Throughout Development Coach Peta Searle’s two week trip to the USA, she has kept a diary that SAINTS.com.au will publish on a regular basis. Part two covers the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth days of her trip.

Tour Diary: Part I

Tour Diary: Part II

Day 9

We caught the red eye to Detroit and then to Cleveland last night. After getting off the plane we headed to the Cleveland Cavaliers to meet Alex Moore, the first Australian in the NBA to be employed as a high performance director. Alex was terrific and very generous with his time considering the Cavs had a game the following day.

The NBA is a phenomenal business. The Cavs are expected to play finals meaning they could play up to 102 games this season and sometimes as many as four matches in five nights. Playing so many games means there is not much time to celebrate the wins or reflect on the losses. In that way it’s similar to Major League Baseball.

Because of the quick turnover between games, reviewing the match in depth can be difficult so keeping things simple and only using the data that is actionable is very important.

Alex was very interesting to speak to. He said when dealing with players with a salary cap of $US120 million, it’s the people-first mentality that builds relationships and trust between the club and players. Although our salary cap in Australia is nowhere near the NBA’s, the fundamental principle of trust remains the same.

We also had time for a laugh with Alex, who said jokingly their recruiting philosophy was ‘LeBron James and his mates.” Their facilities were impressive and even included an underwater treadmill! 

The highlight for me was hearing Alex speak so highly of Matthew Dellavedova. The guys in the team love playing with him, he is tough, he’s a training beast and they love his defensive hustle. When an opportunity came, he took it. Apparently Dellavedova ‘keeps it real,’ as the Americans say. He drives his Mazda to training and parks it next to Ferraris and BMWs of other players.

Tonight Billymo Rist joined us. He is our Player Development Coordinator at the Saints and he has been in the US for 10 days on personal development to gain insight into elite sport. It was great to see him and even though he was teased for dressing like a girl and showing off his guns by wearing a t-shirt in freezing weather, it was great to have him on board. Apparently he will be with us for the rest of the trip.

Myself with Ashley Hansen and Billymo Rist.

Day 10

After catching a reasonable night’s sleep we were up at the crack of dawn for the first of the six two-hour legs in the car between Cleveland and Columbus where we embedded ourselves in the University’s basketball, lacrosse and ice hockey programs.

The basketball philosophies were built on positive teaching, installing thankfulness and using a ‘sting bucket’ for corrective behaviour. Interesting, they have two priorities for recruitment. One is ‘character,’ which was the same wherever we went in the US, but the other really got me thinking. It was ‘love of the game.’ They contended – and I agreed – that in order to truly commit to the cause and become the best you can be, you must first love the game itself.

Lacrosse, although it was one of the more scarcely funded sports at the University, blew me away with their culture and values. Every player has to keep their locker in pristine condition and the standards they set are terrific.

The ice hockey program was heavily focussed on skill acquisition and development. It’s such a fast-paced game and they train accordingly.

Day 11

Today we toured the most amazing facility I have ever seen. The Ohio State Buckeyes play American Football in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference and play their home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

The way they celebrate history and past players means you cannot help but be drawn into the place and want to be a Buckeye. The training session we saw was equally, if not more, impressive than the facility. It was the best training session I’ve witnessed in the 11 days we’ve been in the US.

The coaching and organisation of drills created unbelievable atmospheric pressure. They certainly trained above game intensity in this particular session and it was a joy to watch.

Day 12

We were spoilt with a day at the Cleveland Browns and boy did they roll out the red carpet for us! At 7.30am we had breakfast among the players and it was nice to have some fresh fruit. This is not to say there is anything wrong with Deny’s and Bob Evans, which is great value when you can order a huge meal for just $7.

After breakfast we had a meeting with their psychologist Sam Maniar, high performance director Adam Beard (another Aussie) and Ray Farmer, the general manager of the Cleveland Browns.

It was the fastest four-hour meeting ever. To have the ear of such people in a huge franchise was a moment I’ll never forget. I had to keep pinching myself.

Then we watched the team train and had a chat to head coach Mike Pettine which was great. We chewed his ear off, although Billymo stood there like a kid who had just seen Santa for the first time.

Day 13

This morning the weather was bitterly cold. Nevertheless, we headed down to watch Columbus Crew train, a Major League Soccer team.

Their coach, Gregg Berhalter, was brilliant in our discussion with him post-training. We talked about all things coaching, decision making and generation Y athletes. He was very impressed with the program we are running at the Saints.

The fact Columbus Crew were preparing for a play-off the next day says a lot about the type of guy and coach he is. He earned 44 caps for the USA national team and played at LA Galaxy alongside David Beckham from 2009-2011.

We finished the trip on a high by attending the Cavaliers season opener. It was entertainment plus and was a fan fest if nothing else! There were NIKE runners floating from the roof for people to catch and it was awesome to see LeBron James and Matthew Dellavedova play. You can’t even purchase a Dellavedova shirt because they are sold out. Americans love Australians and after this trip, the feeling is mutual. The trip home will be long but I’m looking forward to getting back and seeing my two kids.

Wrap-up

After eight flights in 14 days I have learnt many things. Americans are extremely friendly and well mannered, the willingness to help and follow up is first class and when you order a meal you better be prepared to answer at least four questions.

I learnt to drive along the opposite side of the road and I now know how to celebrate sporting events US style. I always thought we were doing an excellent job at the Saints from a high performance perspective, but now I am sure of it based on my experience visiting various training grounds and facilities from different sports.

My thanks go to Ron Watt from the AFL Coaches Association, who put together this very impressive trip and also Darren Klinger from Ohio State. It was also thoroughly enjoyable and professionally beneficial to spend time with members of other clubs to network and learn from them.

Thanks for reading and go Saints!

Peta