Time To Toughen Up?

In recent months there have been a number of coaches around the world who have come under the microscope for their methods, and in nearly every case it has been played out in public, and been very ugly.

In the United Kingdom we saw cyclist Jessica Varnish mount a case against Great Britain Cycling that could have had similar far-reaching effects on sport as the Bosman ruling has had on football.

Varnish was cut from the Great Britain cycling programme in March 2016. She went to court with the argument that she was effectively employed by British Cycling and the elite funding agency UK Sport. That being the case she felt that she should be in a position to sue cycling’s governing body for wrongful dismissal.

Understandably Judge Ross took her time before reaching a verdict, as if Varnish won her case the funding of all British Olympic and Paralympic athletes, and many other programs around the world would have needed re-structuring and re-visiting.

Despite strong arguments being tabled by both sets of lawyers Judge Ross stated before reaching a decision that the outcome of the case would hinge on whether she believed the agreements that athletes sign with their respective governing bodies and UK Sport were “contracts of employment” or not.

In January a 43-page judgement announced the findings. Varnish lost her case, as it was ruled that Athlete funding was more akin to a University grant and was therefore not subject to the same employment rights. Had the verdict gone the other way athletes would have benefitted from pension schemes and also been entitled to annual leave and other employment benefits. Of course the outcome does now beg the question as to whether the sporting bodies that fund athletes would be entitled to receive money back if Athletes go on to earn millions of dollars on the back of that initial support. Just like a regular University student having to pay back their fees over a period of time. (Money Needed To Make The Sporting World Go Round).

There is no doubt that cases such as this one in the UK show that the sporting landscape has changed dramatically. Are coaches being judged solely on results? Or are there now so many other components to be taken into account?

Elite sport is not for the faint-hearted. It is a tough environment, and one where there is always someone looking to take your place. Even the nicest people in sport have a toughness that is essential to succeed. Most will admit once they get to a certain level, that apart from being the best they can be, they want to win. As that is the essence of sport, it is about winning. Being crowned the best in your chosen sport is the highest accolade of all.

So in order to win, coaches have to drive and prepare players and athletes to be the best that they can possibly be. To convince those under them that they can achieve what sometimes the athlete thinks is impossible.

It was the famous Austrian athletics coach Franz Stampfl who said that “the coach’s job is 20 per cent technical and 80 per cent inspirational. He may know all there is to know about tactics, technique and training, but if he cannot win the confidence and comradeship of his pupils he will never be a good coach.”

“He must know how to talk to each in the terms which the pupil understands, realising that some require gentle encouragement, some coercion and some downright bullying in order to produce the desired response.” He said. “To do this he must get under the skin of the personality of each and every man in his care, noting where the strength and weakness lie and forming an honest and accurate assessment of the man’s limitations and capabilities.”

No doubt some will say that such views are out-dated and have no place in modern day sport, but are they? The word “Bullying” will immediately get some people’s backs up and say that such a thing cannot be condoned. A coach’s job is to bring out the best in the players or athletes he has been tasked with coaching. At the end of the day if the Athlete does not want to achieve why are they part of such a program?

Many years ago there was a celebration after a football team had won the league and promotion. All the players were attending and enjoying the spoils of their success. In conversation with one player all he could talk about was what a bastard the coach was. All he could do was highlight all the things that he hated about the coach. In particular the way he would chop and change the team. He never looked at the reason why the coach did this; apart from managing his squad and avoiding fatigue and injuries, he did it because it created competition for places. No one was assured their place in the team.

The player in question had never won anything in the game in his career before this moment. When this was pointed out to him, and how he would no doubt look back on this moment as one of the highlights of his career, he was asked would he then acknowledge that the coach had brought the best out in him? At the time he thought about it and then admitted it was a view that had not crossed his mind. He won another promotion with the club, but never won anything else in the game. Does he now reflect on how that coach brought the best out in him? That the coach signed him because he saw qualities that he admired and skills he felt would be an asset to the team? Sometimes players lose sight of what a coach is trying to do.

Just as any actor with ambition wants to work for the best director, or a top dancer wants to work with a famed choreographer, so too do the top athletes want to be trained or coached by the top coaches. For Alex Ferguson, Bob Paisley, Brian Clough and today the likes of Pep Guardiola to want to sign you as a player was and is a huge feather in your cap, but all players that were signed by these coaches knew that they were going to have to work hard to win a place in their teams week-in-week-out. Some may not have got on well with the coach, but all know that they brought the best out of them as players and people.

Some would argue that players want to play for the club rather than the coach, and that may well be more the case these days, as to have on your resume Manchester United or City, Chelsea, Real Madrid or Juventus will not only open doors, but has marketing value. How many players who have not made it at these big clubs move on to lesser competitions and are billed as “ex player of…”

Sadly today where the rewards in sport can be so great parents, and those close to top athletes often prevent the individual from seeing that the coach is in fact trying to draw out that athlete’s talent. The fact that they are part of a squad or program means that they have the talent, and that talent has been acknowledged. However, few survive on talent alone. Often the reason these players are not being selected is down to a completely different reason than just their ability.

There is the old saying that sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. Sometimes a coach has to tell a player or athlete the truth, which may hurt, but that truth will determine whether the athlete packs up their things and goes home saying how unfair life is, or whether they go away and accept that they need to work harder in certain areas to be a player who succeeds.

Sport is littered with such stories of players who missed out on selection as a junior but never gave up. At the end of the day, in most cases in sport it comes down to athletes being honest with themselves. Were they good enough? Could they have done more? Did they really give everything that they had to succeed? Did they cut corners?

It is time for athletes, and those around them to stop blaming others, especially coaches. As ultimately it comes down to the individual. Most coaches are there to make you the best that you can be.

The great New Zealand Athletics coach Arthur Lydiard was very critical of the modern day athlete when he told his biographer, “They want and expect, to have everything done for them and they have no taste for hard work that successful conditioning demands. They are satisfied with shortcuts despite all the evidence that they don’t work.”

It is understandable that athletes not selected feel despondent. Constant training without game-time can become a drudge. To quote Stampfl again, “an athlete needs the stimulus of competition to give point to the hours of hard work spent in training.”

The elite sporting environment is a highly competitive one, it is a highly charged and emotional environment. An environment not for the faint hearted. Accept that fact. Learn how to survive in that environment if you want sporting success. If you can’t, then maybe top flight sport is not for you.

Now that is not to say that bullying is to be condoned, that is if it is in fact genuine bullying. If it is a coach demanding more from and athlete, asking them to push themselves harder in order to achieve, that is not usually bullying; Of course it does depend how that message is being conveyed!

There are many athletes of a similar standard, but the ones who succeed are not just those with ability, but the ones who are mentally strong, who have a burning desire and are single-minded to do what it takes to get to the top, to live their dream. Successful coaches and athletes are driven from within. That does not mean that all had a smooth path to the top, as nearly all will have faced adversity at some point. How they dealt with those disappointments and hurdles is what makes them the champions they become. They were not going to let anything, or any words stand in the way of them achieving their goal.

Of course there are others who may have dreams which are beyond their ability. Which is where honesty comes into play. Accepting that that dream may be out of reach, but understanding that other dreams are still achievable.

Coaching is not just about winning, it is about maximising the potential in those under your guidance, making them the best that they can be. Sometimes, as all great coaches will tell you, a player needs a kick up the backside or some harsh words to get them to push on through tough times. Sometimes the athletes forget this. That is until they have retired and have time to look back and reflect. How many of us have thought back to the words of a teacher that we dismissed at the time only to realise they were right?

It was the American College Basketball coach John Calipari who probably summed it up best, “A successful person never loses… they either win or learn.” Something that is worth remembering.