from the couch...round 12...team play

man sometimes i feel like i am in a war zone. dealing with conflict, dealing with undisciplned behaviour and individuals. not enough players who want to work for the team. maybe i need to change some of my training methods...maybe i should blow my whistle but i would probably set off the fire alarms. sometimes i wish i had those sprinklers in the ceilings, ha! nothing like a bit of cold water therapy wouldn't fix and yes i would time it perfectly, set them off and go and hide in my storeroom and laugh my head off. in fact i think all classrooms need to be equipped with the sprinkler system, i think it would be effective!!!! hee,hee...imagine that??? but then i would probably be hauled in front of the human rights commission, poo, poo!!!

     the reality is that all players come with a different set of skills and experience and level of support to follow their dreams. not meaning to sound depressing or be on a downer but the reality for me is that right now more often than not i get players who have no support to follow their dreams and quite frankly if you were to ask some of them what they were they wouldn't be able to tell you. and that is a real shame because sometimes there is genuine potential to be tapped. a gem to be polished, but as a coach you don't always get to hand pick your team and the reward for me anyhow is not necessarily having the most skilled or exceptional player but one who has the motivation and determination to suceed for themselves but not at the expense of others. one who leads by example and is a positive role model for others to follow. and what makes a good team should never be left up to one individual but to everyone involved. of course you have your key players but to rely on them and not pull your weight is not what team work is all about. and seriously it takes time to get the balance right for all involved to know their role and where they belong.  it takes time to move as one, to hone that intuition and skill and some days your team are just in the zone and it all comes together effortlessly. now that is something to witness and is a joy to watch. makes me think of the burgoyne and lade combination, what a partnership that was, a wonderful marriage of players.

     if you dissect some of the top teams at the moment and have a look at where they are travelling i would have to say the swans and hawthorn followed by the cats are the standout teams for me. as for mine well i am still deciding whether to take my pole position on the couch and watch the game. yes i know that might sound a bit pathetic but a lot is at stake this week. the pressure is certainly on more so than ever. on one hand we have one young side who is yet to win a game and the other, PORT, under enormous pressure to turn a losing streak around, let the mind games begin...sheedy was the one to start that. and when doubt begins to creep in and you begin to listen to those outside forces well there has to be a crack. is there a crack in my support? well technically no but to be truthful i have had a tough week and i will cop a loss if so be it and still support my team but maybe now is the time to say a little prayer to the footy gods...my request... to spare us the embarrassment of being a media headline and the first scalp to fall to GWS. memories are long and that is all i will say about that one, lest i jinx them!!!
     my guest tipster continues where he left off last week. son number two has selected the hawks, richmond,freo, essendon, port and collingwood. and so to that i will leave you viewers and with something i found in a colleagues classroom many years ago. TogetherEveryoneAchieves More. where once i strove to develop independence i have now changed the game plan to interdependence because after all no man is an island...that much is true.
love FFFXXX