Hey Team,
Thanks to everyone who got along to train with us this week – great vibes in the gym with the challenge kicking off…it is always cool when you see the gym busy, people doing classes, others doing extras (and of course, some just doing their usual socialising!!). What I have noticed this week is lot’s of conversations around the challenge ‘sticker boards’ and people trying to ‘coach’ themselves (and each other) to 75-points (aka Laird Hamilton ‘Status’). Having a plan is 100% a great idea – but it’s important to remember that plans don’t always come together the way you might hope – and that what’s important isn’t the plan, but being willing and able to bounce up off the deck if things don’t go your way!
Along those lines, I have a coaching story to tell today – and this is 100% one of those ones where things just DIDN’T go to plan! Before I start, it is worth pointing out that coaching is a wild ride. No matter how experienced you are or how well you prepare, sometimes things just don’t go to plan. From a footy perspective that’s a lesson I’ve learned through plenty of wins, losses, and everything in between. I mean, as I’ve said repeatedly I’ve been incredibly lucky in my coaching journey – more than 100 of the players I have coached have gone on to be drafted by AFL Clubs – some of the great names I have gotten to work with include Brownlow medallists (Tom Mitchell, Patty Cripps), Coleman Medallists (Jesse Hogan) and AFL Club Captains (Steve Coniglio, Cal Ward, Callum Mills)…but that doesn’t mean everything has always gone my way!
Now whilst it (coaching) all started for me way back in 2003, it was in in 2008 when I took on the role of Peel Thunder Colts (U18’s) coach and started running my own team and trying out some of my own ideas that I started to move forward. I loved coaching the Peel boys (if they hadn’t told me that 3-years with the colts was enough and forced me to move into the senior program I’d probably still be there coaching the colts today!) and we had some great seasons together playing in the WAFL Grand Finals in both 2009 and 2010. This all led to me getting the chance of a lifetime back in 2012 (was it really 12 years ago?? Man!): coaching the State U18 team at the national championships. To say I was excited would be an understatement. We had the talent, the preparation, and the momentum.
Game One: The High of Victory
In our first game against Victoria Country at Subiaco, we played out of our skins. Our side wasn’t expected to do particularly well that year – we had some great TALENT but most of our best players were young and still 12-months away from being draft eligible (Jack Martin, Jesse Hogan, Dayle Garlett) but we ran all over the country boys – the big ground at Subiaco suited us perfectly. You’d think that kind of result would build confidence, right? But strangely, it had the opposite effect.
Rather than reinforcing their abilities, the players seemed to feel the weight of expectation even more. Instead of thinking about the team and having fun, everyone became tight and nervous. I could feel the shift in energy and as we boarded the plane in preparation for our next game in Melbourne, well, I was worried.
“Let Go of the Rope”—Surfing Big Waves
To lift the pressure, I decided to show the team something different—a video about surfers tackling the infamous wave at Teahupoo. If you’ve ever seen it, you know Teahupoo is monstrous. Surfers have to be towed into the wave by jet-skis, and the key moment is when they “let go of the rope.” The rope symbolizes control, and once they let go, they’re riding the wave, free and focused. I can’t remember which video it was (it was on an older laptop!) but it MIGHT have been this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYQQtxb8wv0.
The message for my players was simple: Let go of the rope. Ride the wave. Play with freedom. Forget the pressure and enjoy the game. The boys loved the video, and I felt like I’d hit the perfect note. One of the assistant coaches even told me it was the best pre-game he’d ever seen. I was feeling pretty domn pleased with myself and confident we were ready for the next day’s match against South Australia. I’m sure a few of you can see into my future without reading another word…but let me promise you, it’s even WORSE than you might imagine!
Doubling Down—And a “Slight” Miscalculation
I decided to go all in on the big wave surfing theme – I mean, Bells Beach was just around the corner from the venue of the game (Geelong). So before we left for the ground the next morning, I told the State Talent Manager that I’d be the last person on the bus. He didn’t ask questions—there was trust between us—so I stuck to my plan.
Everyone jumped on board the bus, the Talent manager called me to say the coast was clear…so down I went. When I finally boarded the bus, I was wearing the brightest board shorts I could find in Geelong, along with thongs and white zinc cream on my face. I looked like I’d just stepped off the beach. I reminded the boys of our focus: “Let go of the rope. Play with freedom. Have some fun.” The players all laughed, the atmosphere was perfect, and off we went.
Now, here’s where the miscalculation comes in. When we arrived at the ground and the bus drove slowly through the venue we all craned our necks to see the score of the Victoria Metro and Victoria Country game that was being played before ours. As I watched this – I mean, I ‘KNEW’ it was on, but hadn’t thought of what that ‘REALLY’ meant – it dawned on me that we would not be able to get into the change-rooms until half-time. Which meant – with every AFL recruiter in Australia in attendance – along with (of course) the Foxtel cameras for the live broadcast of the games, I would be standing on the sideline in board-shorts, thongs and zinc cream. Did I mention it was about 12 degrees, raining, and windy—classic Geelong weather. There I was, freezing cold and looking like a beach bum on national TV. AND, like I said, I couldn’t get into the rooms and get changed, I just had to stand there with the players looking (and feeling) like a goose!
It gets worse. A few players were asking me questions about the ground. I had coached for a few years in what was the called the TAC Cup (now the NAB Talent League) and as a consequence had been involved in a few games down at the Geelong stadium. So at halftime of the Vic Country/Vic Metro game, I took some of my players onto the ground to talk through the unique characteristics of that oval – basically it’s skinny! The Foxtel producers thought this was great – a coach wearing boardies and standing in the rain talking about the game with a group of players all dressed in black dress pants, t-shirts and jackets. This was REALLY not part of my plan…BUT I was confident we had the team to beat South Australia. As I walked into the change rooms for the final preparation/formal pre-match, my boss mentioned that he was going to want to talk to me after the game…my own personal Teahupoo would be coming AFTER the game!
And Then… Reality Hits
Of course, you know what’s coming next. We got absolutely belted by South Australia. They crushed us in every contest, dominated possession, and won the game easily. Despite changing into my match-day attire once we got into the change rooms, well, the damage had been done. My board shorts moment didn’t turn out to be the game-changer I’d hoped it would be. And several words were being used to describe what I had done with ‘stupid’ and ‘pointless stunt’ being amongst the friendlier things being said. But here’s the thing: That’s just the nature of coaching and sport. You can prepare, you can plan, you can motivate your team in all the right ways, but sometimes things don’t go your way. It’s like surfing a big wave—you can position yourself perfectly, let go of the rope at just the right moment, but ultimately the wave will still take you wherever IT wants you to go…and you can’t FIGHT IT – you need to go with it. And if you wipe out, well, you just paddle out and try again!
The Lesson? Keep Riding the Wave
Looking back, I don’t regret any of it. We tried something different. We focused on freeing up the players to enjoy the game. It didn’t end in a fairytale, but that’s part of the journey. The important thing is that we keep showing up, learning, and riding the next wave, no matter how unpredictable it might be.
So, the next time things don’t go according to plan, remember this: Let go of the rope. Embrace the wave. And keep moving forward, even when the outcome isn’t what you expected.
As you work through your own fitness journey at Round 1 – maybe you’re doing the Summer Slam challenge right now – not everything will go your way or turn out as you plan…but that’s all part of it. Ultimately, doing the work, creating plans…they’re never bad ideas….if you don’t get the outcome you wanted, well, that’s all part of life…double down and go again. You learn MORE from the stuff that doesn’t work than you do from the stuff that does…so keep on trying!
See you in the gym,
Michael.
p.s. For those of you looking for a Fairy Tale ending to this story with us bouncing back to win later in the tournament, well – that didn’t happen! We played Vic Metro at Marvel Stadium and they killed us early – the score was 9-goals to 2 at half time with Joe Daniher going dead-set stupid and marking everything. We did fight back after half-time though and went down by 24-points.
