When Nicole Bolton took the job as the SA Scorpions Assistant Coach, she probably didn’t expect to be leading the program in less than three months.
With Head Coach Luke Williams showing his abilities on the world stage, coaching both the Women’s Australia A Ashes side and in The Hundred, with his side London Brave winning the competition, Bolton didn’t have long to settle into life as a coach before taking the reins of training.
Already unexpectedly in a coaching role – Bolton was happy in Perth working at the WA Football Commission post her cricket retirement and hadn’t really given coaching a thought until Williams called her to gauge her interest in this position – Bolton dove head first into life in Adelaide.
Bolton and Williams spent two valuable weeks together when Bolton first began the role, learning about the program prior to the players returning from off-season and the two were in regular contact whilst Williams was overseas.
The players returned and Bolton jumped straight into training in what was a full on first three months.
“It's probably one of the hardest things I've ever done in my professional career, but looking back now it's been one of the most rewarding,” Bolton said.
“In a way, it's forced me to come out of my skin a little bit and really try and find myself as a person and the kind of coach I want to be.
“It just means I'm probably going to be a little bit more confident now moving forward and particularly when the season starts.”
Being a recently retired professional cricketer, with Bolton calling time on her career at the end of the WBBL|08 season, certainly helped her transition.
“I wouldn't have been able to get through it without the transferable skills I've developed over time,” Bolton said.
“It's a comfortable environment for me, I like being on the tools – I much enjoy actually throwing balls and being on the ground and having conversations with players and seeing how I can help them.
“The best part of the job is the training sessions, getting everything organised behind the scenes and then you get to see it in its fruition with the girls going out and delivering it, it's actually really rewarding.”
The South Australian women’s program has been one of the most successful in the last few years and it was quickly obvious to Bolton why.
“They're so professional, probably the one of the hardest working groups I've seen and they actually really care about each other,” she said.
“They’ve come through the pathways and played a lot of cricket together and the girls that they've brought in from the eastern states add a lot of value.
“But the things that stick out is that they just constantly want to improve and they've got a really good growth mindset and they work bloody hard.
“I can't really fault their attitude and application. They really drive their values as well which is pretty cool for a group.
“With where the group is at, it's been quite successful over the last couple of years and has really strong leadership with Luke, I think that it's been a good move and a good decision for me to immerse myself into a pretty strong program.”
Now, Bolton is getting used to being a coach on the sidelines, with recent trial games up on the Sunshine Coast being her first opportunity.
“On the Sunny Coast, I was almost like a nervous mum watching my girls play!” Bolton laughed.
“You invest so much time, they invest so much time, you just want to see them do well.
“I think I'll probably find it more nerve wracking being a coach than a player because I can't impact the game from a physical sense, but I can still impact leading into the game.
“But when the game's happening, I've just got to relax and sit back so that’ll be something new I reckon.”
The Scorpions went into the camp with a ‘learn and grow’ mindset as opposed to just being performance focused and despite trying some new aspects of game play, still came away with two out of three wins.
One of those was against the reigning champions Tasmania, the first time in a few years the Scorpions have got a win over one of their big rivals.
Highlights included a Bridget Patterson century against Tasmania, the three Scorpions recruits Courtney Neale, Anesu Mushangwe and Eleanor Larosa all contributing with the ball, Ella Wilson’s pace and some great tail batting from Sam Betts and fellow bowlers.
However, Bolton said the sides’ fielding was the biggest positive, with their fielding ability “going to another level.”
With everyone contributing on the Sunshine Coast, now the biggest task for Bolton and the coaching staff will be picking the 11 who will play in Round One against ACT at Karen Rolton Oval.
“You've got a genuine list of 18 players that could play for South Australia,” Bolton said.
“There’s going be some really disappointed players but thinking long term, everyone is going to have an opportunity across the season and it's a really good problem to have.
“We kick into game mode now and I just can’t wait, it’s the best time of year.”
The Scorpions first round against the ACT is on Friday, September 22 and Sunday, September 24 at Karen Rolton Oval, with entry free for the public.