Abstract

Why do some coaches deliver results while others don’t quite manage to make their mark? In Europe, an example of extraordinary coaching success is Marcus Weise, field hockey coach, who maintained his successful streak over the past ten years or so. His coaching efforts as well as apparent energy and commitment culminated in gold in Athens 2004 with the German Women’s Olympic hockey team, as well as gold in Beijing 2008, and gold in London 2012 with the German Men’s Olympic hockey team. He is the only coach to have won gold with a men’s and a women’s team. In an interview, he was asked how he coaches his athletes, and he said that coaching is discovering the capacities and capabilities that his players hide; and he went on to say that ‘when you coach you need to find a door that enables you to get access to the player’. There are so many examples of exceptionally effective and successful coaches, in individual sports (e.g., Toni Minichiello, Jessica Ennis-Hill) and team sports (e.g., Alex Ferguson, José Mourinho).