‘Show players you care’
How hard is too hard when it comes to pushing a high performance athlete in pursuit of a title? Olivia Caldwell investigates.
The language of coaching is changing, says Crusaders coach and former All Black Scott Robertson.
The break-dancing, two-time Super Rugby-winning coach is known for his jovial manner in victory.
Despite connecting with his players to a level of friendship, Robertson still sees being direct as a key to success.
New Zealand has seen many long and successful coaching careers, but this year has been one to forget for four high performance organisations.
New Zealand Football, Cycling New Zealand, Netball New Zealand and Hockey New Zealand have all conducted separate independent reviews as a result of player/coach fallouts.
Bullying, sexism, favouritism and even player/coach relationships have been revealed.
How hard is too hard when it comes to pushing a high performance athlete in pursuit of a title?
Robertson says the players of today need attentiveness from their coaches if they are to perform.
‘‘This generation is different, as we know, with the information that’s out there around it. We talk about our feelings a lot more, we are more responsive and if something is right or wrong, you get told.’’
Robertson doesn’t place coaching in an ‘‘old school/new school’’ box. It isn’t as simple as that.
Being a coach now is being a mate, a teacher, a counsellor and and guide. ‘‘It is an art.
‘‘There are times you’ve still got to be direct. But you can be direct with the language that you use. That style that you use to be direct has probably changed and there’s a lot of mindfulness around how you give that information.’’
Now, athletes need to be consulted, have trust and to feel appreciated.
‘‘You find that this generation will switch off from you, so you have got to connect with them. You’ve got to make sure they trust you, that they know you really care for them.’’
Since taking the role of head coach at the Crusaders, Robertson has won back-to-back Super Rugby titles.
The 44-year-old often socialises with his team, is seen joking with the players and makes no secret of being the best break-dancer in the wider Crusaders squad.
But he still sees a time and place for being direct and delivering the blows.
‘‘You know, my style is to have fun. I know my rugby, I understand it well. I understand how the teams function and what you need to be successful.
‘‘But the key thing is how you inspire them, how they become connected as a group.
‘‘When they feel that you care and that the person beside them cares, then you get the best out of them.’’
Today’s players need to be given responsibility and take ownership as much as a coach, he says.
As a top-flight player, Robertson saw three different coaching styles – those of former Crusaders and Wallabies coach Robbie Deans, former All Black coach John Mitchell, and All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.
He says he has taken the best out of their practices, but could never replicate a particular style.
‘‘I think all the experiences I have had with the different coaches – and I have had the best in the world – some were somewhat connected much more than others.
‘‘You work out what your style is – you are not them.’’
He had not felt suppressed by a coach, but his own style was open communication.
‘‘You do take the best out of your teachers and you also remember the worst and you try not to replicate it."
Two tough Australians
Three of the four high performance sports reviews are completed. Football Ferns coach Andreas Heraf and Silver Ferns netball coach Janine Southby were casualties during their sports’ review periods – both resigned – while Cycling New Zealand sprint coach Anthony Peden resigned in May after a poor Commonwealth Games, but has since been heavily criticised in cycling’s review.
NZ Hockey’s review on Mark Hager, the Black Sticks women’s coach and former Australian hockey player, is due at the end of this month.
Unlike Heraf and Southby, Peden and Hager had decent results to back up their coaching styles.
Cycling NZ’s review found that Peden, a former Australian cyclist turned Cycling New Zealand high performance speed coach, had been having an inappropriate relationship with a female rider in the New Zealand Cycling team.
It also found he had bullied athletes, played favourites and adopted a drinking culture while leading the cycling team.
Peden’s performance, however, was more successful than any other New Zealand cycling coach since the highperformance scheme was introduced in 2008.
He led the New Zealand team to nine medals at the world championships between 2014 and 2018, a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics and 14 more medals between the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Yet, his coaching style contributed to events that led to cycling’s high performance review.
One of New Zealand’s top cyclists, Eddie Dawkins, defended his former sprint coach earlier this year.
Peden guided Dawkins, Sam Webster and Ethan Mitchell to world, Olympic and Commonwealth success and Dawkins spoke up for his work.
‘‘He’s a good lad, he’s crazy but he’s good,’’ Dawkins said.
‘‘He always wanted what was best for us. It’s sad to see him go but we’ve got to keep pushing forward – and he’s got to keep pushing forward with new opportunities.’’
The hockey review was sparked when Hager accidentally sent an email critical of several Black Sticks players to the entire team.
There have since been complaints about the team environment.
In the 10 years Hager has coached the Black Sticks, he has taken the team’s world ranking from 12th to fourth – a historical best.
Under Hager, the team won a gold, silver and bronze at the Commonwealth Games – the gold also being the women’s first.
He became head coach after the Beijing Olympics when the women were placed 12th. In the next two Olympic Games, they were ranked fourth.
After news broke that Hager was under review, seven former Black Sticks players went public in support of him.
In their letter, the players said they strongly rejected allegations around a ‘‘negative environment’ within the Black Sticks programme and claims of players being mistreated.
The old school coach and the new aged athlete
Cycling NZ high performance director Martin Barras says today’s athlete has different expectations of a coach to those athletes had in the past and it is up to the coach to remove any ‘‘old school’’ values that aren’t working.
‘‘Talking about athletes changing and intergenerational changes, you know, indeed they do change. If you are looking at this generation, they are quite different to the ones I was working with 30 years ago.
‘‘The business of coaching is pretty straightforward . . . at the end of the day it is people’s business, it is understanding what makes people tick and as the athletes are changing, the coaching style changes with it too. They are evolving side by side.’’
Barras says the key to being a good coach is getting the human element right and dealing with differing personalities.
Once a high performance coach himself, he led the New Zealand senior women’s cycling team to four world championship medals and a Commonwealth Games gold.
He says today’s cyclists are a lot more informed and organised, and therefore expect their coaches to be as well.
Relationships need to be more instantaneous, and loyalty between athletes and coaches is
not as solid as it used to be.
‘‘There is a fault in the system with some of these newer athletes. Their communication is probably not what previous generations had, but by the same token they are much more autonomous, really well informed.
‘‘Is an old coaching style seen as bullying? I think it is more the old coaching style is just not adequate or not as adequate for this particular generation. Is it bullying? I don’t think so, it is just not adequate.’’
Getting women involved
White Ferns cricket coach Haidee Tiffen says it is important to get women involved in top-level sport.
‘‘I am an advocate for women coaching in any sport and trying to get more women involved in all the areas of sport, it just brings around that diversity.
‘‘So you actually have different perspectives around the table when making decisions.’’
While in the past coaching had been more of a dictatorship, it was becoming increasingly important for players to have an opinion around all parts of sport.
‘‘We ensure we are seeking feedback from players, but ultimately I am the decision maker as well,’’ Tiffen says.
Not only do players require a say, player welfare is something that high performance sport is emphasising.
Tiffen says anyone in her team needs to take responsibility and accountability for results. This brings challenging conversations, especially when players are out of form. ‘‘Sometimes players take it personally and think ‘you don’t like me’, but hang on we have stats.
‘‘At times you do need to push players out of their comfort zone and at times players or people don’t like being pushed out of their comfort zone.’’
Tiffen says it has taken her time to adapt to a coaching role and she has had to develop a thick skin.
‘‘At times in my career I might have taken it personally from the players – I wanted to ensure they were safe and good to go out and perform – but now I understand that we actually have to ensure these players are getting pushed out of their comfort zone.
‘‘Not everyone is going to agree with decisions. As long as they feel like they have had a voice and opportunity. You just have to be really clear and factual around performance.’’
Adapting a coaching style to suit the crowd
Black Sticks men’s coach Darren Smith says today’s athlete likes to be consulted and it is a coach’s responsibility to do this.
‘‘They want to be involved, they want to be involved in the strategy, they want to be involved in the discussion.’’
While Smith has adapted his coaching over time, he says there still needs to be a definite authority between him and the players.
‘‘There are a lot of reasons why an athlete may not be performing. But every now and then a kick in the pants is what is required.
‘‘Sometimes telling it as it is and really getting the guys focused and letting them know is not a bad thing, but sometimes it’s not actually a bad thing to listen either.’’
Smith has coached the Irish women’s team and says there are subtle differences between coaching men and women.
‘‘A lot of parts are the same and some parts are maybe a bit different. I may be a bit blunt with the guys . . . I don’t have to change my language a lot.
‘‘I do think there are subtle differences. I am very hyper aware of some things in the women’s programme that I am not as aware of with the men.
‘‘Blokes can tend to suck it up and push on and not actually communicate, girls overcommunicate.
‘‘Straight away there’s a subtle difference.
‘‘I have to watch the guys closely, because they are really likely to just suck it up and get on with it even if they’re not going that well. They’re blokes, they are like ‘sweet as, we are tough’, when they are actually battling away.
‘‘It’s a complex thing coaching, I reckon.’’