In the flow state

NICOLE ROACHE, MARKETING & ADVANCEMENT MANAGER

When Director of Football, Nathan Brown, took on his role 18 months ago, he was looking for something to replicate that feeling of competing and winning, after a long and successful professional sporting career. When the opportunity arose to expand his role to include performance pathways for The Geelong College athletes across all sports and teams he jumped at the opportunity to create something special.

Balancing school, sport, and life as a young athlete is no small feat, but the College’s Performance Pathways program is changing the game.

Created by Director of Football, Nathan Brown, the program creates a personalised support network that bridges the school, family, and sports teams. It helps student athletes thrive both on and off the field.

“I am mindful of the College’s philosophy and the values around sport as I put together the program,’ he said.

“It is still evolving, but one of my main priorities was to make sure it worked with the current scheduling and simplified things for the athletes and families. So far it has been hugely beneficial for the athletes we’re working with, helping them to balance their day-to-day life and their sport.”

At this stage, Nathan is working with around 20 athletes from Years 7 to 12 competing at a state or national level across a range of sports. The program is tailored to their needs using a combination of internal school resources and external people.

“We identify students who may benefit through school leaders, sports coaches and pastoral care staff. The fun part for myself and, my team, is the wide range of sports we work with, so our expertise and wisdom are growing as we speak to different coaches. We work closely with the careers team and others within the school community with expertise. It has been rewarding for my team and for the other departments to be able to be a part of the program. We also work with a range of external providers from psychologists to skills coaches, dieticians and medical professionals –whoever is on the athlete’s team.”

Nathan loves individual case management and really getting to know students and their families. From there, he is able to find their pain points and help to resolve issues or concerns.

“Finding out what our kids and their families need and trying to get the best outcome has been a great process for me. I have researched performance pathways programs and spoken to people who have been successful in this space. What I’ve learned is that there are a million different ways that we can develop our kids, but the most important part is getting to know our families, their situation, how they tick and the experiences they’ve had, and then working hard to tailor the support and care to their situation.

“Regardless of the sport, the same things come up time and again. It is about trying to simplify the approach and focus on what is important.

“Whether it’s football, snowsports, athletics, tennis, rowing or any other sport, the same things pop up for our athletes. I have a football background, but the psychology, dealing with pressures, the chaos, the sport management, the week-toweek training schedules and trying to navigate your life whilst being a teenager and a student, it’s all the same no matter what sport you do. They’re just different balls, different elements, but in terms of performance it’s all very similar.”

Nathan’s proximity to the students and connection with both school staff and external teams and coaches allows him to check in regularly with athletes.

“Being here at the school allows me to have hallway conversations with the kids on a day-to-day basis. To check in, and make sure that they’re going okay.” Now that we have our wonderful Belerren facility, Dr Ryan Letter, our Director of Strength and Conditioning can offer well-tailored support for physical preparation at school, so students don’t need to travel and coordinate timing.”

“High-performing athletes’ lives are chaos, and it’s just accepted as the price you pay for being good at your sport and aspiring to be great. A big part of my role here is making things a lot clearer for these kids so that they can enjoy their sport and be in a great headspace in training or in competition. Sometimes that’s communicating with the academic staff to help our students manage all the pressures with their school life versus their teenage and home life, and their training schedule, not to mention performance anxiety.”

“Once the chaos is cleared and student athletes regain some balance in their world, they can focus on more than just their sport which has positive outcomes on their performance.”

“I know from my own experience that you can be too focused on your given sport. If you have other things that you enjoy and can do if it doesn’t work out it’s like the pressure valve is released and you get into a flow state within your sport. You enjoy it and perform better, that’s why we want to create space for them to be athletes and people.”

Nathan’s measure of success within the program is not all about trophies and medals – it is the ultimate long game.

“Of course we want them to perform well in their chosen sports, but perhaps an even bigger success is beyond school when they are people who do things the right way, with strong values, just great people. Selfishly, I love to see our kids do well on the competitive stage, to know that our work has helped them develop the maturity, resilience and composure to let their talent shine, and enable them to taste success.

“But this is a pathway program. It’s important to keep in mind that our students’ athletic journeys won’t be linear – nor will their life journeys. The hope is that they can take the things they have learned through playing sport, and apply those lessons to their lives more generally. Sporting success is great, but developing a strong character and being able to live a generally happy life – that is just as rewarding.”