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The AFL grand final last weekend had most of the country thinking and talking about football.

But would anyone have been wondering what the iconic Australian sport had to do with open heart surgery, firing a taser or making pasta? Probably not.

Nevertheless these were three activities that members of the West Coast Eagles leadership group were involved in, as part of a mentoring program devised, developed and delivered by UWA .

Assistant Professor Richard Pengelley from the School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health, was approached by the Eagles last year to create the leadership mentoring program. With his sports science colleague Associate Professor Peter Whipp and Winthrop Professor Shelda Debowski, Director, Organisational and Staff Development Services, they produced Mentoring Active Team Members through Experience and Support (MATES ), which Professor Pengelley believes is a world-first model for mentoring sports leaders.

"We chose mentors from people who are influential in their fields, who lead a balanced life, who deal with media scrutiny and who have done previous mentoring. They were burns specialist Fiona Wood, Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan, UWA Pro Vice-Chancellor Jane Long, radio announcer and author Eoin Cameron, retired Test cricketer Justin Langer, former Olympic basketballer Andrew Vlahov and cardiothoracic surgeon Robert Larbalestier."

The aim of the program was to pair these mentors with the Eagles' leadership group, captain Darren Glass and key players Beau Waters, Matt Priddis, Dean Cox, Adam Selwood, Josh Kennedy and Shannon Hurn. The mentors would help them with leadership on and off the field and after football.

"We hoped the footballers would improve their leadership styles and their handling of the media; they would learn about buoyancy and resilience, emotional intelligence and self-determination; and the program would assist them in mentoring younger players and planning their careers and futures beyond football," Professor Pengelley said.

Mental toughness, decision-making, motivation and active listening skills were also part of the program.

The MATES program took place without any publicity last year. The mentors were trained by the UWA team, then introduced to their players.

"It was a tough year for the Eagles and this was an intense experience for the players but comparing the answers to our questionnaires before and after the four-month program, we believe it was a success," Professor Pengelley said.

The players were paired with their mentors with the help of Eagles' staff member Peter Worsfold, who also took part in the program. (He was mentored by medical consultant Dr Clay Golledge.) They were encouraged to meet at least once a month in person, as well as keeping in touch in between.

Dean Cox and Eoin Cameron were paired because of their love of food. Eoin taught Dean to make pasta and he often ate with Eoin's family. Robert Larbalestier took Beau Waters to watch him perform open-heart surgery. And Matt Priddis learned about pressure in a simulated exercise using tasers with Karl O'Callaghan.

"This is about life and death," Matt told Channel Seven. "After doing this, I feel I have an easy job."

Darren Glass said he sometimes felt guilty calling somebody who was saving lives. "Fiona has six kids, she's saving lives and running charities and I'm just kicking a ball around," he said.

Professor Jane Long, who mentored Adam Selwood, said she and the footballer met regularly at a bistro near the Crawley campus.

"It was a good program, and I benefitted from it as much as Adam," she said. "It prompted me to reflect more about the importance of mental resilience in difficult times and the need to maintain a strong belief in and focus on longer term goals as aspects of leadership."

Professor Fiona Wood said the program was a learning experience for her as much as for Darren Glass.

"The structure made the concepts of mentoring more tangible rather than a ‘have a chat or whinge'-type mentoring.

"Darren has a clear capacity for leadership and his integrity is beyond doubt. This season's turnaround couldn't have happened to a more deserving captain!"

The footballers identified great leadership, negotiating and organisational skills that they admired in their mentors. Some of them kept in touch after the program ended last year.

Since then, the Eagles, who finished at the bottom of the AFL ladder last year, have risen to become one of the best teams in the competition this year.

There is no proof that the MATES program had a hand in the meteoric rise, but Professors Pengelley, Whipp and Debowski like to think so.

Published in UWA News , 3 October 2011