４．Sports Management and The Coaching of Sports in Germany
Japan – personal Experiences

andHarald Polster
After a number of years of being involved in Japanese sports as a coach and teacher, I still do
not fully understand why the Japanese sports system has not made significant gains from thehard work and perseverance of its athletes as well its coaches. Japanese society in general has
embraced sports and encouraged its participation. Schools schedule activities after regularclasses and in sports clubs on the weekends. Parents encourage their children and enroll themin the club system. The time spent for exercises and competitions far exceed the allotted timeof 90 minutes many times over.
The crucial point appears to be the relationship between the quantity and quality of training. InJapanese sports and physical education, the traditional mantra of “The longer, the better” –still
dominates. As we know from other efficient working systems and examples in Japanesetechnology companies, perseverance and endurance, are no guarantee for success. Thus, thequestion arises: How effective is the Japanese sports system? I want to draw some conclusions
from an intercultural perspective and my experiences in Germany on the practical side ofteaching and coaching sports. Although I have never managed sports, I have encountered how
sports are managed in Japan. To be frank, I had to exercise patience and not rush any newinitiatives.
To validate these conclusions, the framework of sports management in Germany should beexamined first.

Predictions and functions of sports management
The population of Germany numbers about 82 million people. Nearly one-third, or 27 million,
belongs to sports clubs and sports associations. In over 6,500 commercial fitness clubs are
more than 86,000 members. Universities and other sports-related academic institutions now
offer an increasing number of courses for sports management careers.
From the growing popularity of sports management, several positive changes have arisen:
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Increased awareness of body fitness, mental health, and nutrition.
The values of “Sports and health” and “Fitness for daily life” have become importantcomponents of one’s quality of life.
Health concerns dominate fitness activities.
Fitness and wellness are boon industries with room for more growth with 780,000
employees in 2004.
Tourism has created opportunities for people with the skill to manage sporting andtourist events.
Increasing tendency of “Health Tourism”.
Exclusive sporting events such as the German Soccer League are in high demand andfans will pay handsomely for tickets.

The following table shows the basic functions of sports management and organizational
attributes.

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Functions
System ManagementFeatures
Future oriented sports association
Effective administration processes

Marketing Management

Clear concepts for public sports service
Effectiveness of public relations
Seeks sponsors and partners

Resource Management

Coordination of material, personal, andfinancial resources
Qualified employees and volunteers
Seeks reliable financial sponsors

Cooperation Management

Cooperation between full-time andvoluntary employees
Fosters relationships between central
and local sports associations

The main aspect of managing sports derives from the concept that modern sport organizations
have to be operated like a for-profit business. However, the character of sports organizations
does not match the corporate image. Sport organizations themselves do not want to beconsidered businesses. Yet, they require sports-specific management to operate well.

Impressive sports management in GermanyAlmost 100 years ago, the Bayer Group started sponsoring sports clubs in the communities
surrounding its production sites. The company wanted to support its employees constructive
use of their leisure time. Today, the company supports 29 sports clubs, which bear the name
"Bayer" in their emblem. 1
Bayer counts approximately 50,000 members in its sports clubs in 50 different sports. Elite
Bayer athletes have won over 350 medals at the Olympics as well as the World and EuropeanChampionships. The company’s sport management does not just support professionals andamateur sports. Bayer continues to show its social commitment to the community with aprominent role in recreational sports and sports for the disabled. The development of Bayer’s
sports management stems from the worldwide success of the Bayer Group’s business. It
represents an exceptional example of how a company’s business can initiate effective
organization of different areas of sports.

However, the greater part of sports management is under financial pressure to fulfill theirmembers’ needs. One of the most successful winter sport clubs worldwide with a rich 100-year
tradition in the “runner sports on ice” is located in Oberhof – a small village in the middle ofGermany. Established just 10 years ago with 280 members, it has vast experience in theprofessional organization of international sports events and the development of elite athletes.
The BSR RENNSTEIG Oberhof 2 Club athletes have won 8 Olympic and 25 WorldChampionship medals to complement 60 German Championship titles, including juniors in thelast 10 years.

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Source: http://www.sport.bayer.com
Source: http:// www.bsr-oberhof.de58

The management style of this small sports club allows promotion of its sport locally;
nevertheless, it uses professional features such as an Internet listing of its club events. In
contrast to BAYER, BSR RENNSTEIG Club has had to aggressively seek sponsors and they
have established long-term commitments with over 30.

Sledding Sports in Nagano
Now we will explore the Japanese experience. Six years after the 18th Olympic Winter Gamesin Nagano, the city still supports winter sport associations with profits from the Games. The
funding flows into youth sports mainly. Olympic venues in Nagano are still serviceable and canbe used for public as well organized sports. However, depending on the sport, the venues aredifferent whether spectators are present or they are used for training. With the popularity ofspeed and figure skating, those venues are more frequently used. On the other hand, the venue
for sledding attracts fewer spectators, although almost every year it hosts international events.
Unfortunately, the influx of new athletes that could be registered years before the Olympic
Games has subsided. In addition, the pool of volunteers willing to support sports events shrinks
yearly.
Decreased interests in sports post Olympics might be a common phenomenon for all Olympiccities. Nonetheless, the effort to commercialize and manage sports by local sports organizations
and authorities plays a role.
Let’s take a closer look at Nagano and one of its winter sport associations: The Nagano
Bobsleigh and Luge Federation (NBLF), which is responsible for bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton
from the youth division to the senior group. How this minor sport is organized, supported, andmanaged, in Nagano? How does it compare to its German counterpart?
System Management
The elected board of NBLF consists of 28 members including one paid employee. The board
members, especially those who are responsible for training, have other outside commitments.
Despite its best efforts, the NBLF could not keep the momentum going after the 1998 Olympic
Games. Due to the expensive upkeep for equipment, travel, and venue maintenance, themembership has dropped drastically. Only the discipline of skeleton notched an increase inmembership. This was due to a successful, international athlete whose popularity spread overJapan. Yet, the challenge to increase members particularly younger ones who could become
successful remains the domain of the NBLF board. As the experiences from Germany illustrate,
closer involvement of local communities might be one way to succeed; Creation of an eyecatching homepage coupled with targeted advertising could yield benefits also. Perhaps thenewly initiated community sports club ASAKAWA, which is open to a wider variety of sports
activities, could help people to connect to sledding. Under the new slogan of Family- andHealth-oriented Sports, the people’s needs might be hidden in a better way.
Marketing Management
The successful commercialization of sledding in Nagano is at a crucial point that is ignored by
the board. They have no concept of public relations nor do they know how to court sponsors.
They sorely lack leadership in sports management. Sports clubs in Germany are recognized
and sponsored locally. Qualified and licensed sports management agents can support theathletes or teams.
Sports marketing in Japan seems to be very restricted. Only huge corporations are willing tosponsor sports. Even then, sponsorships are limited to already well-known individual athletes.
The sensitivity toward national sponsoring and commercialization of Japanese sports must be
overcome to prevent athletes from other countries from receiving sponsorships. The hierarchicalstructure of Japanese society and internal company rules, which do not allow multi-sponsoring if
there a main sponsor is already present, are hindering the growth of sports in Japan.

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Resource Management
As mentioned above, in Germany the people who manage or work in sports have solid
credentials. With a small number of personnel, they can still work effectively. One coach trains
20 athletes while three fulltime employees run the entire track facility during the winter. Theyunderstand and adapt quickly the coaches’ and athletes’ needs. Flexible training periods are
possible from 8:00 AM until 10 PM along with 7-day availability during the peak season.
In Japan, the NBLF coaching staff is comprised primarily of volunteers who started to support
sledding before the Olympic Games. Most of them were recruited from schools where theytaught physical education. None were trained in the coaching of performance sports. The
recently growing team of skeleton athletes does not even have a coach. Athletes train
themselves or follow the popular senpai – kohai – principle. Making decisions alone in sledding
has some inherent risk, because the athletes are racing at high speeds where the possibility ofaccidents abounds. The main training venue – Spiral – for sledding in Nagano is administrated
by staff from the city, and they rarely have any sports knowledge much less knowledge ofsledding. In addition, these employees are changed every 3 years. Training time is based upon
the schedule of the office workers. Therefore, the best training time in the winter only lasts from4 to 5 hours. It is not completely fair to bash the staff. They perform their duties according to therules very well. However, how the management of sledding in Nagano permits little flexibilityand effectiveness. When the athletes are asked about their personal goals, their response is tobe a top-notch athlete. This goal however requires top sports management!
Cooperation Management
Coaches in Germany are highly respected by both the public and the athletes. Their opinions
weigh heavily in sports management and the decision-making processes. Coaches have theability to plan their athletes’ training as well to define the conditions necessary to reach training
goals.
Coaching should be considered more of a process of cooperation and less as teaching. The
Japanese style favors detailed technical explanations and overwhelming corrective informationthat sometime makes confuses athletes and impedes their progress. In addition, the traditional
Japanese group -dynamics behavior prevents strong interpersonal coach-athlete cooperation.
The coaches who stand front and center in the management of sports should garner moresocial respect in Japan. They contribute tremendously to cooperation in sports. I propose thefollowing criteria for coaches:They should be educators who are a valuable resource for athletes and their parents.
They should be able to plan training as well to set individual goals thereby making themconsultants at the level of sports administration.
They should be qualified tutors who then become key persons to choose as sports
volunteers.

Although the cultural traditions of participation and organization of sports differ between Japanand Germany, the lack of effective sports management in Japan needs to have attention todrawn to it. Measures should be implemented to integrate the Japanese style with a stronger
sports management policy that will bolster the potential gains.

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