BUILDING WINS ON HARD WORK
TO CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY, THE BULLETIN HAS PUT TOGETHER A LIST OF 12 FORMIDABLE FEMALE LEADERS IN TOWNSVILLE. THEY ARE FROM ALMOST EVERY SECTOR AND THEY ARE SHAPING THE CITY NOW AND IN THE FUTURE. TODAY
PROFILES TOWNSVILLE FIRE COACH CLAUDIA BRASSARD.
WARBURTON
EDUCATION is one of the keys to ensure more women achieve high- ranking positions in the community, says Townsville fire coach and former Olympian Claudia Brassard.
“You can’t get to high- ranking positions without knowledge and expertise,” Ms Brassard ( left) said.
“Read lots, talk to the experts, surround yourself with successful people.”
Ms Brassard said to be successful in high performance sport, a commitment to “putting the work in” was essential.
“We expect all our athletes to put in extra hours every week to work on their game and it is no different for me as a coach,” she said.
“I need to be well prepared for our training and video sessions, team meetings and games.
“There is no substitute for hard work.”
Ms Brassard said one of the most important traits as a head coach was to manage relationships and make sure all players felt valued, empowered and listened to.
“I need to ensure they understand how their contributions fit into our team’s accomplishments and help them appreciate how they matter,” she said.
“I know my team will perform better especially when being challenged if every one of my players understands their importance and how they contribute to our success, fostering the confidence that we can overcome challenges together.
“As a coaching staff, we spend a lot of time teaching skills and tactical concepts but at this level we spend equally as much time building healthy relationships.”
Ms Brassard said it was widely appreciated that women in sport were not well remunerated.
“That is why a lot of us leave the profession to pursue other careers or like myself now, balance two careers to make ends meet,” she said. “It would be nice to be able to focus and invest myself fully into my basketball career as a full- time coach. Hopefully, one day soon, that will be a reality.”
Q& A BETTINA
Q: What has been your most fulfilling career achievement? A: I’ve enjoyed many successes in my basketball career as a player and as a coach, but the one I am most proud of is winning my first championship as a head coach – in my second year – with the Fire. Q: What advice would you give your younger self? A: Train harder and train more. I thought I worked hard and was pushing myself to my limits, but I know now I could have been working harder. I was the only athlete from my province that was on our national team and we lived in a regional area, so getting access to quality coaching in the off- seasons was difficult for me. And the off- season is really the opportunity athletes have to improve their skills and fitness. I reached my dream, I competed in the Olympics and I represented my country for 10 years on the senior national team but could I have accomplished more? Maybe. Q: What are the keys to female leaders achieving equal status as decision makers? A: Persistence and awareness. Women have to keep demanding for a seat at the table and if we get knocked back, we need to keep asking. I also believe there needs to be an awareness that with the current low numbers of women in senior positions there is a huge opportunity to increase the talent pool and utilise their potential. Q: What’s the single best guidance you could give other women wanting to climb the career ladder? A: Be confident in yourself and don’t worry about failures. Women tend to have a greater fear of failure and this holds us back. There is rarely success without some failure. Learn from it and get better but never be afraid to go for it.