From VideoAnalyst site:
Why is the investment always in facilities or equipment but not in the people? Look through the local or national newspapers in almost any country and you will find countless stories of clubs, NGB’s & Governments announcing the dawning of a new era with X or Y facility now being built. ...
Has anybody actually looked at the correlation between facilities and performance?
Having top-quality facilities is vastly over-rated when in comes to the necessities for an elite development environment. In many cases, basic facility access, not facility quality, is the main issue coaches face: optimal training times, and durations, such as pool access at ideal times. Not whether the pool is a state of the art 50m pool or a small old 6 lane 25m pool. Or whether the track is a top quality mondo track or a cinder or dirt track as track in Iten Kenya as seen above.
Often Federations and Governing bodies will be quick to justify sparkling new facilities, but slow to invest in people, training and education, which along with talented athletes are the main limiters to elite performance development.