Learning to Win

By Imago Group
Monday 9 October, 2006

Robbie Deans, one of the most successful coaches of the modern era, will join fellow luminaries of coaching and sport science for a cutting edge Sport Knowledge Australia (SKA) symposium in Sydney from 30 October to 2 November. Many of the SKA presenters have travelled internationally this year for major sporting events including the football World Cup, world championships of hockey and women’s basketball World Championships. As impressive as the cast of presenters, are the range of countries and sports that have elected to participate.

SYDNEY – Constantly learning and constantly evolving says Robbie Deans, mentor to rugby’s Canterbury Crusaders- one of the world’s premier sporting teams, is crucial to staying on top of your game in the fiercely demanding role of a coach.

“The more you learn, the more you realise you need to learn,” says Deans. “For me learning is escalated through contact with not just rugby but through other sports from all around the world and through research, networking and reading.

“Over time, you become a bit of a sponge and are always trying to find new ways of essentially doing the same thing. And, I am always very aware that you can only be as good as the people you have around you.”

Over the last decade, in the roles of manager then coach, Deans has guided the Crusaders to six Super 12/14 grand final wins from eight appearances.

Asked to identify a central element in his team’s success Deans says, “Although the game became professional, the motivation for our players remained very much as it was during the amateur era.

“They are still motivated to play quite simply because they love what they do and the fact that they get paid to do it is a bonus.

“It has been one of my focuses to try to tap into those pure motivations that are very much intrinsic and genuine because they are more powerful than external motivation.”

“What we strive for every year, and hopefully we get close to creating each time, is an environment that all participants really enjoy and where the experience is a good one regardless of outcome.”

SKA PRESENTERS INFLUENTIAL IN MAJOR SPORT
Joining Deans as SKA presenters will be a host of internationally regarded identities whose influence on sport has been prominent in recent major events. Dr Istvan Gorgenyi, an Olympic gold medal-winning coach and expert in group dynamics, attended Socceroos World Cup matches to investigate team dynamics, Ric Charlesworth, an Olympic gold medal-winning coach commentated at the recent World Hockey Championships, Dr Cliff Mallett was Australia's Sprint/Relay coach for the Commonwealth Games while Dr Donna O’Connor was the fitness coordinator for basketball’s World Championship- winning Australian women’s team.

INTERNATIONAL ATTENDEES As impressive as the presenters at the SKA seminar are, so is the broad range of countries and sporting organisations that have elected to take advantage of the elite course. Travelling from the UK are coaches from the England and Wales Cricket Board and UK Swimming, 2 soccer coaches will attend from Singapore and other applications have been received from Malaysia, New Zealand and Pakistan.

Full course details click here

ABOUT SKA: Launched in June 2005 with a Federal Government grant of $8.6 million, SKA is jointly owned by the University of Sydney, University of Technology, Sydney and the Sydney Olympic Park Authority. SKA delivers executive level education and knowledge-sharing on sports management, coaching and science via educational programmes, commissioned studies and research within Australia and through partnership programmes overseas. SKA will assist the continued global growth of the sports industry, helping more communities around the world to benefit from Australia's strong sporting culture. Since its launch, SKA has delivered the prestigious Indian School of Business’s first sport product in Hyderabad, run seminars in China on sport venue management and courses in Australia on player valuation strategies, genetic doping in sport, player welfare, executive sport management, elite sport coaching, major event management and facility management.

ATTENTION EDITORS AND PRODUCERS: Course presenters are available for interview by contacting – Liz Herbert - Mobile: +61 407 234 221 Tel: +61 2 9331 7222 /