John Rillie knows what it takes to build a high-performance environment.
As Perth Wildcats Head Coach and a member of the Boomers coaching staff, Rillie is surrounded by some of the country’s best players and coaches, constantly looking for ways to help teams and people improve.
Now he’s taking that experience into the Community Mentoring Program.
As part of the most recent program window, Rillie was paired with Australian Boomerangs Assistant Coach Chloe Tugliach, working with her as she continues to develop her own coaching and leadership.
Their mentoring relationship is one of 56 taking place through the latest program window, with 27 female and 29 male coaches from around the country participating.
For Tugliach, having the opportunity to work with Rillie has provided a valuable sounding board as she continues to develop in her own coaching.
“JR is fabulous and incredibly generous with his time,” Tugliach said.
“Our sessions have been really insightful and have predominantly focused on building leadership capability and fostering optimal training/program/campaign environments.”
The conversations have already translated into her work with the Boomerangs.
“I’ve been able to take a lot of what we’ve discussed over the past few weeks and directly apply it to implementing change in the Boomerangs program, which has been invaluable.”
For Rillie that practical connection is part of what has made the experience so rewarding.
“Our sessions are relevant to Chloe’s current coaching/life situation while having a plan forward mindset,” he said.
Describing the mentoring opportunity as “a terrific experience to date.”
Rillie has also been impressed by Tugliach’s willingness to challenge herself and think critically about her own coaching.
“Chloe is always prepared and has great ideas/questions in wanting to improve as an individual and how can her team environment become more collaborative and efficient.”
Their experience is one small example of what the Community Mentoring Program is creating on a much larger scale.
For a growing coaching community, having people like Rillie willing to share their time and perspective can make a real difference.
And for Rillie, it’s a chance to pass on his learnings and help another coach take their next step.
The value works beyond basketball, with coaches creating conversations and applying new ideas to ultimately build better environments for their athletes.
