Celebrating Coaching Excellence at Brookes

What are the critical success factors that have contributed to the success of Brookes? The book identifies a dozen key areas which include:

Continuity and careful recruitment of leaders – Richard Spratley was the driving force in the early days, then the glue and facilitator as the club expanded and he stepped back somewhat from front-line coaching. Recruiting from within Brookes (including Bailhache-Webb, Tebb and Sheppard) helped to cement the culture, but Spratley’s pragmatic approach means also being open when an opportunity arises to get someone top-class from outside (Haining and Gulliver). We often see leaders who don’t know when to let go, or to bring in outside help, but Spratley’s management of the transition to Bailhache-Webb taking over as head coach was exemplary. There are not many people who can look at someone else and say ‘yeah, he might actually be better than me at that’, even though they have done the ‘that’ very successfully for 15 years. (Taken from 'Oxford Brookes - A Sporting Miracle'. (Photograph ©AllMarkOne)