John Scott of JBS Electrical is also Head Coach of the East Coast Rugby Club's Premier 1 team which won the North Harbour Premier Championship this year - the first time since 1991. John talked to Channel's Nikki Davidson about what it takes to coach a team to achieve a long-awaited victory like this.
Nikki Davidson: John, please tell us a little about yourself:
John Scott: I’ve been married to Victoria for 12 years and we have two children Elle (11) and Cruz (9), who both play junior rugby at Bays. According to my wife, I have more pairs of shoes than her which may or may not be true.
I have lived on the Shore my whole life, apart from three months' travelling - I’m not sure I could live anywhere else. When I am not involved in rugby, I enjoy golf and fishing. I’m no good at either but I just enjoy being outdoors enjoying some good company.
ND: What drew you to coaching rugby initially?
JS: I had been Club Captain for a little while and managed a few rugby teams, and felt that from those positions I had little control over how the team culture develops. I saw that with a team environment, the coach has to set an example and that you cannot expect a player to fully commit themselves if you’re not. It was good to do kind of an apprenticeship first from a non-coaching perspective.
ND: How long have you been involved in it?
JS: I have been coaching for five years, first with the Bays Under 21s and two seasons with the Premier 1 team.
ND: Do you have a role model?
JS: That’s the first time I have been asked that question. No one person in particular but probably most of the coaches I had as a player or have coached with. If I was to name a few from rugby, there is Bill Wigglesworth who influenced me a lot while I was playing rugby and also in his role as Coach Development at North Harbour. Also Jared Letham who I have coached with for the past five seasons, as he is very technical and can be very creative in his coaching. I have also loved watching Scott (Razor) Robertson’s success from afar using his own personality and style; it’s refreshing.
ND: How do you keep fit?
JS: I play a little bit of Touch Rugby over summer, but I haven’t called myself fit for at least five years.
ND: Tell us about some of the benefits for someone looking to start coaching?
JS: If you’re still wanting to be involved in a team sport and you’re open-minded, want to learn, develop yourself and contribute to the team environment in a positive way, it can be very rewarding.
ND: Can you describe the feeling you get when your team achieves a big goal?
JS: A feeling of relief, satisfaction. Actually it’s a huge mix of emotions. For me this year, and with Bays having not won the Premier Grade for 28 years, the pressure you can put on yourself can be overwhelming. I just had to be thoughtful that I wasn’t passing on that pressure as stress to the rest of the group. But what that internal pressure did was to make sure we were well organised and ready for anything so we could actually go out and enjoy the event.
ND: Who is your ideal player to coach?
JS: A player who communicates well, is their own biggest critic, likes feedback and enjoys working hard in a team environment.
ND: What other sport would you like to be involved with?
JS: I am not sure. I love cricket. I love the statistical nature of it, but I don’t think I would get involved in it though. Maybe surfing so I could spend all day at the beach!
ND: In five years’ time I hope to…
JS: Look back and be able to say that I was part of a coaching group which helped start Bays’ dominance/renaissance in North Harbour club rugby.
