From selfish to selfless
Kate Howey was a two-time Olympic medallist who appeared at four consecutive Games from 1992 through to 2004, she was also a world champion and perhaps the poster woman of British judo. She instantly became a coach and admits her ego got in the way at first. “It was very much about winning,” she told the Leaders Sport Performance Summit in London last November in her former role as Head Coach of British Judo. “I had an ego and if I could produce somebody who was winning medals that would be good for me. Then you get a bit older and wiser and realise it’s not about me, it’s about the athlete. That was a massive learning curve.”
Howey had made the journey from selfish to selfless. “It’s about how I break down the barriers and the softer skills of coaching,” she continues. “Get the human side of the athlete out to then build the trust to get the performance.”
It needs to be this way in a sport such as judo where the coaching is close-up and personal. “I’m probably from here to the photographer [about three metres away] coaching them matt side; and something can change in a second. I have to be on it and I have to have the trust from the athlete that I am giving the right instruction.”
Never say ‘back in the day’
If a self-referential approach was outdated in 2004, it is not going to serve any purpose with current athletes who were barely in school at that time. “‘Back in the day we did this’ – never ever say that to this generation because they’ll say ‘you didn’t even have TVs in your day, Kate.’ They’ve got a totally different understanding of what goes on in the world.
“Your coaching changes and you have to be innovative with that. You can even coach using somebody’s Instagram. You have to be super innovative.”
Find out what makes them tick
In judo, as Howey says, “It has to be athlete and coach working together rather than coach-centred or athlete-centred, because sometimes the coach does make the athlete tick as well, as much as the athlete needs the coach, the coach needs the athlete.”
She can be on the road up to 250 days per year, which means it is essential she develop rapport with athletes who might be half her age. “You’ve got to know the generation that you’re dealing with,” she continues. “They’re very clued up; mental health, tech savvy. You get to learn these things so you can have an ‘in’ on a conversation or just get down to their level, as hard as it may be, and challenging as it is.” She tails off for moment. “[I’m often] sitting there watching Married at First Sight for an hour.”
Howey does not necessarily enjoy this reality TV show but it is a worthy sacrifice. “The softer skills have to come in, which is possibly knowing what they’re doing that evening, knowing what’s going on in their life, knowing what’s going to make them tick – and what’s not going to make them tick – more to the point.
“How do I motivate them? How do I bring them down when they’re slightly high in terms of they’re too eager to do too much? Then they do too much and they get hurt. It’s a two-way thing and you have to have the conversations to get the information out.
“Sometimes it’s a chat over a cup of coffee that you don’t get in a training environment. You need to get to know your athlete in order to get the best out of them.”
