I

T
STI
MEFORCOACHES TO
TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS
By Frank Dick OBE
In challenging the culture and attitude within athletics to change in commercial
status, there has to be a bit of serious re-thinking beyond the commercial sector
and those who decide the rules because that re-thinking involves coaches and
athletes. The author answers the question of the fundamental role in working with
anat
hl
et
eandi
dent
i
f
i
essever
alar
easoft
hecoac
hes
wor
k.Hegi
vespr
ec
i
se
proposals for an economical picture in conducting the business of coaching on
different levels.
Frank Dick OBE is the President of the European Athletics Coaches Association.
He was Director of Coaching for the British Athletic Federation from 1979 to
1994. He is now a freelance consultant working with several top athletes of
different sports.
Re-printed with permission from New Studies in Athletics.
In August 1973, I was in a bus with David Bedford, traveling between the
at
hl
et
e
shot
elandCr
y
st
al
Pal
aceSt
adi
um.Thebuswascaughtupi
nat
r
af
f
i
c
jam. David, who had set a world 10000m record of 27 mm 30.8 seconds at the
AAA
sChampionships only a few weeks before (13th July), turned to me and
sai
d,
Doy
ouknowwhyt
her
e
sat
r
af
f
i
cj
am?I
t

sbecauseLondon
scomi
ngt
o
watch me run! That sounds like al
otofmoneyc
omi
ngt
oat
hl
et
i
c
s.Don
ty
ou
t
hi
nkIshoul
dgets
omeofi
t
?I
t

sat
hl
et
esl
i
kemewhomaket
hemoneypos
si
bl
e.

He was right, of course, and over these last 27 years, athletes have earned the
r
i
ghtt
oear
n.Thespor
twasamat
eurt
hen.I
t

sopen now; a mixture of amateur

and professional like tennis, soccer etc. Such change has meant an immense
culture shift, but that shift has not been realized in all sectors of athletics.
Sport, as an industry, is now enormous. It is worth multiple billions of dollars per
year and is the third largest industry in terms of global economics. Athletics, as
ani
ndus
t
r
y
,i
scur
r
ent
l
yv
al
uedatanest
i
mat
ed$500m perannum.TheI
AAF
s
budget is in excess of $50m per annum and this year will receive over $17m from
the IOC for Sydney - more than twice the amount for Atlanta. So the economics
of our sport are in a period of accelerated growth. There can be little doubt that
our late IAAF President, Dr. Primo Nebiolo exercised very real genius in leading
the commercial growth of IAAF and, therefore, of the sport.
Ther
ecanal
sobel
i
t
t
l
edoubtt
hatt
hemar
ket
i
ngpeopl
eandat
hl
et
es
agent
s
have contributed to this growth, and in turn have been well compensated via
contractual agreements. Normally, these are based on a percentage of economic

packages in the case of international and national federations on the one hand;
or a percentage of earnings of athletes on the other.
This said, some sports have been even better at going commercial than athletics.
So we can, and will, improve. The process of improvement may be accelerated
by variously focusing on:
A rules review reference advertising and commercial involvement etc., at
athlete level. Allowing athletes greater opportunity for commercial return
has a clear knock on effect of affording greater economic potential to the
sport itself.
Attracting an increased number of quality marketing people to create
greater competition amongst those involved in marketing athletics to find
even better deals for the sport.
Developing a new generation of athlete agents who will deliver an even
better quality of athlete support service.
Athletics is thus going to become an even greater player in the commercial
busi
nessofspor
t
.Thesi
t
uat
i
onmustnotcont
i
nuewher
eanat
hl
et
e
s
outof
competitionear
ni
ngsar
e,atbest
,35% ofat
enni
spl
ay
er
s
of
fcour
t
ear
ni
ngs.
Andr
Aggas
i

s
of
fcour
t
ear
ni
ngsf
or1999wer
e$15m.Mi
chaelJohnson
s
equivalent earnings were approximately $4m. Nor can we continue to accept the
differential between the earnings of male and female athletes. Anna Kournikova
s

of
fcour
t
ear
ni
ngswer
e$10.5m, which put her above all male players except
Agassi! In athletics, the equivalent earnings for Marion Jones were $2m, which
puts her below the top ten male athletes.
In challenging the culture and attitude within athletics to change in commercial
status, there has to be a bit of serious rethinking beyond the commercial sector
and those who decide our rules because that rethinking involves coaches and
athletes. We must:
Value quality coaching and afford coaches a level of compensation
commensurate with their role in developing the people on whom the entire
business is founded the athletes.
Educate athletes to understand that world class performance requires
world class support; and world class support cannot be free or cheap.
Educat
eal
lt
hoset
hat
mi
ghtac
ces
scoachesex
per
i
enceandex
per
t
i
se
that such must be valued by the shape of appropriate economic
compensation.
Coaches and athletes have to review their relationship against the background of
such change. Educating the athlete in this respect may not be an appropriate role

for the coach. The IAAF should support the drawing up of guidelines to review
the relationship between coach and athlete for those athletes who are planning to
be professional career athletes.
Coaches may also require some kind of guidance to adopt a more assertive and
professional stance in delivering what can be any one of several roles in the
progressively commercial world of athletics, from local club or community level
through to federations or exclusive squad level.
Whati
sacoach
sf
undament
alr
ol
ei
nwor
ki
ngwi
t
hanat
hl
et
e?
Thecoach
spr
i
mar
yr
ol
ei
st
oi
mpr
ov
et
heat
hl
et
e
sper
f
or
mance.Resul
t
s,ort
he
at
hl
et
e
sper
sonaldev
el
opmentar
esecondary roles which may be achieved in
delivering the primary role.
On top of this, the coach may also have skills in management, leadership and so
on.
Thet
i
t
l
e
coacht
her
ef
or
emos
tf
r
equent
l
yr
ef
er
st
ot
hef
ol
l
owi
ngar
easofwor
k:
Personal Coaches (early specialist elite)
General Athletics Coach to development groups (beginner school / club
/ community)
Specialist Team Coach (Club National)
Chief or Lead Coach (Club National)
Athletics Consultant (specialist athletics-related areas)
The better coaches, in my experience, undertake their responsibilities with a very
professional attitude. They learn from everyone they coach and from years of
education in coaching theory, method and practice. Such coaches also develop
themselves through a commitment to continuous personal development yet very
few take a professional attitude to valuing their expertise and experience. Let me
illustrate this point by looking at other professions:
My legal advisers are close personal friends but they charge me by the
hour for their adv
i
ce.I
t

snev
erf
r
ee.
My accountant likewise invoices me for all the time spent on financial
adv
i
ce.I
t

snev
erf
r
ee.
My dentist charges a fixed rate per hour (or fraction of an hour). If I am
late I am still charged from the time the booking starts!

 One of my daughters plays tennis, the other dances. Both the coach and
the teacher charge by the hour.
So why on earth do most athletics coaches give their services for nothing?
Yourex
per
t
i
seandex
per
i
encehascosty
out
i
me,ener
gyand,I

m cer
t
ai
n,
financial expenditure. You provide a quality of specialist service which, at the
very best, matches that provided by any of the persons in my illustration. You
must, then, ensure proper compensation from those who will gain advantage
from your contribution to their lives. What you do is valuable. In a commercial
world, you must, then, put an economic dimension to your value.
Perhaps it may be difficult for some coaches to know where to start. The
f
ol
l
owi
ngmayhel
p.I

l
lt
ak
eeachoft
hear
easofwor
kment
i
oned above in turn. It
is presumed that anyone who will coach as a profession will have relevant coach
education / accreditation and / or professional qualifications and be bound by a
code of coaching conduct / ethic.
1. Personal Coach
Personal coach arrangements should not be in place with an athlete before they
are 16, but must become a matter of written agreement or contract thereafter.
The framework of such an agreement may include components such as:
a. Relevant exclusivity and annual retaining fee (minimum initial
duration 2yrs, thereafter annually reviewed)
b. Mi
ni
mum
coac
hi
nghour
sperannum.
c.
Coachi
nghour
sdef
i
nedi
nt
er
msofcont
actt
i
me.
d. Ser
v
i
ce
package
.
e. Performance improvement targets (as measure of coaching service
effectiveness).
f. Results bonus structure.
g. Special conditions (e.g.: in event of injury etc.)
h. Disengagement/termination conditions (both sides)

2. General Athletics Coach to Development Groups

This coaching role may come under the broad heading of Athletics Development
Leader / Coach / Officer / Coordinator etc. Normally, such professional
engagements are with a club, local authority, community or federation. Several

nations already have such professional positions operational. The position is

normally a full-time engagement for an agreed number of years. Salary is
according to nationally agreed scales for a specified numbers of hours per week.
These hours will normally be evenings, weekends, after school etc. Sometimes
they will in elude work in schools. Development measures should be built into the
agreement.
3. Specialist Team Coach event block
These coaches have a well-developed specialist area and are very experienced.
The specialist area may be an event block (e.g.: endurance events) or a
performance related area (e.g.: conditioning) or a key development area (e.g.:
coach education). The role may be as much management as practical. Normally
contracts are reasonably standard with clubs or federations so the agreement
may include components such as:
a. Relevant exclusivity and fixed compensation package for 2-4 yrs.
b. Service package embracing coaching contact time, coaching
coaches, project design and delivery, contribution to the overall
coaching team performance etc.
c. Performance, Development, Project Delivery Targets etc.
*Plus any additional r
el
ev
anti
t
emsi
ncl
udedunder
Per
sonal
Coach
4. Chief or Head Coach
This is primarily a leadership / management function on a foundation of extensive
experience in personal coaching, team coaching and other athletics related work.
They are normally high performance positions and carry considerable
responsibility and accountability.
At National level, the Chief Coach will be the highest paid technical position in
the sport. At Club level, where there is a very strong club producing a high
number of National team athletes etc., compensation may be close to that of a
National Team position. Contracts again are reasonably standard with clubs or
federations so the agreement may include components such as:
a. Relevant exclusivity and fixed compensation package for 4 years
minimum.
b. Service package reflecting delivery of leadership, management,
technical competence.

c. Performance and results targets (team at championships / cups

etc.).
d. Results bonus structure.
e. Disengagement/termination conditions (both sides).
*Plus any addi
t
i
onalr
el
ev
anti
t
emsi
ncl
udedunder
Per
sonal
Coach
5. Athletics Consultant
Such coaches are normally recognized and respected internationally and they
will certainly be acknowledged as a leading expert nationally. Their expertise,
then, is quite unique and they should be considered in the same league as a
consultant in any other area of professional life. They are the highest paid per
unit of time. Contracts are designed specifically for each assignment and may
include components such as: a. Relevant exclusivity and annual retaining fee, and / or per diem.
b. Mi
ni
mum
cons
ul
t
ancyday
sperannum andperdi
em.
c.
Consul
t
ancyday
sdef
i
nedi
nt
er
msofcont
actt
i
me,pl
anni
ngand
preparation time in producing reports, written material etc. There
should also be agreement on charges for travel time.
d. Accommodation and travel expenses/ conditions.
e. Service package.
*Pl
usanyaddi
t
i
onalr
el
ev
anti
t
emsi
ncl
udedunder
Per
sonal
Coach
As I see it, a professional athletics coach may operate in more than one of these
areas. Indeed, he or she may need to do so to achieve personal economic
targets as a self employed person.
Considerations such as pensions, insurance, savings, income tax, VAT,
administration support, secretarial assistance, equipment, heating, lighting and
accessing an office, personal transport and so on, all have to be considered
when evaluating how to get the most appropriate overall compensation package
for you.
The Council of the European Athletics Coaches Association has recently agreed
to set up a College of Professional Coaches under the leadership of Henri
Leglise.

Its early work will include creating frameworks for professional coach
agreements, including a code of professional athletics coaching conduct.
In the meantime, the following may help establish some economic perspective in
anticipation of the sort of price conditioning the College will move towards. The
suggestions will hopefully create a climate for debate and discussion, which will
lead to Athletics Coaches worldwide having a clearer economic picture in
conducting the business of coaching.
Normally, travel for an international expert will take out a full working day (i.e.: an
earning day!). So, travel to the venue accounts for half a day and the return
home counts for half a day. Accommodation and travel costs are additional.
Top professional coaches should earn something in the region of $150,000 per
annum - $25,
000perannum.Someat
hl
et
esagent
sal
r
eadyear
nsumsi
nt
hi
s
region but very few have invested even a fraction of your preparation time or
enjoy the experience you bring to helping athletes achieve their athletic and,
t
her
ef
or
e,commer
c
i
al
suc
ces
s.I
t

st
i
mef
ory
out
ot
akecar
eofbusi
nessf
ory
our
own sake and for that of the whole future of athletics coaching.