GIVEN his talent for big, aggressive, hitting Jono Dean has played alongside and against some of cricket's big names, but last week the Bathurst talent was taught a lesson about the sport he loves.
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Several lessons actually.
It was not on a pitch playing Twenty20 - Dean's resume including winning a Big Bash League premiership with the Adelaide Strikers - but in a lecture room as he participated in Cricket Australia's High-Performance Coaching program in Brisbane.
Dean was one of just 22 people selected from 90 applicants who attended lectures and engaged in elite training sessions, hearing from and interacting with seasoned coaches as well as current Australian stars like Meg Lanning, Rachael Haynes, Josh Hazlewood and Mitch Marsh.
"I was lucky enough to be selected. It was fantastic week, I learned a lot and also learned I had a lot to learn," Dean laughed.
"Still a lot of it is sinking in, it was a lot of content. It was a week long and most of the time you were in a classroom type set up.
"We did get out and plan and run a session for the Aussie A and under 19s squad which was there, so that was cool, we had more coaches than players. The whole thing was designed to test us and throw us in the deep end and I really enjoyed it."
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While it was a select group who took part in the program at the National Cricket Centre, Dean was not the only Bathurst talent present.
Lisa Griffith, a current NSW Breakers and Sydney Thunder contracted player, also participated.
"I had some good chats with Lisa while I was away ... I think I might have met her once before when she was really little, but her Dad coached me in the Western Zone under 14s, under 16s back in the day," Dean said.
"So I knew who she was and it was good to get to know her. She's still playing obviously, but it was good for her to get involved as one of five females in the program."
Unlike Griffith, Dean is now scaling back his playing commitments. Though he still plans to play some Twenty20 and one-day matches, coaching is something he is putting a greater emphasis on.
He already has experience, having held club captain-coaching roles in grade cricket, done some private tuition and "dipped his toes in the water" with the ACT Meteors last season.
But attending the Cricket Australia program saw Dean's desire to coach on a higher level deepen.
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"The cricket side of it comes naturally to me, but what was really eye-opening to me was the education and teaching aspect of coaching," he said.
"At that high performance level you'd assume the cricket knowledge is pretty decent, but it's how you deal with and understand people and how you get the best out of them by creating environments which suit their needs.
"I always knew that I wanted to coach, but getting a better understanding of what it would take at a higher level, I think it has fuelled the fire.
"It confirmed what I already knew, my want to do it, it's just about me working out what is going to be my way, my philosophy in coaching and that's going to need to evolve in time.
"Obviously with not playing, it looks like a good opportunity to transition from player to coach."
