Leaders in Football Summit 2009

LEADERS IN FOOTBALL AND LEADERS IN
PERFORMANCE SUMMIT 2009
Chelsea Football Club, London, England – October 7th and 8th, 2009
Seventeen coaches and administrators ffrom the United States of America attended the Summit.
Seven of the American attendees (left to right)
right): Jeff Tipping, Director of Coaching for the National Soccer
Coaches Association of America; Ivan Gazidis
Gazidis, Chief Executive for the Arsenal Football Club (former MLS
Deputy Commissioner) ; Don Garber, Major League Soccer Commissioner; Sam Snow,
w, Coaching Director
for US Youth Soccer; Paul Halford, Technical Director for West PA; Steve Hoffman, Technical Director
for Cal South and Mike Singleton, Technical Director for Mass Youth Soccer.
US Youth Soccer
H ERE ARE THE INSIGHTS OF C OACHES H ALFORD, S INGLETON , S NOW
AND T IPPING ON THE S UMMITS .
LEADERS IN FOOTBALL NOTES FROM PAUL HALFORD
JACK WARNER, CONCACAF PRESIDENT
Comments!
UEFA TV rights $9.8 billion
Clubs-top leagues should have quota’s…..a number of home grown players
Wealth of clubs does not influence national pride
6-8 weeks with no soccer for players to recover
6-8 week coaching course for coaches to get qualified
Federation should help club
o
o
o
Act as regulator of club
Responsibility to society
All WC teams must have development @ grass roots
CONCACAF votes not assigned to any country yet
For 2018 -22 will vote for the good of the sport
Need to reach out to lesser nations
Future of Football – deal with clubs in debt
T ECHNOLOGY IN S PORT :
Coaches depend on it for fitness levels
Two specific areas
1.
Equitable return for the costumer
2.
reduce levels of uncertainty
Technology should not be at the expense of the quality of the game
44 minutes of actual playing time in 90 min match we should be playing for 90 minutes-technology can
help (radical but not realistic….PH)
“Game needs to move on to embrace changes.”
Sepp Blatter – “… future of the game is feminine” (????? PH)
US Youth Soccer
LORD MAWHINNEY….CHAIRMAN OF THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE
“Managing the wealth gap”
Problem…clubs spending more than they earn
Two major events in football
1.
Jimmy Hill freeing football wages (at the time they were frozen…Johnny Haynes becomes the
first 100 pound player …(PH)
2.
Bosman ruling…(at end of contract the freedom to look elsewhere…were stuck with old
contract and couldn’t move…PH)
Contracts in danger of becoming worthless
o
o
Lack of respect for contract
All about money
Premier clubs have 3.1 billion pound of debt.
As player’s wages increase club debt increases.
87% of clubs revenues spent on players wages.
2002 – 25 clubs in administration
Football is a closed market
Premier league transfer fees impact the football league
European closed market – impacts the premier league
Football league – house in order
o
o
o
o
Clubs divulge payments to agents
Talking about wage controls
More transparency of ownership
Attendance for the league about 16 million
HAROLD MAYNE-NICHOLLS....PRESIDENT CHILEAN FA
Pro league…clubs
o
o
o
o
st
1
nd
2
rd
3
th
4
18
14
16 (U23)
16
2009 National teams male U15, 17, 20 & full team
•
US Youth Soccer
Female U15, 17, 20 & full team
CFA owns 80% of TV cable channel with 1.5 million subscribers
•
Helped improve the league
20 new stadiums by 2011 with support from government
Refs are part time…they need to be full time
U20 women’s WC success
•
•
Attracted investors
4 new stadiums
Helped to build new bridges with the community
o
o
o
o
Football helped the country
Solidarity
Equity
Transparency
DON GARBER…CEO MLS
MLS is a corporation
10 soccer specific stadiums by 2010
US is largest market for FIFA world cup rights
2006 WC larger viewing than major league baseball world series
30% of revenue from commercial market is shared by all clubs
Q&A
L ORD M AWHINNEY , D ON G ARBER & H AROLD M AYNE -N ICHOLLS
LM….Triumvirate… Football association, Football league & Premier league
•
•
FA own National team and FA cup
FL own championship, div 1 & 2
Football is most conservative and doesn’t do change well
DG….MLS closed league
o
o
o
No promotion or relegation
In the long term will have to have promotion and relegation
US…important that we become a passionate soccer nation
HMN…Government builds the stadiums …they are run by municipality
o
o
US Youth Soccer
Clubs rent for the weekend
4 clubs have their own stadium
On sponsorship:
DG…MLS found company that was hired to find sponsorship
•
Generates revenue that is then shared with all clubs
LM…clubs have independent sponsors
ANDY ROXBURGH…TECHNICAL DIRECTOR UEFA
Leadership on and off the field
1.
Power-positional
•
•
•
•
2.
Credibility
Persuasive
Energy
Control
Take responsibility
•
•
•
Establish accountability
Accept obligations
Tell in advance what you expect
“The player’s job is to keep you happy – not the other way round” –
Sir Alex Ferguson
3.
Optimism
•
•
•
4.
As a leader show you are up for a fight
Enthusiasm between failures
Talent always rebounds
Communication
o
o
o
o
o
o
Form of feedback
Expectation – believe in them
Praise – as often as possible
Information – provide it
Coaching – make them better
Silence/criticism – constructive
Managing Expectations
•
•
•
Attainable targets
Create confidence
What is expected?
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M OTIVATION WITHOUT MONEY
1.
Selection (power)
2.
Coach (passion)
3.
Cause (dreams)
4.
Environment (stimulating)
5.
Recognition (attention)
6.
Rewards (psychological)
7.
Success (confidence)
8.
Team Dynamics
9.
Fans (atmosphere)
Communication
o
o
o
5.
6.
Inspirational speakers
Public statements
Clear messages
Emotions
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Self-awareness
Self-motivation
Self-confidence
Self-control
Understanding others
Handling relationships
Group dynamics
•
•
•
•
•
Make decisions
Handle criticism
Manage adversity
Character
Doing the right thing
Courage
Crisis management
o
o
o
o
o
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Cool leader/faith
Trustworthy staff
Facts not opinions
Cause is first
No fear
o
Focus on solutions
Crisis - Try to find a positive solution even in a negative situation
7.
Ideas – as a leader buy into your own philosophy
•
•
•
•
•
8.
9.
Have original ideas
Imagination
Belief
See the big picture
Barcelona Academy
o They have created a culture from youth to the pro team
o Work hard – family ethics
o Fast technique in their players
o Athleticism-speed-able to play
o The same tactical philosophy throughout the club
o Humility
Adaptability…able to change
•
•
Anticipate
Take risks
Modesty
Openness
Recognition
Humility
Top Coach – “Easy to work with ….hard to please.”
Leadership hats ….Boss, guide, builder and collaborator
Top Coaches are Leaders
At the top level -
“The coaches qualities often make the difference” – Andy Roxburgh
“Teach the best, train the rest and ditch the pest” – Andy Roxburgh
DANNY JORDAN….CEO S OUTH AFRICA WORLD CUP COMMITTEE
Concerns for WC
Fans travel….launched bus project…1000 new buses
Trains….police station on every train
Investment in infrastructure to last beyond the WC
US Youth Soccer
170 billion Rand invested in roads and infrastructure
O PEN F ORUM : H OWARD W ILKINSON , S VEN G ORAN E RICKSON (N OTTS C OUNTY F.C.), R OY
H ODGSON (F ULHAM F.C.), R ICHARD B EVAN (L EAGUE M ANAGERS A SSOCIATION )
“The changing role of management”
Difference between club and national team:
Club: day to day involvement with players
•
More control on players
•
•
No control of players
Injuries become a factor
National
LMA represents all managers and helps with contracts
Manager is the most important man in the club
st
“1 person to get the sack is the manager, managers should report to
one person but not the CEO who has little or no soccer experience.
As a coach to be successful in soccer you need the time to develop
your own philosophy.” – Arsène Wenger
HW…. gap between premier and champions league is getting bigger
•
•
•
•
•
Challenges for youth…there is good work in the clubs but the opportunity to play is not
there.
Germany has taken steps to improve as seen in the U21’s down
English managers more powerful than those in Europe…In Europe they have a sporting
director.
Important that we invest in coaching education and management… (Are we letting this
slip in the USA? … PH)
In England there is no department for Coaching Education or Player Development.
DAY TWO
FRANK DICK OBE
European Coaches Association
“Develop a winning mind”
Building competitive performance…understand life is full of uncertainties
Need to read the game and respond faster than opposition
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No two performance journeys are the same
The process is player controlled and coach led
“Managing Dynamic tension”
o
o
o
Give too much support to the athlete
Will not step up to the challenge
Too much challenge….can fail
Athletes need to take personal ownership of every opportunity – coach prepares players to stand by
themselves.
Make right decisions – make judgment calls - take risks
Just do it – perform excellently
“Winning is being better today than you were yesterday” - Seek out challenges to perform better.
You are the best in the world at who you are.
As a coach….help players/staff become the winning difference
SHANE SUTTON…BRITISH CYCLING …HEAD COACH
1 gold in 76 years
8 golds in Beijing
Key to turn around
o
o
o
Ambitious targets
Backed by holistic philosophy
Using psychology
Found the athletes to win gold
•
Have the coaches – the best then needed support
Challenge athletes….are you coming to make a difference?
STEPHEN PARK….BRITISH SAILING
To coach the team in the Olympics
(Coach)
-
Take control of the controllable
-
Fitness
-
Have you done the work or not
-
Self belief – mentally tough
US Youth Soccer
-
Think logically rather than emotionally
-
Passionate to succeed
-
Determined
“Take responsibility of each training session and game”
To the athletes…..Train like you play – play like you train
It’s not what happens but how we (they…athletes) deal with it.
“If it can happen then plan for it”
Create the right team environment.
THE BUSINESS OF ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT:
BERNIE MULLIN, TONY COPSEY, ROGER DRAPER & GERALD HOULIER
High performance athletes have special needs
“As a coach, make sure there are no obstacles that take your eye off
the goal.” – Bernie Mullin
Atlanta Hawks – back ground checks on all players before signing…Private investigator
As a coach/manager “create an environment that leads to a good performance” team behind the team
…very important …Gerald Houlier
Tennis…Roger Draper CEO
Early specialization @ 8 years…spoke to him after about this…he admitted that a lot of players
dropped out (what a surprise!) but they are only looking to produce (develop) 5 – 10 top class players
LEADERS OF FOOTBALL SUMMIT 2009---THOUGHTS OF MIKE SINGLETON
Overall, this was an extremely well-organized and high level event. Sitting in the room with the likes of
Gerard Houllier, Sven Goran Erikson, Roy Hodgson, Andy Roxburgh, David Moyes, and Howard Wilkinson
was a joy in itself. Listening to their very straightforward views of many issues surrounding the game and
the business of the game was an education. Being a coach who oversees a state I do have business
responsibility as part of my job but listening to the full-time business managers was eye-opening as larger
issues looming around World Cup bidding and hosting, league organization, and contractual respect are
major issues of concern at higher levels than at which I work. Interestingly, concerns of developing future
coaching leaders seem to be a concern at every level, all over the world. I will comment on issues that
jumped out to me during the weekend, not all sessions.
Jack Warner’s talk: Obviously one of the most influential people in the world of soccer as president of
CONCACAF, Jack seems an impassioned and emotional person. His talk touched on a variety of issues,
though did not seem to have direction. His suggestions we need to tinker with the rules of the sport are
interesting to think about though I hope limited. Making the actual goal bigger is an idea that has merit to
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me as goalkeepers are getting bigger and more athletic. His idea of reducing the number of players on
the field would be harmful to players’ health. Eliminating off-side would completely change the game and
rip its purity away. I feel it is good for us to brainstorm such ideas, but would seriously hope the integrity
of the game is kept intact when such high level people think of changes.
Lord Mawhinney and Richard Bevan both spoke about needing to respect contracts. For managers,
players, and clubs this seems a very important issue that needs to be addressed likely through FIFA. With
clubs sacking managers despite what a contract may say they are showing lack of patience and initial
judgment. Better work should go into their hiring process or a longitudinal plan that is worth sticking to
needs to be developed. Clubs going through a revolving door of coaches is not healthy for the team, the
players, or the club in the bigger picture. At the same time players need to harken back to the days of old
when allegiance had value if the soccer business is to prevent itself from running further into absurd debt
and eventual deterioration due to the extreme debt. This does seem to be an issue that FIFA is looking
into and with great cause. At some point, as both men mentioned, spiraling costs need to be contained.
Don Garber spoke of MLS and there was great interest in the structure of the league from all in the room.
The structure of MLS when compared with the Premier League is intriguing as it helps control some of the
grave concerns brought up by Lord Mawhinney and others. It seems the foreign clubs struggling in an
uncontrolled spending environment could benefit from adopting some of the rules that MLS uses. At the
same time, MLS needs to learn from foreign leagues as well. The lack of supporting developmental
situations for players in MLS currently is startling.
Andy Roxburgh was the class presenter of the whole event. His presentation on leadership had my mind
whirling and had me questioning myself and my actions at many levels. The points he brought up are
insightful and inspiring and a presentation such as this would be hugely helpful as part of our national
courses. In speaking with Mike Dickey at a recent “C” License course, we discussed how no course in our
country talks about what it means to be a “professional” coach. What are our responsibilities as people
who need to lead the game in this country in the future? As coaches earn their “C” or National Diploma I
think it would be a great idea to have a seminar on what it means to be a “professional” coach. Many of
Andy’s points would belong in this seminar. This is something we could talk a lot more about.
Listening to all the speakers at the Leaders in Performance day left me with one perception. Throughout
the world every sport is becoming more a hybrid of science and art. The amount of science put into the
England cycling team is overwhelming. When you throw in comments on sailing, tennis, and all the
science professionals in soccer comments on varied part of the game, you realize the similarities across
sport. Maximizing performance is a major endeavor and big business. We can use technology and
science to give players every advantage possible when competing. At the end of the day their
competence to utilize all the information provided is truly the mitigating factor of success or failure. I feel
we need to look more scientifically at our sport in this country and that doing so could raise our national
level of play. At the same time I find beauty in the fact that regardless of any science, the game still
comes down to the execution of skill and creativity of brilliant artists. No science can measure this
creativity and this is why ours is such a beautiful and beloved game.
LEADERS IN FOOTBALL – SAM SNOW
While in Germany working with the US Youth Soccer Europe ODP players and staff I took three days to go
to London to attend the Leaders in Football summit and the Leaders in Performance summit. Both
US Youth Soccer
th
summits were held at the Chelsea Football Club. The Leaders in Football summit began on the 7 of
th
th
October. The summit included exhibitors, a Brand Leaders Summit (7 and 8 ) and the Leaders in
th
Performance Summit (8 ). Robin Russell, the president of Sports Path and a member of the Technical
Committee for EUFA hosted Paul Halford, Steve Hoffman, Mike Singleton, Jeff Tipping and me at the
summits. The six of us listened to presentations by Sir Dave Richards, Jack Warner, Andy Roxburgh, Lord
Triesman, Danny Jordan, Andy Anson, Jeremy Darroch, Lord Mawhinney, Don Garber, Harold MayneNicholls, Richard Bevan, Roy Hodgson, Mick McCarthy, Howard Wilkinson, Sven Goran Eriksson, H.E.
Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Hassan Al Thawadi, Romy Gai, Tim Leiweke and the president
of U.S. Soccer Sunil Gulati.
The latest version of summit program is available from www.leadersinfootball.com. You can download
the official event guide for the International Business Summit for Leaders in Football via this link:
http://zviewer.zmags.com/services/DownloadPDF.
The official event guide for the Leaders in
Performance
summit
can
be
downloaded
via
this
link:
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/154d02a3#/154d02a3/54. Please click on this link for the latest
version
of
the
Leaders
in
Football
delegate
list: http://www.leadersinfootball.com/media/lif_delegate_2009_all.pdf.
The event concluded with 1045 delegates from 45 countries, 11 international TV crews and 100
accredited media in attendance. The two summits provided wonderful networking opportunities and
good information along with clear insights on the business of football were part and parcel of the
sessions.
LEADERS IN PERFORMANCE
THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNICIANS, SPORTS SCIENTISTS, BUSINESSPERSONS AND
ADMINISTRATORS IN THE MODERN GAME
CHELSEA F.C.
OCTOBER 7TH AND 8TH
2009
J EFF T IPPING , D IRECTOR OF E DUCATION AND C OACHING D EVELOPMENT – NSCAA
Following a successful, “Leaders in Football” conference in 2008, a program designed for soccer CEO’s and
business personnel, Chelsea Football Club spearheaded an expanded initiative by adding “Leaders in
Performance” for coaches and sports scientists in 2009. Mike Forde, Performance Director of Chelsea and
a presenter at the 2009 NSCAA Convention, issued an invitation to the NSCAA to attend the two day
symposium noting that the alignment of field technicians and sports scientists with businesspeople and
administrators was the final frontier of football educational programming. There is no doubt that Forde
and chief organizer, James Worral, scored a decided success with this adventurous initiative.
Attended by 1,000 delegates the conference was preceded by weekly newsletters from “Leaders” with
analysis of the daily happenings in world football together with developments in the upcoming
conference. This weekly “Leader” newsletter included interactive blogs and opportunities to make
statements and network with fellow attendees online.
US Youth Soccer
An impressive list of presenters from Danny Jordaan, CEO of the S. African World Cup bid, to Gerard
Houllier, Technical Director of the French Football Federation, provided the attendees with presentations
both informative and compelling providing unusual insights into both the political and technical aspects of
sport at the very highest level.
The world of sport is changing at lightening pace and Chelsea Football Club has been at the forefront of
that change in soccer. The rise of Chelsea under multi billionaire Roman Abramovich has changed the
soccer climate from a business to an industry, with clubs employing, not dozens, but hundreds of
employees. Although Abramovich has dropped from first to third in the Rich List of club owners, his
influence on soccer has changed the game forever. The days of the head coach working in isolation with
a technical staff of two or three assistants is fading into the past and, in the modern game, coaches are
supported by physiotherapists, doctors, technologists, performance analysts, nutritionists, biomechanics,
physiologists and psychologists. Chelsea alone has three full time doctors and six full time nurses on the
medical side, in addition to a small army of technical staff. Tottenham Hotspur, a bitter rival of Chelsea,
have a similar sized staff which includes three, full time, match analysts. For the players there certainly is
nowhere to hide if you make a gaffe in top line European soccer.
On the outside of the field the top clubs have to deal with the media, supporters and a myriad of business
partners and marketing agencies. It is the fusing together of these aspects of football development which
provided the focus for this “Leaders” conference.
The synthesis of non soccer presenters from lawn tennis, cycling and rugby union, together with
representatives of American sports proved to be a successful combination and it seemed logical in
identifying the technical and commercial principles common to all sports and businesses. Representatives
of the NBA, NHL, and WNBA together with presentations from CONCACAF, US Soccer and the MLS
provided helpful insights into the sporting scene in the U.S. offering the delegates with the very latest
trends from the most competitive sports market in the world. In addition to the American presenters
numerous other invitees from the US soccer community were in attendance reflecting the rising tide of
interest of Old World soccer in the New.
The successful use of panels with four or five members and individual presentations, in particular by UEFA
Technical Director Andy Roxburgh on “Leadership” and Chris Wright, President of the Minnesota
Timberwolves on “Developing an Organizational Culture,” were memorable features of the educational
program. The panels were adjudicated by a moderator asking individual members of the panel various
questions and then, at the end of the session, opening the questions up to people on the floor. Two of
the more interesting panels dealt with “The Changing Role of the Manager” and “The Business of Athlete
Development.” The latter panel consisted of Gerard Houllier, Roger Draper from the English Lawn Tennis
Association, and Tony Copsey from rugby union and Bernie Mullin former President of the Atlanta Hawks.
Apart from the selling and buying of players one of the interesting discussion points was whether to tell
an aging athlete that their time was coming to an end a year ahead of time (to give the athlete a cushion
of preparation time) or whether that information should be withheld until the last minute for fear that
the athletes performance might suffer if given cushion time.
Roxburgh highlighted the need for a coach to wear three hats – instructor, manager and leader. These
three skill sets are vital to success but not many coaches, especially those making the transition from
playing to coaching, have a good grasp of the importance of either management or leadership.
Roxburgh’s upbeat style and brilliant video footage inspired the delegates and thoroughly reinforced his
US Youth Soccer
point. Roxburgh pointed out that players need the coach to be a leader and want honesty, recognition,
success, growth and improvement, technical help, responsibility, status and good conditions to work in.
Frank Lampard, Chelsea player and English international stated that the players need “tough love” from
the coach.
Chris Wright, President of the Minnesota Timberwolves, enumerated to the delegates a series of player
defections which caused the meltdown of the Timberwolves in 2004-2005 causing the club to lose both
fans and sponsors. The response of the leadership team was to change the culture of the organization by
bringing a sense of ownership to staff and players and a sense of being part of the Timberwolves
community to the fans. In an extremely competitive marketing environment the Timberwolves rebuilt
their reputation with an almost fanatical commitment to their renewed vision and mission statement as
well as a revamping of their hiring and player recruitment procedures. The mobilization of the players
with constant appearances in the business, charitable and education community, were formalized in their
contracts and this created a bond between the spectators and the club. Seven “fan retention” staff were
hired and they, in turn, called upon certain handpicked players to call lapsed season ticket holders and to
encourage them to renew their commitment to the team. This gave the players an indirect understanding
of the business aspects of the club.
Wright’s presentation was an inspirational insight into the way strong leadership can change the culture
of an organization and make it, somewhat, bullet proof to the vagaries of professional sport.
There is no doubt that the modern coach must have a higher awareness of the technical, managerial and
commercial aspects of the profession. The balance is difficult to attain and it is the job of the “Sports
Director” or the “Director of Football” to keep the stability of this three legged stool intact. As opposed to
the English model were the manager is an autocrat, the Sports Director is a largely European
phenomenon having the responsibility to make sure that the sponsors and business persons are satisfied
without encroaching too radically on the head coach, players and technical staff. Damien Comolli,
Sporting Director of Saint Etienne in the French first division, examined the duties of a Sporting Director at
the club which developed former French National Coach Aimee Jacquet and UEFA President Michelle
Platini, as players.
Comolli’s list of responsibilities included:
•
Facility management
•
Supervision of developmental academy and player education
•
Scouting
•
Medical
•
First team travel
•
Equipment
In addition Comolli hires the technical staff including the head coach and noted;
“If the head coach does not have a winning mentality you have no chance.”
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Comolli noted that significant skills in conflict resolution were a recommended feature of holders of his
position.
Finally, professional networking lay as the foundation of the conference and delegates were encouraged
to attend the restaurant/bar underneath the main stand at Stamford Bridge to intermingle. Waiters
walked around with trays of food and drink provided for free and long intermediary breaks which were
taken to allow the networking process to take place and allowed the guests to tour the small but
impressive number of exhibitor “booths”. Soccer technology booths (e.g. Prozone) far outnumbered any
other kind of exhibit and the reach of modern day game technology almost makes the coaching skill of
match analysis outmoded, at least at the highest levels. Fortunately technology cannot tell the coach
when to make a substitute or alter styles and systems. The innate “instinct” of an experienced coach still
has a long way to go before being replaced by a machine.
All in all this initiative to combine the three elements of the modern professional game proved to be
strikingly successful. Coaching education keeps the coaches on the cutting edge of technical and tactical
development but by collaborating field technicians with sports scientists, finance and administrators the
conference reinforced the need for everyone in soccer to try and understand each other and to work
together for the good of the game.
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