40 Goals

Taking an athlete as the input, we have a process that seeks to get the very best results possible at target events by managing improvements in the athlete's performance . Sounds simple, right? Figure 1: idef0 context diagram Well actually, at the highest level of abstraction it is. There is a broad consensus regarding how this management process works; placing the athlete at centre of the process, supported by coaches and specialists (who might also be the athlete, self taught). In fact this overall approach is summarised brilliantly by Emma Ross from the EIS , you could call it an operating model, or perhaps a development philosophy: We place the athlete at the centre of the process, which is led by the coach. They are ably supported by practitioners (specialists) who bring the latest and best research working as a team, all focused on performance. End-to-End Process Figure 2: Athlete performance management process (APM) In very blunt terms the developme...

Why we need a sports performance management framework Over the last few years the nature of the coach/athlete relationship has come up a few times in my interactions. But it was always confusing;  when speaking to folks from Olympic programmes they had an array of specialists and coaches, a head coach or team manager and they all worked with a squad of athletes that ultimately made a team (e.g. pursuit) and got to compete for a gold medal in 4 years time. when speaking to amateur athletes they had a coach who interacted using systems like Today's Plan but pretty much handled every aspect of their preparation for racing, maybe peaking for a season blockbuster. when speaking to cycling coaches they might focus on athlete interaction and use of power meters at the detriment of other specialisms that might be valuable to their clients (possibly because they don't make money from that). when speaking to weekend warriors they might coach themselves, have become really kno...