{"id":1310,"date":"2018-12-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/creating-inter-disciplinary-teams-that-work-for-the-athlete\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:39","slug":"creating-inter-disciplinary-teams-that-work-for-the-athlete","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/creating-inter-disciplinary-teams-that-work-for-the-athlete\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating Interdisciplinary Teams That Work for the Athlete"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Dec 18, 2018 <\/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

Creating Interdisciplinary Teams That Work for the Athlete<\/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
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Category<\/div>\n Coaching & Development<\/a>, Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
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https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/creating-inter-disciplinary-teams-that-work-for-the-athlete\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n
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Interdisciplinary teams are essential to holistic approaches to athlete development but the real key is the implementation across an organisation.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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The Essentials:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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    Why the athlete must be at the centre of any holistic approaches to high performance<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
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    The importance of developing a common high performance language<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
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    Why interpersonal skills will always trump expertise<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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    Elite sport continues to prize a holistic approach to athlete education and development, with previously disparate groups, be it medical staff, coaches or strength & conditioning specialists, encouraged to work together for the betterment of the athlete. Taken collectively it is possibly the last area where teams and athletes can find those significant performance gains.<\/p>\n

    It sounds good on paper but takes considerable effort in practice. Not only are different departments prioritising their own areas of expertise, but the numbers by which their value is measured at an organisational level can often come into conflict with others\u2019 and, in such cases, it is the athlete who suffers. The solution is a manager or director of performance, with a background in one or more of the relevant disciplines, taking an overarching role that ensures each department is given a say, that decisions are arrived at in a consensual and open fashion. Yet even the most skilled directors can face resistance from staff who have been in situ for decades and are mistrusting of anything they cannot comprehend at face value. The suspicion of \u2018sports science\u2019 held by those who cannot understand its purpose and efficacy remains strong. It is a tightrope to be walked but, with the right front office support, it is the athlete who stands to gain the most. Here are six ways to increase your team\u2019s chances of getting it right.<\/p>\n

    1.Make the athlete paramount<\/strong><\/p>\n

    There is only one place to start and that is, as ever, with the athlete. \u201cThe players are the centrepiece and ultimately the only ones you need to convince about what you\u2019re doing,\u201d says Andrew Russell, the Elite Performance Manager at the AFL\u2019s Hawthorn FC. \u201cIn my role I\u2019m trying to prime everyone in my organisation to get that message across to the players. It\u2019s absolutely player-focused. No politics – nothing is more important than making that player better.\u201d<\/p>\n

    2.Educate the athlete<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Modern athletes are taking better care of themselves than ever and it is in part because they have been empowered to do so by the interdisciplinary teams behind them. \u201cThe players these days have a real hunger to understand why we\u2019re doing things,\u201d observes Jamie Tout, the Strength & Conditioning Coach of the New Zealand women\u2019s rugby team. \u201cWe\u2019ll do daily wellness questionnaires but we don\u2019t go to a tick box exercise. We might say \u2018you told us you had a really good quality sleep but what does that mean? Does that mean you slept for 14 hours or six?\u2019\u201d Proactivity on the part of the interdisciplinary team is a requisite. \u201cWe educate our players on whatever we want them to get better at – we don\u2019t just assume they\u2019re going to get it without the education process,\u201d says Andrew Russell. \u201cIt\u2019s also my role to get players to understand their role, what made them good and how they got there. We want to make those attributes great and identify what is holding them back.\u201d The approach can be both formal and informal. Marty Lauzon, Director of Sports Medicine & Performance at the NFL\u2019s Atlanta Falcons says: \u201c[If a player is injured] it\u2019s showing them and explaining their images, ensuring the physician sees them two or three times a week, getting a second opinion, making sure that all the opinions are there for the player to understand; making sure he understands day by day.\u201d Russell adds: \u201cIt\u2019s making sure we\u2019re on the same page with the players; the connection between your staff and players is so important in making them accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

    3.Find a common language<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Making sure everyone is aligned on the same page requires a common lexicon. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to relate things to the coaching staff and if we want to create our own identity and culture then language is part of that,\u201d says Marty Lauzon. \u201cTalking to [Head Coach] Dan Quinn and [General Manager] Thomas Dimitroff meant saying \u2018let\u2019s talk football\u2019; let\u2019s keep it to that when it comes to sports science or technology. The three of us can be on the same page instead of me going to them with 10 different data points. Talk about football, game performance, practice and then those conversations can go to workloads and speed zones. It takes time, though, and we had an offseason to define our language and then an entire season to iron out some of the things that we wanted to talk about.\u201d It can also help performance plans to resonate with athletes. \u201cWhen the club\u2019s leaders are aligned they can begin to influence the players,\u201d says Andrew Russell. \u201cWhen a player goes into a meeting with a coach and that coach discusses a certain philosophy; the player will then come onto the gym floor and I\u2019ll discuss the same philosophy; the physio will have a similar discussion with them. They don\u2019t know who came up with it but they know there\u2019s alignment and they buy into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

    4.Interpersonal skills are a must<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Communication and clarity must be complemented by emotional intelligence and strong interpersonal skills in performance practitioners. \u201cPersonality is huge in professional sport,\u201d says Jeremy Bettle, Director of Sports Science & Performance at the Toronto Maple Leafs. \u201cYou have to assume a certain level of expertise among the candidates you\u2019re looking at. I would take someone with a few less degrees and a better ability to relate what they\u2019d like an athlete to do and actually have them do it.\u201d It is an important part of the Hawthorn recruitment drive. \u201cWe put a lot of time and effort into finding out about a person\u2019s history,\u201d says Andrew Russell.<\/p>\n

    5.Stick to the plan<\/strong><\/p>\n

    While allowing spaces for your athletes and staff to grow, there will inevitably be tense moments, but they need not derail your performance plans. \u201cThe best organisations find the forums to challenge, and equally importantly, support each other,\u201d says Andrew Russell. \u201cWe\u2019ve created an environment where views can be aired without fear or rebuke, even when a staff member is challenging the status quo, because everyone has the best interests of the players at heart.\u201d Conflicts and differences of opinion are inevitable. \u201cThese are never going to be easy conversations when you\u2019re going to a coach and saying \u2018I know we said two weeks but it\u2019s three until this player can return\u2019,\u201d says Jeremy Bettle. \u201cIt\u2019s critically important for your rehab staff or your sports medicine staff to have that voice and be able to stand up for your player and stick to the original plan. If there\u2019s been any deviation that didn\u2019t involve communication with the athlete, that\u2019s where you take a step backwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

    6.Don\u2019t sweat the numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Darren Burgess, Director of High Performance at English Premier League Arsenal, is at pains to explain that you should not sweat the numbers. He says: \u201cEarlier in my career I was just obsessing over numbers too much at the expense of the player. I looked at the numbers and objectified things way too much and I would sweat over the tiniest discrepancies between one performance and the next and think it was either my fault or the coaches\u2019. I completely took out the brain and the psychology from any of those judgements and it was a massive mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

    3 things to know:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    1. The athlete is the centrepiece of performance and their education in matters of high performance is essential.<\/li>\n
    2. A carefully assembled high performance plan cannot be ripped up at the first sign of trouble. Universal buy-in is essential.<\/li>\n
    3. The numbers are valuable but not paramount. It\u2019s a people business and interpersonal skills go a long way.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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      \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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