David Leggat: Hard to know who's calling the shots in Adams camp

Valerie Adams, with ex-coach Didier Poppe, after winning the gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Opinion

Three quotations, any of which might apply to New Zealand's best field athlete Valerie Adams right now.

"About the only problem with success is that it does not teach you how to deal with failure." (Tommy Lasorda, celebrated LA Dodgers baseball coach).

"I made a wrong mistake." (Famous New York Yankees baseballer, and terrific language mangler, Yogi Berra).

"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be." (John Wooden, among America's most loved and successful basketball coaches).

So to blatantly lift from Gilbert Grape, What's Eating Valerie?

This week came the news that the Olympic champion shot putter is parting company with her coach of a few months, Frenchman Didier Poppe. The new shot caller is expected to be Swiss Jean-Pierre Egger, whom Poppe said uses the same techniques - speed in the throwing circle being one key element - as he does.

For all her senior career until last year, Adams was coached by Kirsten Hellier.

Then that turned sour last March and Poppe was called in.

By her high standards, this has been a poor year for Adams. A long run of second placings behind Belarusian rival Nadzeya Ostapchuk was ended by a win in Split, Croatia in September.

When Poppe came in, it was accepted that making a success of a significant change would take time. There would be no five-minute fix and then business as usual.

Poppe said he had been surprised to hear their relationship was over.

If it is correct that neither Adams nor her manager Nick Cowan had the basic courtesy to inform Poppe that it was over, that's thoroughly unprofessional.

It seems Poppe had an inkling things weren't working out. He has said he's happy for Adams to go to "my friend" Egger if it helps Adams regain her best game.

Adams trained for a time in Switzerland with Egger this year.

After working with Werner Gunthor, a former world champion, and Egger, Adams threw 20.86m to beat Ostapchuk to end her winning drought.

Adams' separation from her husband Bertrand was announced in August.

It is not unreasonable to surmise that a mix of personal and professional elements - the latter in the form of a suspicion things simply weren't working, and a feeling that Egger might be the answer - combined to push Adams in a different direction.

It may be that Adams simply didn't, or couldn't, relate to Poppe.

Cowan says Adams was "buzzing" after spending time with Egger. It's all about the London Olympics in 2012.

He implied that working with Poppe was "experimenting in a year where we could get away with it". Poppe might have been surprised to read that.

Three coaches inside one year roars at an unsettled situation.

Then again, if next year has Adams back to her dominant best, these past months will simply go down as a rather large blip at a time when she could afford one.