The Chinese coaching model is viewed as selection versus development. In selection, you find potential athletes with the right physical characteristics, then train them to the best of your abilities. As athletes "fail", they are weeded out of the program, leaving the remainder to cycle through the training/elimination program, until the top competitor emerges. In North America and Europe (former Soviet Bloc nations excluded), the model is about development. Encourage participation and then find potential athletes. From there, motivate them to train and make coaching/training resources available. As less motivated athletes drop out and remaining athletes improve, resources are funnelled to them, improving their training and assisting them in their skill development.
In Canada, shooting is difficult. We don't have the recreational talent pool as in the past. We don't have facilities and solid support for developing and competitive shooters. Also, there is no cash incentive for success. Success in basketball, hockey or baseball, can lead to life changing levels of financial prosperity. Shooting will only lead to personal development (and financial ruination????)
Our challenge is finding motivated athletes who truly want to develop within the sport. We need to convince them that they need to train hard for the sake of excellence. There is no point for a shooting coach to chase any athlete, begging or nagging them to get out to the range or come to camps. It really offers no benefit to the athlete, and reduces the energy of the coach.
Joan MacDonald, the Canadian Archery Coach (5 or 6 Olympics under her belt), estimates that 1 in every 200 athletes that she sees has the potential (skill, interest and motivation) of making it to the elite international level. It isn't the role of the coach to make every participant an Olympian. The coach needs to see who that "1 in 200" is and then channel resources to that person. I'm starting to see the wisdom of that philosophy.
As a coach, I guess that my age of innocence is being extinguished by experience. I've been concerned about what it takes to get athletes motivated. (Imagine Darth Vader with an athlete: "I find your lack of motivation disturbing.")
As a coach, I need to communicate the value of a program, as well as provide opportunities for growth. Also, I need to make it clear about what I want to do: develop international competitors. I respect the value of recreational shooting and I participate in it for my own enjoyment. But, would I take "Patrick Haynes" on as a developmental international athlete? Nope. He's too old, out of shape (but getting better!), doesn't have enough experience and has too many interests (distractions from training). Great guy, but not on the Olympics pathway. I'd shoot with him and if he wanted coaching, I'd offer some general instruction and then hand him off to some coaches who are working with rec. shooters.
That being said, I want to work with athletes certain athletes. They have to have age, skill, experience and fitness working for them, striking a balance between them. The younger you are, the greater opportunity to develop skill, experience and skill. As you grow older, you have to have the skills, experience and fitness in place. As such, at 50 and out of shape, you can't pick up a new sport and expect to get to the Olympics within the next quadrennial or two.
As well, these athletes must be single-minded in vision. If your goal is excellence, you can't be wishy-washy. To be great, you need to put in considerable time training. Gymnasts put in 36-40 hours a week for many years before making it to the Olympics. Ericsson, in his work on expertise, says that on average it takes 10,000 hours and 10 years of deliberate practice to develop the skills necessary to be truly great internationally. The athletes have to decide that they are willing to train hard and sacrifice a lot to get to that level of performance. A coach can't make them do it, at least not in our Canadian system.
Fortunately, I'm working with some athletes who love the sport, have a good balance of attributes and experience, and are trying to find ways to train within the constraints of their lifestyles. My job then is to fill in the gaps and help them attain our mutual goal: their international success. Wish us luck. (Better yet, send cash!!!!)
PS: I'm hoping not to come off as the Anti-Canadian Elitist. I believe that there is a need for sport for all. Right now, I just want to work with true competitors. We need that in the Canadian system as well.
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