Hearing Dean talk, it is hard to distinguish if he's down to earth approach is a result of growing up in outback Dampier, WA or simply being from the old school. “For me moving to Perth at 17, footy was about bus trips up the coast, beers with the boys and having fun”, admitting he might have done that too much during his early years. Regardless, this is something he still believes into this day while coaching at the Swans. “It’s about building culture. Young players coming from far away such as myself, it’s important to have the team as a second family for those players; so they feel welcome, they are supported and kept out of trouble”. He adds that if you tell a player not to do something they are going to do it anyway so it’s about building that relationship and managing them in the best way; not creating a divide.
Some players might try to stretch out every last year of playing but for some, it can happen overnight. For Dean, all it took was a very slight decrease in performance in his second last year for him to question himself. “I thought that if I had a decent career, I didn’t want to get to the stage of being told he had to retire or play reserve grade” Cox states that he could retire when he did as he had a clear idea and path of what to do upon retiring, unlike some of his teammates.
Dean Cox might only be 6 years retired but there are a plethora of tips he discussed that has helped him post-retirement:
Episode #5 of Retire with Rowdy' Chris spoke about 2 new projects he is working on and finalising. He shares why these projects are important to him and unpacks all the stages of development from starting as an idea to the final product.
Episode #4 of 'Retire with Rowdy' has been all about networking. Rowdy has build a successful buisenss all from leveraging off his network and the sporting community. We have all heard it before how important networking is but for some reason or other we just don't do enough of it.
So instead of trying to explain it, this episode will give you a first sight into a week of Rowdy networking and how this has lead to new business and opportunities.
In week 3 of 'Retire with Rowdy', Chris hits the road to present 5 keynote presentations in a week. In between these presentations, he also filmed a new marketing commercial for a company called My Muscle Chef and some filming for the NRL as a part of the half time entertainment for the upcoming grand final.
Rowdy also shares some great advice on the power of networking, having clarity and finding the positives with the challenges that you are facing.
Episode #2 of Retire With Rowdy, Chris reflexes on his last game in the NRL and the wave of emotions he went through as the day and the game came to an end.
Rowdy's hits the ground running with One Wellbeing, after spending the first week of retirement celebrating the year and his career with his teammate. A surprisingly busy week with a number of seminars booked in for him to present his corporate athletes keynotes. He also spent 2 days in strategic meeting with his business partner Leon Keir and their mentor Matt Smith.
A great first insight into Rowdy as a business owner and the steps he is taking to make his transition as seamless as possible.
Retire With Rowdy is a spin-off series of 'The Be Ready Project' and is the story of 15-year veteran of the Wests Tigers Chris Lawrence (Rowdy) and his transition from the NRL into his business One Wellbeing.
At the age of 19 Rowdy started One Wellbeing and it is well documented how proactive he has been for the last 15 years preparing for life after sport. Along with his business, Rowdy has also been studying a commerce degree and now walks away from the NRL straight into a full-time role at One Wellbeing.
To set the scene of Episode #1 it is two days before Rowdy's last game. We speak about how he and his family are feeling, what it is like being at the end, what he is most worried about and what he is most excited about.
An incredible insight and I hope you can come along for the journey.
Will all the hard work pay off? Only time will tell!
By 2010, James Aubusson had been 18th man in 2 grand finals. He had both the Cowboys and the Titans offering him contracts. So why did James decide to retire from the NRL at age 25? And, potentially, why did this decision set him on a path to success compared to if he had stayed in the NRL?
Hearing Dean talk, it is hard to distinguish if he's down to earth approach is a result of growing up in outback Dampier, WA or simply being from the old school. “For me moving to Perth at 17, footy was about bus trips up the coast, beers with the boys and having fun”, admitting he might have done that too much during his early years. Regardless, this is something he still believes into this day while coaching at the Swans. “It’s about building culture. Young players coming from far away such as myself, it’s important to have the team as a second family for those players; so they feel welcome, they are supported and kept out of trouble”. He adds that if you tell a player not to do something they are going to do it anyway so it’s about building that relationship and managing them in the best way; not creating a divide.
Some players might try to stretch out every last year of playing but for some, it can happen overnight. For Dean, all it took was a very slight decrease in performance in his second last year for him to question himself. “I thought that if I had a decent career, I didn’t want to get to the stage of being told he had to retire or play reserve grade” Cox states that he could retire when he did as he had a clear idea and path of what to do upon retiring, unlike some of his teammates.
Dean Cox might only be 6 years retired but there are a plethora of tips he discussed that has helped him post-retirement:
Mantras can be used by people from all walks of life in a variety of different ways. Some can inspire an entire nation (‘We shall NEVER surrender’ - Winston Churchill). Some can unfortunately turn into Instagram inspired cliches (‘live your best life’, anyone?) The most important thing is what they mean to and how they inspire that individual. If Rugby League player Bodene Thompson has a mantra, it would be ‘Attack that Fear’. He believes it so much, he unknowingly mentions it 8 times in a 20 minute podcast! But for this New Zealand born, somewhat Australian raised-Polynesian; living in Canada, playing mostly in England - what does it truly mean?
Sometimes we need to get out of our comfort zone to discover deep down what we’re really capable of. “Get out there and do things that interest you. Studying was always a fear for me. Attacking that fear is the mindset that I take these days. That fear can overcome you sometimes but attacking that fear and just putting things in motion, having more confidence and putting the feelers out there; just doing whatever you need to do to find your purpose”
Robbie Farah has achieved everything in the game of Rugby League, what rarely gets mentioned is how a player faced with the pressure of being the captain of a joint venture club and busy playing rep footy managed to set himself up for life after Rugby League so well. As Robbie explains: “Have a plan. Don’t wait until the last year of your career. Be proactive; not reactive – footy isn’t everything. You’re going to retire then you’ve got another 20-30 years of your working life left!”. Let’s look at some of those ways Farah has set himself up for life after footy.
It’s hard to believe Wade Graham is only 29 years old. Debuting way back in 2008 as a 17 year old playing five-eighth, there’s not many players who have had a long and successful career in the NRL as the Blacktown junior. On paper, Graham would be a prime candidate to be a ‘footy head’ - only focused on Rugby League, no need for school or education, not concerned about anything else. In fact, he references the term ‘tunnel vision’ several times himself. But now, the Hills Sports High alumni has and is continuing to smash that stereotype on and off the field.
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