Michelle Daw, Yorke Peninsula Country Times
Lessons learned on the footy field that can be applied for success in all facets of life are being shared by high-achieving former footy player and coach Michael Wanganeen.
Now chair of Nharangga Aboriginal Progress Association, Michael has released a book that draws on the lessons he learned through his illustrious football career, his trajectory from farmhand to agency manager, and the education he undertook to grow his skills and knowledge.
“What you learn through sport can be applied through life,” he says, speaking at the NAPA centre in Moonta.
“If you are successful in one sphere, you can be successful in other spheres.”
He says leaders — at work or in sport — should think carefully about how they communicate with their teams.
“It doesn’t matter what environment you are in, if you give them praise for what they are doing, they will feel so chuffed, they will produce even better results,” he says.
“You also get them to understand that they are the only ones that can master their own destiny.”
The book, entitled Education, Employment and Sporting Achievements, traces Michael’s 30-year football career, starting from his early days with Point Pearce Football Club.
At the tender age of 16, he won best and fairest for the Point Pearce A grade in 1962, then played and coached with many South Australian regional teams, including Moonta, North Clare, Blyth and at South Clare, where he was a pivotal member of the premiership teams of 1971 and 1972.
One of the many high points of Michael’s life in football was when he coached the Aboriginal All Stars in their match against the combined Richmond/Sunraysia team at an exhibition match in Mildura in 1983.
The All Stars, which included the Krakouer brothers, Phil and Jim, and 1982 Norm Smith medalist Maurice Rioli, thumped Richmond/Sunraysia 138 points, 37.11 (233) to 14.11 (95).
Michael says one of his coaching secrets was to ensure there were leaders all over the ground, from the backs to the forward line, who could relay his instructions and inspire by example.
In the book, Michael’s coaching skills are praised by Eugene Warrior Snr, a player from the 1987 SA Aboriginal team.
“Michael Wanganeen was able to take a group of individuals from various cultures, playing styles, strengths, weaknesses and mindsets, and some players he had never met, put them in a tumbler and churn out champion teams over many years,” Eugene says.
“That was outstanding quality to possess, and he did it so successfully.”
Michael says he started to learn about football, and what makes people tick, as a small boy growing up at Point Pearce.
“I was propped in the middle of the table between the men of the family while they discussed football while I was still a young child,” he recalls.
“I was also raised by my grandmother to become a proud Nharangga man.
“She instilled in me her belief that education, employment, sport and its subsequent social opportunities would be my route to success.”
After working as a farmhand when he left school, Michael became a first-class linesman with the former Electricity Trust of SA and was later a manager for organisations including the Aboriginal Housing Board and the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement.
During that time, he studied in fields as diverse as community development, industrial relations, legal studies and mental health first aid.
NAPA board member Lisa Weetra says she puts into practice what she learns from Michael and the other board members in her role as an Aboriginal services engagement officer with the Department for Education.
“I’ve been on the NAPA board for nearly three years now and it’s amazing to be surrounded by the Nharangga leaders and Elders,” she says.
“They inspire me and share their Nharangga knowledge and history so that I can also share with other community members or school students.
“I hope I can inspire the young Aboriginal students myself by being a role model for them so they will work hard in school to achieve their goals.”
This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 7 May 2024.
