GAZING
AHEAD
WORDS Jessica Gadd
The roar of the crowd was deafening as Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze led the way into the stadium at the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
His father Lindsay felt an uncharacteristic welling of emotion as he watched his son waving the Australian flag.
In a career that began for Andrew at age five, there have been many emotional moments for the Gazes, but this was one of the highlights. It was Andrew’s fifth and final Olympics.
‘Participating in the Olympic Games is certainly a tremendous honour’, Andrew says. ‘The opportunity to travel the world and play and live in countries like Italy and Greece and the United States, to compete on virtually every continent in the world—they are all significant highlights. But the Olympics ... it doesn’t get any greater than that.’
Andrew Gaze is undoubtedly one of Australia’s greatest sporting heroes. He seems to have made breaking and setting new records his life’s work, including the highest point score in Olympic history plus four world championships. Lindsay Gaze is also one of Australia’s sporting greats. He has played in three Olympic Games and coached the Australian team in four.
The father/son duo’s commitment to basketball is based on values such as fair play and ‘what’s best for the sport’. Lindsay is especially well known for his focus on finding balance in all things. People he has coached recall his advice that the key to success is managing the balance between sport, education and socialising.
‘My observations were that you could always manage two out of these three and be good at it’, he says. ‘But it is extremely rare that you are able to do all three concurrently, so something is going to give.’
Lindsay has seen players trying to straddle these three elements, and even sometimes employment too. He has seen some disastrous results for people who try to juggle too much. The point is clear: you can only do so much, so make a conscious choice about what it is you wish to do well.
But where does family fit in to Lindsay’s three elements of a balanced life? Part of the Gaze secret may well be that family is not seen as something to ‘fit in’. Family is seen as central to everything, and always comes first.
‘It’s not just a matter of fitting your family in, it’s a matter of your family being involved in what you do. In our family we all share in each other’s goals and aspirations and try to do what we can to assist each other’, Andrew explains.
Lindsay concedes that some sacrifices had to be made to accommodate work and home. But he believes they managed a good balance despite this. ‘My children had to sit up later than normal so I could help them with their homework, but we always worked out a way of doing that. And how fortunate am I as a parent to get to play with my children every day of my life! Growing up together [with my family] has been a wonderful life experience.’
Lindsay believes his children were lucky to grow up with ‘the best playground in the world’, at Albert Park. ‘There was basketball, tennis, badminton, squash, table tennis, rowing, golf ... when you are there all the time you tend to take it for granted. It wasn’t until they got into the real world that they realised their childhood had been somewhat privileged.’
Andrew recalls being surprised when friends came around and were scared or couldn’t sleep because of the noise. ‘Not too many kids lived with a nine-court basketball stadium in their back yards! Going to sleep I’d hear the whistles from the basketball court, or the hitting of the shuttlecock, or the screeching of cars out the back, or the people trying to run around the back of our house trying to find a way to sneak into the basketball stadium.’
Lindsay’s own childhood was not so privileged, but he believes he still learned what counts, including a commitment to physical activity. ‘My parents separated when I was very young but my mother always encouraged us to have a go at everything, and we did. I rarely had the fare money to catch a tram to school so I had just as much fun jogging to school.
‘I find it interesting now to see VicHealth promoting the concept of the walking school bus, where kids walk to school collecting their mates along the way, the same way a school bus would. There are signs that this is a growing program and I am very encouraged by that because I know the benefits of it myself, because that’s what I did.’
Lindsay believes that competitive sport is a good avenue for young people to learn about life, and for this reason it is an important part of the school curriculum.
‘Through sport the elements of competition and winning and losing and recognising the difference is a way in which you learn from failure. This can be the basis of what steps you have to take next in order to improve, and it can be applied to every aspect of your life’, he says.
Andrew says that the health benefits of sport are indisputable. ‘There are some great social benefits as well. I also think that sport helps in establishing goals through its competitive nature, competing and trying to test your limits.’
Both men love their roles as fathers and in particular the journey they take together with their families. Within their father/son relationship they value their sense of companionship, but also the highs and lows they have experienced together.
‘It is just great to have the opportunity to share your life with your family’, Andrew says.
And while the Gazes have had plenty of highs, they have also had their share of lows. Andrew has faced life-threatening illness several times, once with a near-fatal blood clot (that still can be a handicap for him when he is under pressure) and more recently with a streptococcal infection.
‘[At these times] you find support with your family. My Dad and Mum and sister have played a very significant role ... My Dad is very rational and logical and he is able to provide guidance in difficult times, to help you remain positive and perhaps turn around a difficult or bleak situation.’
For Lindsay, the tough times have just been part of the parenting turf. ‘You just give whatever moral support you can. Obviously they were very difficult times. But though it is very emotional you can still try to instil optimism: “everything is going to be OK; it is just something that we have to deal with now and get on with it”. These are just some of the things that Andrew has dealt with remarkably well.’
And the Gaze secret to raising happy, well-adjusted children?
‘When you see so many successful and happy people who come from diverse cultures and environments I don’t think that there is one particular formula for raising kids ... But I hope that my children will develop a passion for something like I did. It may be piano, it may be work, it may be school, whatever—I hope that they will find their own way. I also think it is important to provide them with the opportunity to experience as many things as they possibly can.’
Andrew believes that by providing children with opportunities to find out about themselves, parents can aid their child’s process of self discovery, and learn a lot more about their children along the way. This helps parents to provide support, direction and encouragement. Lindsay agrees.
‘The better you understand your children the better you can help them progress toward their goals’, Lindsay says. ‘Children usually set their goals at a very young age and very often they are not believed by their family or friends or mentors—“No, no, get real, that’s not going to happen, you had better go for something else”—it is very common, I have found this in sport many, many times.’
But an old Sunday School rhyme stops Lindsay short of saying he is proud of Andrew. ‘It goes something like “envy, jealousy, malice and pride, these must never in my heart abide”... So I always have difficulty answering when people ask if I am proud of Andrew. I’m pleased, and supportive, maybe that can be defined as pride, I don’t know.’
Andrew and Lindsay will both remain committed to basketball and the Melbourne Tigers. Lindsay will become Director of Coaching and Programme Development, and Andrew Media Manager. But their first and foremost commitment is to their families.
‘Hopefully parents can provide their children with an environment where it is possible for them to have dreams, and the opportunities to pursue them’, Andrew says.
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