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Visit To Melbourne Storm Signals ‘Connected Coaches’ Evolution

Visit To Melbourne Storm Signals ‘Connected Coaches’ Evolution
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In a conference room across from AAMI Park, more than a dozen of Australia’s best coaches of Paralympic sports are dissecting a presentation from Frank Ponissi, Melbourne Storm’s football department manager for most of the past two decades.

The hour with Ponissi, part of day two of Paralympics Australia’s latest Connected Coaches workshop, provided an exclusive insight into how he and his long-time colleague, coach Craig Bellamy, have created one of rugby league’s most successful clubs.

“Being able to look into an organisation that’s considered one of the best systems allows our coaches to gain ideas,” said Michelle De Highden, the AIS’s High Performance Coach Development Senior Lead.

“Going into someone else’s space encourages you to reflect on yourself. What am I doing that looks like this? What can I take from here?”

The visit to Melbourne Storm signals the ongoing evolution of Paralympics Australia’s Connected Coaches program, which was established by Innovation Lead Ross Pinder in 2020. The concept aimed to reimagine the way knowledge sharing and collaboration could be facilitated between coaches.

Read: Paralympics Australia To Revolutionise How Coaches Connect

PA’s Coach Development Advisor Alex Jago has since advanced the program in partnership with the AIS, which backed it with a $20,000 grant and subsequent funding.

“The key ingredient of Connected Coaches is connection and we’ve deliberately focused on building relationships based on authenticity, trust and care,” Jago said.

“These coaches in Para-sport are brilliant problem-solvers and their shared approach has been fantastic to help facilitate. We can’t wait to see the impact this program has on the coaches, their sports and the athletes.”

De Highden said her AIS High Performance Coach Development team’s role is to help sports and organisations who work directly with coaches. She said her role with Paralympics Australia was to work with Jago to “value-add” to the Connected Coaches program.

“It’s easy to see the value in this program, the sharing taking place,” De Highden said.

“Coaching in the high performance space is very intense, very dynamic and the competitive nature of the demands are very high. It makes sharing within a sport difficult. But sharing across sports is enormously valuable.

“The coaches have the chance to step back and look outside the bubble. It enables them to put a reflective lens on what they’re doing.

“They’re talking with their peers, gaining thoughts and ideas, sharing challenges and exploring suggestions to solve together.”

The formula for Connected Coaches is for the participants themselves to drive the agenda. At the previous workshop a major theme that emerged was around culture. That led Jago to organise the visit to the Storm.

“What struck me was when he talked about how Craig Bellamy’s principles haven’t changed but his processes have,” one coach says in the debrief session.

“I liked when he explained how they work as a team, but everyone has very clearly defined roles,” another offers.

“For me, it was how they celebrate everybody who does their role to the best of their ability,” a third coach says.

Consistency, simplicity, identity, community – a range of themes emerged to prompt conversation.

“We know that some of the best coaches in the world are curious and creative thinkers,” De Highden said. “So when you put them together, you have the best minds in the room and you create opportunities.”

Join AUS Squad: the official cheer squad of the Australian Paralympic Team

By: David Sygall, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 11 July 2023