ANP
NOS Sport•vandaag, 10:57
Jonna ter Veer
editor NOS Sport
Jonna ter Veer
editor NOS Sport
How do you fix a culture of fear? How do you ensure medals without a bitter aftertaste?
63-year-old Paul van Ass has been national coach of the Dutch hockey ladies for a year now. When asked how likely it is that there will be another report on abuses within the team at the end of this year, he answers firmly: “Zero.”
So what has changed in the past year? “It feels like a less tight straightjacket,” says Pien Sanders (25), the new reserve captain. “Now I put on my Orange shirt and I think: yes, nice hockey today. Previously I thought: am I doing it right?”
The hockey women, reigning European, world and Olympic champions, come from far away. Under national coach Alyson Annan, several internationals reported undesirable behavior and a culture of fear within the team. This emerged from an independent study that the hockey association KNHB carried out a few months after the Tokyo Games. In January 2022, Annan was fired immediately.
ANP Federation coach and change manager Paul van Ass tries to ensure a safe hockey climate
Players with negative experiences mentioned three important causes for this: a strong hierarchy in the player group, which made it difficult to be open and be yourself, negative experiences with the national coach and finally a system that meant that the unsafe situation was not noticed.
Managementtrucs
Van Ass, specialized in change management, first worked on mutual communication. He knew that players previously felt inhibited from telling the national coach and leading teammates what was bothering them. “The challenge was that the climate became more pleasant. We are used to gold and it must remain that way, but I wanted to ensure that this was achieved in a different way.”
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International Sanders still remembers the first conversation Van Ass had with the women’s hockey team. “The first word he said was ‘space’. At first I thought: what do you mean by that? Why do we need space? He explained that we didn’t have to ask him for permission for everything, and that if we had an exam there space could be made for it.”
Van Ass also taught players that there should be room for feeling. “Communication in companies is often done in a rational manner: I want figures, can you provide them?” Van Ass teaches, “In sports it is also about that you, as a player, dare to tell me something from yourself.”
Timeline hockey players
November 2021: stories about an unsafe top sports climate come out.
January 2022: Bond parts ways with Alyson Annan due to differences of opinion on how to tackle the issues. Assistant Jamilon Mülders will succeed her.
March 2022: Report on the performance climate by an independent research agency containing 15 recommendations for improvement.
July 2022: The Netherlands becomes world champion with almost the same players and the same game system as under Annan. As few changes as possible in terms of hockey, Mülders focuses on making the group process healthier.
September 2022: Paul van Ass starts as national coach of the hockey women. He will be on the training field for the first time on October 3, 2022.
They also had a role to play there, he says. “There could be some more daring feedback to the coaching staff. I want a player to be herself and say what she feels, even if she disagrees with something. Otherwise you can never bring the best version of yourself onto the field. “
Did that work? “The feedback is now fairer, faster and more direct. I can now pick up what is going on as best as possible and manage it.”
Sanders did indeed look in the mirror with her teammates. “We have also left things out in communication, we have also not been open enough.” She says that they now regularly meet as a team, without staff; discussion sessions where everyone can vent.
We previously assumed that they would adapt to us. Sometimes we didn’t even give them a proper welcome.
Pien Sanders about how new selection players were previously handled
They have addressed the way they welcomed young people into the team. “We previously assumed that they would adapt to us. Sometimes we didn’t even give them a proper welcome.”
The defender calls Van Ass “a breath of fresh air”.
The physical and mental well-being of players is now easier to assess for Van Ass and the hockey association. For example, Van Ass uses an athlete monitoring system, an app in which players fill in how they feel every day prior to a tournament. With questions such as ‘how did you sleep’ and ‘do you suffer from tired muscles?’.
In case of notable issues, the national coach can talk to a player or identify a pattern, for example that training was too hard the day before.
Hockey international Sanders about new app: ‘Alert? I give that a five
Does Sanders ever conceal aches and pains? “It’s a learning process,” she says. She sees the importance of honesty, but “maybe you are not honest once and you are still in the selection.”
Sensitive: selection pressure
The hockey association has also started working on recommendations from the research into hockey culture. For example, the association carries out a ‘well-being check’ twice a year, with an online questionnaire that players can complete anonymously. And there is an external confidential counselor.
Clarinda Sinnige, former international and technical director of the KNHB, calls these changes essential. “We can now get more information from the group than before.”
There is still one sensitive point: selection pressure. How do you create a safe atmosphere within a process that revolves around being rejected?
KNHB about selection pressure: ‘It’s part of it, but there are no surprises now’
“Selection pressure is part of top sport and is tailor-made,” says Sinnige. “I think Paul is very clear in advance and makes clear choices. There are no surprises now. That is experienced as pleasant.”
Watch the competition match between the hockey players of SCHC and Den Bosch live at 2 p.m. via NPO 1, the NOS app or NOS.nl. With no fewer than 14 internationals (11 European champions).
2023-10-01 08:57:08
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