A testimony to my friend Awer Mabil – by Mike Conway

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“What is the purpose of life? After much consideration, I believe that the purpose of life is to find happiness” – the Dalai Lama

January 26 has been a special day in my family for the last 23 years.  On the same day in 2000 we were made citizens of Australia.  A country which has like my country of birth given me so much. It embraced me and our family from day one.  The positive outlook of the Country made me feel like I belong: something I don’t take for granted.  The date this year, 2023, was also a milestone.

My good friend Awer Mabil was made Young Australian of the Year.  Something that’s made me so happy.  His story of him arriving in Australia via a refugee camp, settling with his Mum and family in Adelaide and making his way to represent the Socceroos in the World Cup and being a philanthropist through his fund raising for other refugees is remarkable as well as inspiring.  However, there are other aspects of Awer which makes him a success: some which I know only through working with him closely as a mentor and mind coach to the Socceroos for the last four plus years.

Awer is a goal setter.  I remember my first session with the Socceroos in Antalya in Turkey in 2018.  After the session, Awer spent some time with me. He liked the references I made to Michael Phelps and to Roger Federer.  I learned of his strong commitment to his family, particularly his deep love and respect of his Mum and siblings.  He was clear from the outset what he wanted to achieve. He’s a real goal setter and continues in striving to improve as a person and in his chosen sport.  You can use experiences such as difficult upbringing, low income, family tragedy and others as excuses for a sad life or, as Awer does, use them as drivers for higher improvement.  No stone unturned on this. We talked about things such as peripheral vision and improving focus and attention and where I could, I would provide exercises or additional materials to help this curious young man.  I remember introducing him to an app which had been built by neuroscientists with a number of exercises linked to improving focus and attention.  I know for sure his scores on the app will have been higher than mine in just a short time.  A few weeks after Antalya, I was celebrating his first game for the national team along with his good friend Thomas Deng.  Graham Arnold and all of us in the Socceroos staff group had been nurturing and encouraging both boys in the lead up to the game against Kuwait.  That game set the tone and the  path for young talent to emerge and participate in a changing face of the national team all the way to the World Cup.

As I reflect on his Award, I think of some of the qualities which Awer applies in life. Interestingly, many of these are typically themes of contemporary writings from people who are known for wisdom in their field.  Many who know my work in helping people grow and develop through mind and emotional training in sport, business and education know I often use Dan Siegel’s models including work on focussed attention, open awareness and kind intention.  (see “Aware, the science and practice of presence” Dan Siegel).  Naturally and through his genuine interest in growth and development, Awer works on all three.  He is committed to constant improvement in his chosen profession, is very much aware of who he is and the energy and information between him and others and through his connections to family, friends and his charity, has a very kind heart.

I remember a particular conversation when we were in Al Ain in the Emirates.  At the time I was reading the book of Joy which was a conversation piece between Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama and had become immersed in its messaging.  Awer and I talked about the most joyful things in life. We both agreed with Desmond Tutu’s commentary:

“Ultimately the greatest joy is when we seek to do good for others.”  We also shared their perspectives of the pillars of the mind and heart which I still use I some of my strategic psychotherapy work and so happy to see Awer embracing fully:

PILLARS OF THE MIND

  • Perspective
  • Humility
  • Humour
  • Acceptance

PILLARS OF THE HEART

  • Forgiveness
  • Gratitude
  • Compassion
  • Generosity

Just this week we learn of Awer’s “Barefoot to Boots” charity work which so far has donated more than two tonnes of boots and many more things into refugee camps including medical and educational equipment. Compassion, generosity and perspective for sure.  It also demonstrates genuine leadership.  The most recent Lencioni work “the six types of working genius” draws attention to six leadership activities: wonder, invention, discernment, galvanising, enablement, tenacity. Typically each one of us demonstrates two “genius” areas of leadership.  In Awer I see wonder and galvanising.  He’s got others around him that help him including his brother.  However, Awer’s eyes are wide open to the possibilities in life and he has the unique spirit of galvanising others.  A recipe for exciting things.

In recent weeks, I’ve been thrilled to see the announcement of the Adelaide 36ers XVenture Schools Program for year 10 HSC students in South Australia. The program takes much of what I’ve been teaching in elite sport, postgraduate and undergraduate classrooms and in the exec training room.  One of the big lessons is the need to understand that we will experience highs and lows throughout life as does everybody.  The key to a happy life is to learn and to practice overcoming the lows and to celebrate the highs.  Those who are older in our society are likely to have experienced many of both.  Those who are older and typically live a happy life have likely learned how to deal with such things.

For Awer, he’s young yet he has experienced many highs and lows already but significantly has already built considerable resilience through his young life. His early years weren’t easy.  His life in elite sport is a constant up and down.  He experienced the pain of deep loss when he heard the news his sister tragically died in a car accident in Australia when we were in the Emirates at the Asia Cup in 2019.  I felt privileged to be there to support him when that happened.  I was amazed of his ability to overcome the tragedy: not by shutting the thought down but by using his sister’s spirit as strength.  He works to live a happy life.

One of the recent trips I undertook was to the USA with the Adelaide 36ers.  Playing both Phoenix and Oklahoma in the NBA, this was an incredible experience.  Just a few weeks before the World Cup to Qatar. Suffice to say, Adelaide put on a terrific performance against a mighty Phoenix side and made history by being the first Australian club side to win in the USA. Whilst I was there, I did what I typically do on an overseas trip and take a new book to read.  On this occasion I took a book I had bought in the UK when I was working with the Birmingham Phoenix  cricket team during the English Summer.   The subject being very much connected with one of the key areas of my work: helping people with tools and techniques to be in a calm state when facing pressure moments.  This particular book caught my eye: the more I read it the more I learned.  One of the few I have honestly read from cover to cover.  “Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art” by James Nestor is a revelation.  How about this as a back cover comment:

“There is nothing more essential to our health and wellbeing than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat 25,000 times a day…”

Back to Awer: a few months after his sister’s tragedy, I was having a chat to him one early morning.  (Awer was in Denmark and I was in Sydney.). We talked about the ability to be calm, to relax, to rest.  We talked of an exercise I took the team through in one camp: bringing a sense of calm in the last minute of a game. Awer: a young man short of 25 years old, sharing his belief in mindfulness, in focus on breathing to be aware of the present.  So much wisdom at such a young age.

I sent a message to Awer to congratulate him on his Award.  It was so good to see his Mum picking it up for him and his reference and care for her in his acceptance speech. It was a true reflection of modern Australia.  Yesterday, I sent a link to the book on Breath.  Awer is a life long learner and I know he will embrace it.  It’s hard to imagine what else will unfold for our young Australian of the Year. I’m sure it will be rich and plentiful.

To find out more about Awer’s Foundation head to: https://barefoottoboots.org/

About the Author, Mike Conway:

Mike is one of Australia’s top emotional agility and mind coaches. His work has included being part of the coaching team as part of the most successful Socceroos team of all time, as well as work at elite level in cricket and basketball. He is also the author of the virtual world based learning program FCA XV Essential Skills, which provides access to all his work directly to football coaches via fcaxvcollege.com

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Brazil is coming. But what is the real price of bringing football’s giants to Australia?

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Image Credits: Shutterstock

There is something undeniably exciting about Brazil coming to Australia. The five-time World Cup winners will face the Socceroos twice in Queensland from Friday, with Townsville and Brisbane set to host the blockbuster fixtures.

For Australian football, these are the kind of games that should be anticipated, celebrated and capture the public’s attention. But they also raise questions: how much should Australian football pay to bring the world’s biggest nations here, and when does the bill become too big? 

The cost of bringing the big names

Australia has always paid up to bring big names down under. Last week’s NFL game in Melbourne, at a cost of between $10 and 15 million dollars to the Victorian Government, is just the latest example.

It could cost the same amount to bring Brazil to Queensland. A report in The Sydney Morning Herald last year revealed Brazil was reportedly seeking around $7.5 million per match to play in Australia. The fee is in line with other major international events; Western Australia reportedly faced a bill of around $12 million in taxpayer funding for the recent Perth Italian Football Festival.

I’m worried Football Australia won’t get return on investment to make this particular event worthwhile. The enormous fee to bring Brazil to Australia can’t immediately be justified as an investment in our footballing future. Instead, Football Queensland and the state government could have put these funds into grassroots facilities. Part of Football Queensland’s scrapped state headquarters investment plan was to spend $8.5 million to refurbish fields, lights, drains and irrigation at Mappas and Meakin parks. Instead of these plans to invest in the state’s youth players and academies, money has been spent on two international friendlies.

So ahead of the fixtures, the question remains: will these games inspire the future generation, and will participation grow? The NFL match was impossible to ignore: a sold-out MCG and a live audience of 2.1 million on free-to-air, not even including those watching on ESPN and Netflix. Football Australia is not simply buying 90 minutes of football; it is buying the attention that comes with Brazil. So let’s see if they can maximize returns. 

Ticketing Tells a Story

Ticket sales provide insight into the interest in the fixture. Brisbane has sold much quicker than Townsville, but neither have sold out as yet. The fact these games didn’t immediately sell out may be considered surprising as there is a genuine appetite in Australia for elite international football at the moment, evidenced by SBS’ World Cup viewership numbers of 17.1 million.

Brazil is bringing some of its brightest stars: Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Bruno Guimaraes, Marquinhos and Endrick are among the headline names in their squad. The star power is there. So why haven’t these matches sold out? There’s a chance it comes down to the competition and the visibility of the event.

The viewing problem

The timing of this fixture could raise eyebrows amongst fans. As much as Australia and Brazil will draw huge crowds, both games fall on either side of the AFL Grand Final. The 2024 AFL Grand Final, which involved Queensland’s Brisbane Lions, drew over 4 million viewers on free-to-air. Brisbane, who have won the last two premierships, will feature once again on Grand Final day. Therefore, fans who could’ve attended may instead be making the trip to Melbourne.

Then comes the strangest part: one of the fixtures Australia will play will not even be available on free-to-air television. The Townsville match will be shown free on Network 10 and 10 Streaming, as well as Paramount+. The Brisbane match, however, will be available exclusively on Paramount+. That creates a disconnect. If governments and football administrators are spending millions to bring a global sporting brand to Australia, why should a large section of the Australian public need a subscription to watch the second match?

The Brisbane game is behind a paywall, limiting the national reach of the event. Reach is surely part of the justification for spending big on Brazil, it’s not just that 50,000 people get to sit inside Suncorp Stadium. It is that millions of Australians get exposed to the spectacle and if that audience is restricted, the value of this fixture is limited.

A solution could be to spend the money on advertising the match to the public to try to generate interest across streaming and free-to-air. With less than a week until the first game I don’t believe the advertising has done enough to generate enough interest to justify a $15 million price tag for the two game series. 

The Brazil friendlies will be spectacular. They should attract big crowds, create memories and give the Socceroos an excellent test against one of football’s most recognisable nations. But for the appropriate return, attention must be measured. Does this fixture carry on the Socceroos hype and keep the eyeballs of the general public on our sport? I’m not convinced. However, if these matches bring new fans to football, strengthen the national team and create lasting investment in the sport, the enormous price tag could still be justified. But if they simply produce two nights of football before the attention disappears, then Australian football has paid a premium for a very expensive show.

The Spreadsheet Is Dead: Majestri’s Fix for How Clubs Actually Assess Players

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If you’ve ever sat through a club’s end-of-season review, you’ll know the drill. A coach pulls out a folder of notes, someone half-remembers what a player was like back in Round 3 and a parent quietly wonders what they actually got for their rego fees beyond a team photo. Football club platform Majestri says it has a fix for that, and it’s built directly into its Player Assessment module.

Why clubs bother assessing players in the first place

According to Majestri, clubs run player assessments for one of three reasons – usually more than one at once. Some are chasing genuine development, using the data to lift the level across their high-performance squads. Others are after a fairer way to pick teams, putting every player on the same measurable scale so selection is based on evidence rather than a coach’s gut feel about who “looks the part.” And for clubs operating under a Football Australia or state federation licence, assessments at set intervals often aren’t optional – they’re a compliance requirement, with the paperwork to prove it when asked.

Whatever the motivation, Majestri’s pitch is the same: don’t let that assessment data die in a spreadsheet on someone’s laptop.

Build your own assessment, your way

There’s no one-size-fits-all template here. The Assessment Designer lets technical directors set their own criteria, sort them into whatever categories their coaching staff already use – think core skills, possession, defending, attacking – and decide what each point on the rating scale actually means. Crucially, every criterion also gets a comment field, because a bare number rarely tells the full story of a player’s development.

The Assessment Module Builder for an NPL Juniors assessment
The Assessment Module Builder, showing an NPL Juniors assessment with a 1-10 rating scale banded from under performing through to excelling and role-specific criteria grouped into core skills, possession, defending and attacking. Source: Majestri.

Build it once and it’s reusable every time that assessment cycle comes around, so every player and every coach – is working off the same yardstick.

Something for the parents to actually take home

One of the more relatable pain points Majestri is targeting: most families never see much tangible return from a season of fees beyond a team photo. Player Assessment addresses that with report cards – colour-coded against the same scale coaches used, grouped by category with averages calculated automatically, and delivered as a PDF or an interactive web page a parent can read without needing a coaching badge themselves.

A player report card for an under-15 player
A report card for an under-15 player, colour-coded from under performing to excelling, with a score for every criterion and a group average across core skills, possession, defending and attacking. Source: Majestri.

 

Turning the numbers into something useful

The real value, though, sits in what Majestri calls the Player Analysis Lab. This is where clubs can plot a player against their team-mates or an entire age group across two categories at once, spotting clusters and outliers at a glance. Every score gets read against the group average – so a “7” actually means something in context – and clubs can report at the broad category level or drill into individual fields underneath. The results can be filtered down and exported for selection meetings or grading purposes.

The Player Analysis Lab comparing players in an under-15 and under-16 squad
The Player Analysis Lab comparing seven players across under-15 and under-16 squads, with a scatter plot, a sortable table of scores against the player average, and controls for choosing which categories and fields to report on. Source: Majestri.

The admin side nobody enjoys, made easier

Beyond the flashy analytics, there’s a practical layer built for the volunteers actually running the process:

  • Sweep monitoring – a quick view of which assessments are done and which are still outstanding, organised into defined assessment periods so progress can be tracked against peers.
  • Individual development plans – every player gets a personalised plan, and clubs can group common improvement areas to run cross-team training sessions that lift the whole club rather than just one squad.
  • Access control – coaches and technical staff can only see assessments for the teams they’re responsible for, and completed assessments are only visible to people linked to that player’s registration.
“Hard numbers to draw on when you review coaching staff and curriculum – and something tangible for the players and parents who pay the fees.” – Majestri

 

The bigger picture

Majestri frames all of this as sitting on top of the club’s own data – assessment results live on each player’s profile inside the platform rather than in a spreadsheet that walks out the door when a technical director moves on. For committees, it also means hard numbers to lean on when reviewing coaching staff or curriculum, rather than relying on anecdote.

It’s a fairly clear read on where club administration software is heading: less about digitising paperwork for its own sake, and more about making the data clubs already collect actually work for player development, team selection and compliance  without adding to the workload of the volunteers who run the show.

For more information on Majestri’s Player Assessment module, visit majestri.com.au/player-assessment.

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