A few weeks ago, I was the facilitator for a really interesting international meeting of national anti-doping organisations. There were many interesting individuals there – one in particular was John Fahey, the President of the World Anti Doping Agency. A man who was born in New Zealand and became a naturalised Australian, was a good class player and coach, is an ex-Premier of New South Wales and Australian Finance Minister, thwarted an assassination attempt on Prince Charles and led Sydney’s successful bid to host the 2000 Olympic Games.

During the evening between the two days I had the opportunity to spend some time chatting with him. With his long connection with sport, and knowing that he had attended so many top events, I was interested to know whether he could pick out one event that stood out above the rest as the most memorable he had attended.

He was able to pick two out. The first was a netball match between Australia and New Zealand that ended 55-54 to Australia. At least I think he said that was the score – it was definitely in the 50s and there was only one point in it at the final whistle. This stuck in John’s mind due to the nationalities of the teams taking part, and the tension right from the start due to the lead alternating throughout the game.

The second event was the Paralympic Long Jump event. The recognition of the trust between the athlete and the coach had a particular emotional attachment for John. He described how the coach clapped from one side of the landing area and the long jumper, who was blind, set off running and then jumped … the jumper placing all their trust in the coach’s clapping to make sure they landed in the sand.

Two things struck me from what John said. Firstly, I was (wrongly) expecting him to mention an event or events that were more high profile than those he recalled – but I suppose it is like life itself, in that the moments that are of perhaps most significance and enjoyment are not those planned occasions but those that we come across almost by accident.

Secondly, I reflected on the coach and coachee relationship. For me, one of the foundation stones of such a relationship is trust, and John’s example so clearly highlighted its importance in a way that most of us would never experience. And then I wondered whether I as a coach always appreciate how difficult it can be for the coachee to undertake their chosen actions on occasions, and whether I can support them more effectively?

Paul