The recent four-day All Australian Squad Program, held at Albury during late July, has kickstarted an annual high-performance program that will transcend the impact on individual players and strengthen the sport of polocrosse as a whole.
Polocrosse Australia’s High-Performance Committee — headed by Jane Marriott, Kent Wells and Jim Grills — believes if we invest in our elite players, coaches and umpires and nurture a community of leaders with the right mindset, skillset and gameplay, they can return to their clubs, share their experience and build the capacity and culture of our sport.
“The high-performance committee is creating a program that not only prepares our elite players for international competition but builds the capacity of the leaders of our sport — we’re supporting them to become better people,” Jim explained. “In turn we are building the culture, capacity and depth of community polocrosse.”
High-level competition experience
It was Jim’s own experience coming up through the ranks and onto the international stage that sparked a desire to work with the high-performance committee to create a legacy program that better prepares our elite players, coaches and umpires when they face international competition.
“As a young player I didn’t have the opportunity to play as much international rules as I could have to prepare me for international competition,” he said. “Over the next 10 years we want to build better depth across our high-performance squads, so we are better prepared to play on the world stage.”
By bringing the entire Australian High-Performance Squad together each year at a single location, the High-Performance Committee hopes to offer squad members an immersive experience that develops them as players, leaders and community members.
Developing a high-performing squad goes beyond honing player skill and game tactics — it’s also about mindset and culture.
“We want to create a pool of well-rounded, elite polocrosse leaders to go back into our playing communities and bring along the sport as a whole. We want these players to understand the impact they can have on the next generation of polocrosse players.”
“When I was six years old Troy Henry gave me the shirt he wore in the 2003 World Cup final as he and the team celebrated their win — I will always remember that. All our squad members need to understand how much influence they can have on the next generation. We need them to be the best people they can be.”
Developing a high-performance mindset
The High-Performance Committee invited Chris Hyde and Anthony Miles to present to the squad on topics including performance mindset and mentoring. Between them Chris and Anthony have played more than 200 games at elite-level AFL and have provided mentoring support for Jim in his lead-up to international competition.
“Chris and Anthony have been invaluable mentors to me in terms of developing a high-performance mindset that helps me focus on my game and putting the team above the individual,” Jim explained. “I wanted to share their experience and perspective with our squad to get people thinking outside the square.”
Through his exposure at the elite playing level of AFL and with a coaching perspective spanning all levels of AFL, Chris can see a wealth of opportunity for the sport of polocrosse.
“If we can bring some of what we know has worked in other sports across to polocrosse, in terms of pathways for players, and provide some guidance and ideas around what the framework of that looks like, then I can only really see benefits to the entire polocrosse community. From the elite players right down to the youngest subbie.”
For Chris, the other component of the program is to better prepare the next elite group of players for international-level competition — both by simulating international competition conditions and building a high-performance mindset.
“If we can expose them to the unique pressures of a high-performance environment through an annual training program, it gives players a taste for what that feels like when they play at that level,” he noted. “The flow-on effect is they take this experience back to their state or club and it improves holistically the capacity of the sport.”
Chris ran several sessions during the program and focused on two core themes — playing your role and controlling the controllables. According to Chris ‘playing your role’ is about understanding you are part of a larger organism — a team.
“For any team to be successful the individual players need to place the value of the team above the individual and play their role — not strive solely for individual success. Of course you need successful, driven athletes, but not at the expense of the team’s success,” he explained. “It’s kind of cliché stuff, but it is the truth.”
Controlling the controllables is about maintaining focus and being present in the moment.
“There are multiple things that can impact your performance on the field — many of them are out of your control, particularly when playing in another country or on unfamiliar horses,” Chris said. “Being able to focus on the things you can control and letting go of those you can’t is key to playing your role on a high-performing team.”
“Again — it sounds simple, but it is hard to put into practice.”
Chris and Anthony reinforced the key messages from their sessions with a speech from tennis legend Roger Federer’s, which epitomises the importance of a performance mindset — You won’t win every point; keep moving forward.
Mentoring program offers intra-squad support
In addition to the mindset sessions the program established a mentoring program, which aims to match senior squad members with less experienced players who have similar skillsets and playing styles.
“The concept is about helping each other grow,” Jim Grills explained. “It’s a trial and we want to see how it will work — you can’t force it, you want it to happen naturally. It’s a reminder that if you want to be on the squad it is not just about the individual — it’s about building capacity throughout the community. As leaders of the sport we need to start to work for the sport for the betterment of the sport.”
A player’s perspective
Like many of our high-performance athletes, Taylor Radford was born into polocrosse. She has had several opportunities to play high-level polocrosse with and against some of our country’s best players and believes this type of exposure and experience is vital for players with representative aspirations.
“I grew up in the polocrosse community, came up through subbies and have been lucky enough to be selected in a few squads during my time,” she said. “As a junior I was lucky enough to play in a couple of development squad teams and as an intermediate, where we played the Australian team. Those experiences gave me a taste of what it means to play at the elite level and have been integral to me moving forward — they give people a chance to develop and showcase their skills.”
Coming from a state that lacks the depth to send representative women’s teams to high-performance carnivals, such as Barastoc and the Australian National Championships, makes opportunities like the high-performance program even more valuable according to Taylor. Taylor was one of only two female players from Victoria on the 14-strong open squad.
“Victoria definitely doesn’t currently have the depth in the women’s teams, so getting picked for this program gives me the opportunity to play with and against other high-performing women, which is critical when you have representative aspirations,” she said.
It’s not only the opportunity to hone her playing skills that Taylor valued about the program at Albury — as a young mother returning to the game, refining her high-performance mind-set was highlight of the program.
“After becoming a mum, I had a couple of years of lower-intensity polocrosse and the high-performance mindset sessions took on a whole new meaning for me,” Taylor said.
“I find especially being a mum you get worked up about things outside the game and outside your control, such as having only four hours’ sleep. Chris and Anthony’s reminder to focus on what you can control was a timely reminder for me — we can only control the controllables.”
For Taylor being among experienced players and all being there for the same reason was particularly rewarding.
“We are all trying to achieve the best club polocrosse and be state reps and hopefully a member of the green and gold squad,” she said. “It was a good feeling and everyone wanted to give it their all.”
Taylor is also looking forward to contributing as a mentor to younger, less experienced squad members.
“I remember what it was like coming through the juniors and intermediates and it can be a bit daunting. So to have a structured framework that allows the younger players to seek support and help will start that line of communication and help build relationships.”
Community support and community giveback
Dustin (Dusty) Bradshaw, South-West Slopes Zone President was one of many SWS Zone members on the ground during the program providing support. The Albury/Holbrook Polocrosse Club hosted the event at their grounds within the Albury Equestrian Centre and the team kept the masses well fed and watered throughout the four-day program.
For Dusty the benefits of supporting the program were well worth the effort — even under the less-than desirable weather conditions.
“We had a great turn-out from our members, who were happy to gain some first-hand on-ground and ridden coaching from members of the high-performance squad — even in the pelting rain,” Dusty said.
In addition to the coaching delivered back to the community over the weekend, Ben Simpson and his team from OGA Creative were on hand to capture footage of the racquet skills and coaching sessions held throughout the program. This footage is being compiled into a series of videos that will be made freely available to the polocrosse community through the Polocrosse Australia social media channels, website and YouTube channel during the coming months.
A Polocrosse Australia legacy
For Polocrosse Australia president, Mick Templeton, the benefits of the program are clear.
“These Australian squad members are the cream of the crop and we place high expectations on our representative players,” he said. “We need to equip them with the skills and qualities to achieve our expectations.”
From a Board perspective Mick also believes the high-performance program is an opportunity to leave a legacy for the sport for years to come.
“Boards will come and go, players will come and go but we will leave a program in place that goes way beyond any current board member or squad representative and set our sport up for success for many years to come — both on and off the field.”
“We want to set that legacy, so the kids of the future have an opportunity to better themselves on and off the field. As board members we aspire to leave the sport in a better place than when we came on. If we do that well in 10, 15, 20 years’ time we can visit the sport and see our impact and be proud of it.”
Mick acknowledges the program is still in its infancy and the learnings from this inaugural program and feedback gained throughout the planning and implementation of the program will help create an improved model next year.
“What we have established is a clear framework and pathway for building the sport as a whole through better leadership on and off the field and this will filter down through the players our community looks up to by building their capacity to be better leaders.”
The High-Performance Committee is in the process of reviewing the feedback from the inaugural weekend at Albury and will work closely with Polocrosse Australia and member states to plan next year’s high-performance program. A big thank to you our sponsors: Joss Group, Berragoon, Rosebrook, Rogue Pony, BCS, JAG Construction. A big thank you to the South West Slopes Zone for hosting and catering. And a big thank you to the facilitators, coaches, umpires, players, horse owners, families and supporters.
Our All Australian Squad Program Supporters
Thank you to our All Australian Squad Program naming partner — Joss Group — for all your support.
Our All Australian Squad Program Supporters
Thank you to BCS for supporting our coaches.
Our All Australian Squad Program Supporters
Thank you to Rosebrook Australian Stock Horses for sponsoring the Rosebrook team.
Our All Australian Squad Program Supporters
Thank you to Rogue Pony for sponsoring the Rogue Pony team.
Our All Australian Squad Program Supporters
Thank you to Berragoon Australian Stock Horse Stud for sponsoring the Berragoon team.
Our All Australian Squad Program Supporters
Thank you to JAG Construction for sponsoring the team caps.