They still needed a supervising teacher from the school to accompany them and, as I happened to be an Ancient History teacher at the school as well as Alexander’s mother, they talked me into going with them. They also talked their non-playing friend Jacob into coming, as they had to have eight in the team to register. An ex-student and state volleyballer, Brogan Murray, said he would also come to help coach them for the week, as I didn’t have a clue what was involved once they were on court. So, with their entourage in tow, the Phantoms were on their way.
The Australian Volleyball Schools Cup is an amazing event. With over 3500 students from all over Australia, New Zealand and Singapore competing over six days, it is the largest secondary school sporting event in the southern hemisphere. During the opening ceremony on Sunday, the boys proudly carried the Narooma High School flag, emblazoned with a picture of the Phantom, which Chris had painted for them the year before.
On the first day of the competition, the boys’ excitement was clearly high, and they laughed and joked for the entire trip to the stadium to try to calm their nerves. As we alighted the tram at Albert Park, we could already hear the noise of the teams as we walked towards the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. Once we were inside, the sound of hundreds of volleyballers all playing at the same time became absolutely deafening. Girls squealing, boys yelling, coaches screaming and whistles blowing — it was a total onslaught of the senses.
The boys immediately got down to business, changing into their new uniforms — their playing shirts had a picture of the Phantom holding a volleyball on the front — and warming up. The uniforms were a hit but, as they could only afford one shirt, they had to wash and dry their shirts and shorts every night at the youth hostel so that they would have a clean uniform to wear the next day.
The Phantoms had a wonderful week and finished sixth in their division. Chris came to watch them when he could and was proud of the progress they had made without him and really pleased they were still playing. Coaches of other teams were also impressed that they had coached themselves and travelled so far every week to get match experience. It was an incredible effort for seven fifteen-year-old boys.
But that wasn’t the end of their story. The following year, in 2010, the Phantoms decided to go once more to Melbourne to try to improve their placing from the year before. So, once again, they went into money-making mode, selling raffle tickets and cleaning up at the Blues Festival. They also went back to their strict regime of training every Monday after school and travelling down to Bega every Thursday. Their commitment was incredible. By the end of the year they had again raised enough money to compete in the Schools Cup.
The Saturday morning before the competition start on Sunday, they were up at 4 a.m. to catch the 5 a.m. bus to Bairnsdale, then the 2 p.m. train to Melbourne. Old hands now, the Phantoms settled into the long journey. Another opening ceremony saw them once again with their Narooma High School Phantoms flag.
On the Monday, their campaign started in earnest. Volleyball competitions are ruthless; one loss in the beginning and you slip down to the next pool, and no matter how many matches you win after that, you cannot get back up to the next level. It was imperative that the Phantoms win their first group of games so they would not be relegated. Totally focused on every game, the Phantoms managed to stay at the top of their group.
By the Thursday, they had made it to the top eight teams. Now they would have to make it to the top four. The Phantoms played brilliantly, defeating Renmark, Rochdale and Westminister in their pool to advance to the semifinals. Another school’s coach, who had been watching them play, said to them afterwards, ‘I have national players but you are a team. I would love to coach you. I cannot believe you have coached yourselves to this standard — it is remarkable.’
Friday morning’s semifinal round saw the boys up against Christmas Island. The boys knew how important it was to win this game. Christmas Island had some very skilful players; in fact, they told them that volleyball was the main game they played on the island. But the Phantoms fought hard, set for set, and finally got a break in the fifth to win the game. They were in the gold-medal playoff.
Excitedly, I rang Narooma High to tell the principal that the Phantoms had made it to the final round. Claire, the office secretary, answered and said the school was in the hall for a formal assembly, but she would let the principal know.
Fifteen minutes later, she rang me back to say she had gone on to the stage to quietly tell the principal, Tony Fahey, the good news. She told me how he had stood up, excused himself to the teacher giving the presentation, taken the microphone and told the whole school that the boys had made the grand final. And, to Claire’s amazement, the whole school rose up cheering and clapping; the sight had brought tears to her eyes.
The gold-medal playoff was against Mercedes College from South Australia. A large crowd had come to see the Phantoms play; it seemed that, over the week, the boys had gathered quite a following. The boys absolutely played their hearts out and, even when they were down, they never gave up. They were united in their determination; Ollie served brilliantly, and Alexander, Tim and Joe blocked ball after ball. Daniel was solid in the back line, Bob was the setter and Josh came on as libero when needed. Chris’s drills and their hours of practice had paid off. I’ve heard coaches say that, on the day, it is the team that wants it the most that wins — and the Phantoms wanted that gold medal. Yet, generous as always, they still subbed on their mate Jacob towards the end, just so he could say he played in the grand final.
With the game going to five sets, it was a long, gruelling struggle for the Phantoms … but, like all fairytales, this one also has a happy ending. The Narooma High Phantoms defeated Mercedes College to become the Australian champions of 2010.
Following their great performances, Alexander was selected into the national volleyball talent squad and Ollie went into the New South Wales Combined High Schools team. But no matter what team they play for in the future, Ollie, Alexander, Joe, Daniel, Bob, Josh and Tim will always be the Phantoms
The miracle medal maker
by Dan Lonergan
AUSTRALIA HAS IN recent years become one of the best sailing nations in the world, especially in the 470 class, winning Olympic gold medals in the men’s event in three of the past four Olympics: Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008 and London 2012. The Australian 470 women’s crews also picked up Olympic gold in 2000 and 2008.
The man who has played a major role in this success is Australia’s head sailing coach, Victor Kovalenko, who in his illustrious career has coached no less than six gold medal winners; he has also trained the 470 crews since Sydney in 2000.
He might be dinky-di now, but Kovalenko was born in the Ukrainian town of Dnipropetrovsk in 1950. He grew up near a river and remembers from a very young age being around motorboats with his father and grandfather. However, his first sailing experience had nothing to do with the water. ‘My first duty was to clean the motorboat. I did what I was told.’
His life changed one day when he was in a dinghy. ‘I was rowing on the river in strong winds, which was tough, and for some reason, I still don’t know to this day, I became creative and used a blanket as a sail and started sailing. I still can’t describe that feeling. It was like flying in the sky. I loved every minute of it.’
From that day on, Victor became totally dedicated and loyal to sailing. His rise started when he became a member of the local squad and got the chance to sail properly. ‘My love of sailing grew even more when I got on those open seas. It was amazing.’ Victor quickly became national champion in the 470 class. When asked why the 470 became his speciality, he simply says, ‘I just felt comfortable.’
The 470 sailing class refers to the size of the boat, which is 4.70 metres in length with a fibreglass hull. First designed in 1963 by French architect Andre Cornu, it’s a popular class of dinghy and is described as not being particularly difficult to handle, with crews of two competing at the Olympics and world championships. When the
470 class was introduced in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, men and women competed in the same event; it was divided into two separate competitions twelve years later at the Seoul Olympics.
The boy from rural Ukraine soon found himself at the top of his sport, representing the mighty Soviet Union. All that was needed was the chance to prove himself on the world stage, and the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles would have been the perfect place to do this. History, though, has shown that those Games, like Moscow four years prior, were badly affected by politics, with the Eastern Bloc nations boycotting Los Angeles. Kovalenko, one of the favourites that year, missed out on his dream of sailing for gold.
There are also many Australian athletes who boycotted the Moscow Olympics, either by choice or, in the case of the men’s and women’s hockey teams (who were also favourites to win gold), being forced to miss out due to pressure put on them by the Federal Government. As you would expect, these athletes are still hurting over their lost opportunities.
Victor, though, downplays his boycott experience: ‘Sport and politics should always be separate. I love what the Olympics have become today. It’s a complete multicultural event that unites the world and opens it to new changes and challenges.’ He believes being involved in the Olympics as a coach is the greatest experience of his life and that there were positives from the boycotts of 1980 and 1984 that ensured that the Olympic movement changed and became bigger and better.
The boycott by the Soviet Union in 1984 saw Victor retire as a sailor. ‘I took off my harness one day and decided, “No more sailing for me.”’ However, the sport was in his blood and he had no intention of walking away from it altogether, so he began coaching at his local club. He then moved to Moscow and was elevated to a national team coaching position.
Despite the Soviet Union collapse in 1992, Victor was able to achieve what he describes as a career and life highlight at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, coaching the Ukrainian men’s 470 crew to gold and the women’s to bronze. ‘It made me extremely hungry for more success.’
That would come with a country on the other side of the world. ‘In 1997, I was asked to coach the 470 crews in Australia. What an honour. I had first been to Australia in 1997 for the world titles in Brisbane. I fell in love with the country. They have a faster ocean, very good winds and most important, fabulous people, very warm and welcoming.’
Victor moved the 15,000 kilometres from Russia to Australia in October 1997. ‘I had ten days to get here, so I kissed my wife, Tatiana, and came.’ Tatiana joined her husband soon after. He then had the job of transforming Australia’s fortunes in the sport. They had won their fair share of silver and bronze in Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta four years later, but officials and athletes wanted gold.
They didn’t have to wait long, with Victor coaching the men’s and women’s 470 classes to gold in Sydney. His reward for these victories was being named head coach for the Athens Games in 2004.
However, the Athens campaign was disappointing. There were no medals. He says plainly, ‘We didn’t have enough resources.’ After the disaster in Greece, he had a meeting in Melbourne with some of the more influential people in the sport, such as America’s Cup hero John Bertrand. ‘They made a gold medal plan for Beijing and beyond. They told me, “Victor, we believe in you.” That meant more than anything to me.’
The meeting and the plan worked. Kovalenko was able to bring home two gold medals and one silver from Beijing in 2008, with the gold being in his beloved 470 class. Malcolm Page and Nathan Wilmot saluted in the men’s competition, while Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson won the women’s.
The Australians then went on to dominate in London, with three golds and one silver. London also saw Malcolm Page create history by becoming the first Australian sailor to win two Olympic gold medals. His partner in the 470 class this time was Mathew Belcher. They had virtually been unbeatable since joining forces after Beijing.
Tom Slingsby put the disaster of China behind him to win the Laser gold and Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen worked together to claim victory in the 49er class.
These three golds accounted for half of Australia’s overall underwhelming tally of six, indicating that 2012 was generally a disappointing Olympics for the Australians — except for the sailing, of course.
Victor is proud of the results from the sailing team in London, but Malcolm Page says that at the time, the coach didn’t celebrate. ‘His attitude was, “There is always another Olympics or major event to prepare for.”’
Page adds that the pressure on the sailing team to perform well was enormous. ‘On top of our crew, Tom Slingsby and the 49er crew were also reigning world champs and overwhelming favourites. We had everything to lose, but Victor kept us cool, calm and focused on the job at hand. He made it so easy for us.’
After the success of London, Kovalenko had every right to consider retirement. He had won eight gold medals at four Olympics with two countries, but with most of his talented sailors returning, he had to continue. He says, ‘After Malcolm Page and Mathew Belcher won in London, I knew Malcolm was going to retire, but I said to Mathew, if he goes to Brazil, I will be there with him and then that will be it.’
Page says his close friend and former coach will keep his word and knows that even in his retirement from coaching, he will stay involved with Australian sailing. ‘He is such an honest and loyal person. That’s why we have always wanted to do well for him. He has inspired us all over the years.’
Kovalenko was Page’s coach for his entire fifteen-year sailing career, but Page never got totally used to the former Ukrainian’s coaching style. ‘That was probably a good thing for me, as it kept me on my toes. You never knew what to expect, even though we spent hours, days and weeks going through the same processes.’ Kovalenko ‘ruled with an iron fist’, as you might expect of someone from a former Eastern Bloc country. Page just laughs as he says, ‘It’s much different from here.’
He says Kovalenko has brought together the best of Eastern and Western culture, coaching sixteen athletes to win eleven Olympic medals. ‘He’s amazing,’ says Page. ‘He can work people out quickly. He’s a natural psychologist and knows when to back off and when he has to be the coach. You can’t teach that.’
Indeed, one of the strengths of Kovalenko as a coach is his ability to change the athlete’s character to suit the role they have to perform. He says, ‘It’s easy to teach people to sail. It’s not easy, though, to teach them to win. It’s all about sacrifice. You have an opportunity to be unique and change your life.’
Kovalenko has mentored some very talented sailors down the years. As well as Malcolm Page and Mathew Belcher, you can add fellow Olympic gold medallists Elise Rechichi, Tessa Parkinson and the Sydney winners in the 470 class, Tom King, Mark Turnbull, Belinda Stowell and Jenny Armstrong.
They all say Kovalenko thoroughly deserved his Order of Australia medal, which was awarded in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. But Victor just says in his usual understated fashion, ‘I love Australia. It’s a dream country.’
Hitting the bullseye
by Adam Blom
Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence
wins championships.
Former Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan
WE CAN ALL think of sportsmen and women who have provided their teams with inspirational moments and courageous acts of bravery that have led to grand final parades, championship titles and unlikely and improbable victories. But we probably couldn’t name the players who made those moments possible in the first place; those who placed the ball in that perfect position, or set the screen to get a teammate open for the game-winning shot. These players are not considered superstars or champions of their sport. They are rarely talked about and remain virtually unknown by the opposition’s supporters.
But their worth to their own team is priceless. They are the ones who get the toughest jobs and they are the hard workers who do whatever is required to help their team win.
Fo
r me, the man who epitomises all this is former National Basketball Association (NBA) and Australian Boomers basketballer Luc Longley.
Luc first entered the world of professional basketball in 1991, when he was drafted into the Minnesota Timberwolves out of the University of New Mexico. As the first Australian to be drafted into the NBA, he paved the way for others. In the years after his debut, we saw players like Andrew Gaze (who had a brief stint with the Washington Wizards before becoming a championship winner with the San Antonio Spurs), Shane Heal (Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs), Mark Bradtke (Philadelphia 76ers), Andrew Bogut (Number One draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks and currently with the Golden State Warriors), Luke Schenscher (Sacramento Kings and Chicago Bulls), Nathan Jawai (Toronto Raptors), Chris Anstey (Dallas Mavericks and Chicago Bulls), David Andersen (Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors and New Orleans Hornets), Patrick Mills and Aron Baynes (both currently with the Spurs) all take to the court for NBA teams. It is thanks to Luc and these other players that Australian basketball is now considered a major avenue for NBA coaches and scouts looking for their next draft pick.
Luc spent two and a half years with the Timberwolves before being traded to the Chicago Bulls for Stacey King midway through the 1993/94 season, and was a vital member of the Bulls’ second three-peat (hat-trick) NBA championship side from 1996 to 1998.
Luc was never the flashiest or most aggressive ‘big man’ to play the game of basketball, but once he was with the Bulls, Luc’s skills were quickly showcased and his importance to the team became evident. The Bulls at the time had a slew of superstars, including arguably the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan; dynamic small forward Scottie Pippen and rebounding machine (and perennial troublemaker) Dennis Rodman. Yet the Australian held his own against these greats and fitted into their famed ‘triangle’ offence perfectly. His role was not to score a lot of points, but rather to man the ‘paint’ (the rectangle directly under the basket), go head to head with some of the most dominant centres the game has ever seen, and use his unique ability to pass the ball from anywhere on the court.
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