|
|
| Ohno Zone
|
|
|
STEPHEN GOUGH, former U.S. National Short Track Coach Ohno Zone Interview, April 2003 | PART 4: RESIGNATION & THE FUTURE, cont'd
Stephen and Apolo at the team gift presentation, SLC
OZ: What was your assessment of the national program this season? If there were problems, were they resolvable from your point of view? SG: I had to be very cautious. I didn't feel it would be appropriate to come in and try to change too, too much. Even though most of the skaters knew me, certainly many of them had either never worked for me directly or had never worked for me in a situation where I was the head coach and writing the workouts and everything. So that was one thing I had to take into consideration when I first came in. Then you had the whole... new group. We had a really different dynamic with new people, a different girls' group, etc. And then in the bigger picture, the whole program had really been hurt by a lack of leadership. Leadership from every area. US Speedskating didn't really have a program director for short track from 1999 onwards. That was a decision that was made and supported by the coaching staff saying, 'Ok I think we can get this done [by ourselves].' In hindsight, I think it was obviously a bad move. Jack Mortell came back on the scene in October of 2000 as the Olympic Team Leader, and he eventually assumed some duties for the entire program, but his main focus really was Salt Lake City. So we didn't really have anyone who was coordinating the entire program from juniors all the way up to the top, with the same philosophy in place. On top of that, I think the problems with the previous coach were leadership and communication. I'll admit, it's a tough environment. It's tough. So that was a big thing that I thought had to be fixed: an understanding between everyone that was here of what their roles were. 'You're a skater, this is what your job is, these are the expectations that are on you.' And the same thing: 'I'm the coach, and this is what you should expect from me.' That's what I was trying to get at with everybody, on top of trying to deal with [being] a new coach, and [implementing] new training. I certainly feel like I tolerated things that maybe I shouldn't have, but I really felt it was important... to show the athletes that Tony and I were going to be consistent, to try to treat them as fairly and equally as possible… That was one of the criticisms in the past - that it was a star system a little bit. Those skaters that didn't necessarily have the highest ranking were [treated] as an afterthought when it came to their training. I obviously wanted to continue the success of our top skaters, but for me, the real measurement of a good program was how well the bottom skaters would improve. Because then everyone is getting better. That's really what's important. We sat back, we watched a lot of things, we unfortunately let some things happen that probably shouldn't have happened and that we certainly weren't going to let happen this coming year. But the main intent was to build credibility, to build trust with the skaters, and say, 'This is the line. It's not going to move this year.' Now, this coming year, Tony and I, and Jack and the other coaches, would have said, 'Okay, this is what we saw this year, now we have to start to change this and get it the way we need it to be, the way we want it.' I was pretty confident we were coming up with a real good plan to fix the problems that [existed] and make sure things were going in the direction we wanted them to. The biggest [problem] we had to deal with more than anything was the level of commitment from the athletes. That's not as bad as it sounds, it's mainly just a post-Olympic thing, where there was such a heavy focus and buildup for most of the skaters on the Olympics. They really put a lot into that. Really, in my mind, things shouldn't change from one year to the next - the more consistent you are, the better you're going to be. But you can't deny the fact that the media attention and all the buildup [surrounding] the Games had a huge impact on everybody. We had to really let that sort itself out with everybody. Some of them were ready to go right from the start, and a few of them needed more time. But if Tony and I had pushed, it would have backfired on us. We had to let it come from [the athletes] and let their own motivation build. I really believe that they have to understand and know that it has to come from them. The best skaters, the ones at the top - that's how it is for them. The athletes are going to be that much better, that much stronger, when they are self-motivated and make a conscious choice to do the work or make the right decisions towards their training. Some of [the athletes] figured that out right away, some of them took a bit of time, but by the end of the year, we had gotten everyone on board where they knew what was expected of them for the most part. Like I said, we were planning some changes in a few areas. But it seemed like almost all of them were very motivated for the summertime, started addressing in greater detail some of their weaknesses, some of the things they needed to correct to improve their performance, which was exactly where I was headed with that. Whether or not that was the right thing to be doing, we'll never know. OZ: In hindsight, would you do anything different? SG: Yes and no. I know there were situations I didn't handle exactly the way I wanted to. In that respect, in the future, I would want to handle those situations better. As far as the overall plan and how we chose to handle things, I don't think so. There were a few things that didn't go exactly as planned. We didn't do as much testing with the Olympic Committee in some areas, like physical testing… That's partially the result of our own competition schedule. We didn't really have a cohesive group here from November onwards. We had juniors and [University] Games and World Cup teams. Everyone was kind of all over the place. So from that respect maybe we didn't do as much as I would have liked. And then also [some of] the Olympic Committee staff [left], so they were short-staffed and all of a sudden that restricted what [we] could do as well. I guess I believed in what I was doing and how I was going about doing it. So yes, it meant sitting back and letting people make some mistakes, I think. It's unfortunately part of the learning process. So I'd say to some of the skaters, 'Hey, maybe you should go talk to the sports psychologist.' Well, they didn't go. But I think at the end of the year they were having second thoughts and thinking, 'Hey, maybe I should have gone.' You know, you've seen 'Good Will Hunting' where they make the guy sit down with the psychologist. They sit there for an hour and they don't talk, because he doesn't want to be there. I certainly didn't want to put any of my skaters or the sports psychologist through anything like that. I mean, if someone doesn't want to be there, they're not going to get anything out of that. What you try to do is make the skaters understand and see the importance of every aspect of their skating: nutrition, psychology, strength, the whole works. Everything matters. At this level, you can't leave areas like that up to chance and just trust that you're going to do the right thing. Some of [the athletes] know that right away, some of them are still learning and grasping that. To me, making them go and do stuff is not necessarily going to have the [desired] effect. In general, I think I was pretty satisfied. As much as I would have preferred to have better results at the end of the year, we had our plan in place, we got everything set up, we let it happen. It was time to grab the bull by the horns and start to really take a much more active [approach] and … start to steer how things were going to go, with the program collectively and on the individual level of each skater. In the coaches' box, Bay City  Image courtesy Denise D'Aguanno OZ: What is your opinion of US Speedskating and how it makes decisions? SG: You're talking about an association [made up of] skaters - a really small group of people. You have to look at the history as well - pre-merger you had US Speedskating and the [American Skating Union] - and which group was taking care of which interests. The USS group was taking care of the international [side] and winning the medals. The ASU's responsibility was the club level. The thing is, when you've got an organization that's fractured like that for so long you're not going to have any cohesive plan for how to run the sport or especially develop skaters, develop coaches and develop the sport as a whole. So now they're playing catch-up. You're talking about a group of people that are very, very dedicated to the sport. Their hearts are in the right place. For the most part the results have been there. They certainly are able to mobilize a lot of support and energy towards being successful, especially at the top level. I think the perspective around the world is that the U.S. does the best job in supporting its top, top athletes. That's a good thing. When I was in Canada, when we'd have our meetings we were always talking about how do we give the skaters below the top extra experience? For some reason we were always talking about the skaters ranked 5th-8th or 5th-10th. In the U.S. we always talk about the top three guys - what more could we do for the top guys? So that's a big difference there. I think for the most part a lot of the decision-making has been short-sighted. The mission for so long of US Speedskating was to win medals, World and Olympic medals, and that's all. No mention of how you're going to do that, it didn't go any deeper as to how that was going to happen, it was just straight up: win medals. For the longest time the approach they had I think was very short-sighted. You're only thinking in four-year blocks. When the [two associations] merged that approach changed a little bit, but the tendency to think that way might still exist. Look at it this way: the kids that we watched at the age-class Nationals, the ones that are 10 or 11 years old… well you're talking about our 2010 or 2014 Olympic team. There are medals that can be won there, too. It's not just, 'Okay, now it's 2003, let's sync everything with 2006.' Or when 2007 rolls around, 'Let's start thinking about 2010.' I certainly think that part of the problem, or it has been in the past, is a little bit of short-sightedness in the decision-making process. Again the results are there, you can't necessarily argue with that. I guess things could always be better, things could always be a lot worse. It's a very young organization and they've certainly got a lot of growing to do. OZ: Is there any role or need in USS that is going unmet? SG: I think there is in general. It's mainly a byproduct of the financial situation. The money isn't there to do some of the things that we'd love to be doing. I certainly think more and more could be done to help the clubs, but I don't think US Speedskating should be in the clubs hands-on doing things for them. It should be the 'give a man a fish vs. teach a man to fish' sort of analogy. At some point, with limited resources, you just have to make hard decisions. For sure, they could be doing more with the media and fans to continue to generate buzz. Find creative ways to market the sport even more. It's tough when you don't have that money. OZ: What is your next move? SG: It looks like I'm heading back to Canada, but I'm not sure where exactly I'll settle down. It's kind of wide open right now, I guess. Obviously I can't stay in the U.S. legally, unless I re-apply for a student visa or something. So I'm not sure what I'll do. Obviously, coaching is always an option. Whether I do it or not, (I have to decide that), and if I do do it, at what level? Do I do it professionally or on a volunteer basis? [Should I] work? Should I go back to school? I have a degree already from McGill, but really it was more of a sideshow in my skating days. Whether to go back and really work hard at something specific, I'm really not sure. [Maybe] I'll get an apartment and have a cat. You're not allowed to have cats in the training centers. I don't know. Life will be radically different. I've been in the U.S. for four years and things will be quite different, I think. With the silver-medal winning men's relay team, Salt Lake City 
OZ: What have you missed the most about Canada in the four years you've lived in the States? SG: The thing that probably had a bit of a role even in my own performance was that I missed having the support system in place as far as friends and that sort of thing. And that's actually a bigger problem relating to the training centers in general. You think about it, we have 10 or 12 skaters here and no parents, no friends, [the skaters] are all alone. And that sort of creates problems a little bit, because like I've said, there is no support system. So as a coach, in many of the skaters' eyes, you become that support system. That's not a role you should be filling primarily. Obviously you're not there to be cold and distant to your skaters, but you can't be their number one fan or supporter, either. Because you get criticized for playing favorites, or that sort of thing. You are a human being and you do connect personality-wise with some people better than other people. That's just the reality of it. I guess having been [in the U.S.] for four years, I always missed just having that diversity of life that I had in Montreal or even at home, with the multitude of friends that I met in different walks of life, from my school, from skating, from home. I think that was a big thing that I missed. Other than that, I don't think I missed anything. I really looked at [coming to the U.S.] as an opportunity, a chance to try something new and make something work. Earlier this winter, I was asking about trying to find a way to get permanent residency status [here in the U.S.]. For me, doing the job I was doing, you have to re-apply every year for a work visa. I broached the idea that it might be worthwhile trying to find something a little more permanent. That way if at some point down the road I'm not coaching professionally, I would have the option to stay in the U.S. and be a club coach here. Lord knows, most of the clubs need coaches. Don't get me wrong, things have come a long ways in the 4 years I've been in the US. The quality of skating is rising and credit for that goes to the club coaches. But you can never get enough good coaching at the club level. In many ways club coaches are like elementary school teachers and they play a crucial role in skater development. OZ: What will you miss the most about the U.S. after you're back in Canada? SG: I'm a creature of habit up there with the best of them. There's little things that I'm going to miss. I've become a very devoted fan of SportsCenter, for example. It's going to be weird turning the sports on and have hockey at the front end of the broadcast instead of at the back end. I'm going to miss the beautiful part of being in the U.S. I'm definitely going to miss some people a lot. I made a lot of good friends. Especially being Canadian, there's sort of a big USA-Canada thing - maybe more so in the eyes of Canadians than Americans. Maybe that's why it's a big thing in the eyes of Canadians - Americans don't even notice. Just becoming aware of that whole situation, that whole difference, and really getting to see it… having lived first in English Canada, then lived in Quebec, which is a completely different culture, and then to be in the U.S., which is different again. Most of all, when you're growing up, and I certainly remember when I was younger as a skater, if you haven't been somewhere you always have stereotypes. I guess if I were to be in a situation where someone was talking about American stereotypes, I've met too many people that don't play up to those. There's too many good people here that I've met that have really, over the course of four years, removed any stereotype from my mind. Mind you, there are always going to be a few people that live right up to those stereotypes. But I've met a lot of good people and had a chance to do a lot of things. I didn't do as much as I probably could have, but this country's not going anywhere. OZ: What is your impression of how things have changed in the past year with regard to fans? SG: I think the greatest thing is that we have them. It was really non-existent before. Once every four years in the brief three nights that you would see short track on TV, there was such a learning curve there. We got so much publicity last year, and because the fans are there, just through the Internet alone, the knowledge that is starting to get out to people that have no knowledge at all of the sport is a good thing. What I even witnessed through your own web site [was] a transformation of people that were there for one reason to now: they're still there for one reason mainly, but the knowledge that's been distributed, that's gone through that whole fan community, the knowledge of other skaters, other countries, the sport, is great. The more people understand the sport, the more interested you're going to be in it, the more you understand what's going on, the more you're going to appreciate it and recognize some of the subtleties, some of the nuances. If you watch a soccer game in the U.S. vs. watching a soccer game in England, the way the commentators speak and what the average fan knows is on a different level. The more we're on television, the more it becomes clear that people are starting to become familiar with the sport, the better off we're going to be. I think [short track] is an amazing sport. From an athlete perspective, to my mind, it's one of the hardest sports going. There's just so much to deal with: your own technique, your own nervousness, the fact that you're racing head to head, your own physical exertion in the race, just the things that can go wrong within a race, between the referee making a bad call to someone falling in front of you or just hitting blocks… it's pretty difficult. From a spectator's point of view, and from everyone I've spoken to that has had a chance to see the sport of short track live, it knocks their socks off. There is so much more to see live than there is on television. You can appreciate the speed much more live, but you can really see and understand how people move, how the races work, how [skaters] set up the pass, you can see things building up a lot quicker than you can on television. Seriously, a 5000-meter relay, for anyone that was in Milwaukee last year or in Montreal, when you have two or three teams that after seven minutes, all cross the [finish] line [together] in a tenth of a second… you've got sometimes eight skaters at a time on the track, four pushing four, there's so much risk and so much tension that builds up there, it's amazing. Or a 500 meters at a Worlds, where you've got three guys who could win a gold and they're all in the same semi, and you know one of them is going to get beat out. That tension that's there… as a skater it's a pretty unique feeling, but as a coach it was a whole other feeling for me, and then from a fan's point of view, it's excitement. So to answer your question, the fact that we have fans is awesome. The sport is amazing, I'm glad people are taking notice, the fact that most of the fans initially became involved just through Apolo. So your group and the web sites have gone from being all about Apolo to being 'he's our favorite' -- but now the [fans] know about the whole U.S. team, skaters from other countries, and how skating works. You can tell that just from what gets posted on [OZ] now, like ISU/World Skating Federation soap opera stuff to... The knowledge is starting to get spread and people are starting to appreciate and understand what is going on. People have questioned whether the Games have had the influence US Speedskating wanted them to have when they look at the quality of our teams right now, but the influence has already been made as far as the public, I think. Short track was on TV twice this year, which is two more times than normal. More importantly, they still have the guys at the top, or the guy at the top anyway, that can really produce, and what I've seen is a greater number of skaters who are joining at a younger age… So they're more likely to see the legacy from Salt Lake at the top level at the 2010 Games or the 2014 Games. OZ: Is there anything else you'd like to add or talk about? SG: I guess I'd like to thank everybody for making this year a great year, and all the new fans and the new friends that I've met over the course of the year, and the people, especially in the last week or so, that have been very supportive. From the emails I have received and that sort of thing, it's certainly very much appreciated. It hasn't been an easy year but I did my best to try and enjoy it. It's been fun. OZ: Well, we thank you for everything you've done to make this season so enjoyable for us. I hope we can keep up with you. SG: Who knows, maybe you'll have a Montreal reporter for the web site. Ohno Zone Home // Interview: page 1 | page 2 | page 3 | page 4 | page 5 |
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
||||||||||||