Casey-South Melbourne is hoping bad body language will be a thing of the past after former AFL footballer and now Leading Teams programs manager James Begley paid the cricket club a visit last week.By Marc McGowan
CASEY-SOUTH Melbourne took its first step towards success in the 2007-08 season by inviting Leading Teams program manager James Begley to the club to put in place an improved performance model last week.
Leading Teams specialises in the delivery of teamwork and leadership programs for elite sporting and corporate organisations.
New Swans captain Michael Hansen orchestrated the visit, as he is keen for his team-mates to develop their leadership skills and cricketing personas.
It comes after Casey-South Melbourne finished last in the Victorian Premier Cricket club championships last season in the first year of its relocation to Casey Fields.
Hansen believes it is critical that his team improves greatly this season.
“I want to see big differences this year and … it’s important that we have an impact,” he said.
“We want to be seen as a really strong club, so that we can attract new players.
“We want to be the best cricket team Casey-South Melbourne can be and I’m expecting us to do everything we possibly can to perform well.”
Begley started by asking the players to discuss how they believed their opposition perceived them.
It set the tone for the night.
The words “weak”, “unprofessional”, “undisciplined” and “easybeats” reverberated around the room and made it clear that this was more than just another bonding night.
“We had to be honest, and to skip that step would not be being honest,” Hansen said.
“It hurt and you don’t like hearing them, but you can use them as inspiration and turn them into where you want to be seen – that’s where the focus is.
“We talked about them, wiped them off the board and they’re no longer what we’re about.”
Individual players were brought up as having not displayed desirable actions on and off-field last season, including former captain Roger Sillence, whose poor body language in particular was raised.
But Hansen was more interested in looking to the future rather than centring on past behavioural traits, which he says are now “done and dusted”.
“The biggest thing we want to do is not so much a lot of talking, but more actions because that is what’s going to drive change in the playing culture,” he said.
However, player interaction will be of prime importance, with participants encouraged to tell team-mates about their positive and negative qualities.
This process began on the night, with star all-rounder Craig Entwistle the first to experience it.
This will be a weekly occurrence from now on, with 20 minutes set aside at the end of training sessions to confer on a selected player’s strengths and weaknesses.
“The good thing about it is that by talking to one player it also impacts on other players and gets them thinking,” Hansen said.
“Hopefully each of these players is taking it on board slowly and will start to act and deliver on some of these things we’re talking about.”
Hansen does understand it will be a work in progress, but says it will ultimately create a better culture at the club.
“It will be easier for some than others, but it will be something we will keep practising and working on,” he said.
“We’re all going to be in it together and I know Craig found it very confronting, but also liberating.
“He was one of our most successful players last season and made the best Premier XI for the competition, so if we can pull him up on a couple of things we can do it with anyone.”
