Ep33_AlanaThomas_Edit1
Wed, 2/10 8:57AM • 34:31
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
players, coach, rugby, rebel, coaching, playing, sport, opportunities, people, feedback, team, women, culture, games, group, pathways, girls, connect, skill, creating
SPEAKERS
Alana Thomas, Paul Barnett
Paul Barnett 00:00
Good morning, Ilana Thomas, and welcome to the great coaches podcast.
Alana Thomas 00:04
Wait, how you, Paul?
Paul Barnett 00:06
I am very well this morning. I mean, Prague, it's very dark outside, but you are in Australia. And it looks very bright. Could you tell us what you've been up to so far today and where you are in the world?
Alana Thomas 00:17
Well, I'm in Melbourne in Australia. With this coming, hopefully coming out of a bit of a lockdown that we've been in for the last six or so weeks. It's afternoon here. And in typical Melbourne fashion, we've had rain. Today we've had when we've had sun, and we're in the sunny phase at the moment, so it's not too bad. And today, I've just been working from home my day job of working Victorians to the sport doing some reporting.
Paul Barnett 00:40
Before we begin, I have to ask, Could you just tell everybody what I'm seeing over your right shoulder.
Alana Thomas 00:48
So it's my 2006 plane journey from the Rugby World Cup in Edmonton, Canada, framed up in our office. And it's got a few photos of me playing but it's in pride. And it's been the great background for all the zoom meetings I've had to do through these lockdown and COVID periods. So it's nice to show it off occasionally.
Paul Barnett 01:05
absolutely wonderful. And congratulations for being the proud owner of Australian jersey, it must be a wonderful thing to represent your country.
Alana Thomas 01:13
It is it's definitely as kids watching sport and Australia's a sporting nation, watching the heroes and playing sport and representing Australia and then to be able to have the opportunity. I'm really fortunate to have been out of Port Australian jersey and represent the country sing the national anthem. And even to this day when I hear the national anthem on TV, radio or school assembly or anything like that. I just get goosebumps. It's just a really weird feeling. But one that I'm really immensely proud of.
Paul Barnett 01:41
Well, talking about your heroes, actually, you've had firsthand experiences some wonderful coaches, Dave cleal, Steve Hansen, McCandless, and and of course, Dwayne Nestor. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. But I'd like to ask you, what is it you think the great coaches do differently,
Alana Thomas 01:55
the great coaches, they all had their own personalities, and their personalities come through as a coach. So they're really authentic. And being themselves, I think that's a really important part of coaching is, we have lots of influences in our coaching careers, as we go through is being able to take bits out of each sort of coach that you have, and put them into your style. And I think the greatest coaches are able to adapt that style to the playing group they have. So whether they're coaching a club side, whether you're coaching the other nine, that you club, or whether you're coaching a High Performance Team, you can adapt your style of coaching to the needs of the players. And I think that is what the great coaches do is they've got that ability to adjust their style to get the best out of the players, the coaching,[PB1]
Paul Barnett 02:37
coaching has, in your words, helped you be more calm and have a bit more fun? Why do you think these elements is so important as a coach,
Alana Thomas 02:46
I think those are really important things. As a coach, I've been calm on the field on the sideline, the players are out there, they're the ones doing all the hard work. And if they look on the sideline, and you're stressed, and you're sort of uptight, it sort of rubs off on them. [PB2] And I think having fun, that's why we play sport. And it shouldn't change whether you're playing a club land or getting paid to play or play for your country. You play sport for the fun of it. And that's the fundamental thing that you get into the sport. And I think you've got to remember that when you're playing, the coaches really come in the dressing rooms or on the sidelines, they can deliver messages really clear and the players can take that in, they look really good clarity. Whereas if they're not calm, and they're stressed, then they just it's just a lot of noise, and the players just can't take it in. So I think it's really important[PB3] . But the key thing for me is you've always got to have fun, you can't take yourself too seriously, you've got to have a laugh at training, and enjoy what you're doing. And that's why some of the things we do on a field like We'll have fun games at the beginning of the training session after a Walmart, what we call it like five games where we just play something that's got nothing to do with rugby, it's a bit of fun, we have a bit of a laugh. And then the girls can go out and we get into training and they can turn the switch on. I think it's really important for them to enjoy it. And then whether it's at the end of a session having a coach's challenge of kicking a ball for the crossbar challenge or getting the coaches to goalkeeper and then having the players get a bit of a laugh out of that as we either fail or succeed. I think it's really important.
Paul Barnett 04:11
One of the interesting things about your story is that you were an inaugural head coach. So when the Melbourne rebels entered the national competition in the super w competition, you were there helping set up that team. And so I would really like to ask you, what were some of the first things you did when you were setting up the team from scratch.
Alana Thomas 04:30
It was definitely interesting when it was all announced at the back end of 2017 was there's going to be this new competition and no one really knew what it was going to look like to play week in week out was a lot different to our normal nationals where you'd have an eight week lead and then you train for eight weeks and then go away and play for a weekend. So it was definitely trying to sort out a plan in terms of well, what are we going to do like we've got this time from November through till we start playing in February. We need to train What do we need? To be successful, and to give the players the best opportunity, so it was all about setting up gym access. Where are we training, how many nights a week are we training all those really basic things and planning in and looking into that, but was also going and finding the players because it had been so prohibitive or cost prohibitive for players in the past, they had to pay $1,000 to go and play rugby international level. So you didn't weren't always getting the best players, even the players that could afford to go. So the key for me was going around and seeing what players we have in rugby, but also looking outside of rugby, looking at other sports such as touch football, rugby league down here in Melbourne, and just seeing what talent we had to set that up and get the best players to come into this environment as a elite high performance environment. And then offering them the fact that they had access to physios, doctors, s&c coaches, we had them in gyms doing gym programs, they didn't have to pay for the gym, to go to the gym, we would be there with them every step of the way. And then helping them with their nutrition and setting out to make sure that they understood nutrition and recovery and, and then also about leadership. And so that mental side of the game, because going from sort of state based program into an elite environment, there is a big change, because you're all of a sudden training four days, five days a week, you're playing games week in week out, and the highs and lows of that in itself of play again, train back up and get back up again, it does take its toll physically, but also mentally as well, particularly when you're not used to it.
Paul Barnett 06:34
You've set this culture up, and it's clearly working because the team every season has got better. But we'll we'll talk about the team's results. In a minute. What I'd like to talk to you about is this wonderful idea. The rebel locker, which I know came out of this culture that you developed, I was actually showing it last night to my own daughters. It's a team motto, it's the centerpiece of your culture. It's such a strong idea. It's so consistent with the values I can see you're trying to set up as a team. Could you tell us a little bit about how you set it up and how you're using it within the team?
Alana Thomas 07:07
Yes, that was all player driven. This see 2020 I was really keen to focus on the culture of the team and had come out of all the surveys every year, we did a survey about the program, the coaches and what the players wanted. And they came back to better connection and relationships. And we had the first two years and we'd sort of tried to set up a culture that it hadn't really stuck. So this year, I really wanted to focus a lot of our time at the beginning of our camp around just culture. And one of our players was doing a lot of social media for us. She had a just a knack of doing social media doing videos and promoting our program. She had this name rebel like her and sort of she'd done a couple of videos prior to camp that she'd put out there. Then we're in camp and the players were going through our cultural talking about what does it mean to be a Melbourne rebel? What do we want people to know us by? You know, you come out with a lot of the the key buzzword, your accountability, your competitive mindset, professionalism, all those sort of buzzwords, but as coaches we sort of pushed a little bit harder on them. What does that look like? What does it feel like? Like when you're playing? What does professional mindset mean? What does competitive mean? Like? How does that feel? And as we're going through it, we started to sort of pull it together. And then we're sitting there at the end of it. And when the rebel Eicher encapsulates all this, we want kids that are watching whether they're boys or girls to be I want to be a rebel like no color, I want to be a rebel like George McCormick. And they can really relate and connect with it. And it just encapsulated all of our principles and behaviors we wanted and keeping things above the line and we do everything right, we'll get what we deserve. And will people be able to say, Well, I want to be a rebel like her. [PB4] So it's sort of just took off from there in that camp, and everyone really bought into it. And we now see it. Even afterwards. You hear girls here are players. So I talk about it. And they just keep referring to it about the rebel. I currently want to promote that and it can connect with so many people, whether it be children, adults, all the players and even other teams have said, like how good is is the rebel locker campaign that you've been running? And it's like, it's all been player driven. And I think what that shows is how good when you set up a good culture, you have to have the players buy in. And this was driven by the players all as coaches we did was facilitate and ask questions, and I had a leadership specialists who's got a master's in psychology helping me along the way we were talking to her about what I wanted and how I wanted to go about it. And we just facilitated it and the players came up with all the words and the rebel Eicher just just came out and they just went Yeah, just fits perfectly.
Paul Barnett 09:55
So Alana, it sounds like such a watershed moment for your team. You get In this room, and you come up with this motto, which is your right, so powerful touches people, even outside of rugby, and you said you used a leadership specialist to sort of help you and facilitate that session, if someone else was listening, and they wanted to have a similar session with their team, what are some of the top tips you'd give them?
Alana Thomas 10:16
The Top Tips I'd probably give them is, what is it that they want to get out of the session. So if it's sitting out culture, what is the key important bits that you see within your team and what your team needs, because, for me, that was all around, we needed the ability, connection and relationships within our group and set up a culture that was going to be able to be used for a long time rather than just for this group. So this was setting up a culture for the longevity of the super w team[PB5] . So it's really being clear on what you want to get out of the session. And a lot of people when you talk about culture, they come up with the respect to the commitment and all those really buzzwords, but you've got to bring it to life. And when the players ask those questions is make sure that you're saying, Well, what does it feel like? What does it look like? How does it look like an environment so that you're actually getting them to think more deeply about it? It's not just a word on a on a piece of paper or on a board? And where is your team at? Are they at that level? And do they understand that? And that's why I got the latest IP specialist in because I sort of had in my head what I wanted to do and where I thought the team was at, but I needed some help to be able to pull that out of them. I don't really answer that, too well, at the moment.
Paul Barnett 11:27
Are you have you have you talked about? You've touched on this thing? What does it feel like and we were lucky enough to interview Lisa Alexander. And she in the Australian netball team had a motto called sisters in arms. And when she was describing it to us, she was saying that they went through a process of articulating what it feels like after they've won and there on the sidelines. So I think there's something in there about taking a successful culture and trying to envisage what it feels like. And interestingly, it's been two female coaches that have raised that with us. So I think there's something in there Atlanta about tapping into feelings and trying to bottle it and name it.
Alana Thomas 12:06
Yeah, I think that's the key for anything, you've got to be able to articulate it or see it in your environment, and be able to replicate it in your environment. But also, as a coaching staff, we have to be able to use that language at all times during training sessions, during games during review session, so that it's a common language that is constantly being used and in front of the players. And the staff have to be able to live by that as well, I think is a key thing with setting up a culture. And that's why this year I think was so successful is because the players day said it and we all bought into it, we all could see it, feel it. And it was, every time every session, every game, we had a friend of mine, and we're able to use that language
Paul Barnett 12:48
a lot. When I was preparing for today, I found this wonderful quote from you actually, and I've already I've already shared it with a couple of other people in a work setting. But I'd like to read it if I could. It used to be in men's that you had to perform to feel like you belonged. Whereas now and particularly with the women's team, and I think more so now going into sport in general, you have to feel like you belong to perform. And it's just it's so true. And it really resonated with me when I read it, you put into words, so well this change that's occurred and he's occurring with leadership. But I'd like to ask you, how have you gone about building that sense of belonging as a coach,
Alana Thomas 13:29
I love that quote for the simple fact that it's just so, so real, and particularly with women's sport, because we are, we've got that maternal and we're nurturing. And we'd like to have that connection. And we and when we have meaning and when we had that connection, and that relationship, you're willing to do whatever it takes for the person that you've got that connection with. And for me as a coach, it's about having real relationships with players and having real discussions. And I think it's really important as a coach, whether you're building a team for a long time, or whether you're walking into a new team, is you have to get to know the player first the person, the human before you get to know the player. Because if you don't know the person, how do you know what makes them tick? [PB6] And that's what I think is really important and I get emotional. When I talk about a couple of my players. I've got a stay at home mom who's got kids and rugby's her thing and she comes from a from a Fiji and family. I brought her mum and dad came over to Australia so the kids could have a great upbringing and access the opportunities. And her brothers played rugby but she's been the one that's been able to go on and represented a high level in rugby, but she does it because it's her thing. But it's also so she can show her boys and girls, her kids that you can do whatever you want want to do. And it doesn't have to be restricted by who you are. So I think getting to know the players and understanding what motivates them and showing that you truly care about them, then allows you to be able to ask them when you put them on the field to go that extra per mile, or to put themselves in harm's way for the betterment of the team, they're willing to do it because they know you care. And they know that they belong to family, they belong to a group of people that are willing to have each other's back. And I think that's just so powerful, not just in sport. But in life, when you're so committed, and you have connection with people. It's a bond that you can't break in something that allows you to take things to another level, whether it be on the field, or whether it be in business and making decisions around investing or trying something new. That connection and knowing that everyone's on the same page is so powerful.[PB7]
Paul Barnett 15:35
Ilana, could you tell us about the growth groups that you've set up within the team.
Alana Thomas 15:40
So that probably goes back to a little bit of the relationship. So like I said, Before, we were trying to put together the build better relationships with the players, and we have a squad of about 30 to 35 players each year. And the relationship piece was a big part of the feedback we got for the first couple of years. So when I was planning with Nick Henderson, about how can we address that, like, how can I get around 35 players each week and check in and talk to them and, and connect with them authentically. And he said, You're only one person, you work a full time job, we're not in a professional environment. And he said, however, there's a couple of things that you could look at. And like that's where the growth groups came from. So the men had sort of like a coffee club, where they were in small groups and the academy boys were similar. And what it was was, you got a staff member, and you put five to seven players with them. So the staff member would have a group of players and they are responsible for checking in and connecting and leading that group and sort of making sure that they are across everything and, and the like, and we sort of thought that'll be a really good way for the staff to connect. And we can share as we learn things and get to know the players. But it just morphed into something greater during the season. So everyone had a growth group and you had to come up with a name and you had to name your growth groups, and my growth group was called Alana's llamas, we had Matt tamales. And I think one of the other ones was Peter Pan, and his Merry Men, they got creative and, and really, again, owned their growth groups. And each group had their own WhatsApp chat. And we check in and that was also a way of supporting each other, because when you got a group of 30, to 35 players, it can be intimidating, potentially, for young girls to ask questions, or just to sort of ask for help. So putting them in smaller groups just allowed you to break down a few barriers, allowed them to get to know each other as well. And they supported each other if someone was at training and had been injured, they check in and support each other[PB8] . But also, it was to make sure that everyone was on the same page, in terms of our game plan, our training, so that was allowed us to connect everyone together. And then we turned it into having some competitions with the girls, we had a competition night wherever and had to get dressed up in different things. So it was a different way of building relationships, bringing the team together, putting players with other players that they have met. And it just was probably one of the best things that we did rebel like her and the culture was really good, but it fitted so well in with that. And even to this day, the WhatsApp groups are still going, they're still texting people within their groups, checking in seeing how they are, and just having a joke with each other. So it's really fun. It's been a fantastic sort of thing that we just set up for checking in and having connection. But now it's morphed into something that I know I'm looking for ways to take it to another level next year in terms of cultural experiences and games and our vibe games, pre pre our games and training is how I can then make that into a bit of a competition to drive that competitive nature. But they all loved it. They all embraced it. My girls got for Christmas llama socks that we want a trainee, we'd say these satellites, we're wearing our alarm clock so and go look at how good is her socks at her socks. It was just something that just brought them really together and they had fun with it.
Paul Barnett 19:07
A lot of you've been fortunate enough to attend to excellent development programs. For coaches, there was the world rugby high performance Academy in South Africa in Stellenbosch and the Australian Institute of Sport high performance coaching course. I'd like to ask what lasting impression did these courses have on you as a coach?
Alana Thomas 19:26
It's probably twofold for the the two courses because I went to South Africa in the middle of 2019. And I was in a room full of players that I played against in World Cup in 2006 and other players that had been playing rugby at a very high level. So for me, it helped me with my confidence because I was probably a coach that sorry, doubted myself a little bit and didn't back myself. I sort of thought I had to push myself and I probably was a bit hard on myself. So by being at that course and then following up with the iOS course it sort of allowed me to have a bit more confidence in myself that I actually belonged And I was on the right track because having conversations and talking through coaching during those courses, a lot of the conversations I was like, yeah, that's what I do, I actually do do this really well. So that gave me that confidence. But it also opened my world up to a network of other women in similar positions that have had similar sort of journeys and different challenges and successes and barriers that they've had to get through. So it allowed me to get some really good connections and network to be able to lean on when I had ideas or when I was sort of having a trouble time around how am I going to deal with something I could really fall back on them and have a discussion and, and ask them for advice. And I think that's something that even to this day, they're still on, we call us the Stellenbosch crew, we've still got our group chat we've got we still connect, some of a lot of us are on the world, rugby high performance Academy, that's just finishing up. And a lot of them I currently coaching and we're always watching each other's games and, and helping each other out or say, Hey, can you look at this video clip and give me some feedback. And then the is course is just again, around connecting with women within Australia, again, that you can have as a sounding board supportive, we're still connected through our whatsapp group, it constantly goes off when there's times of games on or someone's had some success, we sort of sharing that. So it's been really fantastic from that perspective. And it's something that I think guys do really well, when they're coaches, they connect and network up and sort of put people forward and how I came to meet you pour today through another female coach putting my name out, you know, that network of helping us grow and succeed together. And I think that's something that, that's the big thing I take away from it more is that connection and network that I can lean on and use and help promote women in sport, rugby, it's really important. And I think that's the big thing I've really taken away from it.
Paul Barnett 21:53
What's the most rewarding part of being a coach for you?
Alana Thomas 21:57
For me, it's seeing a player achieve something that they've been working so hard on. And you might see it on the field where they whether you've been working on, they get a low chop tackle, get back to their feet and steal a ball and you'll see them do it on the field. And you can just say that the smile come up on their face that I just did that. And having them come off the field and saying just say this, that, to me is what coaching is about seeing a player that's working so hard on something and having to be able to execute in a game, and then knowing it, and just seeing that confidence grow. And then you just know from then you can take them to a new level, you can challenge them, you can push them further because they know they can do the skill that you're asking them to do. So that's the big one for me is just that pure enjoyment of them having an opportunity to play and it doesn't matter whether it's again, club fully, or whether it's in the super w every time you see a player achieve something they didn't think they could whether it be a skill, fitness in the gym, it's what coaching is about is seeing other people succeed. [PB9] And believing and growing. I get emotional about it. When you see a player do something for the first time or a player goes from playing Super W and makes their first national training squad, and then getting capped, like that's the ultimate. But just seeing a player achieve something as little as a skill on the field and seeing the pure joy that I've been working so hard on that. That is what you coach for.
Paul Barnett 23:18
A lot of I just seeing you, I wish the audience could see you now the energy, the smile that you have on your face. But I wanted to ask you to get a player to the point where they can execute a skill or grow. They need feedback. And when you describe your relationship with the players, you seem so close to them, and so intimate with them or the WhatsApp groups, and so forth. So how do you give feedback? When you have this bond with players? Are there any particular routines or tips that you found more useful than others? When it comes to that?
Alana Thomas 23:49
I think I'm still trying to develop a way of doing I think there's so many ways you can give feedback, I think the key one that we still use is always having someone in the conversation with them, we try and do it face to face, I think when you're having a conversation or providing feedback, whether it be good or bad is to do it face to face and be able to see them face to face, see their body language and see how they sort of take the feedback, particularly selection feedback. [PB10] Because the first thing around selection feedback, as soon as they hear they're in, they don't hear anything else. Once they hear they're out, they don't hear anything else. So having someone in there that can sort of then have that conversation with them and sort of fill in any blanks that they have is important. But I'm big on trying to do it face to face and allow them to have questions but also allow them the time to go away and come back, I think is really important. So doing feedback at the beginning of a session and then allowing time at the end of it for them got questions so they've had time to think about it. It's time critical for us. So we don't have too much time to do that. The other way we've sort of set it up. Also this year was having a sort of feedback form that we gave to the players halfway through our season. So we looked at what their goals were At what their strengths and weaknesses were. And then we just gave them feedback and gave them some goals for the second half of our preseason. So giving them some written feedback. And then again, keep talking to them about that through our growth groups throughout the coaches in the growth groups talking to individual players and, and checking in and making sure that they were going okay. But yeah, I don't think there's any one way that's the best way, I think it's just again, evolving it to the playing group you've got, because you could have players that they just don't like the face to face, they feel really intimidated. So making that as relaxed as possible. Having you know, another player with them having another coach or growth group leader in there, or even just going and saying, hey, let's get away from the rugby field, let's actually catch up and have lunch over coffee, the Melbourne way have a coffee and, and have a chat is another way as well. So it's not as intimidating to think that I'm going to talk to the coach because as soon as you say I want to have a chat, the first thing is I want my done on ARM dropped, I've done something wrong. Particularly I think in females as well, we always think of the worse we think of I've done something I've missed out. So trying to keep the message that you give to them as well consistent. So no matter whether they're in or out when it comes to selection, let's have a chat, so that no one sort of goes, well hang on. She said, let's have a chat when I'm in when I'm not in. So being consistent with how you sort of approach or chats, not just the chat that you have with players on selection is a key as well. And the other sort of thing I do with players around feedback is I actually asked them questions around, how do they feel they're going, how are they enjoying training and things like that. So they can sort of have a bit of self reflection before you have that chat. And hopefully, if you're doing job well, and the questions are good, you'll pull out that information. So then you're just adding to it, you're not actually giving them a message that they haven't they're not expecting. And sometimes you can get into a conversation where you ask them the questions and their view on reality is a lot different to yours as a coach and and that's a hard conversation to then go, Okay, this, we're going to have to spend a bit of time here to help them understand where they're actually at. So questioning is a tool, I think as well, when it comes to feedback used to saying whether it's self perception of them itself, these and then where the coaching staff see them.
Paul Barnett 27:15
A lot of you've coached both males and females. And I'm interested to know how if at all, you had to adjust your style.
Alana Thomas 27:23
In terms of coaching males to females, the only thing I'd say is you still want to coach the same, because the skills in there, the technical and tactical still very similar. I think it's the skill level that you have within the players. So a lot of that earlier with the coaches being able to adapt to their players, with the women's game, we seem to have a lot of wide variety of skills. So we could have a complete novice, first time playing rugby through to an international player. So you've got to adapt to coaching that you can pull that inexperienced player up to a level that they're able to, we're able to train well with the experienced international player. And then we've also got to make sure that we keep challenging that international player to be better. So I think as a coach, you have to have a really good ability to adjust your style to get the best out of them. And I think the main difference from me as a coach is coaching the boys or the men is that they probably have a really solid foundation of skill because they've been playing since they were five years old. So you don't spend as much time on the skill level stuff, you can get more technical and tactical in how to play the game, which you may not be able to with the women to it at the at the beginning. So I think the main thing that I see is just the skill level that you have to adapt your coaching to. But I wouldn't change my style, I think you'd change, you're still coaching the way you would coach, you just got to adapt how and the skills and how you get the outcomes you want in terms of whether it's the how you want to play. And you may have to take a little slower with the women, because we've got a gap. But I'm hoping that in the future when we've got girls playing from the age of five thright through the pathway, that won't happen. It'll be the same for all genders.
Paul Barnett 29:09
Ilana, you know, preparing for today and learning about your story. The theme, for me that comes through is this one around creation, creating a foundation for women's rugby for a new generation, creating pathways, creating leadership groups creating change, and you're building a lot of it from the ground up, which is so exciting, that you had this great quote, and you said I keep saying to the girls, you're creating a future, you're setting the future. And I wanted to just sort of take a sidestep and ask, what can we do to get more women into coaching? What would be your advice or your thoughts on this topic? I
Alana Thomas 29:42
think the thing to get more women involved in coaching is having pathways and having opportunities because I'm a big believer in if you get given opportunities and you put opportunities out there, then you're creating a pathway that's a sane another one that I sort of use a lot is if you You can see it, you can be it. So the more that we can promote women in sport on free to air TV, across, whether it be club rugby, whether it be on TV, internationals and sevens, the growth of rugby after the 2016 Olympics, when the girls won gold, it was a quarter of the growth across Australian rugby and around the world, it just exploded, because people could see it. And people wanted to be a part of it. They just loved what they saw. So for me to get coaches involved, and even players to be involved is we have to create pathways, and they have to be visible, and we have to celebrate them. When we have successes, we have to celebrate the people in them and share their stories. Because the one big thing I believe, is everyone's got a story. And every story is unique. And it's authentic. One part of the story may resonate with someone out there that's watching or listening. And they are I can do that, that sounds like me, I've come from that background, I could actually do this.[PB11] So being able to celebrate it, put it in front of people so that they can jump in that pathway and follow it and see that other people have done it. For me, as a coach, if I have to break through ceilings, if I have to go through challenges and go around them, go over them break through them, I'm happy to do it. As long as when we get to one on one for this world. It's just normal. It's the norm. We've got girls playing sport. Doesn't matter what sport it is, it doesn't have to be netball. It can be rugby, it can be Rugby League, it can be any sport they want to play, but they can do it. And they've got a choice and an opportunity to do it. And all it takes is an opportunity. And then and then chasing your dreams and working hard. So the more opportunities and more pathways we can produce that becomes the normal, the better, I think for getting more coaches and more women into it. Because there's a lot of women out there that go whether it's their boys, whether it's their brothers, they go to rugby, they watch it, they grow up with it, but they just don't think they can. But seeing us rebels women's team running around, hopefully they think, Oh, I can be a rebel, I could I can play rugby how good this. Or if it's a mom or an aunt or someone that's going off, I can hold a tackle pad for my for my nephew or my son or my brother, it doesn't matter. I'm a girl. So creating opportunities and celebrating all those people within it and promoting it, I think is a big thing.
Paul Barnett 32:25
A lot of you were capped at eight for the walrus, the Australian Women's rugby team. And you've said that you want to get up to 998, which is where the men's team is at right now. And I think it's a wonderful goal, to create that future to get us up to cat 998. What's the legacy that you want to leave as a coach
Alana Thomas 32:47
legacy comes back to those opportunities and being able to provide opportunities that I always say, I'm just a kid from the country. I'm kid from Northern New South Wales, a little country town of Glen Innes, it was probably what seven 8000 people. If I can get to where I am today, anyone can because there's nothing special about me, I just grew up in a country town and loved it, I got opportunities, and I took them. So for me, I want to create pathways for players, I want to make sure that they have opportunities to achieve and that if they don't have an opportunity or pathway, then let's go and create it. Let's make it happen.[PB12] Because there's so many talented youngsters out there that are running around in sporting fields all over Australia, that just need opportunities to show their talent to coaches. And whether it's a kid playing in the New England rugby union camp, running around and being a star there, too, then giving them an opportunity to go and make a rip side. For me. That's what I think my legacy I want to leave is that they we've created pathways that are genuine, they've got longevity, and they're going to be around for a long time. So being able to start creating, having those conversations and making sure that we get that sit down so that a kid can at five pick up a rugby ball and go until they're 35 playing at whatever level they want. So my legacy is making sure I've created opportunities and we've got pathways and that those pathways are sustainable.[PB13]
Paul Barnett 34:12
Alana Thomas, I think that is the perfect place to end. Thank you so much for your time today. It's been wonderful chatting with you and I look forward to following along the rebel oka Instagram account through my daughter's and seeing you continued success next year. Thank you for your time today.
Alana Thomas 34:27
Thank you, Paul. I really appreciate your time.