Good high performance programs have talented and highly experienced people running them. The key is not what country, team, sport or system they come from, but what training background and track record do they have at fixing a team’s preparation. Do they have the ability to manage a team of people and implement innovation and new systems into the team’s preparation?
Some performance directors have medical backgrounds. Some performance directors have strength and conditioning and sport science backgrounds. Some have a combination of both backgrounds. There’s no perfect background. It is important to assess the types of issues the performance director has to deal with on a daily basis and what the emphasis needs to be on to help the team to win and then select a director who’s skills, qualifications and experiences match those requirements.
Regardless of their education and training, a good performance director has a focus both on team health and team performance enhancement. Inside a professional team it’s so easy for a performance staff to only talk about injuries since they can be a daily pressing issue. It is almost like a trap to get stuck talking about injuries because talking about daily rehab and return to play takes up so much time during a daily meeting. Performance enhancement discussions often get pushed to the back burner. A good performance director prioritizes performance enhancement and makes time for it every day. You must make time for a daily discussion on how do we improve our preparation and performance.