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Ken Dool |
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As Ken Dool, high performance director
and head coach of the Canadian Yachting Association (CYA) begins the
adventure of a lifetime, he offers his opinion on Canadian coaching and
what he hopes to gain from his unique experience.
I was recruited to coach Telefónica Movistar in the Volvo Ocean Race –
Around the World 2005-2006 (www.volvooceanrace.org), and the CYA
granted me a 14-month sabbatical so I could take advantage of this
great opportunity. I and my wife, Terri, and 11-year-old daughter,
Kacey, will spend six months living in Vigo, Spain, and then we’ll
travel the world from port to port the rest of the time. I am taking
this opportunity purely to expand my experience and value as a coach.
As I suggest to my athletes all the time, do things you haven’t done in
order to know what you can do.
I leave as concerned as ever about the state of coaching in Canada. My
blunt, all-encompassing statement is: If we want to have long-term,
repeatable Olympic performances, we can’t pretend we can do it with
part-time athletes and part-time coaches.
We’ve got to be willing to make our coaches a valuable part of our
society instead of focusing on why we don’t win more Olympic medals and
failing to recognize that we ask part-time coaches and athletes to
compete against professional coaches and professional athletes.
In sailing, for example, leading up to Athens, we had three sport
centre coaches and two national team coaches, Kelly Hand and myself, to
take care of 11 Olympic classes and two Paralympic classes. That’s not
realistic. Most of our competition has one coach for every two classes
while I was trying to coach six. That’s not coaching; it’s ‘managing’
the efforts of six classes and it drives a dedicated coach absolutely
crazy. We’ve got to let our coaches coach.
I’ve been head coach for 11 years and, since 1995, high performance
director as well. Once every four years, I focus totally on coaching,
and that’s 100 per cent wrong. I should be either the head coach or the
high performance director, not both, but unfortunately, like many
national sport organizations, CYA lacks the funds to hire two people. I
should add that CYA has treated me fairly. I’ve been reasonably well
remunerated and in a salaried, not a contract, position.
While more money would certainly benefit Canadian sport, more money
spent properly is what would win us medals. Spending properly means
having a solid scientific approach, absolutely committed athletes, and
full-time coaching resources.
Funding is only part of the story; it also about commitment. I like the example of
Ross Macdonald, who, with Mike Wolfs, won the Star silver medal at
Athens. I’ve worked with Ross for 15 years and competed against him
prior to that, so I understand his commitment. He’s been to five
Olympics and when you ask about his goals, he simply says that each day
he just wants to be better than the day before. This is a guy who was a
bronze medallist in Barcelona (sixth in Seoul, 14th in Atlanta, fifth
in Sydney) and is a two-time world champion!
Let’s use the Formula 1 as an example. To be successful, a Formula 1
team has to have not just a great driver, but a great car, too, and
that includes the people who design the wheels, the engine, the
pistons, the electronics, the rubber, the body. A successful Formula 1
team has all those pieces.
Canada doesn’t need a Cadillac model to be one of the best sporting
nations in the world. The Cadillac is a beautiful car, but I’m a truck
guy so I think Canada needs a Chevy 2500 series sport model. We don’t
need the easier ride of a Cadillac. A cushy program isn’t going to be
successful; it has to be hard-driving, focused, and committed.
It’s also about attitude. Lots of countries, and certainly the United
States, have no qualms about saying how good they are and backing it up
by winning. Lots of times they aren’t any better than we are, but they
believe they are. It’s been pounded into them. Canadians are not
supposed to say, ‘I’m the best in the world.” We’re supposed to say
we’re the best Canadian, and that’s just not good enough. We can stay
modest and well liked, but we must aim higher. To be the best, you have
to be willing to say you’re the best and believe it.
If this makes me an elitist, so be it. I coach because I want to win a
gold medal. I want to be a coach who is involved in a program, not
necessarily the coach, but a resource that has helped an athlete win
that first gold medal for sailing for Canada. That’s certainly part of
the motivation that keeps me going.
The Volvo Ocean Race epitomizes the best of the true professional end
of the sport of sailing, well financed and well resourced. There’s no
getting one person to do two jobs. If they need a job done, they hire a
specialist. I’m going to come back a better coach to work in the
Canadian system. It’s like CYA has allowed me to go to the sailing
school equivalent of Harvard University. I’m going to ‘graduate’ with
the next level of certification. I am a big supporter of the National
Coaching Certification Program, but I’m a bigger supporter of the
experience program. Certification isn’t what I would hire somebody for.
I would hire them for their ability to deliver a program and
performance and medals. With this Volve Ocean Race experience, I hope
to refine my skills and expand my ability to deliver those things for
Canada after being exposed to a professional circuit that is equivalent
to Formula 1. I’m going to be challenged to a whole new level. I’m
going to find out things about myself and I need that to happen if I am
to succeed.
I’ve basically got an opportunity to gain as much knowledge about my
sport as I possibly can from the people who know the most about it.
It’s like you’re coaching your minor midget hockey team and you’re
offered a job as assistant coach of the Maple Leafs, working with Pat
Quinn for a year. If you aspire to be a career coach, you’d jump at the
opportunity. That’s what I encourage coaches to do. One of the most
important things in learning more about my sport is learning from
people who have made the mistakes and learned how to do things right.
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COACHES OF CANADA
