WHAT a year it has been for David Teague.

The Senior Coach sat down with Carlton Media to run through all things pre-season as the players prepare for the New Year break.

Here’s the second of his two-part chat.

Miss part one? Click here to read.

You mentioned wanting to always learn. You did some learning over in Harvard: run us through that and what it all involved.

I was really lucky to get the opportunity to go to Harvard. It was pretty intense, they were long days but it was great for me. It forced me to reflect. It was an authentic leadership course. It wasn’t a lot of information: it was more challenging about what makes you who you are and the life experiences that got you to where you are.

To stop for a while, to take myself out of the football program and reflect was something that I really valued. It’s something that I want to add to my lifestyle a little bit more: having the ability to step out of the day-to-day and moment-by-moment activities and just reflect on what I’m doing well and how I can get better. I want to continue to become a better coach, a better father, a better husband, a better person. 

When you left to go over to the States, I’m sure you had full confidence that you left the Club in capable hands with the assistant coaches.

Dale Amos sat in the coach’s seat but having said that, all of the coaches stepped up. They were outstanding: I didn’t hear from them! I gave them a direct message that I believe in them: I knew they could get the job done and they knew they could get the job done. They did, they did a great job.

I was pretty conscious that I was hoping not to hear from them, because it was only going to be an issue if I heard from them. I was pretty happy I didn’t. From all reports, the standards continued, they stayed high and I’m really lucky that I’ve got a number of coaches that could’ve stepped up. I know all of the other coaches supported Dale as they’ve been supporting me. 

You ask any player who they’ve been impressed by and Will Setterfield and Zac Fisher keep bobbing up. What are they doing so well?

They’re understanding what’s required to be the best they can be. Right now, that’s a professional athlete. They’re slowly understanding and they both had really good off-seasons. They were motivated to come back in the best nick they could be and to turn that into football: you can come back in really good physical condition but they’ve come back to be really good footballers.

Getting fit has allowed them to then move that across into football: their skills and the way they’re competing has allowed them to step up. But they’re not alone. There are those guys that have been mentioned but I could easily name 15 more who are impressing me with the way they’ve stepped up. It’s a great start, but it’s only a start. We’ve got a lot of hard work to come, we’ve got a lot of growth in us and we’ve got to get better.

We finished third-last. We’ve got to improve more than most. That’s the reality. That’s going to be the hard bit, but what I’ve liked so far is that the players understand that it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be difficult and they’re approaching that and tackling that challenge head-on. As a coach, that’s all we can we ask for.

 At Harvard, you mentioned there was the discussion about what got you to where you were in regards to your life journey. Do you reflect back on the 12 months that has been your life in 2019?

I do and I am grateful — I am extremely grateful for the opportunity. I sit back and I feel for ‘Bolts’: I think he did a lot right here. I’m excited by the group that I’ve got and the values that have been instilled in them from the previous coaches and administrators. It has allowed me to reap a lot of the rewards.

I’m very grateful for that, I’m extremely grateful for the way the players and coaches have embraced where the Club is at and where they’re going and really trying to own it. They’re trying to make it happen, not just wait or hope for it to happen. I do think about the year a lot. I think I’ve been very lucky. I’m loving what I’m doing at the moment.

As a person, that’s pretty cool to come to work with 100 motivated people across the playing group and support staff that are all out to achieve.

If you’re “grateful” for 2019, are you excited for 2020?

I am bloody excited. The way the players have turned up and are attacking all of the challenges thrown at them, the way the staff have supported each other including myself has been outstanding. I can’t wait.

I still remember the feeling of the fans cheering at the games and I can’t wait for our playing group to continue that and to really excite our fans, to allow them to express their passion for this football club.

I know our players are doing a lot of hard work at the moment and I know our supporters will really appreciate that when we turn that into performances.