St Kilda players write loving letters to one another as club works on building closer bond
They’re not love letters but St Kilda players have penned letters to each other to reveal what they admire about them and there was genuine emotion and feeling in all of them as the club aims to build a closer bond.
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They weren’t called ‘love letters’.
But when all the St Kilda players were asked to put some thoughts down on paper about some teammates, and what they admired most about the blokes standing next to them, there was genuine emotion, and feeling, dripping from the pages.
For St Kilda, a club in a genuine transition phase, tapping into this connection piece, or the humanistic side of the game has been a primary focus behind the scenes at Moorabbin over the past six months.
It was recognised last year there were clusters of friends dotted amid the group, rather than an even spread.
And Rath, a strategy and biomechanics expert who is among the most respected off-field figures in the game, saw an opportunity to significantly strengthen the bonds across the whole club, as the Saints embarked on something of a list overhaul and cultural shift for 2020.
“We did a bit of digging into that and the connections which already existed in the group and what we found was that there some really strongly-connected groups and there were also some stratifications I suppose, or subgroups, as well,” Rath said.
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“Those groups naturally evolve in footy clubs, when you get a cohort of young players which come through together.
“But you try to identify how we can strengthen those bonds between players who perhaps haven’t normally related.
“So we paired players off and got them to write letters to each other, and what they love about each other, and what they bring to the club.
“That is a pretty novel process, because modern youths and young men don’t write letters like that very often.
“But the feedback on that was really quite positive so it was a really great experience, particularly someone like Nathan Brown, a senior player.
“He was someone who was able to write a letter to one of our younger players and just be able to really speak from the heart about things.”
The ‘letters of reflection’ were one of a range of initiatives the club has introduced including camps and team dinners and presentations with former players to help forge stronger ties to past players and the club’s Moorabbin heroes.
The coronavirus has provided some extra challenges, but like everyone, the club has turned to technology, to maintain the communication in isolation.
The grand plan, as Rath put it, is to see the benefits of these blossoming relationships flow on to the field. From corridor conversations in the club, to desperate chases and smothers on the MCG.
And the recent trade period helped, Rath said.
“The work that (list chief) James Gallagher and (footy boss) Simon Lethlean did building a list especially over the trade period was significant and bringing in people who had real vibe and energy,” he said.
“Guys like ‘Hilly’ (Brad Hill), ‘Butts’ (Dan Butler) and ‘Dougs’ (Dougal Howard), and these guys. They bring something extra and you have got to capture that as well.”
St Kilda wants to emulate Richmond’s success in this area, but in their own unique way. In a Moorabbin kind of way. And it’s the St Kilda crest which has become the visual symbol of this transformation.
“Dimma (Damien Hardwick) obviously recognised that with a lot of foresight and probably got a jump on the competition in terms of his ability to leverage that connection, and the shared vulnerability,” Rath said.
“The ‘Triple H’ sessions (speaking about a hardship, hero or highlight) are very well documented now, but I think when you look at really good clubs and really good teams, you see a link between their culture and strategy on field.
“You can see a link between who they say they are and how they play. And you can see that (unity and sacrifice) in Richmond, it is genuine
“But you don’t want to duplicate what someone else has done. You want to create your own.
“That is the goal for everyone, to develop something really unique where culture and strategy come together, and really gel.”
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