Tenor the best inspres the Cats!
Perth Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson wants his players to channel the attributes of one of the world’s most acclaimed opera singers to underpin their tilt at an NBL title defence.
Gleeson revealed to thewest.com.au that he gathered the team in a room last year and played concert footage of the legendary Luciano Pavarotti, who died in 2007, before they launched into their championship-winning grand final series. He said he again wanted them to embrace Pavarotti’s passion for the big stage as they start their semi-final series against Cairns.
He said he had initially introduced them to the tenor’s live work to spark them out of a minor form slump.
“We were going through a bit of a funk,” Gleeson said.
“I thought I’d change it up a bit, so I got a video tape of Luciano Pavarotti and put it on in our video room. The guys were just looking around wondering what was going on while Pavarotti was singing this ballad. They were getting a bit embarrassed while they were watching it and I asked them why they thought I put it on.
“They thought it might have been how he was working with the orchestra as a team, which was a good idea. But I said, ‘Just look at him perform, he’s got the vein popping out, he’s sweating, he’s given it his all and after it he’s spent’. That’s how we want to play - as soon as that buzzer goes, we walk off the court and we’ve given everything we’ve got.
“We look at the scoreboard, if we’ve been good enough we celebrate and if not, we shake a man’s hand and say, ‘Well done, you beat me today, I’ll see you next time’. We owe our fans, we owe them a performance like a Pavarotti to get out there and give our best.”
Gleeson said he was proud of the way his individual players had represented a brand he recognised was strong before he was recruited from the eastern States to lead the team. He demanded his players be part of a values-driven team.
“It’s how you carry yourself as a professional athlete off the court and what we represent in WA,” he said.
“The Wildcats have a great name in Australia-wide basketball and we want to be the best organisation not only on the court, but off the court. The good thing is, Perth gives you the resources to do what you believe. That worked out well last year and hopefully it works out well again this year.
“We’re building something bigger and better and I’m pretty brutal because that’s the way we want to stand.”
He also promised to one day soon, head out onto the CBD streets with Wildcats fans to celebrate a big win.
“Even on the drive home, you’re guaranteed to see a couple of hundred people in the red shirts,” he said.
“I’d really like to one day just go out after the game and see everyone at the pubs having a beer after a win. Just to go out and see the energy out there in the streets because from all reports it’s fantastic. The Red Army support, it’s invaluable to us and something we hopefully never take for granted.”
