Jillaroos centre reveals her secret: always finish with the right stuff!
Two weeks ago, Isabelle Kelly set North Sydney Oval alight, scoring two scintillating tries as the
NSW State of Origin women set up a famous Blues weekend!
Then she was at Dubbo’s Apex Oval last weekend to inspire young local players to play the game and – just as importantly – adopt healthier eating habits.
Izzy’s piston-like legs and powerful stride, allied with a fend and step, have been chiselled from hours on the road, in the gym and running along the sand around the Central Coast. Izzy’s secret?
“I’ve always been a very competitive person, even when I was running around in the back yard with my brothers and they were tackling me, I always wanted to win! So for me to get where I have I’ve been super serious about my eating habits,” she told me during the past week.
Izzy played touch and some league tag on her way up, but tackle is her true passion.
“As soon as the Central Coast called for players to enter the Sydney competition, I was on to my dad. I told him I’d like to give it a go!”
And she did, and the rest is history she is writing. The first try in the World Cup for the Jillaroos, Player of the Match in the first State of Origin and shortly, a run on berth with Eastern Suburbs Roosters in the inaugural Women’s National Rugby League competition.
The moment is not lost on Isabelle Kelly either. She will be running out in the same colours as Australia’s pioneer, the great Dally Messenger.
Impressions of Dubbo? MANY business leaders look to the world’s best sporting teams and organisations to see where and how they can improve the performances of their staff and team. The All Blacks are the most successful professional sporting team in the world, so it’s fair to say they’ve got a lot of eyes on them to see what they are doing and what makes them the best.
This article is a continuation of my last article highlighting what I took out of James Kerr’s book “Legacy: What the All Blacks can teach us about the business of life”.
“Freezing – I can’t feel my toes! The kids were warm and friendly though and parents very interested in what we had to say. You know it all comes down to them and us. When kids look up to their sporting idols and see they are eating healthy and doing all the things they can to get the best out of themselves to achieve success, it sends a powerful message,” Izzy said with a passion.
“Apex Oval is amazing. I wish we got to play on grounds like this every week! I’ll definitely be pushing for the Women’s League to bring matches out to the country to show the little girls what they can do.
“I remember when I started my career with the Jillaroos in 2016 our main goal was to make sure we put girl’s league on the map and to make sure we leave the game in a better place. We all strive to make rugby league the name on everyone’s lips right around Australia,” the impressive young international added.
As far as the transitioning of canteens, Izzy is a firm believer.
Page 60: “The best sports people in the world practice more than they play... Business people should go home at night and analyse their day’s performance. They don’t, and they need to.
“Excellent firms don’t believe in excellence, only in constant improvement and constant change.” He argues that success is the result of a long-term commitment to improving excellence – the small steps leading to a mighty leap.
In professional sports, every training session is reviewed when you’re a professional athlete. Businesses, managers and employees should be constantly reassessing what they do and the way they do it. That’s how excellent firms become excellent, and how the best players in the game don’t just get to the top but stay there. They are always, always trying to improve.
“It is not an easy job but I think it can really happen. Little changes can lead to big changes in the future and with rates of obesity being so high, even if it’s little steps at a time, incremental steps, it’s going to do its job”.
“It’s not easy, given some lockedin habits, but healthy eating is the key to getting the best out of yourself in every aspect of your life. Getting in to good habits at an early age will become habit forming and take them into a healthier adulthood,” she continued.
Country Rugby League (CRL) is partnered with Finish With the Right Stuff, a NSW Health initiative to support junior community sports groups.
“We aim to provide and promote healthy food at canteens and encourage young athletes to drink water instead of sugary drinks at the end of games. A pie and sauce and a can of fizzy drink are always tempting but this program makes it easier for parents and kids to look for alternatives,” CRL communications officer Sam Pasfield explained.
Page 81: “No dickheads.” The All Blacks strictly maintain the maxim they borrowed from the Sydney Swans.
No one is bigger than the team and individual brilliance does not automatically lead to outstanding results.
MTHM: Well at least we can proudly say, as Australians, that they learnt one thing from us.
We see too often clubs jeopardising the culture of a club, all for the sake of one player. Business
“We have been speaking with volunteers who run the canteens and showing them how to market the healthy products through display boards and careful placement of fruit, water and other healthy snacks,” she added. and organisations are also guilty of this, jeopardising their culture just to fill a position.
If there are individuals within a team who want to take credit for the success of the team, they will hopefully soon realise they are nothing without those around them performing well, as Bill Walsh says in his book “The Strength of the Wolf, Is In The Pack”. This is no different in business, especially those in leadership roles – give credit to your team.
Page 123: “To know how to win,” the saying goes, “you first have to know how to lose.”
Once you have lost, you realise how hard it can be to win and how you can still put in a great deal of effort and still come up short. I think this happened to us at the Reds when we won in 2011. It all
The project is aimed at parents, coaches and influential others.
“If these people make the switch, it normalises healthy eating and in turn will maximise kids’ performances,” Sam said.
Izzy Kelly – remember the name! just clicked that year and a lot of people thought or hoped there’d be a dynasty.
I had seen at the Waratahs though, in which I was a member of the 2008 Super Rugby final that lost to the Crusaders, how hard we had worked and not come away with the prize. A very, very talented team. Some of those blokes had come so close on numerous occasions.
The difference between champions and finalists, over the course of a season, is ridiculously minimal. Don’t take it for granted.
Once you have lost, you will appreciate the win a lot more, in rugby, in business, and in life.
••• z Beau Robinson is an Action Coach Business Coach and former Super Rugby Champion and Wallaby. beaurobinson@actioncoach.com