afl follows grant thomas's ideas

[bigcarl]

http://heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/comm ... 42,00.html


Trailblazer: St Kilda coach Grant Thomas was vilified by some, but there are plenty of copycats now embracing his ideas, which included team-bonding exercises (below) and a motivational lecture before a trip to South Africa.

AFL follows Grant Thomas' ideas
02 February 2008 Herald Sun
Mark Stevens

GLENN Manton was brave enough in his playing days to question the herd-mentality of coaches.


"You can't be a sheep, you can't follow the pack," Manton mused, openly attacking some coaches' training methods.

Manton was a sheep of the black variety.

Grant Thomas has no body-piercing that we know of, but in many ways he was the Manton of coaching game.

The former St Kilda coach has been silent over summer, but is no doubt sitting back having a private chuckle.

Clubs are making headlines for putting their players through confronting, public polls to elect their leadership groups.

Collingwood has been at the South African university town Potchefstroom finetuning at high-altitude.

From Monday, clubs start to embark on what the AFL now strongly brands "Community Camps".

Could've sworn we've seen it all before.

Anyone who closely follows the Saints knows what I'm getting at. Thomas, never one to follow the sheep, can lay claim to all three concepts.

While other clubs were simply letting us know who was skipper and who was vice, Thomas in his early days at Moorabbin openly spoke about the club's leadership program.

The Saints, as far back as four years ago, asked their players to rank every peer on the list from 1 to 38.

Final results were there for all to see. A bit like the tennis rankings. If you were on the slide you copped a wake-up call.

It was Thomas that pushed the term "leadership group" like never before.

Now, endless stories are written about the make-up of leadership groups. Clubs put out press-releases about it. Heaven forbid, it even becomes a media event these days.

At the same time as Melbourne is making headlines for a 5-4-3-2-1 leadership vote, players are spread all over South Africa.

Newspapers are full of photos of players mingling with under-privileged kids. Then there's the obligatory training shots in the heat. The standard clinics.

Yet again, the Saints were there first. Thomas, with the help of friend, Olympic decathlon champion Daley Thompson, put the club through a training camp at "Potch" in late 2004.

Thomas drove the idea. It was about life-experiences as well as fitness.

And how about the community camps? Another major media event this month.

Thomas started that, too. He took the entire Saints team to Warrnambool in November, 2001.

At the time, it was a major shift in thinking. There were no SAS guys, just lawn bowls, sand-castle building and of course hospital visits. Thomas' plan was simple. Training in the morning; community visits in the afternoon.

Caught on didn't it.

Whatever you thought of Thomas the coach, the guy deserves credit for breaking from the herd.

[Oh When the Saints]

Yawn.

Credit where it's due, but who really cares?

[my les foote]

The Saints, as far back as four years ago, asked their players to rank every peer on the list from 1 to 38.

I'm sure they did that during Stan's time as coach.

[bigcarl]

i'm jack of all the sh#tbagging of the bloke.

he has faults like anyone else, but let's just recognise the contribution that both he and RB made to building a team that might just bring home a flag in 2008

[Saint Mik]

Ahead of his time and got ahead of himself in the end

If only he kept ahead in his injury managment courses and his finance payments hey!!!!

Who really cares its all in the past

NEXT!!!! MOVE ON NOTHING TO SEE HERE

I'm sure the phone calls will roll in now from all the other coaches thanking him for all his good work

Must be a slow news week

[The Fireman]

B4E is not going to like this

[stinger]

Yawn.

Credit where it's due, but who really cares?

that's really poor form from you........not unexpected ...but poor form none the less....

[stinger]

i'm jack of all the sh#tbagging of the bloke.

he has faults like anyone else, but let's just recognise the contribution that both he and RB made to building a team that might just bring home a flag in 2008

well said mate..

[JeffDunne]

i'm jack of all the sh#tbagging of the bloke.

Yep

Given the vitriol, you would think he took a top 4 team backwards like the two coaches that bookend him (not counting the holiday Blight had with us).

[stinger]

B4E is not going to like this

care factor......minus zero...

[asiu]

credit where credit is due


we've got a bunch of lads , committed to staying together , with the purpose of winning a flag (or two)

everything , always builds from the foundations

well done thommo ....thanx again

Yawn.

Credit where it's due, but who really cares?

a face of footy is changed ....and its a yawn ?

[ausfatcat]

community camps????



I could have sworn they were around 10 and 15 years ago.

[JeffDunne]

GT about to be on SEN for those interested.

[chook23]

leadership groups been around in clubs for years

well before GT.....

just did not get the media hype of today(last 5 years)

Must be a very very slow news day......both for the print and sen.


Heard GT nothing new or earth shattering..

[stinger]

was well received....

[chook23]

was well received....

no wonder works with them on SEN

[stinger]

was well received....

no wonder works with them on SEN

i meant by callers.....there have been a number calling in to praise thomas...one was a roos supporter...then a cat.....

[JeffDunne]

leadership groups been around in clubs for years

well before GT.....

just did not get the media hype of today(last 5 years)

Must be a very very slow news day......both for the print and sen.


Heard GT nothing new or earth shattering..

Well that may or may not be true, I don't really care, but you cannot deny that GT copped more than his fair share of criticism for using it, the community camps and the trips overseas. Christ he's still getting s*** for that last one while half the clubs in the comp seem to be overseas this off season.

Regardless of what you think of the bloke you can't deny he helped change the perception of the team and it's professionalism. Nobody can deny he left the team in far better shape in this regard than when he started.

[LTN16]

Stop looking to the Past look to the Future !!

[JeffDunne]

Oh FFS.

It's pretty clear what the thread is about.

If you don't want to read it, don't. Pretty obvious I would have thought.

[Sobraz]

Dont see why the article is necassary... Havnt seen the cats, WCE or Syd do it in the past three years, so not too sure of the point of it all...

Pretty sure such rubbish doesnt make you kick or mark better... Increase pace maybe?!!... All just a waste of time, and ill bet that this years premier doesnt come from one of Hawthorn, Pies or the blues..

But atleast they've bonded...ppfff

[barks4eva]

i'm jack of all the sh#tbagging of the bloke.

he has faults like anyone else, but let's just recognise the contribution that both he and RB made to building a team that might just bring home a flag in 2008

If anything these two dropped the ball and cost us a premiership and having been handed the biggest influx of player's in the history of AFL/VFL football ever, Thomas, eventually sent the list into decline within three years and ran the football department like a chook raffle from day one.

[barks4eva]

Nobody can deny he left the team in far better shape in this regard than when he started.

Are you serious?

Thomas inherited the biggest gift horse in the history of AFL /VFL football and through his incompetence and inexperience, managed to eventually send the list into decline.

Virtually no rookies, eight selections used on recycled players, three first round, three second round, two third round, Brooks, Ackland, Guerra, McGough etc...etc... with pick 6 and 31 used for Brooks as if pick 6 in the draft wasn't enough

Amost a zero relationship with Casey and a serious lack of development of the younger players on the list

Thomas had taken ALREADY us backwards, as evidenced by our 8th finish in 2006

As for the medical and fitness departments, the club and the players would have been far better served by these being upgraded to a professional level as a priority, as opposed to galavanting around the world on sightseeing holidays disguised as training camps

Thomas and Butterss are probably responsible imho for costing us a premiership, but I don't expect the Thomas torch bearers, to cotton on anytime soon

Yeah, "good on ya Grant for having a go", "thanks again Grant"

"Thanks for the incredible sacrifice you made Grant"

Oh perleeezzzzzzzzzzze

FAIR DINKUM, open your eyes, Thomas is nothing more than a svengali snakeoil saleman, a megalomaniacal machivelian maestro and a slimy pissant who is currently suing the St.Kilda Football Club and still his little cheer squad are none the wiser.

It really does make me wonder about some people!

[Oh When the Saints]

This discussion has all been had before. Locked.