial support has come increased public interest and expectation, and added pressure to achieve results. Survivors in this profession are well known for their tough veneer and resilience.
While it will always be important for high performance coaches to have an intuitive ‘feel’ for the sport and be able to prescribe effective training programs, detect and correct flaws in technique and devise competition strategies, it now goes well beyond this. They must also be able to plan and coordinate a high-quality program involving a diverse range of support staff, communicate its directions and outcomes both within the sport and to the public, as well as manage the health and welfare of the athletes in an adrenaline-charged environment. Development programs for the modern high performance coach need to embrace each of these areas.
Program leadership and management
Leadership and management skills are necessary for the successful modern-day high performance coach. However, the development of these macro skills is often learnt on the job through trial and error. Leadership requires the head coach to identify and define short, medium and long-term goals for the program. Once these goals are identified and communicated, key strategies to deliver the outcomes should be developed and enacted. The head coach leads this visionary process.
The head coach has the overall responsibility for preparing each athlete for competition. This means prescribing training programs based on individual need, whether that be in the area of physical fitness, technical or tactical skills, and/or various psychological attributes. It involves the coordination and management of support personnel — assistant coaches, physical preparation staff, sports scientists from the various sub-disciplines, physicians, physiotherapists, psychologists, massage therapists, nutritionists, and career and education advisers. Of importance is how the head coach leads that team in working towards the longer-term vision (organisational goals), which requires team members (including the head coach) to have role clarity and role complementarity. Effective head coaches provide athletes and the support team with a sense of purpose.
It is also essential that the athletes themselves are involved in the planning of their own programs. This includes acknowledging their own strengths and limitations, committing to an agreed training program and taking responsibility for their own development and performance.
Realistic goals must be set for the athletes and support team, program priorities established, informed decisions made and any conflicts resolved. This process may need to be revisited during the year if changes to the program become necessary to improve performances. While the process involved in integrating the approach is a time-consuming one, the positive outcomes make it worthwhile, if not essential.
Management responsibilities also extend to the program budget, where the cost benefits of the various preparation and competition components need to be regularly evaluated. It is often not the size of the budget that is a limiting factor in achieving a result, but how wisely it has been invested.
Communication
The head coach needs to have good verbal communication skills for interacting with athletes, other coaches and program support staff, and for liaising with others involved in the sport, such as administrators, sponsors and the media.
The head coach needs to be confident, forthright and able to make an impact when giving presentations to the training squad, the support staff, committees and boards, and at media interviews, seminars and conferences. In the high-profile sports, being able to deal with the media, particularly during times of adversity, is a special skill that requires learning and experience.
This public persona needs to be combined with a capacity to interact with athletes and support staff on a one-on-one basis. Depending on the circumstances, the head coach must be able to vary the tone from being positive and encouraging to being brutally honest and disapproving, without losing anyone’s respect in the process.
Communication about various aspects of the high performance program also involves keeping all contributing and interested parties fully informed. Competency in writing skills, aided by familiarity with modern information technologies, is essential for doing this effectively.
Program culture
Coaches must always seek a competitive advantage. This involves having a good understanding of the scientific bases of performance and being aware of the potential contribution of sports scientists from each of the sub-disciplines, who might have new knowledge or technologies to provide their athletes with a competitive edge. It means keeping their eyes and ears open and being ready to try something new and innovative (that is, taking some calculated risks). This requires having regular contact with other coaches and scientists, both in Australia and overseas, working not only in their own sport but also in other sports that place similar demands on athletes. Continuous improvement is unlikely in a sport that builds a fence around itself.
Key success factors in the development of an individual athlete need to be understood and reinforced regularly by the coach to help establish a high performance culture. They include matching natural talent with a strong desire to succeed through hard work, perseverance and self-belief.
Another important area of understanding for the coach is the need for athletes to concurrently develop their personal skills and careers outside sport. Not only does this provide them with balance in their lives, which is in itself performance enhancing, but it also offers some insurance for the future when they can no longer perform at the elite level of their sport. The coach must have empathy with this ‘whole person’ approach and understand the demands placed on athletes who are pursuing educational options during intense periods of training and competition.
A further aspect of athlete welfare that comes under the jurisdiction of the coach is the behaviour of athletes both on and off the field. This includes any involvement with alcohol and illicit and performance-enhancing drugs. The role of the coach in educating athletes about these substances is crucial in establishing a high performance culture within the program, the organisation and the sport. Importantly, the coach must live the values expected of the team/squad.
In modern society, the coach must be fully aware of the legal ramifications associated with exposing athletes to the risk of injury or illness, or treating them unfairly or unethically. It is too late to learn about these issues after an incident has occurred, so codes of conduct for coaches need to be covered in detail within development programs and reinforced with regular updates.
Balance in life
Finally, in a very busy work environment that has the potential to become all-consuming, coaches need to be able to cope with stress. They must remember what they tell their athletes — recovery and recuperation are just as important as training and competition.
This means coaches must manage their time effectively to ensure that there is some balance in their lives. They should not get caught up in a ‘24/7’ workplace that does not allow sufficient time for rest and recreation. Achieving balance in life is a learnt skill and comes about as a result of good time management and a keen sense of priority, which places a high premium on personal health and family life.
While the success of a program always relates to the performances of the athletes, the person with the greatest influence is the coach. Good coaches conduct better programs and assist athletes to achieve their best results. They hold the key to our present and future standing in world sport.
