THE GATHERING PLACE

Sometimes in sport and life you have that moment where you just want to pinch yourself - too see if what is happening is real. I had one such moment recently. 

I found myself and some colleagues fortunate enough to be selected for a National Championships where we had a mix of coaching talent and up and coming junior athletes. What makes this special to any other club side offering talent to a State or Territory team. Our story is unique that a remote sporting club with a membership of less than 70 male and female members contributed seven participants to a national championships.

One of our athletes won selection in a national talent squad. Our other athletes have been exposed to the national standard. Our coaches and volunteers developed professionally. Having seven of our members attend a national event is not an accident, or luck.

The Gathering Place.

What is different at our place of gathering that allows for our members to flourish in their sport of choice. Purpose. Mistakes. Honesty. Alignment. Culture.

Purpose.

Our purpose is simple. Best the best version of yourself that you can be. All the time.

Mistakes.

We make mistakes. We own them and then we set about not making that mistake again. We are brutal in what we discard. Our set up is a sporting minimalism of sorts.

Honesty.

Not the sugar coated version. The kind that will help a person get better. The kind that will achieve a team first mentality.

Alignment.

There can't be a fork in the road. We must travel the set course. 3 years of efficient operations have set our course, have identified which intersections to avoid.

Culture.

Our reason for being is clear. How we live to our purpose and how we behave when no one else is looking. That is our culture. No one judges us harder than ourselves.

The Gathering Place. What can you do to add value to the place that you choose to gather. What is your worthy cause and legacy you can leave behind. It's a simple formula. It's not rocket science. A people first approach driven with a common purpose can achieve wonderful results and produce great people.

Coach H 

Hayden Rickard