Research Note The Challenges and Strategies of Foreign Coaches Working with Chinese Olympic Teams Jin Wang*, Jimmy Calloway Kennesaw State University, U.S.A. Abstract In the Olympic arena, coaches have gradually become internationalized in the 21st century and borders between countries have disappeared in terms of coaching. The Chinese Olympic Committee has invested a great deal of resources in hiring foreign Olympic coaches to improve the performances in their less successful areas and also provide the opportunity for the Chinese coaches to learn from the foreign coaches’ expertise. During this process, many foreign coaches working in China have faced significant challenges and obstacles and many of them failed to achieve their goals. It is clear that possessing technical and sports science knowledge alone is not enough to ensure that a foreign coach will be successful in another country. There are many other challenges and obstacles that must be faced, such as the differences of culture, political structures, customs, language, communication, style of administration, coaching philosophy, sports system, etc. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to address the following issues: (1) the major challenges and obstacles of foreign coaches working with Chinese Olympic teams and (2) the strategies and recommendations for foreign coaches to effectively work with Chinese teams in the future. It is hoped that this paper will promote in international Olympic coaches with a conscious awareness of and sensitivity to the Chinese culture so that they can successfully overcome many unexpected challenges and barriers when working in China successfully. Keywords: foreign coaches, Chinese Olympic Teams, international Olympic coaches * Address Correspondence to: Dr. Jin Wang, Ph.D. Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA 30144 USA, Phone: 770-419-6161, E-mail: jwang@kennesaw.edu 81 Jin Wang, Jimmy Calloway Introduction In the Olympic athletic arena, coaches have gradually become internationalized in the 21st century and borders between countries have disappeared in terms of coaching. Many Olympic coaches work abroad in order to help other countries enhance their performance for winning medals and at the same time for sharing their coaching experiences to the coaches in other countries. Some of these international coaches are very successful, but for many the results are disappointing. Today’s China is a sport giant with its triumphant Olympic performance records resulting from the mutual efforts of governmental officials, coaches, athletes and sports scientists. The Chinese Olympic teams perform extremely well in sports such as gymnastics, table-tennis, rifle-shooting, diving, table-tennis, badminton, volleyball, ice-skating, and many other sports as well. However, the sports such as soccer, track-field, swimming, basketball, and many others are still far behind from many other countries. For this reason, the Chinese Olympic Committee has invested a great deal of resources in hiring foreign Olympic coaches to improve the performances in these less successful areas and also provide the opportunity for the Chinese coaches to learn from their expertise. During this process, many foreign coaches working in China have faced significant challenges and obstacles and many of them failed to achieve their goals. In many cases, the Chinese Olympic Committee has not always been happy with the disappointing performance of these foreign coaches or with the confrontations between foreign and Chinese coaches. Often, hurt feelings on both sides have resulted from the introduction of foreign coaches onto the team. Cross, Bazron, Dennis and Issacs (1999) promoted the cultural competence, which indicates that our professionals should show respect and recognition for cultural differences, willingness to make adaptations, and commitment to work effectively with diverse cultural groups. Therefore, a careful analysis of the challenges and strategies of foreign coaches working in China is necessary, both from the perspective of home and foreign coaches. It is clear that possessing technical and sports science knowledge alone is not enough to ensure that a foreign coach will be successful in another country. There are many other challenges and obstacles that must be faced, such as the differences of culture, political structures, customs, language, communication, style of administration, coaching philosophy, sports system, etc. Unfortunately, according to Gill and Kamphoff (2010), professional practice focuses on elite sport, and educational programs do not incorporate multicultural competencies. In fact, foreign coach’s own behaviors virtually play a vital role of determining if he/she could be successful for working in a strange country. Smith (2010) stressed that much of human interaction consists of attempts to influence the behavior of other people and these attempts could be directed at influencing attitudes, motives, values, or emotions. To be successful, a foreign coach must understand how to influence people in a strange country. China is an ancient country 82 International Journal of Coaching Science Vol. 5 No. 2 July 2011 with five thousand years of history. Its culture, traditions, ideology, human behavior, and sports and political systems are quite different from those of Western countries, and many traditions are even diametrically opposed to those of other cultures. If they do not have a full understanding and appreciation of the Chinese culture and political and sport system, the odds for success are quite low for foreign coaches. Gill and Kamphoff (2010) stated that culture diversity issues are real and powerful, and diversity may well constrain behavior and opportunity. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to address the following issues: (1) the major challenges and obstacles of foreign coaches working with Chinese Olympic teams and (2) the strategies and recommendations for foreign coaches to effectively work with Chinese teams in the future. It is hoped that this paper will promote in international Olympic coaches with a conscious awareness of and sensitivity to the Chinese culture so that they can successfully overcome many unexpected challenges and barriers when working in China. Furthermore, the strategies and suggestions introduced also have implications when working in countries other than China, because the principles still apply. Recognizing the differences in the management and administration systems of Chinese and other Olympic teams The Chinese political system is vastly different from those of most countries in the world and this difference is reflected in Chinese Olympic teams as well. Every Chinese Olympic team has a Chinese communist party leader assigned as its top leader who supervises all the coaching staff and team management members and oversees the overall team activities (Wang, 2008). The head coach and all other coaching staff must follow the team leader’s commands. For example, such tasks as hiring an assistant coach or team manager, calling for a team meeting, establishing team rules and regulations, or scheduling games with other teams, must all be approved by the team leader. In many situations, game strategies must also be approved by the team leader. Technically, selecting starters, setting up play strategy, selecting Olympic athletes, or hiring physical and strength training coaches should be the head coach’s responsibility, but, unfortunately, for many situations, the party leader makes a huge influence on all these decision-making processes. Thus, a team power structure in the Chinese system is truly different from the systems in other countries. Many foreign coaches resist this system and use their own traditional approaches to engage in team activities. The consequence of such practice could be devastating. Once a conflict occurs between a foreign coach and a team leader, the rest of Chinese coaching and administrative staff will definitely follow the party leader’s commands instead of supporting the foreign coach. As a result, the foreign coach loses the support from the other coaching staff and athletes on the team and soon becomes isolated. Hence, it is essential for foreign coaches to understand and respect the power structure of the Chinese Olympic teams. If they do not do this they will undoubtedly fail. 83 Jin Wang, Jimmy Calloway Foreign coaches should strictly follow the “chain of command” in everything they do. For example, if a foreign coach wants to integrate a new idea into the team policy, he/she must first consult with the party leader for approval. If the response is negative, the foreign coach must accept this decision. Similarly, approval from the party leader must be sought in advance if a coach wishes to change a soccer team’s formation for the next game. If the coach makes changes without approval, this could be perceived as being disrespectful to the party leader. The hiring or firing of an assistant coach is an important decision-making process that may impact the team’s performance. The foreign head coach can make a recommendation for hiring certain types of assistant coaches, but the final decision is made by the party leader. Understanding this administrative policy is critical since an assistant coach can have a significant impact on a team, either positive or negative. Conflict between a head coach and an assistant coach could be detrimental to the team (Wang, 1999); however, if such a conflict should occur, the foreign coach has no power to fire the assistant coach without the team leader’s permission. Such a decision-making mechanism could have serious consequences for a team. Normally the head coach makes the technical decisions and does the hiring or firing of assistant coaches on a team, but in the current Chinese sport administrative system, the communist party leader still has most of the decision-making power. There is a tendency for many foreign coaches to underestimate Chinese Olympic team leader’s power, and to think and act on various team issues in China in the way they would do at home. This is a common mistake foreign coaches may make when working for Chinese Olympic teams. Recognizing and accepting the team party leader’s power is one of the most important aspects of coaching in China. Understanding the cultural differences between China and other countries As aforementioned, the Chinese culture, which has a long history, influences the people’s ideology, perspectives, policy, communications, traditions, customs, and behavior, all of which are sharply different from those of Western countries or other cultures. It is lucid that these cultural differences are at the root of the challenges and obstacles faced by foreign coaches in China. Hersey and Blanchard (1969, 1977, 1982) promoted that effective leaders should adjust their leadership style to respond to the needs of their followers and to the environment. Also, Case (1984) emphasized the importance of adapting leadership style to the needs of the followers within a particular situation. Undoubtfully, for example, showing respect to others is fundamental in human interactions in the Chinese culture. For many situations, Chinese people care more about the process than the result of human collaborations, while in Western society; people place more emphasis on the result of an action than on other people’s feelings. For example, a Western coach would directly point out a Chinese coach’s mistakes without being concerned 84 International Journal of Coaching Science Vol. 5 No. 2 July 2011 about his/her reaction to the criticism. The foreign coach’s intention is to help the Chinese coach correct the mistakes and make improvements. Regardless of the legitimacy of the criticism, the Chinese coach would lose face and perceive such a criticism as an insult. This could easily generate friction between the two parties due to the foreign coach’s lack of respect for the Chinese coach. In contrast, in the same situation, instead of directly pointing out the mistake, the Chinese coach would use polite or indirect language to let the foreign coach know there is an alternative way that could be more effective. In such a situation the foreign coach needs to be (more) sensitive to the true meaning of the Chinese coach’s communication. “Showing respect to others” and “expressing oneself in an indirect way” is two important Chinese cultural characteristics that must be fully appreciated by foreign Olympic coaches and should be applied in all interactions, on and off the field. Another unique aspect of the Chinese culture is that Chinese people truly value personal relationships, which could sometimes be perceived as being more important than societal laws. Once a positive personal relationship between Chinese and foreign coaches is established, many issues such as mistakes made by foreign coach, differences of opinions, cultural diversity and losing a game can all be easily understood, resolved or negotiated. Foreign coaches should never underestimate or overlook the importance of building positive personal relationships with the Chinese coaching and administrative staff. Even though it takes time, energy and skill to accomplish this goal, it should be considered as an essential part of the coaching process. If this is not done and a Chinese leader or a member of coaching staff is offended by a foreign coach, it will be very difficult for that person to forget the insult and rebuilding the relationship will be very difficult. There is an old Chinese saying: “Good business purely relies on human personal relations! No relationship, no business!” If foreign coaches do not establish positive personal relationships with the Chinese leader and coaching staff, their chance of being successful in China will be fairly remote regardless of their elite technical expertise. It is evident that establishing a positive personal relationship with Chinese team leader and assistant coaches should be treated as part of a foreign coach’s job responsibility rather than being considered as outside of the coaching agenda. Compromising, valuing Chinese people’s viewpoints, accepting their suggestions, and communicating politely with others are effective strategies foreign coaches should use to break down the barriers between the culture differences and build positive personal relationships. Overcoming language barriers and communicating effectively with Chinese coaches and athletes Effective communication has been perceived as one of the most important factors of 85 Jin Wang, Jimmy Calloway determining coaches’ relationship with athletes and team success (Krzyzewski, 2000; Martens, 2004; Orlick, 1986; Salmela, 1996, Wang & Ramsey, 1997). Especially, communication and language barriers are the two most challenging issues facing foreign coaches working for Chinese Olympic teams. Since the majority of foreign coaches cannot speak Chinese, all communication between them must be translated through an interpreter who most likely has a limited sports background. Without the professional sport expertise, the interpreters may be unable to translate many of the technical terms accurately so often the real meaning of the foreign coaches’ instructions is inadvertently lost during the translation process. Additionally, the hidden meaning of the communication, either in gestures or content of the instruction, could be wrongly interpreted by a non-technical interpreter. Misunderstanding in communication also occurs because of cultural differences in nonverbal behaviors such as gesture, eye contact, body posture, and facial expressions, etc. This cultural barrier makes it very difficult for the interpreters to convey accurate information to both parties. In order to have effective communication, it is necessary for the foreign coach to learn some basic Chinese and to carefully study the Chinese culture, traditions and customs as a pre-requisite for working for a Chinese team. When foreign coaches show respect to Chinese culture, this has a deep psychological effect on Chinese coaches, who greatly appreciate the foreign coaches’ preparation before coming to China. Thus, Chinese coaches become much more tolerant for any mistakes the foreign coach may make later on. Generally speaking, Chinese coaches are more indirect when communicating with others, so foreign coach should pay close attention to their nonverbal communications in order to sense their unexpressed feelings. For example, if a Chinese coach has an exceptional ability in a certain area, he/she would not talk about it but, instead, would play down this ability. In the Chinese culture humbleness is perceived to be a noble characteristic, while in the Western culture, this could be perceived as an indication of low self-confidence or an inability to do things. Good communication skills are essential if foreign coaches are to succeed in their work with Chinese Olympic teams. Not only should they diligently study the Chinese culture, traditions and customs, but they should also know how to integrate what they have learned into their communication practice when interacting with Chinese leaders and coaching staff. Learning a foreign language is a great challenge for anybody, but if a foreign coach has learned some basic Chinese in an attempt to communicate with the Chinese coaching staff and athletes, this is very much appreciated by them. Any distance they might have between them will instantly disappear. Further, when hiring an interpreter, sport expertise should be a pre-requisite. Nowadays, many students in physical education programs or sport institutions have excellent training in sport science, as well as a variety of languages. The Chinese Olympic committee or foreign coaches should make a great effort to try to find the right interpreter to work with Chinese teams. 86 International Journal of Coaching Science Vol. 5 No. 2 July 2011 Choosing an incompetent interpreter will most likely ruin the collaboration between foreign and Chinese coaches. Strategies of effectively working with Chinese Olympic coaches with different knowledge bases According to Gill and Kamphoff (2010), cultural differences have received far less attention in the sport psychology literature; Ram, Starek and Johnson (2004) confirmed that more research studies are needed in the areas of race, ethnicity and multicultural diversity in society and in sport. Seemingly, the differences between the coaching philosophies of Chinese and foreign Olympic coaches are obvious, reflecting the different knowledge structures between them. Generally speaking, most Chinese Olympic coaches have limited training in education since they started playing full time sports at very young age and their transition from athlete to coach status is a dramatic process without requiring any formal training to become Olympic coaches. Thus, Chinese Olympic coaches’ knowledge is largely based on their own practical experience as athletes and their training methods are learned from their former coaches. As most of Chinese coaches do not have a sport science background, sometimes they may not recognize the importance of sport sciences contributed to athletic performance. As a result, they may have some resistance to sport scientists working with their teams as they do not value sport science knowledge. Conversely, foreign Olympic coaches normally receive professional coaching education before they are allowed to become Olympic coaches. Because of that, they have a greater appreciation for sport science and are more willing to invite sport scientists to work with the teams. Due to the differences in the backgrounds of the Chinese and foreign Olympic coaches, their views on training, team management, application of strategies, understanding or analyzing game situations, or use of athletes in competition could be very different and these differences of coaching philosophy which could be the cause of conflict between them. The best strategy for the above concerns is that foreign coach should patiently explain his/her views on certain issues to the Chinese team leader in order to gain support from the leader, and then to diplomatically and patiently communicate these views to the Chinese coaches. Only when the coaches on both sides recognize the differences in their coaching backgrounds and show respect to each other, Chinese and foreign Olympic coaches can hormonally working together as a team. Another difference in the coaching philosophies between Chinese and foreign coaches is how star-athletes are treated. Traditionally, Chinese Olympic coaches pay a lot of attention to star-athletes who, because of their potential impact on their team’s success, are often really spoiled. Conversely, foreign coaches usually stress team work and team dynamics. Other issues in 87 Jin Wang, Jimmy Calloway coaching arena such as team discipline codes, structure of training, relationship between vacation and training, athletes’ personal rights, and assistant coaches’ roles are all important elements that may be viewed very differently by foreign and Chinese Olympic coaches. All the above differences of perceptions between Chinese and foreign coaches could very easily become divisive between these two group coaches. Strategically speaking, it would be expedient for a foreign coach to carefully observe the Chinese coaches’ approach and gain an understanding of their coaching philosophy during the early part of the transitional period. The foreign coach should then have an extensive meeting with Chinese team leader to discuss the differences in the coaching philosophy and approach. The solutions and strategies for working together with Chinese coaching staff should be proposed to the team leader with a view to getting his/her support on these issues. If the Chinese team leader recognizes such differences, he/she would provide the support to the foreign coach. Challenges and strategies of dealing with Chinese teams’ politics Since team performance is determined by the collective efforts of coaching staff, team leaders and athletes, politics among these individuals are expected, but, due to the cultural and language barriers, foreign coaches have a very difficult time fully understanding the hidden conflicts going on within the team. Carron, Hausenblas, and Eys (2005) indicated that every group has certain characteristics that are common to every other group, but they also hold characteristics that are unique to themselves. Since every team is unique in addition to cultural difference, lack of understanding of team politics with Chinese culture could significantly affect team harmony and performance. For example, every athlete in team sports wishes to be a starter and therefore there is sometimes furious competition fighting for the starting positions among athletes beneath the surface (Wang, Callahan, & Goldfine, 2001). Due to the characteristics of Chinese culture, superficially, athletes is harmonious and a foreign coach cannot sense the animosity or politics among the athletes who interact with each other with smiling faces while divisive subgroups of small cliques are vying with each other to win favors from the coaches in order to gain more playtime in competition. Clearly it is hard for foreign coaches to be sensitive to this internal strife occurring among the athletes. Obviously, there are many factors contributing to these conflicts, such as personality issues, different sub-cultures, fighting for power, favoritism by the coach, different belief systems, etc. Team politics can be truly poisonous for the team cohesion. Besides that, team politics can also occur between foreign and Chinese coaches, between a foreign coach and a team leader, or among assistant coaches, caused by many different factors such as power struggle, promotion, decision-making, personality issues, respect issues, reward, 88 International Journal of Coaching Science Vol. 5 No. 2 July 2011 responsibility for losing, ownership of success, etc. It is common for many Olympic teams to lose not because of technical or physical reasons instead of team politics. Several effective strategies can be implemented to minimize team politics working in China: (1) foreign coaches should assign a Chinese assistant coach to be responsible for monitoring conflicts among the athletes and periodically reporting to the foreign coaches with the current situation on the team, (2) the discipline codes and rewarding systems should be well established to prohibit any internal politics, (3) the foreign coach establishes an informal team leader system by selecting several mature and highly skilled athletes as informal leaders who can play positive role on the team, and (4) once the team won, the foreign coach should recognize Chinese coaching staff’s contributions to the team success. Conversely, when a problem occurs, the foreign coach should have the courage of self-criticism. In sum, foreign coaches should be always cautious of dealing with team politics of working in China since its culture and custom are so different from the foreign coaches have experienced before. Conclusion The hiring of foreign coaches to work with Chinese Olympic teams has become a common practice. Some foreign coaches have been successful, many have not. Often, foreign coaches have failed in China not because of their technical incompetence, but because of their lack of understanding of Chinese cultural traditions, the political and sports system, language and communication barriers, personality issues, etc. This is obviously very unfortunate for individuals who have given up a comfortable nest in their own country to a strange country to help its Chinese athletes improve their performance. The sacrifice of these coaches is unquestionable, but, their efforts on this purpose may not be positive and generally speaking, their success rate is relatively low. A foreign coach’s past successful coaching performance alone cannot ensure success in China for many different reasons, as discussed above. A coach’s expertise and knowledge are only a small part of the overall coaching process in China; many other factors described on the above could be huge challenges for preventing their successes of working in China. It is essential that any Olympic coach planning to work in China does a thorough background study in preparation. Without this, failure is almost unavoidable. In summary, in addition to having the technical expertise, a foreign coach must: (1) study the Chinese culture, traditions and customs, (2) learn some basic Chinese, (3) have an open-minded attitude, (4) deeply understand the true meaning of “respect” from Chinese people’s perspective, (5) follow the Chinese sport system’s regulations and respect the Chinese party leader, (6) be humble and show respect to all other coaching staff and athletes, (7) establish personal relationships with key 89 Jin Wang, Jimmy Calloway coaching staff, leader and athletes, and (8) go through transitional period quickly. All the above recommendations only serve as the references for foreign coaches to consider. According to Murray, Mann, and Mead (2010), as a coach, there is no simple “recipe” for leadership. To develop an effective leadership style, it takes time, effort and commitment. By understanding the introduced strategies, at least foreign coaches could avoid many obstacles and challenges other coaches have faced before. In sum, foreign coaches should not expect their previous reputation carried with them to China, and instead, they must start from ground zero. Nobody on Chinese Olympic teams pays any attention to foreign coaches’ fame in the past; foreign coaches must prove they have the ability to bring their teams to success! References Burdon, D. (1983). Evaluation goal-setting training on selected cognitions and performance of collegiate swimmers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois, Urbana. Burdon, D. (1984, February). Goal setting: A secret to success. Swimming World, 25-29. Burdon, D. (1989). Winning isn’t everything: Examining the impact of performance goals on collegiate swimmers’ cognitions and performance. The Sport Psychologist, 3, 105-132. Carron, A. V., Hausenblas, H. A., & Eys, M. A. (2005). 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Leadership style: Attitudes and behavior. Training and Development Journal, 36(5), 50-52. Krzyzewski, M. (2000). Leading with the heart. New York: Warner Books. Martens, R. (2004). Successful coaching (3rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Murray, M. C., Mann, B. L., & Mead, J. K. (2010). Leadership effectiveness and decision making in coaches. In J. M. William (Eds.), Applied sport psychology – Personal growth to peak performance (pp. 106-131), Boston, MA: McGraw Hill. Orlick, T. (1986). Psyching for sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Ram, N., Starek, J., & Johnson, J. (2004). Race ethnicity, and sexual orientation: still a void in sport and exercise psychology. Journal of sport and exercise psychology, 26(2), 250-268. Salmela, J. H. (1996). Great job coach. Ottawa, ON: Potentium. Smith, R. E. (2010). A positive approach to coaching effectiveness and performance enhancement. In J. M. William (Eds.), Applied sport psychology – Personal growth to peak performance (pp. 42-58), Boston, MA: McGraw 90 International Journal of Coaching Science Vol. 5 No. 2 July 2011 Hill. Wang, J. (2008). Psychology of 2008 Beijing Olympics. Keynote Speaker by the United States Olympic Committee to make a presentation at the Sport Psychology Summit for the preparations of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (Attendees were the Registered Sport Psychology Consultants for the USOC). Wang, J. (1999). How can head and assistant coach get along? Journal of Coaching Volleyball, December/January issue, 26 – 29. Wang, J., Callahan, D., & Goldfine, B. (2001). Coaches’ challenges’ working with substitute players at collegiate team sports. Journal of Applied Research in Coaching and Athletics, 16, 110-124. Wang, J., & Ramsey, J. (1997). Interpersonal communication - overcoming barriers and improving coach and athlete relationships. Journal of the International Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance, Vol. XXXVI, No. 1. 91 Copyright of International Journal of Coaching Science is the property of ICCE (International Council for Coach Education) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. Contract Elements Offer and Acceptance Contract formation usually starts with the offer. An offer is made by the offeror to an offeree. Being an offeror is quite powerful indeed. After all, the offeror is the “master of the offer.” This means that the offeror can define the parameters—the who, what, when, where, and how—of the proposed contractual relationship. Once an offer is made, an offeree can respond in one of four ways: 1. Accept (a legally binding contract is created). 2. Reject (the offer is automatically terminated). 3. Counteroffer (in which case the original offeror is now the offeree). 4. Nothing (the law will terminate the contract offer after a reasonable time). Any ambiguities created when making an offer will be construed against the offeror if an acceptance is made. Thus, it is important for the offeror, at the outset, to say what they mean, and mean what they say. Using available technologies such as facsimile (fax), electronic communication (e-mail) and cloud computing, contracts are often agreed-upon via fax machine or over the Internet quite efficiently and effectively. Remember, though, that the offer and the acceptance are only two of the five elements of contract formation. Consideration The consideration element is often characterized as the “price of the promise.” It is viewed as the third element of the contract formula and is the quid pro quo (“this for that”) of the agreement. Consideration is the element of the contract that differentiates a contract from an outright gift. In sports contracts, the consideration is usually the salary in exchange for their work as a professional athlete or coach. If an athlete endorses a product, the con- sideration is the fee paid to the athlete to use or wear that product in practice, competition, and in advertisements. Legality Courts will not enforce illegal contracts. As mentioned, they are referred to as being “void” and therefore may be “avoided,” so to speak, by a court. This applies even if there is apparently an offer, acceptance, and consideration. Whether a contract is the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Good con- tract drafters take into account such contingencies and provide for them in the contract. Of course, many contracts in the sports industry do not involve the personal services of the professional athlete. Such contracts may involve stadium naming rights, outsourcing game-day vending (food and beverage) responsibilities, arena security, providing shuttle services, or moving goods from a shipper to the recipi- ent. These agreements are not considered personal and can often be assigned or delegated to others, unless restricted by a contract. General Contract Law Principles Before exploring the various contracts and unique contract clauses in this chap- ter, it is vital to have a fundamental understanding of the basics of contract law. For those who have studied contract law elsewhere, this initial material will serve as a review, highlighting the necessary knowledge to continue on to sports contracts. It should be noted from the outset that in the study of law, the word contract is abbreviated by the letter “K.” In sports law, standard player contracts are often abbreviated as “SPK” and are often referred to as boilerplate agreements. That is, the standard player contracts are mass-produced and all the same, for the most part, except for the athlete's name, address, phone, and the negotiated salary and bonuses. Definition A contract is a legally binding agreement. It consists of five individual elements: 1) offer, 2) acceptance, 3) consideration, 4) legality, and 5) capacity. All of these elements must exist in an agreement in order to have a contract. If any of these elements are missing, then no contract exists. Meeting of the Minds A contract also represents the meeting of the minds of the parties to the agree- ment. That is, contract drafters (such as lawyers) must determine the intent of the parties and reduce their intentions to a formal, written agreement. This can sometimes provide a challenge for both the drafters and the courts if called upon after the fact to determine whether there was indeed a meeting of the minds. When drafting a contract, one word or phrase can change the entire meaning of the agreement. Sometimes disagreements over one word can prevent the parties from coming to a meeting of the minds before the contract is signed. In some other cases, disagreements over the meaning of words and phrases can lead to K contract standard player contract (SPK) boilerplate contract between a league and a professional athlete. Sometimes referred to as SPA: standard player agreement boilerplate fixed or standard contract format and terms that generally are not negotiable contract a legally binding agreement meeting of the minds phrase used to describe agreement between offeror and offeree Chapter Two litigation. In that case, the parties to the agreement might have to rely on a judge, jury or an arbitrator to decide what the contract terms actually mean. The best contract drafters know this and attempt to deal with potential ambiguities within the contract itself. That is, the contract provides the remedies if there is a disagree- ment. This discourages the parties from seeking redress in the courts, which can be quite costly. In the sports business, as in other businesses, managers and other decision- makers prefer financial certainty in business relationships, including knowing in advance the possible penalties for delay in performance or other remedies in the event of a breach of the agreement. The best contract drafters include provisions dealing with breaches of contract in the agreement itself. The 3 V's: Valid, Void, and Voidable Valid Contracts can be divided into three general categories: valid, void, or voidable. Most contracts are valid meaning that all of the five required elements of a contract are present. In essence, the valid contract is legally binding. It delineates certain rights, and clearly describes the duties and other obligations to the parties to the contract. Void On the other hand, some contracts may be considered void from their outset. Void contracts infrequently occur in sports law. A simple example might involve a contract for a loan which charged a rate of interest that exceeds the maximum amount under state law. Since the rate of interest exceeded the state's usury law, the contract could be considered invalid or void from the beginning. Athlete con- tracts that have terms which violate a collective bargaining agreement in the Big Four sports could be considered void also, as could contracts for the sale of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. Voidable A voidable contract simply means that the contract was valid, but something occurred after forming the agreement which allowed at least one of the parties to exercise the right to terminate or modify the agreement. That is, one of the parties has, at their option, the ability to modify the agreement or enforce an aspect of the contract which would not have otherwise been available until the condition occurred. Voidable sports contracts are often referred to as option contracts, particularly when the athlete reaches certain goals and incentives in terms of their athletic per- formance. Such incentives and can be an excellent way to reward the coach or ath- lete for outstanding performance. breach the breaking of a promise, duty or obligation by a party to the contract valid term used to describe a legally binding contract void contract that is not enforceable voidable contract that may be voided by one of the parties usury charging an excessive or illegal rate of interest option contracts contracts also known as a voidable contract in which one of the parties to the agreement may exercise a right, such as a right to re-work a contract, upon the occurrence of a condition such as reaching certain performance levels
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