The manager

I recently had another coach asking me how to get people to do something in a certain way. I really had to think about it. It never occured to me that the adult athletes in the squad would not do something in the best possible way.

I had to think about how I would get someone to do something which they didn’t want to do. I guess I’m lucky, everyone in my squad wants to know the best possible way to do the task. They all want the best results, so they pay attention to every direction and then do their best. It’s just how it is.

Occasionally I find someone “doesn’t get it”, but this isn’t their fault. I just haven’t communicated the message in a way which they connected with. I simply try a different approach. I’ve found there are many different ways to deliver the same message. We eventually click on the right wave length and communication flows on.

Over the years there have been a few people who’ve joined the squad but after a month or two have moved on. What we do, was just not for them. That’s OK, they may have not been ready for what we do. Maybe they thought they wanted what most of the guys and girls in the squad want. But found that what you have to do to get “it”, was more than they were prepared to do. There are also some who think it will only take three months to totally change them from “back of the pack” to “front of the pack.”

This can only happen if they have spent quite a few years trying and have a few thing wrong in their approach, which can be corrected. You just can’t rush base building.

On the whole, the bulk of the athletes who have trained in our squad have been “driven, over achievers” . It seems the longer distance triathlons attract these sort of people. They know what they want, they’re prepared to do what they need to do to achieve what they want. They are almost without exception, successful in whatever they do.

I see my job as the manager. I offer leadership to honest, hard working people, who know what they want. I have to be observant. I am always watching, looking for little clues to what’s needed. Sometimes what’s needed is as simple as a couple of years of practice. During that couple of years I do a lot of watching and learning. Reading feedback often tells me more than what is written. As I get to know someone, I’m able to read between the lines a lot better.

Some coaches see themselves as motivators. I thought that was my role when I started out. But what seems to have happened, is I have attracted the most motivated group of people I could imagine. My job is really to manage their skills and motivation levels, so they develop along a smooth path toward their goals.

Often instead of motivating an athlete, my job is to un-scramble things for them. People often over complicate things. I spend a lot of time simpilfying things.

So I’m not the motivator, you have the motivation. I can’t give you talent, most of you have far more talent than you realise. It’s amazing how much talent you uncover with consistent training and perfect practice. I’m here to help manage your emotional highs and lows, to temper your enthusiasm and to be answerable to, when you’re tired and it’s cold and dark outside.