Tony Gleeson (2011)

1976 – THE YEAR OF THE MONTREAL OLYMPICS :

I first showed up at Anzac Oval on Saturday afternoon the 9th of August 1976 to register my six year old son James to play cricket with the Engadine Dragons.

The registrations took place in a one room portable corrugated iron shed located on the eastern side of the rugby league field where I was to meet a bloke by the name of Harry Robbins. He informed me that the club did not usually register six year olds, but as they were short a couple of players in their lower grade under ten team, he felt sure the club might make an exception to this requirement on this occasion.

The coach of my son’s under 10 team that year was a fine man and a truly gifted cricketer by the name of Ray Noakes. Ray’s wife Vi was the team manager. But I must say I was very impressed by Ray’s coaching ability and his rapport with young kids.

To help out, I would show up once a week for the practice sessions and lend a hand assisting the boys in buckling up their pads, or putting on their spiked batting gloves, or help pack the kit into the boot of Ray’s car at the end of the session.

For my efforts Ray bestowed upon me the title of assistant manager, and, without really knowing it, he initiated my association with the club which has continued, with occasional deviations due to family commitments, over the next 30 years.

In the 1977-1978 season the club unintentionally launched my coaching career by appointing me coach of my son’s 10A side. I had no previous coaching experience, but I think my energetic demeanour and enthusiasm probably won them over. However, I had Ray hovering in the background to make sure I didn’t stuff things up too much.

But really, Ray taught me an enormous amount about cricket and coaching that first year.

MY CRICKET ADMIN ROLES WITH THE DRAGONS :

I began my involvement with the Dragons administration in the season of 1977/78.

The Cricket Club AGM that year was held in a small meeting hall almost opposite where the Bush Fire Station used to be in Anzac Avenue.

At that time the word had got around that the club was looking for new people with new ideas to serve on the incoming committee.

I didn’t have any new ideas that I could think of, but I went along anyway to see if I could perhaps be of some use to the club.

I sat up the back of the hall and watched as the outgoing committee was re-elected unopposed. Then the chairman, Col Keenan, noticed me sitting alone up the back and commented that the club should reward me for showing up by finding me a position on the new committee.

They couldn’t think of a title for me on the night, but they assured me they would probably come up with one during the following week.

And, you know what ?.. it’s a funny thing…. but I don’t remember them ever getting back to me…. And, I’m still here.

But apart from meeting Col Keenan that night, I also remember meeting Mike Fordyce. I think he was the Treasurer at that time. Vice President Ray Noakes was there of course, and I also remember meeting Harry Robbins again. He was Secretary back then I think.

MEN’S CRICKET :

I was only able to play one year of Men’s Cricket with the Dragons and that was in the 1977-78 season. Back then, I was still in the process of trying to establish my career as a District Building Inspector with the Sydney City Council, while at the same time supporting a wife and 3 very young children, plus working as a builder nearly every weekend, so regretfully, I could not continue as a player. I just couldn’t fit it all in.

But thanks to the likes of Alf Lemmon, Mick Alewood, Steve Gorry, Steve Messiter, and other good cricketer team mates, I was lucky enough to go out a comp winner that year.

LEARNING TO BE A COACH :

I coached my oldest son James’s teams from 1977 to 1982 with the Dragons except in the 1980/81 season when Ray Noakes took over just prior to his death. My younger son Michael had just begun playing that year, so I coached his little under 10D team with the Dragons. One of my best and most enjoyable years as a coach I think.

My son James left the Dragons in 1982 to attend St Joseph’s College Hunters Hill. Fortunately for him, he took with him all the cricket skills and knowledge he had learned at the Engadine Dragons to go on and play in the College First Eleven plus GPS Rep teams. He was also selected for both the Sydney and Sutherland Green Shield teams in 1984 and 1985.

I coached my younger son Michael’s teams with the Dragons from 1980 to 1985 until he insisted on playing with his Primary School classmates at the St John Bosco club.

The Bosco committee asked me to coach Michael’s team, which I was glad to do. Then, after struggling in the first year under 12’s, the team were fortunate enough to win the 12A comp the following year (Bosco’s first ever ‘A’ grade comp) with Michael being good enough to play a prominent role.

Both Michael and I give a lot of credit for any success we achieved at Bosco and in the rep arena to the skills and attitudes we both acquired at the Dragons cricket club.

A RETURN TO THE FOLD :

In 2002, after an absence of nearly 15 years, seeing my two sons and daughter through College and university, I came back to the Dragons as a coach and administrator and, with the consent of the club management, and intended to continue to assist the club in any way I could in the future.

As far as my two sons are concerned, they were both good players and, ironically, they both Captained an SSJCA Cawsey Shield rep team to victory some 5 years apart.

But even back then, they could see that, unless you were one of the top 1 or 2 percent of players in the country, their opportunities for a long term future in cricket were very limited, so they quite rightly devoted themselves to Higher School Certificates and University degrees instead.

That’s fair enough, I think most junior cricketers eventually go the same way.

THE PEOPLE I HAVE MET AND THE LIFETIME FRIENDS I HAVE MADE :

In over 30 years of involvement with cricket in Engadine and the Sutherland Shire, I have met many fine people, all of whom I still regard as friends today. People like the Keenan family, the Noakes family, the Fordyce family, Clem Heffernan, Ken and Val Tever, Harry and Heather Robbins, Bill and Glenys Knowles, Alf Lemmon and Mick Alewood, just to mention a few. Then in later years people like Russ Waddell, Ian and Jodi Latham, Bob and Carol Price, and many many others.

MY WIFE TRISH AN UNSUNG HERO :

But if I was handing out a trophy or life membership or any other recognition award for outstanding performance during all my time with junior cricket, my wife Trish deserves to be the recipient. She was alongside me in one way or another to help make whatever I was trying to do actually happen. I owe her an enormous amount of gratitude.

Among many other things, she was our scorer nearly every year I coached our two son’s teams at club and rep level and I can say she was one of the very best in that role. And I’ll tell you what, she didn’t stand any nonsense from the opposing scorer either.

I can also recall the years we had the club meetings at our house and the sumptuous coffee and cake suppers she provided on every occasion.

And I can never forget the years we produced the club magazine and Annual Report in the basement of our home on that old just about worn out Gestetner machine. (We both lost our cool more than once with that cantankerous apparatus)

WHY DO I KEEP GETTING INVOLVED ? :

I get involved in cricket with the Dragons because I like to help in the promotion of a game that I truly believe youngsters really do need these days.

It’s a tough game sure, but it’s also a game filled with all the character building components you just can’t find in any other field of sporting endeavour. And, I just also happen to believe, the Engadine Dragons club promotes all the game’s best values.

But apart from that, I also get involved because I think cricket is fundamentally a civilised and law abiding game in a world gone mad with violence and lawlessness and that maybe, just maybe, an old codger like me can somehow be of some influence to help young people get a handle on things and learn how to rise above all that stuff.

And, it’s a funny thing, even though I have taken part in a variety of competitive sports myself during my lifetime from Rugby League, to tennis, to boxing and athletics as well as cricket, I have always enjoyed the company of cricket people more than anyone else.

But above all, I am truly grateful to have been given the opportunities and support I have received from the Engadine Dragons Cricket Club. They have been, and always will be, a significant and cherished part of my life.

MY INVOLVEMENT IN THE CREATION OF THE CLUBROOM :

In 2003 Ian Latham (Club Secretary) came up with a brilliant idea to build our own indoor cricket net and asked me if I could use my experience in Local Government to find a way to get Council approval for a new Clubroom proposal he envisaged to be created on the top floor of the Anzac Oval Recreation Building.

With Ian’s help I prepared plans and specifications for the new clubroom and secured a face to face meeting with the Head of Council Property Building Admin where, after 2 meetings and numerous phone discussions, I was able to persuade him to make a recommendation to Council that the proposal be approved.

Working together with Ian, I then obtained quotes from various builders to carry out the work. However, nearly all these quotes were excessively high, so I approached a relative of fellow committeeman Brad Moreland, who agreed to erect the steel framed side and back walls of the clubroom and I would do the carpentry work myself.

Ian organised a company he knew of to lay the synthetic turf to the existing concrete floor and install the side and end wall netting enclosure.

In due course I met the wall builder on site early one morning and together we set out for the erection of the wall and cladding part of the job.

I then erected and painted the photo and shelf wall panel along the western side of the clubroom to display historic team photos of yesteryear and major club and SSJCA trophies.

I installed the timber door jamb to the access doorway of the clubroom. Then, upon finding the cost of a new panel style door prohibitive, I purchased a new flat face solid core door and fixed timber mouldings to one side of the door to represent a panel door. (This method was approximately one third the price of a new panel door. It saved the club around $400) I then hung the door and fitted new dead locks.

I then arranged for a roller door company to install a new roller door to the end wall of the clubroom.

Bob Price and Ian arranged for new light fittings, fans and additional power points to be installed within the clubroom.

Finally I painted all unpainted surfaces within the clubroom. Handed all keys to Ian. Then went home to bed for a fortnight.

Just as a matter of interest, while all this was going on, my son-in-law and I were building a new 2 storey split level house for my daughter and their 2 kids over at Roseville. And I can tell you, I just about did myself in that year.

But none of it would have happened at all if Ian Latham had not come up with the original idea.