Charles van Commenee
Encyclopedia
Charles van Commenee, written in Dutch as Charles van Commenée, (born June 22, 1958) is an Dutch
athletics coach who is currently the head coach of UK Athletics
. He began his professional career as a technical director and national coach for the Netherlands
. He moved to take up similar roles for the British athletics team in 2001. Additionally, he has personally coached athletes to international medals, including Denise Lewis
, Kelly Sotherton
and Huang Zhihong
.
, Holland, the son of Otto (a heavy industry worker) and Ineke (a woman of Indo Eurasian heritage). He grew up in Osdorp
, a borough of the city, and from an early age he was instilled with a strong work ethic
. As a young man he was interested in athletics, competing in the decathlon
and 200 metres
events at club level, but a hamstring
injury forced him to give up the sport.
Van Commenee first became involved in coaching at the age of eighteen; he began teaching children while studying for a degree in physical education
. After completing his military service
in 1981, he dedicated himself to coaching full time and in 1987 he was appointed as the coach for the Dutch javelin
team. Building upon his coaching success, in 1992 he was promoted to technical director of combined events and throws by the Dutch athletics federation. He took on other coaching responsibilities, including a brief stay in China where he met shotput thrower Huang Zhihong
. He began coaching her in 1993 and at the 1995 World Championships
she took the silver medal. Though this was a significant achievement for the veteran athlete, Van Commenee said that he was as much a personal mentor for Huang as he was a coach. She had moved away from home to attend a sports institute at the age of twelve and had not experienced life outside of the centre. Van Commenee had helped her adapt to living on her own and supporting herself, at the same time as he helped her to a World Championship medal.
The coach showed his stubborn and determined temperament when in 1996 he withdrew from managing the Dutch Olympic team because he felt that one of his trainees, Sharon Jaklofsky
, was receiving unfair treatment. His trip to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics was self-funded and he took Jaklofsky out of the Dutch camp for training every day. She reached the finals of the competition but faulted three times, failing to record a mark.
athlete Denise Lewis
in 1994 at an athletics meeting in Valladolid
, Spain. Her coach Darrell Bunn could not attend the meeting and Van Commenee was asked to help her through the event. Impressed with his work, Lewis moved to Amsterdam to train with Van Commenee in 1997. The pairing was fruitful for both athlete and coach; under the supervision of Van Commenee, Lewis went on become heptathlon champion at both the Commonwealth Games
and European Championships
in 1998 and won silver at the 1999 World Championships
. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics she took the gold in the heptathlon, becoming the first of Van Commenee's charges to win an Olympic gold medal. However, her victory was not easily forthcoming; during the Olympic events Van Commenee was critical of her performances, urging her ever more to try harder. Despite the fact that Lewis was suffering injuries, she managed to win the event. She put much of her success and drive to win down to the fact that Van Commenee had been so strict:
Van Commenee also worked with less prominent athletes, helping them improve their performances through sheer hard work—he coached Lieja Koeman at the Olympics and although the shotputter was ranked 23rd in the world she managed to finish ninth in the competition. In recognition of his achievements, he was named as the 2000 Amsterdam Coach of the Year. Following his success with Lewis, in 2001 he was appointed by UK Athletics
as the technical director for the jumps and combined events. As director he took on responsibilities for British athletes including Dean Macey
, Ashia Hansen
and Jonathan Edwards
, though they all retained personal coaches. In 2003 he asked Kelly Sotherton
to join his training group and she agreed. Although she was ranked 57th in the world for the heptathlon, she won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. However, this was still not enough for Van Commenee and he branded her "a wimp" for not managing to finish in second place. Later on, he expressed regret over the timing of the comment but Sotherton stood by her coach regardless, stating: "People always go on about that quote, but they have to remember that Charles was the one who got me in the position to be an Olympic medallist...I don't think any other coach could have got me to where he did."
In 2004 the position of performance director became available at UK Athletics. Van Commenee was considered for the job but ultimately decided to leave the UK in favour of becoming technical director of the Netherlands athletics team. After a successful period in the Netherlands, where he took them to their second-highest ever Olympic medal tally at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he returned to the UK to take up the position of national head coach.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
athletics coach who is currently the head coach of UK Athletics
UK Athletics
UK Athletics is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics officials....
. He began his professional career as a technical director and national coach for the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. He moved to take up similar roles for the British athletics team in 2001. Additionally, he has personally coached athletes to international medals, including Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis OBE is a retired British athlete who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.-2000 Olympics:...
, Kelly Sotherton
Kelly Sotherton
Kelly Jade Sotherton is an English heptathlete and 400m sprinter. She was the bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also was a bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, and was the heptathlon gold medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth...
and Huang Zhihong
Huang Zhihong
Huang Zhihong is a former shot put athlete from China. An Olympic silver medallist and a double world champion, she was in fact the first Asian to win a world championship in athletics. Her personal best throw is 21.52, achieved in Beijing 1990....
.
Early career
Charles van Commenee was born in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Holland, the son of Otto (a heavy industry worker) and Ineke (a woman of Indo Eurasian heritage). He grew up in Osdorp
Osdorp
Osdorp is a borough of Amsterdam, The Netherlands in North Holland. Osdorp has 45,627 residents. There is also an original area which is now called Oud Osdorp which is in Sloten.Since 2001 there has been major modernisation in Osdorp.-Transport:...
, a borough of the city, and from an early age he was instilled with a strong work ethic
Work ethic
Work ethic is a set of values based on hard work and diligence. It is also a belief in the moral benefit of work and its ability to enhance character. An example would be the Protestant work ethic...
. As a young man he was interested in athletics, competing in the decathlon
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
and 200 metres
200 metres
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...
events at club level, but a hamstring
Hamstring
In human anatomy, the hamstring refers to any one of the three posterior thigh muscles, or to the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the posterior thigh muscles, or the tendons of the semitendinosus, the...
injury forced him to give up the sport.
Van Commenee first became involved in coaching at the age of eighteen; he began teaching children while studying for a degree in physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
. After completing his military service
Conscription in the Netherlands
Conscription in the Netherlands was first employed in 1810 by French occupying forces. Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte, who was King of Holland from 1806 to 1810, had tried to introduce conscription a few years earlier, unsuccessfully. Every man aged 20 years or older had to enlist. By means of...
in 1981, he dedicated himself to coaching full time and in 1987 he was appointed as the coach for the Dutch javelin
Javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
team. Building upon his coaching success, in 1992 he was promoted to technical director of combined events and throws by the Dutch athletics federation. He took on other coaching responsibilities, including a brief stay in China where he met shotput thrower Huang Zhihong
Huang Zhihong
Huang Zhihong is a former shot put athlete from China. An Olympic silver medallist and a double world champion, she was in fact the first Asian to win a world championship in athletics. Her personal best throw is 21.52, achieved in Beijing 1990....
. He began coaching her in 1993 and at the 1995 World Championships
1995 World Championships in Athletics
The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden between August 5 and August 13.This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nations....
she took the silver medal. Though this was a significant achievement for the veteran athlete, Van Commenee said that he was as much a personal mentor for Huang as he was a coach. She had moved away from home to attend a sports institute at the age of twelve and had not experienced life outside of the centre. Van Commenee had helped her adapt to living on her own and supporting herself, at the same time as he helped her to a World Championship medal.
The coach showed his stubborn and determined temperament when in 1996 he withdrew from managing the Dutch Olympic team because he felt that one of his trainees, Sharon Jaklofsky
Sharon Jaklofsky
Sharon Maria Suzanne Jaklofsky is a retired Dutch long jumper, who was born in Australia. A former heptathlete, she represented the Netherlands at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia...
, was receiving unfair treatment. His trip to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics was self-funded and he took Jaklofsky out of the Dutch camp for training every day. She reached the finals of the competition but faulted three times, failing to record a mark.
British coaching
Van Commenee first met British heptathlonHeptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field athletics combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek hepta and athlon . A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.-Women's Heptathlon:...
athlete Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis
Denise Lewis OBE is a retired British athlete who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.-2000 Olympics:...
in 1994 at an athletics meeting in Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
, Spain. Her coach Darrell Bunn could not attend the meeting and Van Commenee was asked to help her through the event. Impressed with his work, Lewis moved to Amsterdam to train with Van Commenee in 1997. The pairing was fruitful for both athlete and coach; under the supervision of Van Commenee, Lewis went on become heptathlon champion at both the Commonwealth Games
1998 Commonwealth Games
The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...
and European Championships
1998 European Championships in Athletics
The 17th European Athletics Championships were held from 18 August to 23 August 1998 in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary.-Track:1990 |1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |-Field:1990 |1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |-Track:1990 |1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |-Field:...
in 1998 and won silver at the 1999 World Championships
1999 World Championships in Athletics
The 7th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and August 29....
. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics she took the gold in the heptathlon, becoming the first of Van Commenee's charges to win an Olympic gold medal. However, her victory was not easily forthcoming; during the Olympic events Van Commenee was critical of her performances, urging her ever more to try harder. Despite the fact that Lewis was suffering injuries, she managed to win the event. She put much of her success and drive to win down to the fact that Van Commenee had been so strict:
Van Commenee also worked with less prominent athletes, helping them improve their performances through sheer hard work—he coached Lieja Koeman at the Olympics and although the shotputter was ranked 23rd in the world she managed to finish ninth in the competition. In recognition of his achievements, he was named as the 2000 Amsterdam Coach of the Year. Following his success with Lewis, in 2001 he was appointed by UK Athletics
UK Athletics
UK Athletics is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics officials....
as the technical director for the jumps and combined events. As director he took on responsibilities for British athletes including Dean Macey
Dean Macey
Dean Macey is an English athlete from Canvey Island. He is best known for competing in the decathlon, which he did from 1995 to 2008, winning World Championship and Commonwealth Games medals, as well as twice finishing fourth in the Olympic Games...
, Ashia Hansen
Ashia Hansen
Ashia Hansen, MBE was a British triple jumper who competed internationally from 1994-2008.-Early life:...
and Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards (athlete)
Jonathan David Edwards, CBE, is a former British triple jumper. He is a former Olympic, Commonwealth, European and World champion, and has held the world record in the event since 1995....
, though they all retained personal coaches. In 2003 he asked Kelly Sotherton
Kelly Sotherton
Kelly Jade Sotherton is an English heptathlete and 400m sprinter. She was the bronze medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was fourth at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also was a bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, and was the heptathlon gold medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth...
to join his training group and she agreed. Although she was ranked 57th in the world for the heptathlon, she won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. However, this was still not enough for Van Commenee and he branded her "a wimp" for not managing to finish in second place. Later on, he expressed regret over the timing of the comment but Sotherton stood by her coach regardless, stating: "People always go on about that quote, but they have to remember that Charles was the one who got me in the position to be an Olympic medallist...I don't think any other coach could have got me to where he did."
In 2004 the position of performance director became available at UK Athletics. Van Commenee was considered for the job but ultimately decided to leave the UK in favour of becoming technical director of the Netherlands athletics team. After a successful period in the Netherlands, where he took them to their second-highest ever Olympic medal tally at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he returned to the UK to take up the position of national head coach.
External links
- Interview from UK Athletics
- Article by Denise LewisDenise LewisDenise Lewis OBE is a retired British athlete who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.-2000 Olympics:...
- Article by Steve CramSteve CramStephen "Steve" Cram MBE is a British retired athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arrow", Cram set world records in the 1500 metres, 2000 metres and the mile during a...
- Article from Athletics WeeklyAthletics WeeklyAthletics Weekly is the world's only weekly athletics magazine.It is published in the United Kingdom by Athletics Weekly Limited and covers news, results, fixtures, coaching and product advice for all aspects of athletics, including track and field, cross-country, road racing and race walking.-...
- Articles on UKA appointment: UKA, The Times
- Team selections for 2008 European Indoor Championships