{"id":924,"date":"2020-02-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/where-does-the-head-coach-sit-in-the-team-structure\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:22","slug":"head-coach-team-structure","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/head-coach-team-structure\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Does the Head Coach Sit in the Team Structure?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Feb 24, 2020 <\/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

Where Does the Head Coach Sit in the Team Structure?<\/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 Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
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https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/head-coach-team-structure\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n
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A handy snapshot for individuals looking to make a success of their coaching transition.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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Nearly 17 years have passed since Michael D Watkins published his seminal tome The First 90 Days<\/em> but there has never been a sporting equivalent of similar weight and import.<\/h4>\n
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By John Portch<\/h6>\n

Watkins\u2019 fundamental assumption, that an incoming CEO in the business world will have more than 90 days to make their mark, does not always ring true in sport.<\/p>\n

Famously, soccer coach Frank de Boer was dismissed after just 85 days at Inter Milan in 2016 and beat his own dubious record a year later when he lasted a mere 77 days at Crystal Palace. In neither case can it be said de Boer was given sufficient time to implement his plans.<\/p>\n

Poor results did for the Dutchman in both cases, and while winning remains the bottom line, changing a playing culture requires trust, resource and patience.<\/p>\n

Here, the Leaders Performance Institute takes a look at four long-time head coaches to deliver a snapshot of where a successful head coach sits in the organisational structure.<\/p>\n

The head coach must creating a sense of belonging<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Trent Robinson<\/a>\u2019s seven seasons at the Sydney Roosters, he has led the NRL grandees to a series of historic achievements and set a succession of milestones.<\/p>\n

Back in 2013 when he was appointed, Robinson was the youngest coach in the NRL at 35. By the end of that first season he\u2019d led the Roosters to a minor premiership, which is awarded to the team who tops the ladder at the close of the regular season, and was named coach of the year.<\/p>\n

Three further minor premierships followed before finally, in 2018, Robinson and the Roosters won the NRL Grand Final. They went on to repeat that triumph 12 months later. As such, Robinson\u2019s stock has never been higher.<\/p>\n

Sydney also represents the pinnacle for players, who may relish the challenge of joining the league\u2019s dominant team. Some, however, may be daunted. As Head Coach, Robinson needs to be ready to work with both.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen new players join your team, the trick is that you\u2019ve got to coach them as an athlete first,\u201d he explained to the Leaders Performance Institute. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to find the person before you coach the athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thus Robinson, noted for his tactical and strategic vision, must also serve as counsellor to his players. \u201cFinding the person is getting in touch with them and who they are, what their families are like, what their interests are, but then you also need to set a framework for who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

That framework has delivered repeat success and covers the winning part of Robison\u2019s remit. Beyond elite standards it comes from creating what he called \u201ca sense of belonging\u201d to the club. \u201cBefore they start playing or striving for the team, they\u2019ve got to understand who the team is. We do some work around creating a home, the history of our place.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is a continuous process. \u201cYou have to do it every year, but it\u2019s because there\u2019s a lot of DNA in our jersey, in our shirt that we wear; there\u2019s a lot that\u2019s gone into that over 100 years. Getting them to that, creating a sense of belonging, and then you can start coaching the athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n

The head coach must empower their assistants and support staff<\/strong><\/p>\n

The players are the key stakeholders but you also need your coaches and support staff onboard, as Warren Gatland<\/a> told the Leaders Performance Institute.<\/p>\n

Gatland, who now serves as Head Coach of the Hamilton-based Chiefs in his native New Zealand, was speaking prior to the 2019 Rugby World Cup, where he led Wales to third-place.<\/p>\n

It brought down the curtain on a successful 12-year stint that took in four Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams.<\/p>\n

The Kiwi\u2019s exploits with the principality also saw him appointed Head Coach for two British & Irish Lions tours, with a third to follow in 2021.<\/p>\n

Key to his success has been his belief in a flat coaching hierarchy. \u201cWhen I first start coaching with a team,\u201d Gatland begins, \u201cI\u2019ll drive it a lot of it myself then try to pull back and allow the other coaches to flourish, to empower them to take responsibility and ownership. One of the things for me as a coach, is that I am never afraid to be challenged by the other coaches; we\u2019ll have discussions and disagreements and I think that\u2019s incredibly healthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to challenge them and talk about things and I want them to challenge me and be comfortable doing that; this is about us as a collective and a coaching group. We all need to look at improving, I\u2019ve got an insatiable appetite for knowledge and don\u2019t know everything about the game, want to continue to improve as a coach and I want the same for them as well. We have differences of opinion about selection at times and the way we want to play the game; we\u2019ll discuss that and we\u2019re pretty open about that, but once we make a collective decision then we back each other 100%.\u201d<\/p>\n

The head needs a line of the communication to the team\u2019s management or front office<\/strong><\/p>\n

How often do you see front office executives at practice? Would you welcome them if they showed up? Mark Warburton<\/a>, the Manager of English Championship side Queens Park Rangers, believes in encouraging the visibility of the CEO or owner at a club.<\/p>\n

Last year, he spoke to the Leaders Performance Podcast about his working relationship with Matthew Benham, the owner of Rangers\u2019 Championship counterparts Brentford.\u00a0 The pair worked together between 2011 and 2015, when Warburton served as Sporting Director and then as Manager. He always encouraged a relationship of complete transparency.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always saw it as Matthew\u2019s club,\u201d he said. “I know some managers and coaches say keep the CEO as far away as possible. I\u2019m not of that ilk. I think it\u2019s important that the players see the owner; I would go out of my way to welcome him to training, go out to have lunch with the players; the visible he is the more he understands how they think, how they work, sees their desire, their togetherness, then the better for everyone. I\u2019d speak to him every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is, however, always the \u2018loneliness of the decision-maker’<\/strong><\/p>\n

These days Ars\u00e8ne Wenger<\/a> serves as Fifa\u2019s Global Head of Football Development but, prior to that,\u00a0 spent 34 years as a head coach and manager, including 22 years at English Premier League club Arsenal.<\/p>\n

When asked by the Leaders Performance Institute to reflect on his coaching career, he spoke of being able to discard the extraneous details.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re 20 years old you think you possess all the necessary qualities to succeed in life but I\u2019m in a position today where my ego doesn\u2019t interfere,\u201d he said. \u201cMy pride doesn\u2019t interfere in communication any more. Experience helps you to understand what is important and get rid of all the rubbish. That means I can tell a player his haircut is not so important when it comes to being a great football player and then I can give him what he really misses in his game; what will be important for him to have the chance to be successful. We have the tools and the experience to tell him what will be important.\u201d<\/p>\n

In modern sport, the head coach must field a wealth of information and opinions and Wenger admitted he could feel \u2018invaded\u2019 at times by it all. \u201cEvery morning at Arsenal we\u2019d have a staff meeting where you have medical people, mental people, fitness people and you prepare the day as everyone expresses an opinion; but it\u2019s always the same. At the end of the day, you have to make a decision. The manager is the decision-maker.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n

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