When it comes to great Western Australian sports people there will always be debate as to who ranks where. There are currently six Western Australians in the Sport Australia Hall of Legends, Margaret Court, Herb Elliott, Dennis Lillee, Walter Lindrum, Louise Sauvage and Shirley Strickland. There are only 44 inductees afforded Legend status.
‘Legend’ is a much over-used word today, but all of the athletes named above are worthy of that status. When it comes to the sport of hockey Ric Charlesworth is a man who many feel, – certainly in Western Australia, – warrants such status, having played and coached at International level and also having played Sheffield Shield Cricket.
He was selected to represent Australia in five Olympic hockey teams, 1972, 1976, 1980 (captain), 1984 (captain), and 1988. Unfortunately the Australian team withdrew from the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Despite five appearances he only managed one sole silver medal from the 1976 event. The team lost the bronze medal match twice in 84 and 88. He was also part of Australia’s first World Cup winning side in 1986.
As a coach with the Australian Women’s team he won all that there was to win. Two Olympic Gold medals, two World Cups, four Champions Trophies and two Commonwealth Games Gold medals. With the Australian Men’s team he all but matched those achievements, in a shorter period in charge. Three Champions trophies were won, two World Cups, one Commonwealth Games Gold medal and a bronze at the London Olympic Games.
It therefore came as no surprise that in 2020 he received the honour of having a tournament named in his honour.
The Ric Charlesworth Classic was a new concept created to provide Western Australia’s top developing players an opportunity to experience high-level competition. The Classic was to be a tournament comprising of 140 of Western Australia’s most talented male and female players spread across four teams. These four teams play a total of three rounds over a week, culminating in the finals matches.
The names of the four teams were soon announced, The Suns, The Breakers, The Outbacks and the Highlanders. The last two had people scratching their heads as to how they were chosen, but most were accepting that here promised to be a competition that could lift Western Australian players back up to where they used to be.
This was very much a key factor in the creation of the new tournament. Western Australia for so long one of the strongest hockey-playing states in the nation had fallen a long way from its previous lofty standards.
The Men’s National Hockey Championships started in 1925. Western Australia first competed in 1928 and first won in 1929. The state would win 30 National titles in 62 years up to 1992. From 1960 to 1970 the State won nine out of 11 National titles. The competition then changed its name to the Australian Hockey League (AHL) and was played in various different formats over the years. Western Australia would win a further nine titles and be runner up nine times before the powers that be opted to scrap the competition and create the new Hockey One tournament in 2019.
The Australian Women’s National Championships started over a decade before their male counterparts in 1910. Western Australia did not take part initially but their first win was also in 1929. From 1929 up until 1993, a period of 59 years of competition, Western Australia won 41 National titles. From 1946 – 1960 the State won 13 out of 14 titles, sharing it with New South Wales in 1948, and losing to the same state in 1954.
When the tournament became the Australian Hockey League in 1993 a further six titles were won and the team was runner up twice.
After being so strong for so long Western Australia’s performances had started to drop. The Men last won the AHL in 2011, despite playing in four of the next seven finals. The women had last won in 2010. They picked up bronze in 2011 and silver in 2013, but otherwise had failed to medal.
In the inaugural 2019 Hockey One competition the men finished sixth out of seven teams while the women finished fifth out of seven. The warning signs had been there for a while but no one wanted to pay heed to them. The Hockey One results drove home how development in Western Australia had dropped.
There was a need to try and up the ante, and not only identify but also showcase the best talent in the state. That first year the “Perth Thundersticks” squads that would play in the Hockey One competition were to be picked after the end of season Rick Charlesworth Classic. So there was everything to play for. Sure, the coaches already had a fair idea as to the players they wanted in their squads, but there was the chance for a young player whose club side had struggled all season, to shine.
So why has Western Australia fallen behind. One reason given by those who have been around the game a long time is the fact that not only do the Australian players keep local players out of the club sides, but also many young development squad players head to Perth to play to put themselves in front of the national coaches. If this is indeed the reason or even part of the reason this is about to become a worse situation as the men’s national development squad players are going to head West and also be drafted to clubs, once more reducing the places for local players.
Surely a better option and one that would have long term benefits would be to have them field a side of their own and compete in the Premier League, just as the AIS football team did when it produced the Golden generation that went on to make the last 16 at the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
There was clearly the need for a tournament like the Rick Charlesworth Classic. It was an opportunity for the talent from all parts of the state to come and be a part of a purely Western Australian competition. Even the coaches we were told would be Western Australian, but that soon changed. Although young talented coaches from Western Australia were appointed to assistant coach roles.
Sadly like so many concepts the Rick Charlesworth Classic has lost its way. Questioning whether the concept had been fully thought through and what the longer term plans for the tournament were and are.
One of the biggest hurdles the tournament faced was promoting the event. The best up and coming players in the state were supposed to be competing alongside the best senior established players. Unfortunately some of that young talent was still extremely raw and inexperienced, not even playing first grade for their clubs on a regular basis. Then many of the established and experienced players made themselves unavailable, due a long season with their clubs and the possibility of playing for their State. It was too much hockey. So the high standard that was being promoted did not eventuate. In truth it was never likely to in the first five years until the development of the younger players improved, and they were playing regularly at the top level. The hyperbole around the competition ultimately has had a negative impact on the event.
In 2021 we were told that due to the Olympic Games the tournament would be played before the Premier League competition commenced. Once again the State Coaches were expected to select a squad of players for their Hockey One teams which were due to compete after the conclusion of the Premier League competition in September. To select a squad in March for a competition being played in October seemed foolhardy.
Large squads were selected at the start of last season for a tournament that never eventuated. Regrettably according to a number of Premier League coaches some of those players selected for the extended squad developed a shift in attitude and not in the way they would have hoped. They believed that they were now by virtue of being selected into the extended squad worthy of State selection. That in itself is damaging to the player and the system.
A year on and we are once again seeing the tournament being played as a pre-season event. Although the original dates had to be changed as they clashed with the National under 18 tournament! Many of these young players are the very players the tournament is supposed to be showcasing, so one wonders how that can happen.
Not surprisingly many clubs are far from happy that their pre-season preparations are being interrupted for a week-long tournament that to them is irrelevant. A tournament that will see some of their young players play four games in eight days. As one club president stated ‘why would we want a key player who is most likely to be in the Thundersticks squad anyway playing in this pre-season event and running the risk of being injured, and then our club loses their services for a month?’
So if clubs and club coaches are not in favour of the event, it means that support is going to suffer. Had it been organised at a different time would that have made a difference?
There are many who feel that the best time for the tournament would be in the middle of the Premier League season. This may work better if in the men’s competition the number of teams competing was reduced from 12 to 10. There could be a break in the middle of the season and the competition could be played then and the Thundersticks squads selected and start preparing for the Hockey One competition at the end of the regular season. The regular season would also be revitalised after players had a few weeks off.
As a vehicle to promote the game as a whole, again one feels that opportunities have been missed or not thought through. Each season, and this is the third, players nominate to be involved, and are then placed into a draft with the relevant coaches picking the players that they want. How many of those players would have been selected if left to coaches to identify talent they wanted to develop? At least in 2022 we saw each coach able to pre-select four players.
The various teams have no connection to anyone. They are not connected to a region, a group of clubs or anything that will see supporters connect with them. All you have are the coaches and the players as a link to form any kind of connection with those who may come and watch. With the squads changing every year the loyalty to a team that may have been built up briefly one season is undone immediately in the next.
With four new teams, not clubs, there has to be something for the fans to connect with to form an affinity with a team. While it was understandable to create four unique teams not tied to any region, or suburb it meant that each team needed to create an identity of its own, to stand for something. Then that brand and their values needed to be promoted. If that is not being done then you are always going to struggle.
While the draft may look good on paper, is this really the way to go when trying to uncover the best up and coming players in the state? How many sports do players nominate to be selected to play in a representative team? This is what is essentially happening at this moment in time. Players are nominating to play in the tournament and saying they think that they are good enough to be considered for selection to represent the State.
Surely if this is truly a tournament where the aim is to develop players and take them to a higher level there needs to be a scouting network set up which goes throughout the state, to all the country areas, and the top players from those areas are invited to come to Perth with reasonable costs covered by sponsorship, to participate. After all history shows that in Western Australia, and in fact the nation as a whole a high percentage of the players that end up representing the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos come from country towns.
History has shown that initially most players play for the team nearest to where they live. If they show talent they move on to a bigger club. If they continue to develop they find themselves in the first team. That brings them to the attention of the selectors of the representative teams. Sport today has been blind-sided by various ‘development pathway ideas,’ yet few on those pathways will end up playing for their country. As former Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger said, it is impossible to predict which players in their early teens will go on to play at the highest level. He even offered a million pounds to anyone who could guarantee such an outcome.
Success at State level and International level will not happen without a good club system. Clubs are the backbone of all sport, and are the ideal stepping stone to a higher level. The key component is having good development coaching at club level, and having coaches who can identify players with talent. Hockey WA is trying to give players and coaches access to information to become better at what they do through their Hockey WA Coach and Play program.
The promotion of the tournament has not been helped by having the livestream of the action being stuck behind a paywall. According to a former Board member the idea was that the agreement with Seven West Media would see the games aired on one of Channel Seven’s free to air channels. That makes a great deal more sense and would have benefitted the sport, the players and the teams. It would also have helped pull in new fans to the sport who may have come to watch the finals, and who may well then have then come down to watch a Hockey One or FIH Pro League match. Having it behind a paywall will see it fade from people’s consciousness.
If that Channel Seven deal had eventuated as planned one can understand why all the games had to played at the Perth Hockey Stadium. With that deal not eventuating one wonders why they are still all played there, could the games have not been shared around the clubs? Club hockey suffered a great deal during the Covid Pandemic and the extra takings from food sales and the bar would have been a help. In addition to this if a club in the suburbs knew they were hosting the games they could go out into the community and let them know that these games were taking place, and once again try and pull in new fans. Clubs are the lifeblood of every sport and therefore should be supported wherever possible. Here was the ideal opportunity to take the game to the people.
If people have been enticed to go to the Perth Hockey Stadium, it is important that they are given a night to remember. Only the truly loyal fans will return come-what-may. Whereas they will be far more forgiving at a local club.
The crux is that this was supposed to be an event that was exclusively for players from Western Australia or eligible to be selected for the State. Again that is not what has eventuated. Interstate players who are not eligible to be selected for Western Australia are taking up spots that many believe should go to local players. This has come about because established and experienced local players have made themselves unavailable. There is a benefit to these players participating as their experience and knowledge can be passed on when they play alongside younger players just starting out on that journey.
The sad fact is the success of the past was like a great meal in a restaurant. As everyone sat and enjoyed what was being served few saw the preparation that had gone into preparing the meal. From the farmers toiling to prepare fresh produce, to the chefs turning that produce into the end product. A wonderful meal does not just happen there are so many key contributors that lead to that final stage, most of whom are unsung.
The one aspect many forget is that the restaurants and the chefs have thought about what they are trying to achieve, then backed with enthusiasm they look to inspire all around them to produce the best dish. The development of players is very similar.
Very few chefs will produce the perfect meal first time, there will be a lot of trial and error, just as there will be when it comes to finding talented players and developing them, however there has to be enthusiasm on the part of all concerned for the process to be a success.
There is no doubt that the Ric Charlesworth Classic was a good concept, and still is, but it has to go back to being what it was intended to be. It should not be hyped up as something it was never intended to be. This was a tournament to discover the next generation of talent in Western Australia and try and raise them up to be ready to represent Western Australia and restore the standards that were set by those who have gone before.
The higher you go in any sport the more you learn that every action in a game is of consequence. Everything that you do is being observed and has a meaning in the outcome of the game. This should be learned at club level. Also that only continued concentration and care about what you are doing will bring about success for the team. These are lessons that some players never learn. They are strictures that some never wish to play under, but if you want to get to the top they are essential.
These realisations soon become subconscious but that sense of responsibility remains. If a player has the technical grounding and the mental application then they are on the right track, experience will see them grow in so many other areas not least of all confidence. Which was part of the aim of this tournament.
Those selected for the Perth Thundersticks, which is essentially the State team still have a responsibility individually. They must realise that they are following in the footsteps of some great predecessors and servants of the game. That with selection to this level comes scrutiny, while success will be appreciated, failure will need to be explained. You are serving those who have gone before, your team mates, you are representing your club, as well as friends and many people you will never have met. You have a responsibility beyond yourself.
There have been many great individual players but the success has not come from those players alone, but from their realisation that they have a responsibility to their team mates. It is only through teamwork that success has been achieved.
Ask anyone and the name Ric Charlesworth is synonymous with excellence and success. Ric Charlesworth by accepting to have the tournament named after him no doubt expected it to align closely with his reputation, his values and his brand. Despite the honour of having the event named after him, if the event continues to fall from the expectations it had, does he risk his own reputation being tarnished by association?
At the time the event was announced Charlesworth stated “a lot of players have had their opportunities truncated – our role is to provide an opportunity for them to progress. I’m pleased I can play a role in that.” Are those opportunities really there as the tournament enters its third year? That was definitely the intention, but one feels that very quickly those opportunities have all but gone as the tournament tries to become something that it was never intended to be, and instead of being used for development is being used to try and market hockey. .
Charlesworth went on to say “There’s a whole bunch of players who are aspirational, young players, trying to make their claims.” That is no doubt true but by season three it would be interesting to hear how those aspiring players feel. Has the tournament fed those aspirations? Or has the focus shifted so far from what the aims of the tournament were that those who had aspirations are now becoming demoralised?
Western Australia is not going to climb back to the top of the pile overnight. It is going to take a lot of planning, a lot of unseen work, persistence as well as inspiration and a return to some of the traditions from the past. The Ric Charlesworth Classic was never going to be a quick fix. It needed to be part of an overall strategy to improve the basic skills of young players and then polish the skills of those who show promise to prepare them for competition at a higher level, should they aspire to play at that level. The emphasis was always about development and opportunity, which is very different from the focus being on the competition itself.
Which is it to be? An elite tournament promoting the game as a whole, or a competition used as a tool to uncover and develop the next generation of Western Australian players and prepare them to compete at national level, and be in a position to restore past glories? It cannot be both.
