Hilary Robertson-Hickling

The role of the coach has been dramatically demonstrated during the current Cricket World Cup, as well as the recently completed Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships.

Winning teams thank the coach and losing teams blame the coach. This might be an oversimplification of the role, but the coach has a critical managerial role about selection of teams, strategies and the final outcomes. Indeed the coach is only one of the many actors in a successful team. This must be remembered at all times especially in the face of such tragedy as the untimely death of Mr. Bob Woolmer , whose anguished face was visible after the loss of the Pakistani team. I saw the acknowledgement of responsibility that lay with him.

Who is to be held responsible for the dismal performance of the West Indies Cricket team? Various people have blamed the captain, the players, the coach, the selectors individually and collectively. We need to come to terms with the facts so that we can improve the performance of the team. There are lessons for the political teamscurrently vying for office in Jamaica as our eyes are on them about the past and the future.

The sporting arena provides immediate evidence of success or failure, but there are too many other arenas in which this is not clear or quickly ascertained. The issues of performance and accountability need to be highlighted in Jamaica, as there still is a tendency for those in authority to seek to pass the buck or suggest 'it wasn't me'.

Role transposed to the world

The role of coach has been transposed to the world of work where the managerial domain has been extended to new roles. Managers now are often expected to play the role of coach to those whom they supervise. In fact those who perform well are able to demonstrate success and be well rewarded. Just like the international coaches who are able to work in the global market in sports, there are managers who are part of the global circuit. We are developing global coaches for the world in athletics and other sports and we are also doing so in business and government.

I think that the media should explore the work of successful coaches in Jamaica in more detail and help to share the secrets of their success. We need to know what works and what does not work and we also need to identify and honour their achievements. The same people who are sometimes underproductive and unable to perform competitively are able to lift their game after the engagement of a successful coach. Legendary coaches across the world are coming under the spotlight and there should be increased opportunities for their training and employment.

We need to utilize all the means at our disposal to increase the levels of performance of our teams and organisations in our competitive world where there are many lessons that we can learn from sports. Sports is also a big global business which we also must learn to manage.