Towards a new Era in Elite Sport?

Words like meaningfulness and sustainability are becoming more and more prevalent among the talents in Danish sport. The question is whether we are ready to embrace Generation Z in elite sport.

Like many others, I watched in wonder when Jonas Vingegaard showed during the Vuelta a Espa?a in September that it was more important for him to support his good friend and helper, Sepp Kuss, than to win one of the world's biggest cycling races. Shortly afterwards, Vingegaard surprised again when he turned down lucrative sponsorship contracts because he didn't think it would add anything meaningful to his life.

Jonas' actions left a "generation Xer" like me with a sense of awe and a wish that I had the courage to put values and meaningfulness before prestige and finances. At the same time, I found it hard to fully understand.

Jonas Vingegaard is one of a kind. But he is also an example of something that we see more and more in talent- and elite sport. We meet young people who put values first and see medals as a bonus on an exciting journey. Exaggerated? Maybe, but not by much.

The new generation of athletes currently entering the talent and elite environments are part of Generation Z. The question is, are we ready to welcome them?

When medals can't stand alone

Society is changing and new generations are emerging. This is happening in sport as well as in society. And it creates a number of exciting challenges, such as when people from one generation need to understand people from another. When leaders and coaches from one generation have to lead and coach athletes with different values and a different outlook on life.

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Generation Z is not a homogenous group, yet they emerge as a distinct generation with unique traits. They have been raised to be equal. They are used to being involved in decision-making at home, at school, and in other contexts. They are used to their opinions having value. What happens if they meet a coach who says that he or she knows best and that athletes just need to find their place in the ranks??

It's not that young people aren't ambitious. They really want to succeed, to win. But we're increasingly realising that results and medals can't be the sole driving force for young athletes from Generation Z. They want the whole journey to be exciting and meaningful. They want to develop, not just as athletes, but as people. They don't accept being a tool for the coach, federation, or club's goals. And they will quit if they are met with a narrative that they have to sacrifice everything for the chance to win a medal?

Balance and sustainability on the road to world class.

In the Gen Z and Millenial Survey 2023, Deloitte has taken a closer look at the characteristics of Generation Z. It's clear that high salary and prestige are no longer a primary source of motivation. Generation Z wants a reasonably balanced life. And they want leaders who care about wellbeing. What happens if they are faced with a culture where there is never room for recovery, and where you never talk about anything other than sports and results?

Young athletes are part of a generation that cares about and values sustainability. They want to achieve their goals in a way that doesn't overuse resources. This is true in a climate context, and it's true in their approach to the environments they are part of and the choices they make in terms of education, jobs, etc.

They don't admire the old alpha males of the corporate world and don't envy their 80-hour work weeks, their Bentleys and their three divorces. They don't want that. According to the above survey, 73 per cent of Generation Z young people check a company's mental health policy before applying for a job. What happens if in sport they are met with classic narratives like "the winner takes it all", that it takes blood, sweat and tears, and that you have to sacrifice everything else if you want to make it as an elite athlete?

Diversity and inclusion are also important to Generation Z. There needs to be room for many different experiences and for all kinds of people. What happens if they encounter talent programmes in sport where they have to dedicate all their energy to one sport and one discipline early on, and where they experience one long game of selection and elimination?

Generation Z is driven by values. They want to make a positive difference. They understand that elite sport is about competition, but they don't accept the premise that you can only focus on yourself. That's why we see, for example, elite sailors organising "Clean the beach" the day after a world cup event, and athletes volunteering to organise group training sessions in their childhood clubs.?

At Team Denmark, we have recently launched a mentoring programme where older, experienced athletes support young athletes on their way forward. It has been at least as easy to find experienced athletes who want to be mentors and pass something on as it has been to find young athletes who want a mentor. It is just as amazing as it is telling when established world-class athletes with Olympic and World Championship medals on their CVs find it rewarding and meaningful to support young athletes and to spend time on it in a busy everyday life.

It's a big responsibility when the world is open

With the concept of fluid modernity, sociologist Bauman describes how young people are born into a world without fixed structures and systems. The world is open, we tell them, and it is their responsibility to seize it. It's a big responsibility. More than any previous generation, Generation Z suffers from stress and mental health challenges. But we're wrong if we think they're too fragile for us to make demands. Quite the contrary. In this borderless and uncertain world, young people want boundaries and authority. But they want a say in designing the structures.

Translated to elite sport, this means that we as coaches and leaders should talk with young people. Ask them what should characterise the training environment we will build together. When we agree, then we should hold them accountable and make clear demands. If they see a project as meaningful, and if they have influenced the goals and boundaries, there are almost no limits to how dedicated they can be.

This places completely new demands on the development environments of sport. It's the biggest and most exciting challenge facing the sport. Today, it takes ten seconds to find a video of a world star explaining the optimal swim stroke or the perfect forehand. This fundamentally changes the role of the coach. Being a subject matter expert is still important, but it's no longer enough. Today's coach is a leader who creates environments where young people develop as athletes and as people, where they thrive and win medals. In that order.

At Team Denmark, we strive to be curious together with the federations, and we also look outside the world of sports and draw inspiration from the latest research on Generation Z. We are curious about how a new generation of athletes will affect our daily training environments, talent programmes, coach education and more.?

Sport has the potential to be the arena where young people learn that it's OK to fail; that you can lose the battle without losing courage; that you can be competitors and still share knowledge. Through sport, they can experience that there are meaningful and sustainable paths to the world's elite.

If we can realise this, I firmly believe that our athletes will not only win medals, but also undergo a unique development as people and, after their sporting careers, will be able to make a particularly important contribution to society.

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