The tabloid media has tried to generate a controversy over Ken Wood, the coach of Jessica Schipper, selling his training methods to the Chinese coach of Liu Zige, who then defeated Schipper in world record time in the 200m women’s butterfly.
Other Australian swim coaches who have directly coached non-Australian swimmers, successfully in the case of Brett Hawke and his protege Brazil’s Cesar Cielo Filho in the men’s 50m, have been accused of “sleeping with the enemy.”
This is just nonsense.
In the case of Ken Wood, he sold his training methods to a Chinese coach. He did not coach the Chinese swimmer in these methods.
It is all rather like, say, Tiger Woods publishing a book on how he plays golf. Reading the book and using the Woods techniques will not make you play like Tiger Woods.
In the case of Liu Zige, the swimmer had to put in the hard work, learn the stroke perfectly, develop racing strategies and techniques, and then hold her form and nerve to pull off her world record swim.
As the president of the AOC John Coates points out, none of the personal coaches of the Australian Olympic swimmers are paid to develop their charges into champions.
They have to live.
If they have specific intellectual property, it belongs to them. If they can get paid for this intellectual property, why should they be stopped from doing so?
The case of the Australians coaching out of Australia is just as clear-cut.
Mike Colman and Tom Smithies in The Daily Telegraph had this absurd observation: “Even more disturbing for Australian fans last week was the sight of Denis Cotterell, former coach of Australian swimmers Grant Hackett and Ky Hurst, standing on the pool deck in a Team China uniform.”
As John Coates and Ken Wood point out, though, the Australian Olympic movement has recruited over 200 coaches from overseas since the 1980s.
The improved performances in any number of Olympic sports resulting from this importation of overseas coaches proves the merit of the system.
Where is the repugnance from the tabloids about these imported coaches “sleeping with the enemy?”
If the tabloids can’t get their heads around the concept of imported coaches, they should ask the CEO of the ARU, John O’Neill, to explain why New Zealander Robbie Deans, the former Crusaders master coach, is just about the best thing that has happened to Australian rugby this year.
The fact is that coaches are now international commodities, not national assets.
stuff happens
Guest
I entirely agree with you Spiro, but it's the tabloid press and one of their specialities is jingoistic comments because they know their readers like it.Hence the drivel in some of our Channel 7 commentaries in Sydney. I also share with Comos Forever a real unease about the amount of money that's spent on sports development in Australia as opposed to the additional investments we need in health and education ( which ironically could help sport). But politicians know it's an easy win for them because most people say 'you beaut'
Sam Taulelei
Roar Guru
It doesn't disguise the fact that both girls would have received the benefits of his coaching and it doesn't guarantee anything as you still have to perform when it counts. Just a press beatup to deflect attention away from a less than expected gold medal haul in the pool. As I recall Kieren Perkins was the only person prepared to state that the swim team wouldn't win as many gold medals as they did at Athens and was roundly criticised as being a pessimist. Most rational people would have realised that Australia wouldn't have it all their own way in the pool as at Athens because other countries were putting in strong performances at the world champs in Melbourne and other swim meets. Australia should accept and be proud that their coaches are in high demand around the world for their expertise, there is nothing untoward about them coaching other countries athletes. Certainly there have been no complaints from Australians when they have taken advantage of foreign coaching expertise in a variety of sports.
Mart
Guest
BTW did anyone else see the amusing cameo between the Poms / Aus and Coates looking like losing his bet on most gold medals ? Very funny regards the pool / soap comments !
Mart
Guest
Blimey, given Australia's multiculturalism if we had to have "troo bloo" coaches no one would qualify ! Spiro's right, this is mainly coaching icap, fine that they should sell / market their expertise wherever they choose, I'd only have a problem if 'direct' (rather than generic) secrets are sold (by that I mean if, say, a specific race plan by an athlete from country A is sold to counrty B as opposed to "here is a blueprint on how to be successful, now go implement the plan"). What is intesting to me given I am a Pom who became an Aussie 15ish years back is the success of the Poms this time round - yes money commit, population size, coaching access are factors, but the single biggest factor that hit me on coming to Aus is the way that sport is part of the 'national fabric' in a way it just isn't in GB. In this respect never really a suprise to me that Aus "overperform" at anything since that's the zeitgeist / fabric, it wasn't there in GB when I was growing up (small pockets of course but not nationwide as here). There are many reasons (climate, outside space, national characteristic, other focus factors in GB etc) but I think that's what has suprised me about the GB performance this time round. Coaching helps sure, but it aint everything....
cosmos forever
Guest
I think the funding of sports and its relative merit in comparison to other 'pursuits' like the arts etc is a complex issue that will never really be answered. As for how that 20M for a gold medal compares to more hospital beds or nursing homes, let's not go there... As for the coaches, why should they be the only cog in the elite sporting chain not to make a few bucks of the performance of their athletes - the AOC an IOC certainly do!
Lazza
Guest
Harry, I've read that every Gold Medal we win is estimated to have cost taxpayers about 20m? The Government funds sports depending on the international profile of the event and how much 'publicity' our country will receive. That's why firstly Howard and now Rudd have started seriously funding our Football teams and development programs. The World Cup is after all an even bigger event. I'm ok with this as all sports fans should be. If we fail to fund our teams for the two biggest sporting comps in the World then we will fail to make an impact. Simple.
sheek
Guest
Spiro, You are correct. After the disaster of the 1976 Olympics, Australia developed the Institute of Sport, & scoured the best coaches around the world to develop future talent over a range of sports. Every country does it. Even the USA has benefitted from gymnastics coaches coming from former Eastern European countries. It was disgusting the media trying to make something of Jessica Schipper's coach selling his secrets to China. Fortunately, most readers didn't buy the garbage. Also, what's this lament about the amount of money Great Britain is spending on its various Olympic teams? It wasn't that long ago that the Poms were complaining about the amount of money we spent on our sports. Now they've cottoned on! Natural talent only gets you so far. To go further you have to be willing to provide funds. Australia learnt this bitter lesson back in the 1970s. We're now slipping again for 2 reasons - firstly, other countries are catching up in the funding & structure levels, & secondly, perhaps we've become complacent & forgotten what's required to remain at the cutting edge.
Homer
Guest
I heard a stat the other day that Great Britain's open water budget is now more than our entire swimming budget and that the GB special olympics budget is more than our olympic team budget. Money breeds success (not desire and courage though, the US athletes on the track have been the usual pumped up arrogant under achievers) and we do not have the population to match the funding of larger countries. Top level coaches can earn up to five times more in GB or China than they can here, and good on them for reaching the top of their sport. By the way the GB cycling coach is an Aussie as well.
Harry
Guest
Well I 100% agree with you on this point. Can one of you investigative sports journalists wizards at The Roar do a comparision of what is spent on the Olympic sports - swimming, rowing, athletics, cycling, saliling, diving, shooting , gymnastics - versus what is spent on AFL, NRL, Super 14 teams, cricket, netball etc - I read somewhere the average AFL team costs about A$12 million a year to run and the average NRL team A$9 million. Is that right? What do these other sports get?