A born coach
Looking back now, it appears that I was a born coach. I grew up in Canberra—Australia’s capital city—and rugby league was my first obsession. When I was six or seven, I’d open a notebook and write out two teams on opposite pages (sometimes even drawing the team logos), then take my book out into the front garden of our house and play the game. Up and down the garden I’d go, playing the game on behalf of both teams. There’d be substitutions, injuries, and tactical adjustments—anything my young mind could conjure.
When my family moved to Melbourne, my imaginary games in the garden continued, only now the sport was Aussie Rules. At high school I won a state championship in 4 x 100m relay, and earned state selection in Aussie Rules at U15, U16, and U18 levels. But for all my foot speed on the track and ball skills on the field, it wasn’t quite enough for me to go professional in the AFL.
By my early twenties I’d fallen out of love with playing the game, but not with writing out teams in my notebook.
A coach at 23
I began coaching with the Calder Cannons in the elite junior system, and had a new goal in mind: become the first AFL coach who never played professionally. That became difficult to achieve when I moved to Canada, but working with elite athletes in Aussie Rules was still possible through AFL Canada’s performance teams.
Since 2012, I’ve been working to transform our men’s national program from being an afterthought for our players into being a life goal for them and their families.
Challenging the status quo in coaching
On top of my own head coaching experience, I’ve spent the better part of the last decade interviewing dozens of the world’s most thoughtful coaches to learn from them and incorporate the ideas that are most relevant to me.
One of my first ever blogs was a Q&A with Gary Kirsten, India’s Cricket World Cup-winning head coach. My blog site ultimately led me to writing my first book, Where Others Won’t, which included, among others, input from Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger, and former Phoenix Suns head coach Igor Kokoškov.
The success of the book spawned a podcast of the same name, which allowed me to extend my leadership learning by interviewing bestselling authors like Adam Grant and Daniel Pink; business executives like Patty McCord and Chip Wilson; as well as sporting legends like Anson Dorrance, Joe Dumars, and Michael Gervais.
Driving change in coaching
On top of these formal conversations there have been countless lunches, dinners, Zoom chats, and beers that have sharpened my perspective and challenged my firmly-held beliefs about being a head coach. I’ve met rowing coaches, curling coaches, triathlon coaches, squash coaches, and lacrosse coaches. I’ve been invited to share what I’ve learned at national conferences and with world champion teams.
Six-year-old me would be beside himself if he knew the phone numbers of many of his heroes would end up in his address book, and that he’d get to spend so much time, as an adult, writing down teams in his notepad.
Now, after 14 years coaching athletes, my life’s work is to change the coaching landscape in elite sport.
I’m an advocate for better conditions, a voice of reason among the media hysteria, and a go-to source of positive information about coaches.