Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Coach Anthony Seibold and Assistant Coach Jim Dymock gained an invaluable insight into the success of Super Rugby powerhouse club, the Crusaders, following a three-day trip to Christchurch with both clubs open and willing to share different learning experiences.
“When it comes to Super Rugby, the Crusaders have had sustained success for a long period of time, so it was great to spend a few days in their environment,’’ Seibold said.
“We did some roundtable sharing and learning with their staff and got to observe three days of their training program.
“Rob Penney, their Head Coach, is someone I have connected with in the past and it was great to spend three days in their program along with Jimmy.
“Jimmy hasn’t done a lot of professional development in other sports, so I thought it be a good opportunity to go and spend some time there with him and build a relationship with the Crusaders coaching staff similar to what we have done with Carlton in the AFL.
“You always get some good takeaways from other sports and it is great opportunity to share, learn collaborate and listen to each to others thinking.
“We are fortunate to have a good relationship with Carlton AFL Club who we have done a lot of shared learning and also now with the Crusaders in Super Rugby.
“It’s always a good way to try and find some further improvement, both individually and collectively for our club.
“The big thing I wanted to look at personally was how they build that connection within their group there and how they live their values from a cultural perspective and what they are doing in using breathwork to reset individually and collectively.
“For Jimmy, it was a great opportunity for him and Matt Todd, the former All Black and current assistant coach, to do some shared learning in regards to their roles as they are both defensive coaches at their respective clubs.
“It was just a really good opportunity to spend three days with a fantastic group of people.”
Seibold said the Sea Eagles would continue to build on their relationship with the Crusaders.
“We will look to send three players over there in January to do some catch pass and kicking with their club,’’ he added.
“We have done it the last couple of years with Carlton which we will do again in February. We will send a couple of players and staff down to Carlton to pick their brains in and around kicking and catching.
“It’s great development for coaches as well. I want to try and not just develop our players but our coaches as well.
“I feel we need to have a real growth mind set around sharing ideas with other sporting organisations.
“It is something I have been big on my whole career personally, but I also want the coaching staff and some players to experience that as well.”
