Ric Charlesworth - “What might seem impossible and unlikely but if we did it, it would make a big difference?”

Emma Doyle has long been a fan of Coach Ric Charlesworth after reading his book in her early coaching years called: The Coach - Managing for Success. Then in January of 2018, she had the pleasure of speaking at the Australian Open Grand Slam Coaches Conference alongside Ric Charlesworth. Of course, Emma will never die wondering and asking the question 'what if...' and so she jumped at the opportunity to interview him on The Coaching Podcast. In this episode, you will hear his honest account of his biggest coaching failure and such interesting sliding doors moments in his life. Finally, his question for The Coaching Podcast is one that we must always ask of ourselves, that is: “What might seem impossible and unlikely but if we did it, it would make a big difference?”

Read more about Ric Charlesworth's bio here:
“There is a difference between being tired, and exhausted.” A sentence which rings through when describing Ric Charlesworth, and his approach to sporting pursuits and life itself. Charlesworth is a sporting icon, both for his playing efforts and later his coaching successes. During his sport, he studied Medicine and worked in Politics, but he will forever be known as The Coach. He specialises in knowing what triggers people (himself included) to be the best, and be their best. After retiring from coaching the Kookaburras in 2014, Charlesworth continues to spend his time working, part-time motivational speaker and full-time Dad.
Sport – as a player: Charlesworth was an avid cricketer. He played for 8 years in the WA state team. But his first love was hockey, in the National team playing 18 years for WA, and National teams for 17 years. Throughout this period, he was selected for 5 and went to 4 Olympics with the Australian team.
It was here in his own sporting life that he learnt the difference between being tired, and exhausted. He learnt that if he could take anything from his own playing days, it would be that to be a good coach you must distinguish the difference between the two, and push people beyond what they thought was possible. "In my 14 years of coaching National teams, both men and women, I have never met a player who knew how good they could be."
Sport – as a coach: Charlesworth prided himself on preparation and being willing to try new ideas. Sometimes it is necessary to select based on attitude, rather than skill. A strong attitude ensures the individual has both the desire and ability to be pushed.
Hockeyroos coach for 8 years (1993-2000); 2 Olympic Gold medals & 2 World Cup Golds. They sat ranked #1 in the world for the entire period with Charlesworth as coach. Kookaburras coach for 6 years (2009-2014); Olympic Bronze, 2 World Cup Golds & Commonwealth Games titles.
He treated his coaching as an opportunity to elevate the sports ambitions of both himself, and others, placing emphasis on bettering the people he had and finding new and exciting talent. Adding value to the athletes and building depth in his squad. It was his background in medicine and politics that provided him with an unusual blend of expertise for his life as a coach.