In wake of Peden and Heraf controversies it seems New Zealand sport model is now 'outdated'

Autonomy and relatedness were lacking for former Football Ferns skipper Abby Erceg under coach Andreas Heraf. Photo / Photosport

Cycling coach Anthony Peden quits after allegations of bullying, Football Ferns coach Andreas Heraf hangs on to his job by a thread after losing his dressing room, rowing guru Dick Tonks is accused of bullying and aggressive behaviour, a review into Swimming NZ in 2012 reveals a dysfunctional culture and distrust between athletes and coaches, and now Sport NZ chief executive Peter Miskimmin says Kiwi sport has an outdated "command and control" culture.

What's our problem? Are coaches too aggressive and dictatorial? Are modern athletes - to borrow a pejorative term from American politics - precious snowflakes who don't know the meaning of hard work? Or is it - as Miskimmin suggests - a systematic failure?

Roger Mortimer, the former manager of high profile athletes Hamish Carter and Sarah Ulmer, is now the head of the Athletes Federation and he has a simple explanation for the raft of athlete-coach breakdowns in sport.

"What's important is trust - that's your currency. If coaches don't trust athletes, they'll treat them a certain way that won't be productive, and if athletes don't trust coaches, then it's never going to work," Mortimer tells the Herald on Sunday.

To establish trust, Mortimer points to what is known as Self-Determination Theory (SDT). It has become a critical tool for sports psychologists in the past 15 years, and sports organisations worldwide are starting to understand that what's best for athletes is the opposite of the traditional hierarchal systems.

Think of SDT as a table with three legs - or three basic needs - autonomy, relatedness and competence.

Autonomy is feeling you have a choice, that what you're doing is of your own volition. Relatedness is to care for and be cared about by others, to feel you are contributing to something greater than yourself, to have your values align with the goals of the team or programme. Competence is about skill levels but athletes also need to feel they are learning and growing, not just reaching a set level.

Researchers know when these needs are satisfied, athletes are highly motivated and enjoy a greater sense of well-being.

Take Football Ferns star Abby Erceg, who blew the whistle on coach Heraf's negative tactics, saying she didn't want to play for a coach whose belief system was to lose by as a little as possible. Erceg quit the team because she was denied autonomy and relatedness - she felt she didn't have a choice about how the game was played and her values (to do everything possible to win) weren't aligned with those of the coach. She lost her motivation and sense of purpose.

Heath Mills, chief executive of the New Zealand Cricket Players Association and Athletes Federation board member, understands that scenario.

"In the high performance environment, people can only be at their best if they can be true to themselves. Athletes need to feel valued and have a say in what goes on around them."

According to experts, in terms of autonomy, to create highly-engaged, motivated athletes (and employees in any field for that matter), coaches and administrators have to refrain from dictating, incentivising or applying pressure - all those old carrot-stick practices don't work in the long-term.

In sport, this means letting go of the top-down demand for results. It's when coaches and administrators fear results won't be achieved that they revert to what Miskimmin calls the "command-and-control" approach.

They resort to micro-managing, dictating and sometimes bullying. If there's any doubt the pressure to succeed is enormous, just look at High Performance Sport NZ's website under KPIs: it's totally about medal tallies; nothing else matters.

That pressure is not conducive to success, says Mortimer.

"What has become increasingly worrying over the last decade has been the increased anxiety levels amongst coaches and athletes associated with the need to produce medals at almost all costs."

A classic examples in recent times is the British cycling programme, where Aussie coach Shane Sutton achieved incredible results but a review found he operated within a "culture of fear" and the governing body failed to address his "behavioural issues" due to the single-minded pursuit of medals. In other words, the athletes had no choice and no say on what went on, as there was no one to listen to them.

The other key area in SDT is relatedness. This is about consultation with athletes and team members - and yes, it's about taking feelings and values into account. That might sound a touch new-age for some but the research is strong - coaches have to listen to athletes. It doesn't mean tolerating all behaviours but emotions are powerful tools and worth exploring. Ditto value systems - athletes need their values to align with the greater goal and that means understanding people.

What it doesn't mean is the dreaded "player power" is in the ascendancy, says Mills.

"The best environments are where the athletes get a chance to contribute to the environment - to have a say in decisions and feel valued."

It should come as no surprise that the sports with the longest professional history in New Zealand - rugby and cricket - are now exhibiting best practice when it comes to player welfare. And Mills puts that down to the early creation of player associations in both sports.

"It's by no means perfect in rugby or cricket - there are always issues - but I do think rugby and cricket respect the role of the players and value the players as key stakeholders.

"They work with players - through player associations - around all decisions. As a result, the players know they'll be treated fairly, that their health and well-being is a priority, that they are supported by independent organisations they can take issues to.

"Fundamentally, they know they are respected by their employers - and I don't say that lightly, as it's been a hard road to get there - but New Zealand Cricket and New Zealand Rugby have come a long way in their respect for athletes."

The future of sport?

The Self-Determination Theory has become increasingly in vogue in sports psychology circles. It comprises three main strands:

1. Autonomy: Feeling that what you're doing is your own choice.

2. Relatedness: Feeling that you care for and are cared about by others, that you are contributing to something greater than yourself,
that your values and goals align
with those of your team.

3. Competence: This relates not only to skill levels but also to continually learning and growing.