LETS JUST PLAY THE WHOLE THING OUT VIA THE MEDIA :rolleyes:
Valerie Adams’ relationship with latest coach on the ropes
Didier Poppe says he hasn’t given up hope his coaching partnership with Valerie Adams can be salvaged though he admits to “tension” in his relationship with the world champion Kiwi shot putter.
Adams is on the brink of splitting with Poppe just eight months after she enlisted the North Shore-based Frenchman to replace long-term coach Kirsten Hellier.
It is said Adams is set to join up with Swiss coach Jean-Pierre Egger with whom she has worked recently. The Kiwi was reportedly enthused by Egger’s approach and in particular the improvement it seemed to bring out in her performance.
Though no official termination of her coaching relationship with Poppe has been announced yet, Adams’ manager Nick Cowan has confirmed that there have been “differences of opinion” between the pair and that Adams’ “desire” was for Egger to be her coach for 2011 and beyond.
Poppe said he believed their relationship could still be salvaged but conceded there were major issues to work through.
“I have not asked to be Valerie’s coach some eight month ago,” Poppe told Radio Sport today. “They came to me and asked if I wanted to coach Valerie… I am still not asking to be Valerie’s coach, and I say if you need me, if I can do my coaching job properly, maybe we can keep going.”
But Poppe conceded that after a year where the Kiwi Olympic and world champion consistently come up short of the mark set by her Belarussian rival Nadzeya Ostapchuk, there were problems that had to be surmounted.
“The problem for me and Valerie as well is to build a relationship that is strong enough that she believes in me and I can believe in her,” added Poppe. “If we can build that then everything is open. If not, I am happy to give up, and go back to other athletes.”
Poppe said he remained convinced about his methods which emphasised speed over power. He pointed out that he was coaching the same techniques as Egger.
“I have a bit of experience, and I also have proof with [young New Zealander] Jacko Gill who is doing things that nobody has done before. Jacko Gill is training according to methods we are thinking about developing – speed in priority to strength. He’s living proof it can work.”
Poppe said he would take some time to think through latest developments before making any firm decisions. “If we cannot find a way to go for further improvemnt, then my advice to Valerie is to go to my friend Jean-Pierre and keep going. Jean-Pierre is doing exactly the same method and same technique as I am doing here with Valerie.”
Poppe said he was “surprised” to hear the coaching relationship was all but over and said his understanding was that discussions were ongoing over Adams’ plans for next year.
"Of course there are problems between Valarie and me which are going to be discussed and eventually solved… at the moment the decision has been taken on splitting.
“The coaching situation was not good [for] several weeks, but I don’t say it was desperate,” he said.
Poppe said he thought Adams did “pretty well” on the international circuit, considering the major changes they were introducing to her technique. “By the end of the year she was again consistent at her best level and again in a situation to be the world’s best,” he told Radio Sport.
The Frenchman conceded it had not been easy for Adams to undergo the changes he was asking of her, but he felt she was on the verge of some major breakthroughs.
“It was a process that could be expected to produce in about one year or more,” he added. “This is the positive side of the story. Sometimes there are some other questions – technical coaching questions, and the context of life for Valerie was full of stress and this stress has somehow spoiled most of the relationship.”
Despite Poppe’s conciliatory tone, it appears that Adams’ mind is made up, and that more change is in the air for the conquering Kiwi.