THE now iconic Dean Boxall moment, channel his inner Ultimate Warrior, in pure celebration is a tilt to coaches everywhere. They are too often unsung heroes in sporting glory but the ones too often taking the heavy blows in sporting disappointment.
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Veteran rowing coach Bill Gribble says he could hardly help but have a Boxall moment of his own when Ballarat Grammar rowing export Lucy Stephan captured Olympic gold in the women's four this week.
While Boxall had guided his charge Ariarne Titmus all the way to Tokyo and was poolside for her breakthrough 400m freestyle win, Gribble said he was proud to have played a "small part" on Stephan's journey.
Gribble hoped the greatest lesson he could offer his rowers was to have fun.
At the same time for coaches, there is finding the balance between what Boxall has termed "the author of her pain" - guiding and pushing athletes in striving to achieve their best at the highest levels they can reach, whether this be school rowing or an Olympics.
The Boxall moment is unleashing elation at what has been years in the making.
Gribble was instrumental in teaching Stephan how to row in her senior years at Grammar, arriving as a boarder from a Wimmera town with no water. He has continued to check in on her progress since, even in her time in Tokyo.
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Ballarat Miners coach Brendan Joyce admits he was emotional about Boomer Patty Mills carrying the Australian flag into the stadium with swimmer Cate Campbell for the Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Joyce spent time with Mills in Beijing 2008, when Mills made his Olympic debut and Joyce was a Boomers' assistant coach.
There was great pride for Joyce to see how far Mills had come, as a athlete and as a great ambassador for Australia and the nation's Indigenous Peoples.
Ballarat can boast a wealth of coaches who have helped build, or who are on the ground with athletes in Tokyo.
Experienced middle-distance coach Rod Griffin must wait until next week for Eureka runner Stewart McSwain, now under high-profile coach Nic Bideau, to hit the track in red-hot form for the 1500 metres. McSwain is a proud Tasmanian who fine-tuned his racing during his time as a Ballarat Clarendon College boarder.
Lindsay Burgoyne was clear he had trouble keeping his emotions in check when Kathryn Mitchell was javelin gold in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Burgoyne, who was in the stands for the final, was instrumental in helping encourage Mitchell to move from Casterton to Ballarat High School to develop her athletics career.
He has said he has long been a student of Mitchell, who is set for her third Olympic Games.
Ballarat badminton Olympian Stuart Brehaut is in Tokyo as the Australian head coach for his sport while Ballarat's coaching contingent also includes former St Patrick's College rower Paul Reedy at the helm of the British rowing squad.
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Joyce said coaching in an Olympics is long hours and hard work long before the Games - but it was part of the job.
As an assistant coach in 2004 and 2008, Joyce's days would often start at 7.30am and finish at midnight in scouting, reporting on rivals and planning how the Boomers could combat this. Reports in those days, Joyce said, were handwritten and not the instant online records available now.
As head coach for the Opals in 2016, Joyce was in the box seat for shaping a strong medal chance - then dealing with the backlash from national expectations in the Opals' shock quarter-final exit.
People tended to forget the world championships and Commonwealth Games efforts on the path to the Olympics.
It was both gruelling but rewarding as a coach for Joyce, especially now seeing the likes of Ezi Magbegor and Alanna Smith pushing through the ranks and knowing he helped play a part of their journey.
Joyce said the great difference between an Olympics and World Cup competition was sharing the stage and mixing with the best athletes from a wide field of sports, getting to know their coaches and ultimately looking to celebrate and commiserate in their efforts.
This is the Olympics, the world's greatest sporting stage and all those who have help shape an athlete on the journey deserve a Boxall moment or two.
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