GVGjr
18-08-2007, 10:16 PM
I went to a function mid week where the guest speaker was the Hawks coach Alistair Clarkson.
It was very candid talk and he is an extremely forthright character and really knows what he wants from the overall team perspective. He has a vastly different style to Rodney Eade who is politically savvy and rarely says a thing out of place. Clarkson calls a spade a spade and doesn't get too caught up in all the political correctness that a lot of other people in his position do.
Some of the subjects he talked about were:
The mistakes he made when he first went to the Hawks
Clarkson mentioned that when he was with Port they had a very competitive team and the focus there over his last two years was examining the opposition and working on the one and two percenters to try and gain an advantage over the other top teams. He said that's what top teams do to get an edge on the other top teams.
When he first joined the Hawks he thought that he could focus on roughly the same principles but then quickly learned that there was a number of area's mainly the professionalism of the players and support personnel that needed to be addressed.
He also realised that there was no quick fix and that he needed to concentrate on addressing everything that was wrong because they were just so far off the mark.
The opportunities
The Hawks had made a few on and off field decisions that have shaped the recovery and he tried to leverage against that.
One of the main ones was the move from Glenferrie to Waverley. At Glenferrie, the place was run down and not conducive to a professional environment. (sounds familiar doesn't it?) The coaching team therefore did not insist on the high personal standards with the playing group because the environment did not lend to it either. It was a dirty place and even when it was cleaned it was still a dirty place.
With the move to the new facility in Waverley, Clarkson demanded that the players lift their standards. Things like dirty towels being left on the floor or lockers being untidy was not something he was going to accept. From his perspective, if the player could not keep things neat and tidy for their other team mates then they had no place in his team.
The team had no choice to embrace his approach and suddenly he could see a change in the group.
Team First Football and Spida Everitt
Clarkson demanded that all players regardless of their individual skill take a team first approach. The example he provided was the Spida Everitt to Sydney move. Clarkson really rated Spida as a wonderfully gifted player and despite the rumours there was no rift between the two of them.
The problem lay with Spida doing the extra work that a struggling team needs to do with his midfield team mates.
Often Clarkson would identify an area that the midfield team needed to improve on and he would ask them to stay back and work on a particular point. Spida being such a good player would roll the eyes back and say just tell me what you want and I will do that. Spida could then back it up and do it because of his huge talent base but that wasn't good enough for Clarkson. He needed Spida to work with the group with a positive attitude because he also needed him to pretty much carry this group along and just executing the instruction was not enough.
Spida had never struggled to do any individual task a coach had ever asked him so he just wasn't as sympathetic towards other team mates that needed to do things over and over again before they got it. Spida thought those players needed to do the extra work not him.
Clarkson realised that Spida needed to go because the others might not reach their potential with him around. It's not that he wasn't a good guy to have around, he just wasn't what a developing side needed to reach it's potential. Everitt has had a good season in Sydney because they have an experienced midfield unit. The Hawks have now gone from strength to strength as well because the team has worked positively on the areas Clarkson has them focused on.
Recruiting, List Management and selling the Vision
Clarkson also talked about the importance of their recruiting process. When the Hawks visit a potential players home they want to see if their mothers wait on them and make the coffees etc. They really want to see that the player is independent enough to make the transition to living away from home. With the huge money that is spent on recruits now it's imperative to have players that can adjust to the new environment.
He mentioned that Franklin will be a superstar of the game but that the club also worked with all the youngsters on sharing the vision. Basically he will be paid very well but if money was the sole driver to him or anyone else staying at the club then they would facilitate a trade or a deal to allow him to move on. I get the impression that Clarkson fully agreed with Ports stance on Nick Stevens mainly because he had the stipulation of only being traded to Collingwood. Clarkson said that the Hawks players all know the score on what the clubs vision is and he will not stand in the way of anyone moving on if they value other things like money more.
All the way through the presentation Clarkson talked about the importance of selling the vision to everyone at the club. He will cut/deal move on any player from the list regardless of how much the supporters love them if they are not at Hawthorn to win a premiership and play team football.
It was one of the more interesting presentations I have heard and if he is successful in getting his vision across to all the players then the club is in for a very good era.
It was very candid talk and he is an extremely forthright character and really knows what he wants from the overall team perspective. He has a vastly different style to Rodney Eade who is politically savvy and rarely says a thing out of place. Clarkson calls a spade a spade and doesn't get too caught up in all the political correctness that a lot of other people in his position do.
Some of the subjects he talked about were:
The mistakes he made when he first went to the Hawks
Clarkson mentioned that when he was with Port they had a very competitive team and the focus there over his last two years was examining the opposition and working on the one and two percenters to try and gain an advantage over the other top teams. He said that's what top teams do to get an edge on the other top teams.
When he first joined the Hawks he thought that he could focus on roughly the same principles but then quickly learned that there was a number of area's mainly the professionalism of the players and support personnel that needed to be addressed.
He also realised that there was no quick fix and that he needed to concentrate on addressing everything that was wrong because they were just so far off the mark.
The opportunities
The Hawks had made a few on and off field decisions that have shaped the recovery and he tried to leverage against that.
One of the main ones was the move from Glenferrie to Waverley. At Glenferrie, the place was run down and not conducive to a professional environment. (sounds familiar doesn't it?) The coaching team therefore did not insist on the high personal standards with the playing group because the environment did not lend to it either. It was a dirty place and even when it was cleaned it was still a dirty place.
With the move to the new facility in Waverley, Clarkson demanded that the players lift their standards. Things like dirty towels being left on the floor or lockers being untidy was not something he was going to accept. From his perspective, if the player could not keep things neat and tidy for their other team mates then they had no place in his team.
The team had no choice to embrace his approach and suddenly he could see a change in the group.
Team First Football and Spida Everitt
Clarkson demanded that all players regardless of their individual skill take a team first approach. The example he provided was the Spida Everitt to Sydney move. Clarkson really rated Spida as a wonderfully gifted player and despite the rumours there was no rift between the two of them.
The problem lay with Spida doing the extra work that a struggling team needs to do with his midfield team mates.
Often Clarkson would identify an area that the midfield team needed to improve on and he would ask them to stay back and work on a particular point. Spida being such a good player would roll the eyes back and say just tell me what you want and I will do that. Spida could then back it up and do it because of his huge talent base but that wasn't good enough for Clarkson. He needed Spida to work with the group with a positive attitude because he also needed him to pretty much carry this group along and just executing the instruction was not enough.
Spida had never struggled to do any individual task a coach had ever asked him so he just wasn't as sympathetic towards other team mates that needed to do things over and over again before they got it. Spida thought those players needed to do the extra work not him.
Clarkson realised that Spida needed to go because the others might not reach their potential with him around. It's not that he wasn't a good guy to have around, he just wasn't what a developing side needed to reach it's potential. Everitt has had a good season in Sydney because they have an experienced midfield unit. The Hawks have now gone from strength to strength as well because the team has worked positively on the areas Clarkson has them focused on.
Recruiting, List Management and selling the Vision
Clarkson also talked about the importance of their recruiting process. When the Hawks visit a potential players home they want to see if their mothers wait on them and make the coffees etc. They really want to see that the player is independent enough to make the transition to living away from home. With the huge money that is spent on recruits now it's imperative to have players that can adjust to the new environment.
He mentioned that Franklin will be a superstar of the game but that the club also worked with all the youngsters on sharing the vision. Basically he will be paid very well but if money was the sole driver to him or anyone else staying at the club then they would facilitate a trade or a deal to allow him to move on. I get the impression that Clarkson fully agreed with Ports stance on Nick Stevens mainly because he had the stipulation of only being traded to Collingwood. Clarkson said that the Hawks players all know the score on what the clubs vision is and he will not stand in the way of anyone moving on if they value other things like money more.
All the way through the presentation Clarkson talked about the importance of selling the vision to everyone at the club. He will cut/deal move on any player from the list regardless of how much the supporters love them if they are not at Hawthorn to win a premiership and play team football.
It was one of the more interesting presentations I have heard and if he is successful in getting his vision across to all the players then the club is in for a very good era.