Joop Alberda searches for the characteristics of world-class sports
Joop Alberda used to be coach of the Dutch national volleyball team that won Olympic gold in 1996 in Atlanta, a sporting moment that was later declared as the Netherlands’ finest sporting moment of the century. After this success, he went on to work for the Netherlands Olympic Committee. Under his inspirational leadership, the Dutch Olympic team took home 25 medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He just resigned as general manager of the Cervélo cycling team and is evaluating his next career move within sports.
As part of his orientation, Joop Alberda visited Bayern Munich and the New York Yankees. “I want to know how the best sports clubs in the world organise their sport. What characterises this? That is what I’m interested in and where my ambition lies.” He does not know as of yet how he will put this knowledge to use. “I work with various professional sports clubs as a consultant, but as far as this ambition goes I haven’t got a concrete goal in mind. I want to keep my finger on the pulse of all the developments. I will be visiting even more elite sports teams to observe and learn. Each sport has their own techniques for enhancing performance, but no one has a bird’s eye view. I see sports as a number of principles set against a changing backdrop. If you compare these backdrops, you will see how we can benefit from cross-fertilisation. What do ice skaters do to get better and what can rowers learn from that? Quite a lot, I dare say.”
As a volleyball coach, Alberda observed the Brazilian, Cuban and Italian teams – the crème de la crème of the international volleyball. As we all know, his approach has paid off. Alberda also brought several sports into contact with each other while working for the Netherlands Olympic Committee. This too proved to be a success, 25 medals testify to that. According to Alberda, elite teams can also learn a lot from the business world. “In every company, the positions of purchasing manager and sales manager are always fulfilled by two different people. In football, one person holds that job. It just developed that way over time. The same applies to not allowing a camera inside the goal. This is something the corporate world has trouble understanding. Some traditions should have been thrown overboard years ago.” In fact, the sports world can learn valuable lessons from the way commercial businesses deal with things and vice versa.
Joop Alberda is currently a member of the 2028 Advisory Council, the year in which the Netherlands would like to host the Summer Olympics, exactly 100 years after the historic 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. “I’m all for a business-like approach. We should raise our profile with the slogan: ‘The first Games ever below sea level’. No other country has that unique selling point. You can build an entire campaign around that phrase and businesses can ride that wave with us. There are many people who believe in the Olympics. The trick is to persuade the non-believers. Keeping your feet dry is something everyone is interested in. If the water level continues to rise everyone will be affected, not just sports lovers. That is how I would go about it. No lack of ambition here!