The Art and Science of Coaching
22 May 2008, Maison du Sport International, Lausanne, Switzerland

Coaching young athletes is a big challenge for any coach since they are still in their physical and psychological development stage. Nevertheless, coaching young athletes can be very rewarding if done correctly. Speakers from the world of sports were sharing and discussing their experience with the audience in the MSI in Lausanne.

Anne-Sophie Thilo, Olympian sailor 2008, and Stéphane Bohli, professional tennis player shared their experience when being a young athlete. Both agreed that good communication skills are very important for a coach. For Stéphane good communication from his coach, i.e. constructive feedback was missing when being a teenager. The solely negative feedback not only intimidated him but also created a vicious circle since he did not dare to ask for feedback anymore. Anne-Sophie also pointed out that coaches need to know their limits. As soon as they realise that they have reached their limits they should be honest and support the athlete by handing them over to a more skilful coach.

From a coach and medical point of view, Dr. June Canavan, sport physician for various swimming teams in Australia and at Olympic Games, discovered that the drop-out of young athletes is a big problem in sport participation. Young athletes that do not meet the qualification requirements, for example, to join the national team are left alone mostly without any help or encouragement. Therefore, she pointed out that sport has to be more than just about winning but should be about having fun, making friends and achieving success. Zoltan Jordanov, head coach of the Swiss female gymnastics team agreed with June completely. For him puberty is the most difficult stage when training young athletes. An estimated 60% of gymnasts drop out at this stage. The body changes enormously during this period and a drop in performance is inevitable but has to be explained to the athlete with patience and encouragement. Dr. Nathalie Farpour-Lambert, paediatrician in Geneva, added that burn-out in child athletes becomes more and more frequent and that coaches and parents have to allow the children “the right to be or not to be a champion”.

Prof. Antonakis, expert in leadership at the University of Lausanne, stated that “athletes should be intrinsically motivated” but that the coach has to provide a vision that is morally lifting and ethical for the athletes. Then coaches can help their athletes to achieve more than they believed they could achieve. Chris McSorley, head coach, manager and owner of Genève-Servette Hockey Club, added that next to all technical, communications and motivational skills a coach needs to posses, he also needs to manage his own life successfully since “it is impossible to have professional success without personal success”.

A discussion round involving the audience concluded this year’s “Art & Science of Coaching” conference in Lausanne and left a joyful anticipation for next year.

The Business of Sports: Globalisation in the Business of Sports
10 January 2008, Maison du Sport International, Lausanne, Switzerland

Prof. Antonio Davila from the prestigious IESE Business School in Barcelona knows that the globalisation in the business of sports is in full swing but that the forces of globalisation will only select a few large global sports.

The International Academy of Sport Science and Technology (AISTS) had the pleasure to welcome Prof. Antonio Davila as guest speaker for its first MSA Open House 2008 at the Maison du Sport International (MSI) in Lausanne. Prof. Davila, who is an expert for innovation, entrepreneurship, management control systems, and performance management, was sharing his knowledge and option on “The Globalisation in the Business of Sports” with over 80 participants from International Federations, the IOC, former and current MSA students.

The global sports market value is estimated at $ 98 billion with soccer having a 24% market share. Revenues come from three major sources: gates sales, TV rights, and sponsorship deals. Currently no single sport dominates all markets, but rather the global sports market is fragmented and fierce competition to go global has already started according to Prof. Davila.

Becoming a truly global sport will increase revenues significantly since global sports also provide a unique platform for other industries; thus making global sports an interesting business partner. With their compelling media content, their perfect fit with new communications technologies, and their effort to unify people globally, sports are able to support their sponsors in their globalisations efforts – reaching out for global customers.

Prof. Davila draws the conclusion that a successful globalisation strategy asks for new off-field talent that is able to execute the new strategy. Therefore, he sees US sports as having an advantage over Europe due to their long-term business approach to management. Europe is catching up quickly however.

The Art and Science of Coaching
28 February 2007, Maison du Sport International, Lausanne, Switzerland

The MSA - Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration and Technology 2007 held an Open House on February 28, 2007 with a special evening conference on the “Art and Science and Coaching”. 90 people attended this special event at the Maison du Sport International.

From the Athletes Perspective
Does the perfect coach exist? Hard to say… The line between winning and losing is so thin that every inch counts on the way to victory. Magical recipes do not  exist, or they work in certain conditions only. For Ralph Stöckli, Winner of the European Curling Championships 2006 and MSA student, « the perfect coach is the right person at the right time », like Patrick Hürlimann was for Ralph and his team when they were in a slump just before the World Championships where they finally finished runner-up.

From the Coach’s Perspective
“Coaching is definitively more an art than a science” clarifies philosopher-trainer Jon Ferguson right at the beginning of his talk. The team performance is very much dependant on the pure athletes’ skills. Chris McSorley, Genève Servette HC Manager and Head Coach, explained that he had his best results as a coach at the beginning of his career when he was still learning the fundamentals of the job, simply because he was managing the best players in the league! Still, athletes who are curlers, ice-hockey, tennis or basketball players, need leadership. Transformational is the most efficient type of leadership according to Prof. John Antonakis’ latest research. Coming all the way down from Sweden especially for this event, Carl-Axel Hageskog, Swedish national tennis coach and five times Davis Cup winner, explained his situation-specific leadership that he has used successfully during intense Davis Cup matches: Instructing - Participating - Supporting - Delegating.

Finally, the perfect coach does exist! He/she always tells, explains, demonstrates and inspires at the Right moment ! Piece of cake!

The Business of Sports: Strategy and Management
7 November 2006, Maison du Sport International, Lausanne, Switzerland

Ninety participants from the sports family attended the conference on "The Business of Sports" organised by the AISTS on November 7 at the MSI. Professor George Foster from Stanford Business School, USA, discussed his latest research on how successful sporting ventures have achieved success by applying fundamental business concepts in their enterprise and how less-successful ventures have failed in their implementation.

Mr. Alex Phillips, Head of Professional Football Services at UEFA, explained how Professor Foster’s findings are applied within UEFA. Mr. Phillips also shared his thoughts on the main differences on how sport is considered in Europe and in the USA.

Please click <here> for the event flyer.

Professor George Foster
George Foster is a renowned Professor of Management at Stanford Graduate School of Business. George Foster’s research and teaching includes entrepreneurship/early-stage companies; financial analysis, especially in commercial disputes; and sports business management. He is researching globalisation challenges facing both sporting organisations and companies. George Foster holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics from The University of Sydney and a doctorate from the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. His textbook writings include Financial Statement Analysis, Cost Accounting: A Managerial Analysis, and The Business of Sports. Foster is actively involved with sporting organisations around the globe, including directing executive programmes for the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and for the National Football League (NFL).

Symposium : Sudden Cardiovascular Death in Athletes & Genes and Sport
21 September 2005, Lausanne, Switzerland

An Open Door event organised by the AISTS for the Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration and Technology (MSA). For this occasion, specialists coming from Italy, Scotland and Switzerland talked about "Sudden Cardiovascular Death in Athletes & Genes and Sport".

This very special event was held on Wednesday September 21, 2005 at the Comptoir Suisse in Lausanne.Please click <here> for the event flyer.

The Newspaper LE TEMPS covered the AISTS symposium. You will find the article, with interviews of the main speakers <here>.

MSA - Open Door with Mr. Paul Tergat
22 May 2005, Olympic Museum, Lausanne, Switzerland

The Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Administration and Technology (MSA) moved its classroom to the Olympic Museum, where Mr. Paul Tergat, the legendary Kenyan runner, gave an exceptional lecture about his life, successes and training. This special presentation was open to the public and attracted, in addition to the students, many sport experts.

Mr. Paul Tergat presented his experience as a world class athlete, as well as his social and business engagements. He also gave to the audience very interesting insights about his training and tips about running a marathon. As the world record holder of the marathon distance, you can surely trust him! He knows about training and running!

XXL Generation: Sport, Training and Nutrition
13 November 2004, ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Over 100 participants from all areas of youth sport attended the AISTS symposium: "XXL Generation: Sport, Training and Nutrition" on Saturday November 13, 2004 in the ETH Zurich. The symposium was organised by the AISTS and the ASMS (Swiss Association of Sport Managers). Speakers at the conference were Professor Marti (BASPO), Professor Jéquier (Nestlé Foundation), Dr Kriemler (ETH), Professor Pühse (University Basel), Urs Winkler (Sportgymnasium Davos) and Max Schlorff (SASP). SF DRS commentator Rainer Salzgeber was moderating round table discussions with well-known sport stars such as Didier Plaschy, Marcel Fischer and Stefan Huber

7th Forum of ENSSEE 2003
26-29 September 2003, Olympic Museum, Lausanne, Switzerland

The ENSSEE - European Network of Sport Science, Education and Employment - seminar on "Sport World and Academic World - What Relationship?" was organised by the AISTS, ENSSEE and the Olympic Museum from September 26 to 29, 2003. 170 participants from 31 countries participated to this forum.

High profile speakers included: Pat Lambert, European Commission; Denis Oswald, IOC member and FISA president; Patrick Hickey, IOC member, Secretary General of the European Olympic Committees and President of Olympic Council of Ireland; Craig Reedie, IOC member and President of the British Olympic Association.