Melbourne United Switch Things Up

Having now spent the good part of 6 months apart, Melbourne United staff and player meetings started to sound somewhat the same each week - “What have you been up to?” “Not much, just been staying at home.” So, CEO Vince Crivelli decided it was time to switch things up.

The question of “what is it that you would like to learn or explore more of during lockdown” was raised with the players and staff, and it was Assistant Coach Justin Schueller who mentioned he was always intrigued by the high-pressure working environment of a hospitality kitchen.

Crivelli organised for Stephen Nairn, Executive Advisory Chef of LK Hospitality and head chef at Omnia Bistro to join the Melbourne United players and staff on a Zoom call to hear how he works in a high stress, high pressure environment.

Through discussions the group were able to find countless parallels between a kitchen team and a basketball team - both elite team units with a cohesive structure, working towards a common goal - no one man the hero. Stephen’s immense passion for cooking and teamwork jumped through the screen and left a lasting impression on the group.

GM of Community & Outreach, Kylie Hitchiner, indicated to the group that she would like to learn techniques in order to be more mindful. The following week Michael Luscombe, a practitioner at the School of Philosophy with over 20 years’ experience, spoke to the group to explore the practices of meditation, resilience, mindfulness and awareness. The group was taken through some quick and easy meditation routines as Michael shared his wisdom and advice on being more mindful in your day to day life.

On the most recent call, the group was educated in basic Japanese, as Melbourne United prepares to welcome Japanese native Yudai Baba into the club. Baba, currently in hotel quarantine in Sydney after arriving in Australia from Japan, also joined in on the call and was incredibly impressed by the effort made by his new club.

“I’m so impressed that my team organised a Zoom meeting of introductory Japanese today” Baba stated via his Twitter account. “I’ll work hard on studying English too.”

In the meantime, Melbourne United’s business networking program, United in Business, took their traditional Connection Sessions online thanks to the increasingly popular feature of Zoom breakout rooms.

The group of over 80 members were able to replicate what would normally be a face to face small group networking session, from the comfort of their own homes.

Another online initiative has been keeping Melbourne United fans active on weekends, as the Melbourne United Superhoodz entertained with their online dance lessons. Four Saturday mornings of free, at-home, hip-hop dance lessons. With over 550 registrations over the four weeks the online dance lessons saw people of all ages dancing around in their living rooms.

As Victoria battles through what is hopefully the last few weeks of what has been a very tough lockdown period, Melbourne United will continue to focus on engagement and innovation to keep fans active and entertained. Stay tuned to Melbourne United’s website and social media for more.