Keeping player 'poaching' honest
Issue: Volume 27 Number 4
There are few more sensitive issues in coaching than that of player poaching. Some brand it as the ugly side of a naturally noble and selfless profession; for others it is simply another aspect of an occupation that, by its very nature, is highly competitive and all about striving for excellence.
In some professional sports, poaching (or at least the inducement of a player to move when they might otherwise not have done so) is accepted and regulated in the form of transfers and drafts. Yet, as any supporter of even the most business-regulated football club will tell you, there can still be a sense of bitterness and betrayal.
Chris Tanzey has seen it from both sides: as the NSW Soccer Coach of the Year for the Canberra Blue Devils in 2003–04 and as a junior with the English club Liverpool. He says that in his sport the movement of players is taken for granted, and that he expects approaches from other clubs.
‘You always have to think of the best interests of the club that employs you, and if that means going after a player you think will benefit the team, then so be it,’ he said. ‘There are channels in soccer and if a club sticks to those channels, then I have no problem.
‘We also have to think of whether the player benefits, especially if it involves a move to a higher level where that person’s talents will bloom. On the other hand, if that player is going to spend game after game sitting on the substitutes’ bench at that higher level, he might be better off staying where he is.’
Chris sees another danger — a corruption of a young player’s moral values. ‘If you have people fighting over you, it is easy to think things like honesty and loyalty don’t mean anything and that all that matters is getting the most out of the game — that attitude will come back to bite you later in your career,’ he said.
‘When I was at Liverpool there were no incentives offered to join the club. The main reason was that they knew the majority of apprentices would not make it, and it can be devastating for young players to be built up with gifts and incentives one season, then told they are not needed the next.’
His advice to coaches who are considering an approach to a player is to ask themselves ‘who am I doing this for, what is my real motivation?’
‘If it’s just for themselves or the club, they should also consider the interests of the player, and whether it’s the best move for him, because if it isn’t, the club and the coach will suffer eventually,’ he said.
‘At the end of the day if you believe you have always acted with integrity, you won’t go far wrong.’
Maxine McLennan, a former netball coach in the Great Southern Region of Perth, said it was the most natural thing in the world to want to hang on to good players. ‘It really depends on the level you are at,’ she said.
‘If it went on entirely behind my back I would be very disappointed, but if there was a formal approach I would take it on board and consider whether that move would help the player’s career.
‘It is inevitable that at the end of the season you are looking for players to fill spots next time round, and you would hear rumours of players who were disgruntled and ready to move on, so you would make the approach.’
She would be unhappy if this became a regular feature of junior netball. ‘I think there would be a case for the authorities to move in and introduce some regulations,’ she said. ‘However, if you have made the decision to compete and coach at elite level, then obviously you want the best, and if you are not getting it from your coach, then you are going to look elsewhere.
‘My advice to a coach whose player has been approached is keep cool, keep the lines of communication open, and get as much information from the other parties as possible, so you can make an informed decision.’
The head coach of tennis at the Victorian Institute of Sport, Michael Robertson, said that one of the major problems with poaching was that often the athletes were told ‘exactly what they do not need to hear’.
‘To lure them away, some coaches promise athletes the earth, when the reality is they have to put in just as much hard work and be just as dedicated as before,’ he said.
‘That can lead to disillusionment after the initial honeymoon period with the resulting negative effect on the athletes’ career.’
Australian Swimming Coach of the Year Ian Pope says that in individual sports, the movement of athletes from one coach to another is a much more emotional issue.
‘It creates distrust and, because coaches invest so much time and energy in that single person, it can be quite unpleasant,’ he said.
He has charge of five Athens Olympians, and since the Games another two have joined. ‘They came because they wanted to, not because I asked them — I am very ethical about things like that,’ he said.
‘If someone approached one of my swimmers — and it has happened before — then I would immediately want to talk to that coach and seek to clarify what was going on.
‘In swimming the athletes can make up their own minds, go with whomever they like, and that is fine. There is no need for coaches to go around trying to offer inducements to join their program.’
He made a distinction between elite level and situations where a swimmer was rising up through the ranks. ‘If athletes have the opportunity to join a development squad, such as the Australian Institute of Sport, and their coaches feel they will get a more advanced standard of training there, they should probably let them go,’ he said.
‘But even in this situation, the approach should be right. If a swimmer is being asked to join a program, and the coach is not consulted, that is simply not acceptable.’
Player poaching
|
