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Brian Smith.....we barley know thee !!!
Forget everything you thought you knew about coach Smith
February 14, 2010
The Roosters mentor tells Josh Rakic the Mayan people of Mexico have helped shape a new perspective on life.
Held up in a destitute, remote Central American village, Brian Smith was so far removed from his comfort zone he found himself wanting not for luxury but reason.
No water. No sanitation. No electricity. The 55-year-old felt like crying - but not for himself.
''When I finished up at Newcastle last year I went to Mexico to do what a father should do, and acknowledge what my youngest boy's doing with his life, and emotionally I just couldn't cope with it - people just living in complete poverty,'' Smith says with pride, recounting his visit to south-eastern Mexico.
''The Mayan are the poorest people in the Western world. It's unbelievable to see how they live with no fresh water, no electricity, no sanitation. And my son, he lives it. Has done for about four years. He's what you'd call a passionate environmentalist, a humanitarian, I guess. It's unbelievably inspiring. There are not many fathers who are inspired and in awe of their own child.
''Oh … '' Smith says. ''It's given me such a different perspective on everything. It embarrasses me. I feel a lot of that.''
Drawn into conversation by at least six passers-by as we share a coffee in Sydney's sporting hub of Moore Park, this year's version of Smith is a relaxed one. A popular one.
Engaging and funny, open yet humble, he receives more attention than any of the high-profile Blues, Roosters, Waratahs or Swans players passing through the cafe en route to training.
He trades punches with the Roosters' groundsman, shares a laugh with former Wallabies five-eighth Kenny Wright and respectfully declines a dinner invitation from one of several female admirers. ''I'm happy at the Roosters, back in Sydney,'' Smith grins, knocking back a second skim latte courtesy of Fairfax Media.
Good friend and Panthers coach Matthew Elliott said earlier this year Smith, a self-proclaimed country boy raised in Maclean on the NSW Far North Coast, had grown more relaxed by the year.
''Yep, I've relaxed quite a bit over the last 10 years, I would say,'' Smith says. ''I think that's what you should do. I read a crazy book once - actually, it'd be more likely for Matt Elliott to have read it than me. I think I gave it to him - The Celestine Prophecy.
''And one of the key things in it is about how, as intelligent humans, we should not only improve as we get older - learning from mistakes we've made observations and mistakes other people have made, and also doing things well and things you recognise you should repeat over and over. But also, you're in a position if you are wise, to listen to the people who have gone before you and learn from what they've grown through.
''If you look at science or health or economics, all those areas we as humans are learning and improving on all the time so really we should be evolving as people. We're blessed with the intelligence to make an assessment or reassessment and continue to learn to improve, so I think that's my responsibility to my family, my friends, my parents and hopefully to my grandchildren - if I ever get any.''
They're philosophies Smith drew on during his eye-opening trip to Central America. Philosophies the NRL's most-maligned coach has implemented in his everyday life and more importantly for Roosters fans, his football.
''Smithy's not all serious like you hear in the papers,'' halfback Mitchell Pearce says. ''He's been really easy and good to talk to. His door is always open, and he can be a mate when you need him to be and a coach when he needs to be. I know he's really helped a lot of the boys out. I was pumped when I heard he was coming to the club.''
Almost 40 years after moving to Darlinghurst with a group of mates to study physical education at Sydney Teachers' College, Smith's life has come full circle.
He's been to Redfern, Kogarah, England, Parramatta and Newcastle, only to find himself back where he started. But with his toughest task yet - rebuilding a club brought to its knees by rock stars and scandal. It's enough to make his biggest fan reconsider his commitment.
''Since I arrived a lot of people are looking at me saying 'Why?''' Smith says. ''I got a letter the other day off an old guy who's been writing to me since I coached at St George, and I've never met him. I've never seen him and don't know anything about him.
''Just every now and then he sends me a letter, and I got one off him the other day, and I really loved it, it was great. He wrote something like: 'I remember writing my first letter to you back at the Dragons and riding the highs and lows with you and the fantastic times we obviously had there. And then you bobbed up at Parra and what a great time with the highs and lows there. And then I had to go with you' - and this guy's never been anywhere near me as far as I know - 'to Newcastle in a job that no one really wanted. But man, you're drawing me out of my comfort zone to go to the ROOSTERS. Please!'
''I just couldn't stop laughing. And that's how a lot of people have been towards me.
''Because of the portrayal of the club, that largely the media draws, and the emphasis and focus on negative stuff, people tend to have that idea. But there is so much good stuff that's already happening at this club. It's a high-profile challenge, but it's not as big a task as I probably thought it would be.''
The man who's forged a career by putting the broom through struggling clubs and turning them into premiership powerhouses says his brush with the Roosters has reshaped him. ''I've kind of slightly changed the way I coach,'' he says. ''I'm not as hands-on. I'm not micro-managing every day of the week. I'm not doing that like I used to.
''I'm feeling very much more confident - probably a little bit more in myself too - because my assistants and people around me are so good at what they do with their depth of knowledge and a commitment level that's at least as high as my own.
''I feel I can back off from that and that's allowed me to observe and see, and feel a bit more about things that really matter. Dealing with players and their issues.
''That's The Celestine Prophecy thing again. Does football matter? Yes. Do I still want to win? You bet, just as much as ever. But recognising that there's a whole lot of other things going on around you definitely makes you take a step back and realise the luxury of the position you're in.
''You've got all those human issues in the club that are going on that people out there sometimes forget about, and maybe earlier in my career I was aware of them but probably didn't take enough time to show that I cared as much as I should have.
''I feel like I'm doing that a lot better. I'm enjoying the feeling that comes from that. It makes the job so much more fulfilling.''
IN HIS OWN WORDS … BRIAN SMITH
ON THE NRL COCOON
''I can remember years ago when I was at St George, and the Desert Storm assault had happened in Iraq. I went to a barbecue and someone mentioned it and I didn't even know it had happened because I was just buried in my work. I've lost that now. I'm not as narrow-minded. It's business. I still have a burn in me to coach and to succeed, but I'm a bit more aware of what's happening around me and the world.''
ON HIS IDENTITY
''I've been doing it for so long that it probably does define me to some extent - which I'm not proud of saying. But it's pretty hard to see myself doing anything else that could captivate me, stimulate me or challenge me as much as coaching.''
ON FULFILMENT
''Learning to enjoy all those human issues when you've got 45 to 50 people on staff, it makes the job so much more fulfilling … While that joy and exhilaration you feel in a winning dressing room is great, the reality is that only happens 'X' amount of days out of 365 a year. You've got to get more out of what you're doing and there's nothing that turns me on more than being around a committed group of people who are striving to get the best out of each other.''
ON THE ROOSTERS
''There'a real connection in this club. I am amazed at the connection from Nick Politis and other board members through the staff and down through the playing staff - the friendliness. They're integrated, they connect socially … probably more than any other place I've ever seen.''
ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES
In: Jason Ryles (Catalans), Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Sea Eagles), Daniel Conn (Titans), Phil Graham (Raiders), Todd Carney (Atherton), Aiden Guerra (Storm)
Out: Iosia Soliola (St Helens), Craig Fitzgibbon (Hull FC), Mark O'Meley (Hull FC), Jordan Tansey (Hull FC), Shane Shackleton (Eels), Riley Brown (Titans)
February 14, 2010
The Roosters mentor tells Josh Rakic the Mayan people of Mexico have helped shape a new perspective on life.
Held up in a destitute, remote Central American village, Brian Smith was so far removed from his comfort zone he found himself wanting not for luxury but reason.
No water. No sanitation. No electricity. The 55-year-old felt like crying - but not for himself.
''When I finished up at Newcastle last year I went to Mexico to do what a father should do, and acknowledge what my youngest boy's doing with his life, and emotionally I just couldn't cope with it - people just living in complete poverty,'' Smith says with pride, recounting his visit to south-eastern Mexico.
''The Mayan are the poorest people in the Western world. It's unbelievable to see how they live with no fresh water, no electricity, no sanitation. And my son, he lives it. Has done for about four years. He's what you'd call a passionate environmentalist, a humanitarian, I guess. It's unbelievably inspiring. There are not many fathers who are inspired and in awe of their own child.
''Oh … '' Smith says. ''It's given me such a different perspective on everything. It embarrasses me. I feel a lot of that.''
Drawn into conversation by at least six passers-by as we share a coffee in Sydney's sporting hub of Moore Park, this year's version of Smith is a relaxed one. A popular one.
Engaging and funny, open yet humble, he receives more attention than any of the high-profile Blues, Roosters, Waratahs or Swans players passing through the cafe en route to training.
He trades punches with the Roosters' groundsman, shares a laugh with former Wallabies five-eighth Kenny Wright and respectfully declines a dinner invitation from one of several female admirers. ''I'm happy at the Roosters, back in Sydney,'' Smith grins, knocking back a second skim latte courtesy of Fairfax Media.
Good friend and Panthers coach Matthew Elliott said earlier this year Smith, a self-proclaimed country boy raised in Maclean on the NSW Far North Coast, had grown more relaxed by the year.
''Yep, I've relaxed quite a bit over the last 10 years, I would say,'' Smith says. ''I think that's what you should do. I read a crazy book once - actually, it'd be more likely for Matt Elliott to have read it than me. I think I gave it to him - The Celestine Prophecy.
''And one of the key things in it is about how, as intelligent humans, we should not only improve as we get older - learning from mistakes we've made observations and mistakes other people have made, and also doing things well and things you recognise you should repeat over and over. But also, you're in a position if you are wise, to listen to the people who have gone before you and learn from what they've grown through.
''If you look at science or health or economics, all those areas we as humans are learning and improving on all the time so really we should be evolving as people. We're blessed with the intelligence to make an assessment or reassessment and continue to learn to improve, so I think that's my responsibility to my family, my friends, my parents and hopefully to my grandchildren - if I ever get any.''
They're philosophies Smith drew on during his eye-opening trip to Central America. Philosophies the NRL's most-maligned coach has implemented in his everyday life and more importantly for Roosters fans, his football.
''Smithy's not all serious like you hear in the papers,'' halfback Mitchell Pearce says. ''He's been really easy and good to talk to. His door is always open, and he can be a mate when you need him to be and a coach when he needs to be. I know he's really helped a lot of the boys out. I was pumped when I heard he was coming to the club.''
Almost 40 years after moving to Darlinghurst with a group of mates to study physical education at Sydney Teachers' College, Smith's life has come full circle.
He's been to Redfern, Kogarah, England, Parramatta and Newcastle, only to find himself back where he started. But with his toughest task yet - rebuilding a club brought to its knees by rock stars and scandal. It's enough to make his biggest fan reconsider his commitment.
''Since I arrived a lot of people are looking at me saying 'Why?''' Smith says. ''I got a letter the other day off an old guy who's been writing to me since I coached at St George, and I've never met him. I've never seen him and don't know anything about him.
''Just every now and then he sends me a letter, and I got one off him the other day, and I really loved it, it was great. He wrote something like: 'I remember writing my first letter to you back at the Dragons and riding the highs and lows with you and the fantastic times we obviously had there. And then you bobbed up at Parra and what a great time with the highs and lows there. And then I had to go with you' - and this guy's never been anywhere near me as far as I know - 'to Newcastle in a job that no one really wanted. But man, you're drawing me out of my comfort zone to go to the ROOSTERS. Please!'
''I just couldn't stop laughing. And that's how a lot of people have been towards me.
''Because of the portrayal of the club, that largely the media draws, and the emphasis and focus on negative stuff, people tend to have that idea. But there is so much good stuff that's already happening at this club. It's a high-profile challenge, but it's not as big a task as I probably thought it would be.''
The man who's forged a career by putting the broom through struggling clubs and turning them into premiership powerhouses says his brush with the Roosters has reshaped him. ''I've kind of slightly changed the way I coach,'' he says. ''I'm not as hands-on. I'm not micro-managing every day of the week. I'm not doing that like I used to.
''I'm feeling very much more confident - probably a little bit more in myself too - because my assistants and people around me are so good at what they do with their depth of knowledge and a commitment level that's at least as high as my own.
''I feel I can back off from that and that's allowed me to observe and see, and feel a bit more about things that really matter. Dealing with players and their issues.
''That's The Celestine Prophecy thing again. Does football matter? Yes. Do I still want to win? You bet, just as much as ever. But recognising that there's a whole lot of other things going on around you definitely makes you take a step back and realise the luxury of the position you're in.
''You've got all those human issues in the club that are going on that people out there sometimes forget about, and maybe earlier in my career I was aware of them but probably didn't take enough time to show that I cared as much as I should have.
''I feel like I'm doing that a lot better. I'm enjoying the feeling that comes from that. It makes the job so much more fulfilling.''
IN HIS OWN WORDS … BRIAN SMITH
ON THE NRL COCOON
''I can remember years ago when I was at St George, and the Desert Storm assault had happened in Iraq. I went to a barbecue and someone mentioned it and I didn't even know it had happened because I was just buried in my work. I've lost that now. I'm not as narrow-minded. It's business. I still have a burn in me to coach and to succeed, but I'm a bit more aware of what's happening around me and the world.''
ON HIS IDENTITY
''I've been doing it for so long that it probably does define me to some extent - which I'm not proud of saying. But it's pretty hard to see myself doing anything else that could captivate me, stimulate me or challenge me as much as coaching.''
ON FULFILMENT
''Learning to enjoy all those human issues when you've got 45 to 50 people on staff, it makes the job so much more fulfilling … While that joy and exhilaration you feel in a winning dressing room is great, the reality is that only happens 'X' amount of days out of 365 a year. You've got to get more out of what you're doing and there's nothing that turns me on more than being around a committed group of people who are striving to get the best out of each other.''
ON THE ROOSTERS
''There'a real connection in this club. I am amazed at the connection from Nick Politis and other board members through the staff and down through the playing staff - the friendliness. They're integrated, they connect socially … probably more than any other place I've ever seen.''
ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES
In: Jason Ryles (Catalans), Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Sea Eagles), Daniel Conn (Titans), Phil Graham (Raiders), Todd Carney (Atherton), Aiden Guerra (Storm)
Out: Iosia Soliola (St Helens), Craig Fitzgibbon (Hull FC), Mark O'Meley (Hull FC), Jordan Tansey (Hull FC), Shane Shackleton (Eels), Riley Brown (Titans)
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