Chris Strohfeldt, Coal Services’ Southern Mines Rescue Station manager, believes you can put an old head on young shoulders. Strohfeldt and his crack team of Mines Rescue Trainers put the Steelers Harold Matthews U17s through their paces during their Round 2 bye over the weekend, pushing them to their limits and bringing out their best through a series of team-building exercises.
Divided into small groups, activities included a firefighting drill, a Compressed Air Breathing Apparatus-assisted underground gallery escape, and a Virtual Reality underground mine tour.
“We tried to focus on teamwork, connection, and some life skills for these young men,” Strohfeldt said.
“They are coming into the real world, and mine rescue is a lot about practical skills you can use in life.
“The first aid, firefighting, and some of the general life skills they learned will hopefully give them a start somewhere or help them out in a situation.”
“They make some mistakes, but they’re kids, so they are resilient, bounce back, fix their mistakes, have a go, and ask questions. It’s been really good to watch.”
Staying connected
The experience was a small part of the training every coal miner in the district goes through to refresh their skills once a year. Strohfeldt believes it will put the young Steelers in good stead on the footy field and in life.
“Firefighting, first aid, and underground escape techniques. Every coal miner in the district trains on that.”
“If they come across someone who is hurt or injured, a little bit of first aid, a bit about defibrillators, or a fire, they know how to use a fire extinguisher.”
Steelers fullback Jack Talbot was appointed leader of his group and had to talk his teammates through a firefighting drill.
“We learned some life skills. Teamwork and communication are key,” the 16-year-old Albion Park junior said.
“Learning to communicate with each other so the message gets heard and we know where to be to help each other.”
Teamwork
Mines Rescue’s Ben Ransley was on hand to guide and critique Talbot’s performance.
“Good captaincy. You talked to your team and explained it really well,” Ransley says.
“If we put a mine rescue team out to do that drill, they probably would do it in a minute. You guys took two minutes.
“Does it matter at end of day? Did you get water on the fire? Did you deal with the problem? Yes.
“Being a good team doesn’t come easy. You’ve got to work hard at it, so you guys had to work hard because it (firefighting drill) was a bit new.
“You were a bit like a fish out of water but came together as a team and did really well.”
Belief
After rotating through all three activities, Harold Matthews captain Lexin O’Dea summarised the experience for his team.
“We learned to trust each other and have each other’s back. Believe in yourself, and if you don’t know, ask a question if you need to.
“We learned some new things we will take into training this week, and I think we will be a different team come Round three.”
The Steelers would like to thank Chris Strohfeldt, Ben Ransley, Aaron Lucas, Rhys James, Mitch Bate, Nick O’Connor and Emma Walters from Coal Services for sharing their knowledge and expertise.
Coal Services is a Specialised Health and Safety Scheme proudly protecting the NSW coal mining industry and its workers for more than 100 years. Mines Rescue is responsible for ensuring that rescue services and equipment are available to respond to and manage emergencies or incidents arising at coal mines in NSW. Coal Services, proud sponsors of the Illawarra Steelers ‘Nursery of Champions’
