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SMH ran a story last weekend about John Novak who is my mate's life coach/motivator. John arrived at the Roosters towards the end of 2009 to help out Freddy. As hard as he tried it was an uphill battle trying to positively motivate the playing group at that point in time.....no thanks to some off-field dramas and the idiotic behaviour of a high profile player.
Despite this, John was keen to continue working with at the club but not surprisingly, incoming 2010 coach Smith was not interested. A real pity because John had developed a new holistic program best suited for league players ready to pilot.
The beneficiary was the Manly RL club, the visionary was Dessie Hasler.
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http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...007-1ldkg.html
Sports motivator John Novak instilled Manly with a winning mindset, writes Richard Hinds.
MANLY'S premiership has been portrayed as an act of defiance. Fuelled by righteous indignation, the love 'em or-hate 'em Sea Eagles channelled their anger, took on the world and prevailed.
It is a perception instantly dismissed by a man intimately involved with the club's preparation throughout a surprising, inevitably triumphant season. ''Categorically a myth,'' says John Novak who considers Manly's grand final victory, at least partly, a testament to the power of positive thinking.
Novak, a self-described sports motivator/mind trainer has worked with the Sea Eagles over the past year after he was introduced to coach Des Hasler by the club's strength and conditioning coach, Don Singe. A lawyer, former karate champion and now head of sports management at the International College of Management in Manly, Novak developed his ''Boomerang Effect Sports Mindgame'' program over 20 years working with various elite athletes and teams.
The aim of Novak's boomerang effect - ''what you put out is what you get back'' - is to create a positive mindset. Novak's golden rule - prominently displayed in the Manly sheds on grand final day - is: ''Words, thoughts and actions always positive. No exceptions. Every day in every way. 24/7 on!''
Novak's message struck a chord with Hasler. ''I think he liked the idea that this was not just a fly-by-night thing, it's a way of living,'' Novak says.
''It applies to every forum we touch. He could see benefits for the club beyond what happened out on the park.''Hasler is adamant Novak was not employed to deal with any perceived problems, or particular players, despite a difficult 2010. ''It was purely performance enhancement,'' Hasler says. ''Piloting a new program that had never been tried anywhere before.''
Hasler says he liked the fact Novak's program, and its holistic approach, was easily embraced outside football. On the park this season, a coach who meticulously quantifies the methods he employs believes it markedly improved the way his players responded to adversity.''The game is like a short journey, and you're faced with challenges along the way,'' Hasler says. ''There are the referees, the crowd, the opposition. It's often about who responds to setbacks and adversity the best, and we think we did that very well this season.''
Contrary to the outside perceptions, Novak says he did not find any particular negativity at Manly when he arrived. His challenge was to address the ''neutral state'' in which athletes resort to old, sometimes bad habits. ''It's the 'It is what it is' state,'' says Novak. ''The Groundhog Day where you fall back into what might have happened over the last couple of years.''
Initially, Novak spoke with a small group of players, then the whole team split into three groups. Eventually, throughout the season, he would talk to players during the week, in the sheds before games - whenever they felt comfortable. ''The delivery of energy in a positive way,'' as he puts it.
Novak cites an early example of when he felt the players were responding to the program. After losing their first game to Melbourne, the Sea Eagles faced last year's grand finalists Sydney Roosters without a number of injured and suspended stars. During the game, five-eighth Kieran Foran put on a big hit at a vital moment. ''I felt like the year took a directional shift then,'' he says. ''It was like they [the Roosters] put their arms up like Roberto Duran against Sugar Ray Leonard. I felt like the players were invested in this.''
Similarly, Novak says he was able to quickly identify teams that lacked Manly's ability to bounce back from adversity. In one final, it was the opposition's failure to huddle together each time the Sea Eagles' scored that showed they did not have the same resilience. Conversely, the Sea Eagles, he says, became more like Tiger Woods who, in his prime, had an unrivalled ability to make a birdie straight after a bogey.If Manly's internal ''positivity'' might not have always been reflected in some of its dealings with the outside world, Novak says that is not necessarily at odds with his philosophy. ''Positivity doesn't necessarily mean kiss and make up,'' he says. ''We're a football team, and we are out there to belt and be belted. That doesn't mean not being true to yourself or what you believe is right.''
Throughout a 40-minute conversation, Novak peppers his conversation with the catchphrases that are the shorthand of his work. There is the Buddhist belief that, ''You are all limitless in what is in your control.'' Talk of ''Karma reciprocity'' and ''being mindfully present of the energy you imbue''. And another made-for-the-wall slogan: ''Every moment is a choice. Will the choice help your teammate out or will your choice hinder your teammate?''
Novak acknowledges these phrases would be hollow if the club, as a whole, had not bought into his methods. Hasler was a strong supporter from the outset. ''Big egos would never allow this to work,'' he says of the coach. ''He is very comfortable with others playing their role and getting the praise.''
Co-captain Jason King provided another conduit of Novak's message to the playing group. ''He's an intelligent guy, and he realised how relevant this was and how Des wanted it to work. Not just on the field but off the field as well,'' he says.
So how much did Manly's positive outlook help them through a season in which outsiders thought they had their backs to the wall? ''Obviously, I was only a small part of it,'' says Novak. ''Hopefully, I was the trigger to something that is innate in all of us. The power of simplicity.''
Despite this, John was keen to continue working with at the club but not surprisingly, incoming 2010 coach Smith was not interested. A real pity because John had developed a new holistic program best suited for league players ready to pilot.
The beneficiary was the Manly RL club, the visionary was Dessie Hasler.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...007-1ldkg.html
Sports motivator John Novak instilled Manly with a winning mindset, writes Richard Hinds.
MANLY'S premiership has been portrayed as an act of defiance. Fuelled by righteous indignation, the love 'em or-hate 'em Sea Eagles channelled their anger, took on the world and prevailed.
It is a perception instantly dismissed by a man intimately involved with the club's preparation throughout a surprising, inevitably triumphant season. ''Categorically a myth,'' says John Novak who considers Manly's grand final victory, at least partly, a testament to the power of positive thinking.
Novak, a self-described sports motivator/mind trainer has worked with the Sea Eagles over the past year after he was introduced to coach Des Hasler by the club's strength and conditioning coach, Don Singe. A lawyer, former karate champion and now head of sports management at the International College of Management in Manly, Novak developed his ''Boomerang Effect Sports Mindgame'' program over 20 years working with various elite athletes and teams.
The aim of Novak's boomerang effect - ''what you put out is what you get back'' - is to create a positive mindset. Novak's golden rule - prominently displayed in the Manly sheds on grand final day - is: ''Words, thoughts and actions always positive. No exceptions. Every day in every way. 24/7 on!''
Novak's message struck a chord with Hasler. ''I think he liked the idea that this was not just a fly-by-night thing, it's a way of living,'' Novak says.
''It applies to every forum we touch. He could see benefits for the club beyond what happened out on the park.''Hasler is adamant Novak was not employed to deal with any perceived problems, or particular players, despite a difficult 2010. ''It was purely performance enhancement,'' Hasler says. ''Piloting a new program that had never been tried anywhere before.''
Hasler says he liked the fact Novak's program, and its holistic approach, was easily embraced outside football. On the park this season, a coach who meticulously quantifies the methods he employs believes it markedly improved the way his players responded to adversity.''The game is like a short journey, and you're faced with challenges along the way,'' Hasler says. ''There are the referees, the crowd, the opposition. It's often about who responds to setbacks and adversity the best, and we think we did that very well this season.''
Contrary to the outside perceptions, Novak says he did not find any particular negativity at Manly when he arrived. His challenge was to address the ''neutral state'' in which athletes resort to old, sometimes bad habits. ''It's the 'It is what it is' state,'' says Novak. ''The Groundhog Day where you fall back into what might have happened over the last couple of years.''
Initially, Novak spoke with a small group of players, then the whole team split into three groups. Eventually, throughout the season, he would talk to players during the week, in the sheds before games - whenever they felt comfortable. ''The delivery of energy in a positive way,'' as he puts it.
Novak cites an early example of when he felt the players were responding to the program. After losing their first game to Melbourne, the Sea Eagles faced last year's grand finalists Sydney Roosters without a number of injured and suspended stars. During the game, five-eighth Kieran Foran put on a big hit at a vital moment. ''I felt like the year took a directional shift then,'' he says. ''It was like they [the Roosters] put their arms up like Roberto Duran against Sugar Ray Leonard. I felt like the players were invested in this.''
Similarly, Novak says he was able to quickly identify teams that lacked Manly's ability to bounce back from adversity. In one final, it was the opposition's failure to huddle together each time the Sea Eagles' scored that showed they did not have the same resilience. Conversely, the Sea Eagles, he says, became more like Tiger Woods who, in his prime, had an unrivalled ability to make a birdie straight after a bogey.If Manly's internal ''positivity'' might not have always been reflected in some of its dealings with the outside world, Novak says that is not necessarily at odds with his philosophy. ''Positivity doesn't necessarily mean kiss and make up,'' he says. ''We're a football team, and we are out there to belt and be belted. That doesn't mean not being true to yourself or what you believe is right.''
Throughout a 40-minute conversation, Novak peppers his conversation with the catchphrases that are the shorthand of his work. There is the Buddhist belief that, ''You are all limitless in what is in your control.'' Talk of ''Karma reciprocity'' and ''being mindfully present of the energy you imbue''. And another made-for-the-wall slogan: ''Every moment is a choice. Will the choice help your teammate out or will your choice hinder your teammate?''
Novak acknowledges these phrases would be hollow if the club, as a whole, had not bought into his methods. Hasler was a strong supporter from the outset. ''Big egos would never allow this to work,'' he says of the coach. ''He is very comfortable with others playing their role and getting the praise.''
Co-captain Jason King provided another conduit of Novak's message to the playing group. ''He's an intelligent guy, and he realised how relevant this was and how Des wanted it to work. Not just on the field but off the field as well,'' he says.
So how much did Manly's positive outlook help them through a season in which outsiders thought they had their backs to the wall? ''Obviously, I was only a small part of it,'' says Novak. ''Hopefully, I was the trigger to something that is innate in all of us. The power of simplicity.''
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