The Technical Director (TD) role is pivotal in shaping and implementing a sport's technical plan, which serves as the foundation for player and coach development. As the highest echelon in the development hierarchy, this role should focus on building a structured and sustainable development pipeline that supports long-term success. However, this responsibility is often overshadowed by systemic challenges that compromise the position's effectiveness.
- Coaching vs. Leadership: Many TDs are highly skilled coaches who ascend to the role due to their technical expertise. However, the TD position demands more than coaching prowess—it requires leadership, mentorship and the ability to align an entire organization around a cohesive development strategy. The transition from coaching to leading others is often overlooked or undervalued, resulting in TDs defaulting to coaching their "best teams" rather than fostering systemic development.
- Economic Realities of Coaching: In Canadian sport, coaching positions are often underfunded, with minimal financial incentives for individuals to commit to coaching as a full-time profession. This lack of compensation, coupled with increased demands on coaches to manage not just technical development but also communication, administration and compliance, has created an unsustainable burden. This dynamic has fueled the rise of private academies, where coaches can earn a living wage by focusing on fewer players with a higher return on their time investment.
- Misaligned Incentives for TDs: While coaching positions remain underfunded, TD roles often offer competitive salaries, ranging from $75,000 to $125,000 annually in some cases. This disparity attracts talented coaches to TD positions. However, once in the role, these individuals frequently revert to coaching their preferred teams or teams their children are involved with, rather than fulfilling the broader leadership and oversight responsibilities the position demands. This pervasive issue exists across multiple sports, not just one and undermines the potential for widespread development.
If the sport industry is genuinely committed to development—which is the core business we are in—the role of the Technical Director must evolve. We need to:
- Redefine Expectations: Clearly delineate the responsibilities of TDs to prioritize leadership, mentorship and strategic oversight over individual coaching roles. The TD role must be framed as one that supports coaches and players holistically rather than directly managing select teams.
- Invest in Coaches: Address the economic gap by providing fair compensation for coaching positions, enabling talented individuals to focus on their craft without the need to seek TD roles for financial security.
- Accountability and Performance Metrics: Establish clear, measurable outcomes for TDs tied to the success of the entire organization’s development pipeline. This includes coach education, player progression and alignment with the technical plan.
- Professional Development: Equip TDs with the necessary leadership training and resources to excel in their roles. Moving from coaching to organizational leadership requires skills that must be intentionally developed and supported.
The pervasive misalignment between the expectations of Technical Directors and their current practices poses a significant challenge to sport development. Addressing these issues requires systemic changes, including better resource allocation, role clarity and leadership development. By committing to these changes, we can ensure that TDs fulfill their critical role in advancing sport development and delivering meaningful results for players, coaches and the broader sport community.
Planning, Management and Policy Consultant
1 个月Good insights. In reality, every TD and every coach role are leadership roles. The content may differ - System vs. Strategy, Strategy vs. Tactic, Tactic vs. Skill Development - but planning, communication, accountability and culture are critical in every case. Boards and senior management must recognize that leadership skills need deliberate attention, professional development, mentoring and more.
A great article.
Technical Director and Coach Facilitator at Fundy Soccer Club
2 个月As a TD I love this article. It helps respective Board of Directors help align their club and better support and hold accountable their TD’s to developmental metrics. This would inspire me in my role as a TD!
Player developer, coach educator, club builder.
2 个月Fantastic article Matt. A big problem has been the lack of education around what the role actually is and like you say, they are too often very well paid coaching jobs where 25-40% of their weekly hours can be put into the one, two, or even three teams they personally coach. I have to believe that the soon to be launched TD Diploma will provide some clarity to the position for the non-profit boards to fully understand and embrace the role.
Connecting Community, Commerce and Sport
2 个月Always thought provoking Matt! It is extremely evident that coaching development is one of the biggest challenges sport faces! An A Diploma requires approximately $75,000 investment in time, travel, accommodation and fees, yet the going rate for a BCSPL or L1 role locally is $10,000 - $15,000! In small clubs the TD is in many cases the ED, while in larger clubs they manage/lead multiple technical staff and the Director, Development is responsible for developing coaches. Recent experiences indicates that expanding access to quality coach education and mentorship will be critical to Canada's success and needs to be coupled with enhancing coach compensation. If sport leadership at the highest levels are looking for focus - investment in this area is critical and there should be multiple channels & sources of such education! PS - coming from the non-profit side of things, where approximately $2.5M in volunteer hours are invested, I support employees being able to volunteer to coach (it's their time), including their own kids, which in itself is controversial but works effectively 90% of the time, despite optics. Reducing barriers, adding incentives and making the coach role attractive is job one!