Wayne Bennett, coach of the St George Illawarra Dragons, is in the media at the moment because it’s ‘Finals Time’ and the Dragons are one of the favorites to take out the title.
To Wayne, winning isn’t everything. “I’ve always been able to live with failure but I’ve never been able to live with not doing the best that I could. I didn’t care whether I won or lost I just cared how good I did.” That coming from the modern game’s greatest coach!!
Wayne describes his day, no matter what the result of the game. “But you know Justin and Catherine and Elizabeth have all been able to give me that balance when I’ve gone home. I mean Justin doesn’t care whether we won or lost. He doesn’t care about my dramas in life. He needs his dad and he needs to play a game of cricket now, and he needs me to be silly, and he needs me to laugh and cuddle him. I haven’t been able to come home and really brood and be sour and lock myself away. Tried to, but then Justin comes looking for me.”
Justin Bennett suffers from brain damage due to seizures as a baby and requires constant care from Wayne and his wife Trish. Catherine, Wayne’s third child, was born with Arthrogryposis, is a term describing the presence of multiple joint contractures at birth. (A contracture is a limitation in the range of motion of a joint).
Mark Jeffery from Dads4Kids said, “Wayne is a tremendous example of a man who is living his life as a Father first, and everything else is a distant second. Wayne still cares for his son Justin as he shares his time between Wollongong and their family home in Brisbane.”
Mark continues, ”Many men watch the rugby league games and say things like, ‘If I were the coach, I’d do a better job’, but in reality, I don’t think there are many dads out there that are doing a better job than Wayne Bennett - being a fantastic father”.
This Sunday is Fathers Day, and Dads4Kids is urging all Dads to focus on being a Father First - let everything else run a far distant second.
Society
Father first, everything else a distant second
Saturday, 5 September 2009, 9:52 (EST)
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