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Only just caught this one today...a great read to finish the year.
Willie Mason says recent hike up Mt Kosciuszko is proof of the Sea Eagles’ famed culture of success
MANLY recruit Willie Mason believes the club’s recent hike up Mt Kosciuszko is living proof of the Sea Eagles’ famed culture of success.
In a pre-season session described by Mason as “six hours of hell”, the former Test and Origin forward said he was blown away by the leadership of the team’s senior players throughout the torturous ordeal.
Despite facing adverse conditions and real threats of hypothermia at the summit, the Sea Eagles players pushed through the pain and even carried a shaken trainer safely back to the home base.
Mason insists this resilient attitude typifies Manly and justifies his move from Newcastle to Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
“You go on a session like that and you soon discover it’s no secret why they’ve made the finals for the last 10 years and won four grand finals,” Mason told The Daily Telegraph.
“The success at the club is driven by the players and a great coaching staff, who all did the climb with us.
“A few of the senior blokes said this is the standard and this is our culture.
“They said they wouldn’t be happy if anyone quit.
“The senior players got up at the end and said they would have been pissed off if we didn’t train hard and work as a team.
“But that effort is just a given from blokes like Killer (Jamie Lyon) and I love that.
”That’s why we carried 12 foot canoes up the mountain without complaining, even when there were slopes when you couldn’t even walk and you had to be on your knees to get up.”
Manly trainer Don Singe explains the logic behind making the players lug a canoe with them up the mountain.
“When you experience dark patches on the football field, sometimes your mind drifts off,” Singe said.
“That’s why we wanted to use the canoes — as a metaphor for everything that tries to put you off your task.
“It’s the load that you carry on a daily basis, but when it comes down to getting the job done you can’t discard that load and you have to learn to live with it.”
This determination was on display again upon return to the base in Thredbo.
After hours of physical and mental anguish on the mountain, the players thought they had finished until Singe and his training staff left them with one final surprise — a two-hour fitness session.
“So they had to put their wet gear back on and let’s just say they weren’t exactly impressed,” Singe said with a grin.
“It was very quiet at first, but then Matty Ballin and Brett Stewart said let’s go and that’s when they all started yahooing and carrying on.
“They had to complete the task, so they ran out there and challenged us saying, ‘what else have you got!’
“So we saw the best of the players, a bit of self-doubt and negative talk, but it was satisfying when they lifted to get home.
“It was bloody freezing up there, but the best thing about that was the way that the team responded.
“So when the trainer went down with hypothermia, team members immediately leapt upon the situation to provide warm clothing and go through all the first aid protocols.
“That was really impressive to see that response.”
As Mason now understands, that’s the Manly way of success.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/willie-mason-says-recent-hike-up-mt-kosciuszko-is-proof-of-the-sea-eagles-famed-culture-of-success/story-fndv31ch-1227167295559
Willie Mason says recent hike up Mt Kosciuszko is proof of the Sea Eagles’ famed culture of success
MANLY recruit Willie Mason believes the club’s recent hike up Mt Kosciuszko is living proof of the Sea Eagles’ famed culture of success.
In a pre-season session described by Mason as “six hours of hell”, the former Test and Origin forward said he was blown away by the leadership of the team’s senior players throughout the torturous ordeal.
Despite facing adverse conditions and real threats of hypothermia at the summit, the Sea Eagles players pushed through the pain and even carried a shaken trainer safely back to the home base.
Mason insists this resilient attitude typifies Manly and justifies his move from Newcastle to Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
“You go on a session like that and you soon discover it’s no secret why they’ve made the finals for the last 10 years and won four grand finals,” Mason told The Daily Telegraph.
“The success at the club is driven by the players and a great coaching staff, who all did the climb with us.
“A few of the senior blokes said this is the standard and this is our culture.
“They said they wouldn’t be happy if anyone quit.
“The senior players got up at the end and said they would have been pissed off if we didn’t train hard and work as a team.
“But that effort is just a given from blokes like Killer (Jamie Lyon) and I love that.
”That’s why we carried 12 foot canoes up the mountain without complaining, even when there were slopes when you couldn’t even walk and you had to be on your knees to get up.”
Manly trainer Don Singe explains the logic behind making the players lug a canoe with them up the mountain.
“When you experience dark patches on the football field, sometimes your mind drifts off,” Singe said.
“That’s why we wanted to use the canoes — as a metaphor for everything that tries to put you off your task.
“It’s the load that you carry on a daily basis, but when it comes down to getting the job done you can’t discard that load and you have to learn to live with it.”
This determination was on display again upon return to the base in Thredbo.
After hours of physical and mental anguish on the mountain, the players thought they had finished until Singe and his training staff left them with one final surprise — a two-hour fitness session.
“So they had to put their wet gear back on and let’s just say they weren’t exactly impressed,” Singe said with a grin.
“It was very quiet at first, but then Matty Ballin and Brett Stewart said let’s go and that’s when they all started yahooing and carrying on.
“They had to complete the task, so they ran out there and challenged us saying, ‘what else have you got!’
“So we saw the best of the players, a bit of self-doubt and negative talk, but it was satisfying when they lifted to get home.
“It was bloody freezing up there, but the best thing about that was the way that the team responded.
“So when the trainer went down with hypothermia, team members immediately leapt upon the situation to provide warm clothing and go through all the first aid protocols.
“That was really impressive to see that response.”
As Mason now understands, that’s the Manly way of success.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/willie-mason-says-recent-hike-up-mt-kosciuszko-is-proof-of-the-sea-eagles-famed-culture-of-success/story-fndv31ch-1227167295559
