{"id":1136,"date":"2019-08-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/is-there-a-performance-role-where-an-individual-can-succeed-in-multiple-sports\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:30","slug":"sara-symington-england-netball","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/sara-symington-england-netball\/","title":{"rendered":"Is There a Performance Role Where an Individual Can Succeed in Multiple Sports?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n\t
\n\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n \n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n Aug 01, 2019 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Is There a Performance Role Where an Individual Can Succeed in Multiple Sports?<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
Category<\/div>\n Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
\n
Share<\/div>\n Facebook<\/a>\n Twitter<\/a>\n Email<\/a>\n Copy Link<\/a>\n
https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/sara-symington-england-netball\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Sara Symington would say yes, as the former cyclist has tasted success in both archery and netball in recent years.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

\n

\u201cSaying ‘we’re in it to win it’ – I can remember it was a defining moment,\u201d recalled Sara Symington.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n
\n
By John Portch<\/h6>\n

\u201cIt sounds\u00a0crazy\u00a0but we hadn\u2019t talked of winning as a sport for a long time. We had been chasing the\u00a0Australias\u00a0and the New\u00a0Zealands\u00a0for years and, if I\u2019m perfectly honest, no one dared dream of winning.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Symington, the Performance Director at England Netball, is speaking to an audience at the 2018 Leaders Sport Performance Summit in London<\/a>. It had been a matter of months since the Roses usurped Australia on home soil, taking their Commonwealth Games title from them in the process.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was England\u2019s first major success at international level and really put the cat amongst the pigeons, as Australia Head Coach Lisa Alexander later admitted<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The victory came a little over three years after Symington joined England Netball from Archery GB, where she also served as Performance Director – not that she claims this as a personal triumph.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s from a cohort of people that truly believe and want to believe this can happen and it\u2019s ultimately creating a momentum of belief,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For all that, Symington has been successful with England<\/a>, overseeing the team\u2019s progress to the semi-finals of the World Cup last month, and enjoyed a golden spell during her time\u00a0 at Archery GB. Yet her sporting background is in professional cycling and she also served an officer in the Nottinghamshire Police. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit of an eclectic journey,\u201d she told the audience as she delved into what it is that an effective performance director brings to any number of tables.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What was the one thing when you showed up on day one in netball that caused you to ask why don\u2019t we do<\/span><\/b>\u202fthis,\u202fwe do this in cycling?<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SS:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0\u201cYou must\u00a0ask:\u00a0w<\/span>hat is it you really need to train to match that what it takes to win? But\u00a0also\u00a0you need to have athletes that are training consistently, injury-free, healthy<\/span>. W<\/span>hatever\u00a0sport you walk into, that\u2019s what you ultimately\u202fwhat you want your athletes to be doing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019m quite a simple soul and I like to keep things quite simple and those are the things that really resonate with me and I\u2019ve used multiple times in every sport that I move into.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Was there something you saw in netball right away [from archery or cycling] that made you think we need to do this right away?<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SS:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0\u201c<\/span>With archery it was about the fitness level; at the end of the day you\u2019re pulling a bow, about 55-60\u00a0lbs\u00a0on a string with two fingers, not only the physical upper-body strength but you\u2019re walking six or seven miles a day, sometimes in temperatures of 35 or 40 degree<\/span>s<\/span>, which is quite demanding.\u202fI translated that into netball as well. We put a camp-based\u00a0programme\u00a0in the international window where it was predominantly based around the fitness side of things. What we were seeing historically is that they would get up to half time and they were competitive but what would happened after half time is that the wheels would come off, the skill level would be falling away, they couldn\u2019t shoot the shots, and it was the one thing that was really easy to control. We knew we had the right\u202fathletes,\u202fwe knew we had the right coaches and skill level and it was about getting the best out of them, but first and foremost, getting them fit enough to be able to win and be competitive.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You are reverse engineering from desired outcome.<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span><\/p>\n

SS:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0\u201c<\/span>It\u2019s never easy<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Y<\/span>ou\u2019ve\u00a0got to accept that first and foremost it\u2019s going to take daily, monthly, yearly amounts of energy; and that\u2019s not just from the one person, it\u2019s from the cohort of people. Within netball we did a series of things. First and\u202fforemost<\/span>,<\/span>\u202fit was about stakeholder engagement whether it was from funding, sponsorship, CEO or board level as to what we needed to do and why we needed to do it. We went through\u202fa number of\u202fprocesses<\/span>. I<\/span>t\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>also\u00a0<\/span>a membership\u00a0body<\/span>\u00a0and<\/span>\u00a0I had to go and speak to the regions because we had to change fundamental bits within our pathway as well, and we needed buy-in ultimately. Fortunately, on this occasion, the majority were in agreement, you\u202falmost could\u202fsee what had been put in place, what wasn\u2019t working, what was clunky or it was becoming resource-heavy and financially not sustainable; that was almost a quick win. Internally, we used a tool called\u00a0<\/span>P<\/span>riority\u00a0<\/span>S<\/span>earch\u00a0where it was an objective and subjective-type exercise, which was carried out with staff and players and it was almost used as a tool of what we were going to do first and what we were going to do second and third. It really asked for feedback from them about \u2018if you said this then what should we do\u2019 and it was almost used as a feedback loop. When we went about actually executing the strategy; we could point to they had a voice in this process. That\u2019s not to say that you accepted everything but there was a clear link between what we said and what they did; inevitably you got buy-in far quicker and that created a momentum. It took a coach to come out with a strapline that we\u2019ve continued using: \u2018we\u2019re in it to win it\u2019 and I can still remember a week later the head coach, Tracey<\/span>\u00a0Neville<\/span>, saying\u00a0<\/span>\u2018<\/span>I\u2019m not quite sure if I believe in this, Sara<\/span>\u2019<\/span>, and I said\u00a0<\/span>\u2018<\/span>that\u2019s alright because we know we\u2019ve got a plan, let\u2019s start and see where we go with this and then keep on keeping a fluid strategy until we get there<\/span>\u2019<\/span>. And it was through that, having the real belief, that slowly but\u202fsurely\u202fshe was the key instrumental person driving it on the ground and she could start to feel it herself; the players start to buy into that as well. And culture was a huge part of our success journey.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How did you g<\/span><\/b>aining\u00a0a deep<\/span><\/b>er<\/span><\/b>\u00a0understanding of netball<\/span><\/b>?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SS:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u201c<\/span>There were\u202fa number of\u202fways. Obviously, it\u2019s a bit of trial and error; in archery, I can remember comments – \u2018what do you know about this sport?\u2019 – I truly didn\u2019t<\/span>\u00a0know anything<\/span>. It\u2019s about listening to the wise owls in the sport and get closer to them and really try to understand the culture and the journey of the sport, the history of the sport, but ultimately how it\u2019s grown and matured, and also get inside their minds as to what\u2019s worked and what\u2019s not worked. I suppose\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0rapport foremost with some\u202freally key\u202fpeople in each sport, so they get to know you a bit and you get to know where they\u2019re coming from as well. But\u202fultimately\u202fit\u2019s putting a few key people in a room and starting to look at what needs to go forward. It goes back to looking at that dream; what can this look like?<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What a<\/span><\/b>ctions\u00a0<\/span><\/b>did you\u00a0<\/span><\/b>take to build that rapport<\/span><\/b>?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SS:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u201cIt\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0spending time with people, spending time with the sport,\u202factually understanding\u202fwhat the sport looks like at the top end all the way down to the bottom. It is a huge job but, ultimately, defining in your own mind where the quick wins are, where the low-hanging fruit is as well, within a short period of time, it could be 3-6 months or it could be even longer, but then working out, or working back, towards which ones you can move forward, and who do you need to engage with to help you move forward; I\u2019m a big believer that it\u2019s not just the one person, it\u2019s a cohort or group of people who need to\u00a0operationalise\u00a0and move strategy forward.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is there a natural\u202f<\/span><\/b>position\u00a0<\/span><\/b>for\u202fpeople who are not endemic to the sport?<\/span><\/b>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SS:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0\u201cA<\/span>t PD level or\u00a0programme\u00a0manager level you can get away with it. There are examples in the system now of head coaches moving across sports as well with certain skills and competency levels that might suit a\u202fparticular sport.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What is your approach to working with budget allocations?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SS:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0\u201c<\/span>I\u2019ve worked in sports with limited resource and limited money; it\u202factually teaches\u202fyou how to spend money wisely and really get every single cent out of it. For me that\u2019s been a privilege, actually; I haven\u2019t had oodles of money and it\u2019s taught me how are you going to best spend your money and how are you going to\u00a0maximise\u00a0certain things. In netball, we closed down certain\u00a0centres, reopened certain\u00a0centres, transitioning players from part-time to full-time; it was really looking at what we had to do and knowing how we needed to invest that money that was going to close the gap between us and one and two the quickest.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you set about\u00a0m<\/span><\/b>aking\u00a0sure strategic framework is implemented<\/span><\/b>?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SS:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u201c<\/span>The professional\u00a0<\/span>netball\u00a0<\/span>leagues are over in New Zealand and Australia, so we did a big piece around that; what\u2019s worked and what\u2019s not worked, but also accepting that\u2019s not going to work here<\/span>. I<\/span>t\u2019s nicking the good bits and looking at our model here. However, for the players who are good enough, we encourage them to go and get professional contracts over there; it\u2019s almost like a finishing school.\u202fSo\u202fit\u2019s win-win for them and its win-win for the national team, whereas what we have here is a set of clubs who are not quite as competitive as the ones in Australia and New Zealand, but they are a really good performance tool to build upon. I\u2019m a big believer in having a big network and looking at other sports and business, particularly around how they recruit around talent.\u00a0<\/span>Y<\/span>ou\u00a0need to feel that\u2019s it\u2019s an opportunity for the people sitting on the other side of the table to understand who you are, who the\u00a0organisation\u00a0is, but also it\u2019s a fair process for that individual to go through and they get a real feel for what the\u00a0organisation\u00a0is about and the role they are recruiting for.\u202fSo\u202fwhat I\u2019d say at this point is don\u2019t skimp on the time for your recruitment process; it\u2019s about both parties, learning about their experiences and our experiences, but also what they can bring in. For example, I\u2019ve brought in quite a few different people from different sports<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>There\u2019s different people, our sports science, our sports medicine, from rugby sevens, from football; you bring it into the melting pot, from different experiences, different skillsets and different expertise to actually input into the sport and help challenge the coaches in the right way but also help us make some really good decisions about how we push forward, not only as a sport but as individuals and the players themselves.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You were a police officer in Nottingham. What was\u00a0<\/span><\/b>the impact\u00a0<\/span><\/b>on you\u00a0<\/span><\/b>in terms of life and leadership<\/span><\/b>?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SS:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>It was organic learning. You were literally going out on a daily basis into an environment or to places where you were meeting people and you didn\u2019t know a) how they were going to react b) what you were walking into or how you were going respond and so I\u2019d like to think it was a really big\u202flearning curve as to how I refined some of my skills, be it listening, being able to talk people down from emotionally high scenarios, to actually creating a plan or spoiling things in the moment very quickly; it\u2019s almost like arena crisis management. It ranged from murders to someone losing their cat, someone with dementia who didn\u2019t know where they lived, to being held at knifepoint for two hours. I could go on but those experiences I went through in those three years, there\u2019s no two ways about it, alongside my athletic career, have taught me more about actually following<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>through, resilience, and relating to people in a very short space of time, more than any course could ever possibly teach you. It was a great experience but it only lasted three years.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Looking for more strategic insight?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Want the latest insight into data and industry trends? Download our most recent Special Report: Navigating the Data Maze featuring Texas Rangers, Orlando Magic and Australian Institute of Sport<\/p>\n