Talent Pathways and other things

This article was created out of a recent application for a post in a Talent Pathway environment for a National Governing Body (NGB). Before you tell me how daft I am at my age to apply for such positions let me give you some rationale. I present, write courses for, and create many articles on the subject of Coach and Coaching Development which is the most powerful partner to all the ever-changing Athlete Pathways. I do this as part of a sharing strategy with my colleagues out there because I learn from everyone I come into contact with and want to make a fair contribution to others. Whenever the chance comes along to put all the things I have learned over the last 54 years into place to help coaches and athletes I simply cannot just remain as an onlooker. I always feel it right to put my money where my mouth is and apply to make a formal contribution. The exercise also allows me to get my thoughts in some logical order so that I continue to reduce the errors in my thinking. I believe in the principles contained in this article to such an extent that I am confident enough to apply for the positions that hopefully will see them turn from theories into direct practice.

I don’t expect any measurable outcomes from this exercise but do hope that some elements might be helpful to those looking to find improvement in their own athlete and coach strategies. If there are any ideas or comments or phrases in this article that help just one person improve the world of Coaching and Coach Development then it would have been worthwhile. I have edited those elements that might give too much detail about the organisation involved in the hope that some of the strategic elements can be viewed objectively (sorry for this but too many people get offended by the slightest mention). Here’s hoping that there is a phrase or two that might help.

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To Whom It May Concern,

Please accept this as my formal application for the post of Head of Talent Development. In addition to the formalities of the application, I would like to offer the following observations and comments.

While there are always many fixed elements that an organisation may have become used to, especially those recurring and using a well-known rhythm, language and vocabulary, there will always be a need to question assumptions across all factors. This appointment is focused on the Talent strategy but, as with all successful operations, it can never exist in isolation. The Talent pathway is but one element in a complex service provision and is both a contributor to and a recipient of actions and strategies from other components of the national plan. It is important, therefore, to prepare a flexible and adaptable rhythm between all the competing departments as each rotates in its ability to provide outcomes to the plan and also have some dependency upon it. Regardless of these ever-shifting roles, the glue that holds them all together is the provision of an appropriate coaching strategy.  

With limitations prevailing in athlete retention; technical, physical and behavioural progression; injury frequency, and the subsequent effect these have on the transition to and execution of high-performance, this is an ideal juncture at which to examine the content and coordination of all the fundamental services to the athletes.

There can be no doubt that repeatable excellence must be found in the triumvirate of responsibilities associated with this position – Event Group Talent Pathways, Competitions and Event Strategies, and Coach and Coaching Development.

I would, however, draw attention to what I see as being the central catalyst for progress - a thorough examination and development of the knowledge and delivery skills of all coaches in the pathway from ‘Engagement’ through ‘Development’ and on to ‘Talent’ and ‘High Performance’. Certainly, there will need to be an ongoing provision of appropriate pathway and competition systems and strategies as outlined in the job description but the critical cornerstone must, and always will be, the provision of high-quality coaching delivery in a thriving Club/ Squad environment.

The successful candidate must be cognisant of the current structures, aims, objectives and processes of the Youth Talent Pathway, Junior Talent Pathway and Senior Talent Pathway as they strategically flesh out the individual athlete plans. Each of these components and the efficacy of the supporting physical structures, tertiary education mechanisms and other national athlete support systems are vital to the long-term progress of the talent programs. However, my experience with such pathways adds a cautionary element to the processes. While the components listed in the current strategy are of the highest status in terms of the construction of an effective pathway, the outcomes will depend on the associated human interface. Here I am suggesting that optimisation of the previously listed structures is coupled strongly with demonstrable improvement in the interface between:

1. Personal Coaches and their athletes
2. Talent Coaches and the athlete/personal coach unit
3. Other national, regional and local mentoring structures and the athlete/personal coach unit.

Performance efficiency, consistency, depth and resilience will be the final arbiters of the strategy's success and the key component is coaching delivery.

My opening comments included the fact that none of the organisation's performance elements can act in isolation. The Talent Pathway strategy is linked powerfully to the Coach and Coaching Development pathway to such an extent that they must objectively support each other. My previous work with the Australian Rugby Union (ARU), and the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) saw similar efforts being made in their Elite Player / Athlete Development pathways. It was not until greater human, physical and financial investment was undertaken in the underpinning Club, Area and Regional coaching delivery that the strategy worked effectively. The final model of the ARU’s Player development model saw 86% of the selected talent playing for the national team within 10 years and 90% of the ‘Elite’ sector of this talent group playing over 50 Test matches for the country. The QAS model saw 35% of all Australia’s medals at the 2004 Olympic Games being won by QAS athletes with over 50% of the 67 QAS athletes medalling. The key to this was the improvement in effectiveness created at the ‘coal-face’, the coach-athlete interface.

A specific example of this is that improvement must be found in the Coach and Coaching Development Pathway to alleviate the limitations brought on by the ever-increasing physical literacy problems in the community. Not finding the coaching answers to this element has exacerbated the limitations we see in technical model development and the increasing injury frequency currently being experienced along the entire performance continuum. I would like to think that the ‘movement’ model that I have been extensively involved in for the last 25 years may be worth some consideration by you. The transition of talent along this continuum must be met with the most adaptable and flexible of strategies and my ongoing experiences have allowed me to scrutinise, assess and manipulate scores of such attempts.

While I am aware of the new strategy being created by the NGB and have made a considerable contribution to these new actions, I am not convinced that the outcome will be as suitable as the nation requires. Already in some of the Event Group discussions, the focus is being aimed at the High-Performance sector. While this sector is usually identified as being the key ‘attractor’ in the total scheme of things it is totally dependent upon repeatable excellence in the three preceding sectors of the athlete's journey. In addition, there is recent mention of three other critical elements:

1. Some thought is being given to reducing the Physical Literacy problem.
2. There is mention of improving the post-certificate coach development strategy through some form of mentoring system.
3. There is also comment that there needs to be an improved exposure to the technical development pathway with particular emphasis being considered for ‘Learning’ strategies.

 I would strongly suggest that these three elements should be placed much higher on the priority list especially if there is to be repeatable excellence in the Talent pathway and beyond. Their movement from being ‘mentioned or commented upon’ to becoming a realistic contributor to the entire performance pathway is a key component to consider. The successful applicant must be able to make a realistic contribution to the elevation of these critical elements strategically and to the advancement of them from being a nice theory to being a lifelong component of the coach's journey.

I have found that the best solutions are created from the widest of experiences and not from having the same experience time and time again. I believe that this position must work productively with the department that deals with Coaching and Athlete development and those responsible for the journey that commences with the layers of engagement and ‘first steps’. One must also consider the optimal use of Sports Science, Sports Medicine and the intricacies of Athlete Well-Being in this equation. The principle is this - ‘what has gone before determines what is yet to come’ - the Talent continuum must be serviced by a coaching strategy that reduces the current limitations seen in the physical, technical and behavioural coaching pillars in participation and performance.

It will be important that the successful candidate be able to support the existing and future staff towards the most appropriate strategy design for the sport. It would also be important for them to prepare the next generation of staff for their role in the ongoing development of such strategies. The successful candidate must have a working appreciation of financial influences on all the performance strategies experienced. The effective use of public monies and the appropriate management of the financial resources of key partners is a vital component of all such strategies. Sound forward planning of the human, physical and financial elements of all associated ‘pathways’ is a requirement.

I would expect that the successful candidate should bring a determination to support all efforts to arrest the limitations we are all facing. To this end, there must be an acceptance of the need for improved resources and new initiatives being brought to the discussion table, in particular those that are relative to the certificate and non-qualification coach development pathways.

It is important that the person appointed has the required personal and technical qualities to work directly at the coal-face of the strategy – the coach-athlete interface. To be able to translate all the strategies, processes and protocols growing from the plan directly to the athlete-coach interface in a manner that is appropriate is going to be a critical element of this position. It cannot be a position that is ‘desk-bound’ but one that grows its success from the coal-face upwards into the administration layers of the sport. These are a ‘mentorship’ type of intervention that grow when coaching colleagues work together and share knowledge for the betterment of their athletes. Such service provision must be delivered with the highest levels of friendship, respect and understanding, qualities not always on view in some national strategies.

If I may beg your further patience, I will add two further serious components to this rationale. Together they form a concept that can be viewed as the ‘elephant in the room’ – the manner in which coaches are viewed and treated by the bureaucracy. This appointment appears as part of a middle management team that simply must assume the role of creating an appropriate culture within the organisation. One of the perceived roles of this position is to join with others to create equality across the coaching layers. To achieve this it is likely that the current trend of solely seeking counsel from the High-Performance (HP) coaching echelons should be questioned. In recent times it is this group that has been sought out to formulate the future direction of coaching matters at the Event and Event-group levels. For the HP layer, this is quite a sensible step to take. However, it must be stated that this group of coaches will present experiences and recommendations based on the environment they operate in daily e.g.

(a)  Most work in an optimal facility.

(b) Most are coaching athletes with an already developed standard in the technical, tactical, physical and behavioural pillars of performance.

(c)  Most have access to the required support of sports medicine, sports science and athlete well-being services.

(d) They devote all their time to solving the problems associated with the HP sector.

(e)  Some are simply putting the ‘icing on the cake’ that someone else has previously created.

(f)  Many are in paid or financially supported positions

In other words, they are an ideal group from which to seek counsel on HP matters.

On the other hand, because the majority of coaches (the volunteers) and athletes in the nation are on journeys that are at completely different stages of the Technical, Tactical, Physical and Behavioural progression, their journey, status and requirements must also be considered. In fact, they must be considered with the same level of commitment that is offered to the HP sector. It is vital to the inevitable future HP focus and the overall well-being of the sport that this layer of the sport is well thought of, well serviced and, above all, listened to.  This population of coaches is immersed in finding answers to the problems that are far removed from the HP journey. Their language, vocabulary and service requirements are unique to their environment. There is a chasm between the stresses they face and the support and understanding they receive, and it must be reduced. They are the gatekeepers of the standards required for all athletes to journey towards their optimal performance. They are the coaches who are required to feed the athletes along the journey from ‘engagement and development’ onwards to ‘transition’ and finally to high performance with the least number of limitations.

So, while HP coaches are being asked to contribute to the final decisions on Coach and Coaching Development strategies, so the volunteer layers must also be able to present their interpretations. This army of volunteers must be encouraged into this equation. The reason? Before any appropriate decision on coaching improvement can be considered the following questions must be answered:

In the formative stages –

(a)  What is being coached?

(b) Why is it being coached?

(c)  How is it being coached?

(d) Is it working?

Secondly, relative to the comment about the ‘elephant in the room’ - Opening up the communication pathways to ALL coaches will go some way to alleviate the current problems that exist between the bureaucracy and the coaching fraternity. In recent statements put forward by the administration the following points have been mentioned:

·        It is important to put coaching at the heart of the sports community.

·        Coaches and their coaching role feel undervalued by the decision-makers.

·        Communication between the NGB and the coaches has been inconsistent.

·        Coaches do not feel valued or respected.

·        Poor treatment of personal coaches in the high-performance strategy.

·        Ineffective dealing with coaching complaints.

It will be important for the appointee to make a realistic contribution to this element of the position and to work with others to ensure harmony and efficacy at every layer of the participation/performance continuum.

It should be expected that the successful candidate is willing and able to spend an introductory period observing the efficacy of current operations, especially those directed at the coach-athlete interface. No longer can new plans be created without a true understanding of what is happening now in the coaching session. It is this location, the actual coaching session, that must be placed under the strictest of scrutiny. This is the place where the results of all endeavours must be measured and all assumptions questioned. It is time for us all to stop simply noting and keeping up with the problems and take the appropriate actions to get ahead of them.

In closing, and I thank you for your patience, I would offer the concept that the best models that I have experienced have been those with the ‘culture of collaboration’ that goes well beyond the theory that these words describe. The widest and deepest experiences must be brought to bear on all your proposed pathways and this position, along with others, are vital cogs in the process. The best pathways that I have seen, and those that continue to stand the test of time, are those where the cycles that have created the problems have been broken. By ‘questioning assumptions’ at the leadership level across all the contributory departments, such a culture could be created. There is much to do at this level of leadership before pathway outcomes can be realised and optimised.

I am hopeful that you will allow the successful candidate to bring an approach that champions harmony, cooperation and coordination elements of this position with the required humility and leadership qualities.

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I hope that somewhere in all this will be some rationale or background that might put some things in perspective for those wishing to advance their coach and athlete pathways. In essence, no matter what systems, strategies, descriptors or discussion points you bring to the table regarding coach and athlete pathways, the sharp end of the spear is, and always will be, the coach-athlete interface. Ignore this at your peril.