I got this article from AFC website and its rather an interesting read.
Go Stinger
Roo's rapt with Stinger
alan shiell
afc.com.au
2:13:16 PM Wed 9 July, 2003
Adelaide captain Mark Ricciuto has given a sincere, ringing endorsement of Tyson Stenglein – as a man, a footballer and a leader, and even as a potential son-in-law!
Ricciuto, adjudged the Player of the Decade in the Crows’ first 10 years in the AFL, doesn’t waste words or offer faint praise.
When ‘Roo’ speaks, he commands and warrants attention, just as he does when he’s charging forward with a football tucked under his arm. And, typically, he didn’t hold back when asked for an appraisal of ‘Stinger’ Stenglein, Adelaide’s classy young ‘minder’ who is still thriving on the challenges and responsibilities associated with being a five-year AFL player.
“He’s certainly a player I don’t have to worry about in his preparation for a game,” Ricciuto said. “He’s always spot-on. He’s very professional, he’s very disciplined, he’s very thorough in his preparation. He’s a very consistent footballer.
“Stinger’s form is always good. He’s one of those players you like to play alongside of because he’s tough and hard, and he gets the job done all the time. As the old saying goes, ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going.’ He’s one of those players.
“He’s been a pleasure to play with the whole way through his career. He’s got better and better, and he’s still got a lot of improvement in his game. He’s a natural leader, he’s starting to take on a leadership role within the club now and he’s definitely a future leader or a future captain of our footy club if he continues to improve.
“He’s a great bloke, he’s a good mate of mine off the field as much as on the field, too – probably more. The more blokes like him we have around the club, the better. He’s just a genuine nice guy – the type you’d like your daughter to bring home.”
Not a bad vote of confidence from the captain! And Stenglein, without knowing what Ricciuto has said, returns the compliments when asked about what has inspired him at Adelaide.
“I’ve found the leadership group has been really good – Mark Ricciuto’s a good captain and so was Mark Bickley before him, and Ben Hart and Nigel Smart,” he says. “They set a good example for the young guys to follow, the way they train and the way they are so competitive.
“The club has more structure to it now. I feel like I know what I’m doing with a weekly program and in terms of training and times. Gary (Ayres) has been good like that and also playing-wise as well – the structure in how we play. I’ve found it easy to adapt to.
“I think my role’s got better over time. I’m enjoying it a lot. It’s a role I probably wouldn’t to play for my whole career – as a tagger on the opposition’s best midfielder every week, because I think you’d just burn out.
“But I definitely could see it evolving into something where you did it in certain games. I suppose I’m just picking up a lot of tools at the moment, trying to learn the midfield craft, because I was at full back for quite a number of years.
“I find with tagging and especially playing in the midfield, it’s a long season, and I’ve found in the past you’re going to have ups and downs. But you have to try to keep the graph at a steady position so there’s not too much difference between your best and worst performances.
“I follow a routine now and I’m becoming a bit more relaxed in the lead-up to games. When you’re younger and just starting, I suppose you’ve already played half the game before you get to the ground.”
Stenglein, 23 on July 16, names Brisbane captain Michael Voss and Collingwood skipper Nathan Buckley as the toughest opponents in his 72 AFL matches since his debut in 1999.
“They’re almost complete players – they’re good in all aspects of the game,” he says. “You’ve just got to try to play well yourself because they’re going to get the ball. You’re not going to negate them that much. You just have to try to minimize their effectiveness.”
Stenglein inherited his ball skills and athleticism from his German father, Dieter, who was an accomplished Munich handball player, and his English mother, Colleen, who was a cross-country runner.
Western Australian football officials thought highly enough of Stenglein to appoint him captain of WA’s under-16s and then WA’s under-18 team at the national championships in Adelaide in 1998 – with Josh Carr, Troy Longmuir and Des Headland as team-mates, and Ken McGregor, Daniel Schell, Matthew Pavlich and Brad Ottens as South Australian opponents.
And Stenglein also played full back for Subiaco in the WAFL, briefly in 1997 and throughout 1998, before Adelaide claimed him with its second pick (No. 29 overall) at the national draft late that year. (The Crows had taken Woodville-West Torrens’ Brett Burton with pick No. 16).
“West Coast told me before the draft they were going to pick me up about No. 50, so it was a bit of a shock,” Stenglein says. “My parents were overseas at the time and I’d just got back from Bali the day before, so it all happened rather quickly. It wasn’t like it was a bad thing. Adelaide had just come off two premierships so it was a pretty exciting time to be coming to the club, and with Malcolm Blight there.
“Mum and Dad were just happy for me getting drafted and to have football as a career. They were sad to see me go (as were his sister, Jennifer, now 19, and step-sister, Jessica, now 10). I suppose if footy didn’t work out, I was just planning on travelling and probably earning a living doing odd jobs.
“It was definitely hard at first, moving away at 18 from friends you’ve grown up with. The first two years were a teething period for me, trying to find my feet. I ended up moving in with a lovely family, Rod and Sue Bax, at Brighton. They took me under their wing for just over a year. It was a good family environment – Lance Picioane was there, too – and a good stepping stone between moving away from home and moving in with other players – Andrew Eccles, who got traded, and then Kane Johnson, who also left.
“I miss the Perth lifestyle and the beaches. But, having been in Adelaide since I was 18, it’s different when I get back home (to Perth) now, usually only for a couple of weeks at the end of the season.
“Every year I go on a holiday somewhere. I’ve been mostly through Europe ... Spain, the UK, Ireland, Sweden, and I went to the US and Canada a few years ago. We might go to Las Vegas this year.”
Stenglein, who has just bought a unit at Norwood, will visit Sweden again at some stage. He met his girlfriend, Lotten Bang (pronounced Bong), 23, in Perth about 18 months ago when she was on an Australian holiday from Sweden. Lotten is now studying fashion design at an Adelaide business college.
Having dabbled in communications and sports science studies, Stenglein is still unsure of what life holds for him after football. “I’ve just got to find the direction I want to go,” he says. “I’ve just finished a media course. We (some of the Crows) did a media course and public speaking. You go to leadership groups with a few of the guys. You just see areas you could enjoy after footy.
“I usually try to keep my personal life away from football. I like to keep a low profile around town. I’ve noticed it’s been a lot different this year in terms of media commitments. I’d never really had it before this year. It feels kind of weird doing all this stuff and answering questions about my personal life.”
You’re doing well, ‘Stinger’ – on and off the field.
Go Stinger
Roo's rapt with Stinger
alan shiell
afc.com.au
2:13:16 PM Wed 9 July, 2003
Adelaide captain Mark Ricciuto has given a sincere, ringing endorsement of Tyson Stenglein – as a man, a footballer and a leader, and even as a potential son-in-law!
Ricciuto, adjudged the Player of the Decade in the Crows’ first 10 years in the AFL, doesn’t waste words or offer faint praise.
When ‘Roo’ speaks, he commands and warrants attention, just as he does when he’s charging forward with a football tucked under his arm. And, typically, he didn’t hold back when asked for an appraisal of ‘Stinger’ Stenglein, Adelaide’s classy young ‘minder’ who is still thriving on the challenges and responsibilities associated with being a five-year AFL player.
“He’s certainly a player I don’t have to worry about in his preparation for a game,” Ricciuto said. “He’s always spot-on. He’s very professional, he’s very disciplined, he’s very thorough in his preparation. He’s a very consistent footballer.
“Stinger’s form is always good. He’s one of those players you like to play alongside of because he’s tough and hard, and he gets the job done all the time. As the old saying goes, ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going.’ He’s one of those players.
“He’s been a pleasure to play with the whole way through his career. He’s got better and better, and he’s still got a lot of improvement in his game. He’s a natural leader, he’s starting to take on a leadership role within the club now and he’s definitely a future leader or a future captain of our footy club if he continues to improve.
“He’s a great bloke, he’s a good mate of mine off the field as much as on the field, too – probably more. The more blokes like him we have around the club, the better. He’s just a genuine nice guy – the type you’d like your daughter to bring home.”
Not a bad vote of confidence from the captain! And Stenglein, without knowing what Ricciuto has said, returns the compliments when asked about what has inspired him at Adelaide.
“I’ve found the leadership group has been really good – Mark Ricciuto’s a good captain and so was Mark Bickley before him, and Ben Hart and Nigel Smart,” he says. “They set a good example for the young guys to follow, the way they train and the way they are so competitive.
“The club has more structure to it now. I feel like I know what I’m doing with a weekly program and in terms of training and times. Gary (Ayres) has been good like that and also playing-wise as well – the structure in how we play. I’ve found it easy to adapt to.
“I think my role’s got better over time. I’m enjoying it a lot. It’s a role I probably wouldn’t to play for my whole career – as a tagger on the opposition’s best midfielder every week, because I think you’d just burn out.
“But I definitely could see it evolving into something where you did it in certain games. I suppose I’m just picking up a lot of tools at the moment, trying to learn the midfield craft, because I was at full back for quite a number of years.
“I find with tagging and especially playing in the midfield, it’s a long season, and I’ve found in the past you’re going to have ups and downs. But you have to try to keep the graph at a steady position so there’s not too much difference between your best and worst performances.
“I follow a routine now and I’m becoming a bit more relaxed in the lead-up to games. When you’re younger and just starting, I suppose you’ve already played half the game before you get to the ground.”
Stenglein, 23 on July 16, names Brisbane captain Michael Voss and Collingwood skipper Nathan Buckley as the toughest opponents in his 72 AFL matches since his debut in 1999.
“They’re almost complete players – they’re good in all aspects of the game,” he says. “You’ve just got to try to play well yourself because they’re going to get the ball. You’re not going to negate them that much. You just have to try to minimize their effectiveness.”
Stenglein inherited his ball skills and athleticism from his German father, Dieter, who was an accomplished Munich handball player, and his English mother, Colleen, who was a cross-country runner.
Western Australian football officials thought highly enough of Stenglein to appoint him captain of WA’s under-16s and then WA’s under-18 team at the national championships in Adelaide in 1998 – with Josh Carr, Troy Longmuir and Des Headland as team-mates, and Ken McGregor, Daniel Schell, Matthew Pavlich and Brad Ottens as South Australian opponents.
And Stenglein also played full back for Subiaco in the WAFL, briefly in 1997 and throughout 1998, before Adelaide claimed him with its second pick (No. 29 overall) at the national draft late that year. (The Crows had taken Woodville-West Torrens’ Brett Burton with pick No. 16).
“West Coast told me before the draft they were going to pick me up about No. 50, so it was a bit of a shock,” Stenglein says. “My parents were overseas at the time and I’d just got back from Bali the day before, so it all happened rather quickly. It wasn’t like it was a bad thing. Adelaide had just come off two premierships so it was a pretty exciting time to be coming to the club, and with Malcolm Blight there.
“Mum and Dad were just happy for me getting drafted and to have football as a career. They were sad to see me go (as were his sister, Jennifer, now 19, and step-sister, Jessica, now 10). I suppose if footy didn’t work out, I was just planning on travelling and probably earning a living doing odd jobs.
“It was definitely hard at first, moving away at 18 from friends you’ve grown up with. The first two years were a teething period for me, trying to find my feet. I ended up moving in with a lovely family, Rod and Sue Bax, at Brighton. They took me under their wing for just over a year. It was a good family environment – Lance Picioane was there, too – and a good stepping stone between moving away from home and moving in with other players – Andrew Eccles, who got traded, and then Kane Johnson, who also left.
“I miss the Perth lifestyle and the beaches. But, having been in Adelaide since I was 18, it’s different when I get back home (to Perth) now, usually only for a couple of weeks at the end of the season.
“Every year I go on a holiday somewhere. I’ve been mostly through Europe ... Spain, the UK, Ireland, Sweden, and I went to the US and Canada a few years ago. We might go to Las Vegas this year.”
Stenglein, who has just bought a unit at Norwood, will visit Sweden again at some stage. He met his girlfriend, Lotten Bang (pronounced Bong), 23, in Perth about 18 months ago when she was on an Australian holiday from Sweden. Lotten is now studying fashion design at an Adelaide business college.
Having dabbled in communications and sports science studies, Stenglein is still unsure of what life holds for him after football. “I’ve just got to find the direction I want to go,” he says. “I’ve just finished a media course. We (some of the Crows) did a media course and public speaking. You go to leadership groups with a few of the guys. You just see areas you could enjoy after footy.
“I usually try to keep my personal life away from football. I like to keep a low profile around town. I’ve noticed it’s been a lot different this year in terms of media commitments. I’d never really had it before this year. It feels kind of weird doing all this stuff and answering questions about my personal life.”
You’re doing well, ‘Stinger’ – on and off the field.
