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Not another Academy of Sport…..aaaaargh!
By Wayne Goldsmith | In Hot Topics
- Academy of Sport?
- Institute of Sport?
- Elite Sports Academy?
- Centre of Excellence?
- High Performance Centre?
Call it what you will - it’s the same thing.
Why this world wide obsession with Academies / Institutes and Centres?
And more importantly, do they actually make a difference to the performance of elite athletes?
Sports Academies are like a DVD player: everyone’s got one but no one’s quite sure how to use them to their full potential.
So why do we have Academies, Institutes etc - in high performance sport?
Because we are afraid not to!
It all started back in the 70s - the East Germans and Russians had Sports Academies. They were winning lots of Gold Medals so………..let’s all build Sports Academies!
The Australian Institute of Sport grew out of this in the early 80s and then came the State Academies and Institutes of Sport in the Australian capital cities. The Kiwis have built sports Institutes and Academies. The English have built hundreds of them - (they can afford to). The French have got some nice ones. So have the Spanish. And the Germans. And the Italians. And the Swiss. The South Africans are doing it. So are the South Americans. Everyone, everywhere is pulling together an Academy or Institute or Centre of Excellence of some kind.
Pretty soon every second building on the face of the earth will either be an Institute of Sport or a McDonalds!
But here’s the criticial question - why?
Because people think it’s the cure for all ills. Because people think that an Institute of Sport or an Academy of Sport or Centre of Sports Excellence will miraculously change the elite sports culture of the nation. That a high performance precinct or group of buildings or set of new sports facilities will somehow transform the performance of the nation’s athletes.
WRONG!
If you have a limited supply of talented athletes, poor coaches, ineffective sports management, few world class sports scientists and have no quality leaders, simply building a world class precinct or Sports Academy will not change anything. You will just have built a nicer facility in which to fail!
You can buy me an F1 Ferrari. But without the desire to win the F1 Driver’s championship plus ten years of training to drive fast plus a world class crew of people to keep me and the car in top shape, we can not win.
Just having a world class Institute or Academy does not not mean you will change the high performance sporting culture.
Why?
Because the best Institutes and Academies understand this: Institutes and Academies are NOT buildings, precincts, facilities and centres: they are people, programs, passion and performance.
The attitude has to come first.
Then the desire to change.
And the desire to win.
And the belief that you can win.
Then identify, train and develop world class athletes, coaches, sports scientists, sports medicine staff and management.
And then let’s get the surveyors, engineers and builders in to start developing our Sports Institute.
Summary:
- Develop outstanding programs, recruit talented athletes and world class coaches AND THEN build an Academy / Institute or Centre of Excellence to create the right environment for success. Most Academies do not work because they did it the other way around - they built something, ticked all the boxes, then recruited athletes and coaches to fit the pre-existing model.
- Ask WHY are we building this Academy and WHAT is it’s primary objective first. Another big mistake people make is to put together a check list of sports science services, facilities and buildings before really thinking about the reasons behind creating the Academy in the first place.
- Look at alternate models. An Academy does not have to be a single precinct. An Institute does not have to be centrally located. A Centre of Excellence does not have to be central (but it does have to be excellent!!!) - do not copy other models of Academies and Institutes from around the world - do it your own way.
Wayne Goldsmith
October 13, 2008
Tags: American Football, Athletics, Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Cricket, Cycling, Diving, Equestrian, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Judo, Netball, Rowing, Soccer, Swimming, Track and Field, Triathlon
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4 Responses to “Not another Academy of Sport…..aaaaargh!”
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Hi wayne.
Wise words. I think our so called “high performance centres” in South Africa, have been totally misused to the detriment of thousands of athletes in our country.
I have been coaching for 7 years now (I coach a squad in another area for Margaret Martins Beavers in KZN), and we have not had any input what soever from those who run the centres in those 7 years. no training camps, no conferences… nothing!
I am so eager to learn, and know that I have so much to learn, but feel that I have no where to gain this knowledge from in my own country. I have such talented athletes in my squad, and am now looking to travel to Australia to find someone willing to share something of there expertise. How do we centralise these centres and get something out of them and the experts who run them?
Thanks for all the articles. I really find them interesting, and they have brought much motivation to me and my athletes.
Angela
Wayne, thanks for this. I agree that there is a need to get the culture right first. One thing that has concerned me is when large clubs spend lots of money on facilities to make things comfortable for athletes and lay everything on the table for them without addressing the culture required in a high performance sport. By not addressing this, I have seen some athletes develop what I call a “soft” attitude that focusses on the comfort of the facility rather than its purpose.
Reg
Reg, spot on - it is about the people, not the place. It is great to look after the people, players if they have the right attitude and understand that they have earned those privileges, and that it is not their “right” to have them. I am sure that was the case many years ago, when athletes started to get looked after a bit better, but now young athletes come in and know, nothing different. They are waited on hand and foot from day 1, sometimes aged 15, 16 or 17. Hard to expect them to change or understand, they have to earn it and respect it when people, who think they are doing the right thing, keep laying it on. Michael Blucher wrote a relevant article today as well on a similar topic. Please see below.
Free stuff.
Admit it. We all love it. Doesn’t matter what it is, if it’s free, it’s good. You don’t believe me, take a look around the clubhouse at the end of a corporate golf day, and you’ll see them sitting there, well heeled business types, waiting waiting waiting, to find out if they’ve picked up a $10 umbrella for “Nearest the Pin”. They win, they chuck it in the boot of their 6-series Beamer, with the other four umbrellas, and off they go. Happier than Larry.
Prizes are one thing, “gratuities” another all together. And the interesting thing about gratuities is the “apportioning” – where the free stuff ends up. Seems to me the bulk of it goes to people who can most afford to pay for it. Like fulltime professional athletes – particularly the high profile ones. Hardly their fault that people want to give them stuff, so they can big note themselves to friends, but at times it gets ridiculous.
Like end of season footy trips. Well paid professionals (in most cases very well paid professionals) putting their hand out to have their trip to Bali at least partially funded by their club, their club sponsors, and other willing, big-noting benefactors. “Here – take this plasma television to raffle. And here’s a few dollars to throw into the kitty. I know you boys have a happy hour every afternoon.”
It’s a culture that’s ingrained in them from an early age. Many modern day athletes – particularly those in a team environment - pay for precious little. And the less they’re required to pay for, the less they’re willing to pay for, and the more they expect stuff to “magically” appear.
The one who cops the brunt of this hand out mentality? Usually the team (or individual) manager. Who’d do that job? “Hey - what do I do with this parking ticket? Where can I get a cheap telly? I’m getting married next month – you reckon I could get some limos? My sisters having her 21st – where do I get some free beer? “Hittin’ up the sponsors”, it’s called.
And the worst thing is, successful “hit-ups” are rarely appreciated, even more rarely acknowledged with any form of reciprocation. They are just seen as an entitlement.
Don’t want to ruin the party, but we’d all be a little better off if our jersey-tugging corporates were a little less eager to please. Farming out free stuff and acquiescing to every request does not build athlete respect, just a reputation as a soft touch.
For the athletes, try a hand written note of thanks every now and then. Very powerful - your corporate benefactors will love it. And it will give them something else to show their friends.
Cheers
Richard
A coach I work with says “if you give them silk pyjamas, they don’t get out of bed.”
As to Institutes- I call it penis extension policies- the local politician can turn up and be photographed by the big shiny facility- and by extension be seen to be “doing something”.
Not quite as impressive as giving a lot of skipping ropes to 1000 kids (for example), or free bus passes to children.