Sporting Heroes
A collection of profiles celebrating the work of the Illawarra Academy of Sport
What makes a champion
It is 11 o’clock in the morning and Amiel Cavalier just got home from four and half hours of mountain bike training. His blond hair is matted with sweat and dirt. The piercing in his left eyebrow is a sharp green, like his eyes.
Shane Lee, cricket and strings
It all started with the Oak Flats Rats. But it was pretty clear even here that Shane Lee was going to be something special. His records set in the Under 16s still stand today. In his junior years he continuously impressed at every opportunity, gaining selection in both the Australian Under 17s and Under 19s sides.
From BMX kid to world class cyclist
She’d loved bikes since she was three years old, mucking around with her brothers on her BMX. But it was because of the perseverance of her soon-to-be coach, Mitch Law, that Rochelle Gilmore was discovered.
“A talent scout went around to schools, and I was identified as having talent in cycling, triathlon, and rowing, but I didn’t do anything about it. ....
Master of the game
Alexis Cooper and Rachael Brown
Despite the springtime sunshine former coach IAS Gary Masters seems a little frosty – that is until the word ‘cricket’ is mentioned. His eyes widen and he leans forward with almost childlike enthusiasm.
“Cricket is my one weakness. There’s something about the sport, the mateship, the endurance, that keeps me addicted,” he explains with a boyish grin.
He began tossing a ball around in family games of backyard cricket and played in a club team from the age of ten. Now, forty-three years later he has 12 years of coaching experience under his belt, and 20 years of first-grade experience.
Five of Masters’ coaching years were spent at the IAS, and he believes he learnt just as much from his experience as the players. “It was an elite program and one that I learnt so much from. These are kids who are destined for the highest of honours in sport.
“They have the opportunity and the skills to develop themselves into Australian players. I just wanted to be able to contribute to passing on helpful experiences to younger people that want to succeed and obtain greater rewards,” he says.
“Cricket is my one weakness. There’s something about the sport, the mateship, the endurance, that keeps me addicted,”
Such people include Brett Lee, Phil Jaques and Noel Spencer. “One of the most rewarding experiences of coaching at the Academy was seeing men like these ones succeed in reaching their dreams and knowing that you may have helped them along their journey about becoming an elite sportsperson,” Masters says.
“When Phil Jaques first came onto the pitch as the opening batsman for Australia in the Boxing Day test last year, I was a bit nervous for him… He was always such a great player, and you just don’t want to see players like that crack under the intense pressure of representing their country.”
As head coach and coordinator of the cricket program Masters came to know Jacques well through the IAS. “When I see him around, he always speaks fondly of the Academy and the experience he gained. I always knew he was one of the best,” he says.
With the help of Cheryl Battaerd, Masters introduced girls into the two squads in 1992. Current Academy scholarship recipient Amy Boyd is grateful for the work of Masters in forging new paths for women in cricket.
“Female cricket isn’t as widely recognized in Australia, but to have the opportunity to play alongside the men, to be treated as equals, and to be chosen not just because we are token women but because they can recognize our skills, is fantastic,” Boyd says.
Masters’ love for cricket and everything it stands for saw the game spin in new directions at the Academy, further allowing young cricketers of either sex to explore their talents and abilities.
But Masters and other Academy coaches have developed the skills to produce great sportspeople that embody the spirit of the gentlemen’s game. As Masters claims: “I believe at the end of each scholarship holder’s two years we hand back to the community a much better person than the one that comes in.”
“Cricket is more than bowling or batting skills, it’s a lifestyle. It shapes who you are, and how you approach life day by day,” he says.