Walsh mind games have Aussies primed for anything
TIM Walsh is in his final week as coach of the Australian women’s sevens team and, as much as there will be sadness from his players when he finishes, there may be a few sighs of relief too.
As part of a five-year coaching spell that took Australia to an Olympic gold in 2016, Walsh became the master of mind games – but aimed at his own team, not their rivals.
To help train his players to be ready for any drama or setback on the road to Rio, Walsh loved to throw in curveballs to sessions or tournaments. He’d steal people’s footy boots, change kick-off times or travel plans, and Walsh even failed to turn up to one game.
The most infamous trick came when he teed up the team’s superstar, Charlotte Caslick, to go down injured in a friendly game against Japan, six weeks out from the Olym- pics. Caslick did as instructed and went down screaming, clutching a shoulder. It deserved an Oscar.
“That was phenomenal, because even though we planned it, she even fooled me,” Walsh said. “I literally thought I’d put the mockers on her and she’d actually got injured.
“Charlotte’s acting display was just ridiculous. Three of the girls were crying and our physio was in full game mode. She was almost in tears as well.”
Caslick came back on to the field with a big “surprise!” after the game.
“They were filthy afterwards, too, the whole team,” Walsh said. “That was just not on, they reckoned. I was like: ‘hey, it could happen and look how you dealt with it?’.”
The Aussie team composed themselves to win that day, and went on to win in Rio.
They are now on the Gold Coast chasing more history by winning the first women’s sevens gold medal when the Commonwealth Games competition starts on Friday.
Walsh announced in January this would be his final tournament with the team, and has subsequently been named as the new Aussie men’s sevens coach post-Gold Coast.
Walsh says the tricks and mind-games aren’t as necessary these days, with eight of the Rio crew still in the squad and now well-versed in the art of adapting on the run. Plus, they don’t trust him. “Now, if things don’t go our way, we have the ability and the maturity to react and perform,” he said.