In life, we constantly strive for success. We
always want to improve, move forward and to find new ways to become better,
fitter stronger and healthier. This is particularly evident in today’s sports
world. New ways of improving the individual and the team come along so fast it
is sometimes hard to catch up. From recovery supplements to performance enhancing
clothing, each sports team strives to be better than their competitor and will
look down any avenue to gain the upper hand. This can be traced back to the days of the
cold war and the supposed alternative training methods used behind the iron
curtain. These methods intrigued the world, particularly the United States, and
after the iron curtain fell, many Americans ventured over to Russia to see how
they could keep up.
In today’s world nothing has really changed
from then. From a football perspective, soccer boots are now made that
supposedly make you go faster, turn quicker and track how many miles you ran on
a pitch. The under garments worn in games now are supposed to increase blood
flow while keeping the body cool or warm, depending on the weather. Then some
players use certain fluids to replace their electrolytes and supplements to aid
recovery after a game. Fitness drills have changed. Gone are the days of long distance
pre-season who can get sick first training. Now, we have heart rate monitors monitoring
our work rate, our workout it’s specified to the position we play in and our
diet is as detailed as nothing you have seen. From TRX to cross fit to plyometrics,
it’s hard to keep up isn’t it?
But one thing that seems to be forgotten about
or overlooked is the art of man management. This, in my opinion, is vital in
looking after a team or any individual in sports. If you can man-manage well,
the greater the likelihood of the team and individual given you all they can
and pushing themselves to the maximum. Recently Frank Lampard of Chelsea said
this about man management “First and foremost it is about man
management and how you get on with players. If you are a top-level manager you
have top players, but getting the best out of them is the trick and it’s 70 per
cent of the job”.
As a football coach myself, I can see the importance of managing an
individual and the team as a whole. It’s extremely important in my role as I manage
the two teams in the club, so I deal with 35+ players, all who have full time jobs
and want to enjoy football but win at the same time. I am coach / manager of an
amateur team, Dunbar Rovers, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. I am very blessed to
manage some amazing footballers in my two teams and their technical ability and
knowledge of the game is amazing. But like every player, whether they are pro
or a pub team, managing them and keeping them happy is vital in the group’s
pursuit of success. If a player is not happy with his or her surroundings, then
their attitude and application will drop, which will affect both their own game
and the group goals and ambitions
In my teams, I deal with some players who have families and very demanding full
time jobs, so the time they can fully dedicate to the team is limited. So, when
dealing with grown men, majority all older than me, I try to balance the goals of
the group together with the time the individual can give me. As a group, there
is always one common goal. That is to be successful. In our teams and club, we
also try to incorporate certain styles of play and to ensure we enjoy it. Before I took over this season, I spoke to
several of the older players in the squad who had been with the club for a few
seasons and asked them what they liked
the previous year, what they didn’t like and what they would like to see in the
coming season. Then I told them my ideas and vision and we successfully came up
with a plan that we felt would help the group, as well as helping the individuals.
One thing was training. Before we began training at 8pm and didn’t finish until
9.30pm and by the time the players got home and had food, their kids were gone
to bed and it was past 10pm. This season we shortened out training time and
started earlier and ensured that in the time we had, we worked as hard as possible.
In pro sports there are many well-known coaches
who excel in man management. In Basketball, Phil Jackson, winner of 11 NBA
titles, managed two of the best players in the history of the NBA in Kobe
Bryant and Michael Jordan. In his time at the Lakers he managed the hostile
relationship with Shaq and Kobe and managed to win 5 championships by keeping
the group goals as the focus while making sure the two huge egos were massaged
and dealt with properly . In football, Harry Redknapp is a manager that comes
to mind when you think of managing players and galvanising squads. Many times
he has been criticised for taking over the hill players or players who are seen
as disruptive but Harry uses his unique skill to bring harmony and to ensure that
all players play to their maximum while achieving the team goals
Man management is not something you can learn
in college. Some people either have it or they don’t. They can build a rapport with
their team and demand respect and honesty from their players. In return the coach
provides a happy and open environment which suits both him and the players and enables
everyone to work towards the common goal. Winning.
A lot of managers and coaches find that consulting
their players or asking for opinions is a sign of weakness and devalues their
authority over the group. They are afraid that it will show they are incapable
of making decisions and need confirmation from their players before deciding. This
is not the case. If done in the right manner, consulting certain players on decisions
makes them feel important. It can help you get the senior players on track to
your way of thinking while also letting the players voice their opinions. At
the end of the day, no one is always right and by speaking to your players, it
shows them you care about their feelings, are humble enough to admit mistakes
or look for counsel and want to know what makes them happy. This builds a relationship
of trust and respect that can help you through tough times in seasons ahead.
One of
the greatest man managers of all time, Vince Lombardi summed it up perfectly “It is essential to understand that battles are primarily
won in the hearts of men. Men respond to leadership in a most remarkable way
and once you have won his heart, he will follow you anywhere”.
You may know all the drills, all the tactics, formations and techniques but unless you have all of your team on board and singing from the same hymn sheet , as they say, then all coaching badges, formations and tactics are useless to a group who don’t want to learn and don’t see you as a leader. They will not follow you.
You may know all the drills, all the tactics, formations and techniques but unless you have all of your team on board and singing from the same hymn sheet , as they say, then all coaching badges, formations and tactics are useless to a group who don’t want to learn and don’t see you as a leader. They will not follow you.
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