The 'unreliable' company of men
The 'unreliable' company of men
By Leticia Cavallaro
foxsports.com.au
May 15, 2008
WHAT happens inside a football player's head when his coach, the man to whom he often looks for tactical and 'spiritual' guidance, announces mid-season a decision to quit the club, to 'walk out' on the men with whom he has formed a strong bond?
Players each experience an individual response, but the announcement has an effect on all, sports transition expert Deirdre Anderson says. Anderson has experience in this regard after famously helping Olympian Ian Thorpe through his decision to retire.
“Player uncertainty should not be a surprise, as athletes rely heavily on their coaches for guidance, support and recognition; that bond, once formed, should not be underestimated.” “You have to look at this like any other company,” Anderson says. “You can’t say that if your boss walked in and said he was leaving tomorrow that wouldn’t affect you. Of course it would. For a young player that has only ever had a really strong relationship with this particular coach, and is so closely aligned with him on a day to day basis, the effect of this decision could be significant.”
The question has been asked more often this season given the mass exodus of coaches across Australia’s football codes. Two weeks before the NRL season kicked off, Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett announced he was leaving the Broncos after 21 years with the club. Bennett was then snapped up by St George Illawarra after the Dragons decided to can Nathan Brown as head coach. Brown has since been relegated to Bennett’s assistant.
Graham Murray was ditched by North Queensland in mid-February, and hasn’t made a commitment anywhere else. The Cowboys suffered, losing three in a row following the coaching announcement.
Meanwhile, Canberra lost Neil Henry to North Queensland in round three of the season - after weeks of speculation that Henry would be the man to replace Murray up north. Henry was replaced by assistant coach David Furner.
Not to be forgotten is Steve Folkes, who insisted he wasn’t going to be pushed to step down from the Bulldogs but resigned all the same - to be replaced by assistant coach Kevin Moore.
Another example is New South Wales rugby union coach Ewen McKenzie, who was told he was no longer needed at the Waratahs. The battle is still on to replace him and assistant coach Todd Louden. Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher has also announced he is stepping down.
The resulting player uncertainty should not be a surprise, as athletes rely heavily on their coaches for guidance, support and recognition; that bond, once formed, should not be underestimated, as illustrated by the Raiders situation involving Henry and Todd Carney. The player, prior to knowing his coach was on his way out of the club, was banking on him being around to continue to mentor him.
“The day before I signed, I went to his office and he said he was going to stay until at least the end of next year. He gave me his word,'' Carney said. “If he was to leave at the end of the year, it would be a bit of a kick in the face.''
David Parkin, former Hawthorn and Carlton coach and expert commentator for Fox Sports' AFL coverage, believes the system in rugby league is a “real weakness” and a major problem for both players and coaches in the game.
“If you are going to willy-nilly change coaches, particularly at the beginning of the season, you have got to understand that has to interrupt the habitual behaviour you are trying to establish between players.”
Parkin related the situation to that of the NRL player free agency.
“I find it almost abhorrent to think that there is a player playing for Melbourne Storm right now who is committed to play against them next year, and that he has a full season ahead to play with those blokes,” Parkin says. “We in AFL find that totally and utterly unacceptable so it will be interesting if free trade comes into Australian Football, that’s going to cause some of those sorts of decisions.”
Conversely, Fox Sports rugby league analyst Gorden Tallis, the great Brisbane, Queensland and Australia lock, doesn’t believe that players are too concerned.
“I really don’t think it is something that I would be too worried about,” Tallis says. “What someone like Wayne Bennett is doing has got to be in his best interest at the end of the day; it’s their percentage, it’s their name. Not the players.
“It will pass through your mind, and you will think God he isn’t here next year and I have another two years but then you will get along with life and think I have got him now and appreciate and learn as much as I can off him.”
The debate continues to rage, with some teams doing well after the coaching announcement and others producing less acceptable results. Anderson says the results are a reflection of the coach and of the experience of the players concerned.
“If the coach is a leader, the outcome will be very different,” Anderson says. “Coaches aren’t automatically good leaders.
“I think someone like Gorden Tallis has been through this a number of times and therefore he knows, he is solid within his own skin, he knows that he has survived this before and can therefore move forward, but for a young player it could be very difficult.”
