YOUNG, cheeky, good-looking, laid-back, friendly ... these characteristics are generally anything but prerequisites for a cricket club head coaching job.
But for 22-year-old Adam Heading, it seems to have done the trick.
A dismal performance last season has seen a complete restructure of the club, with Heading's appointment as head coach of the Queanbeyan Cricket Club showing innovation and faith in the talented cricketer's ideals.
"Last year we finished I think bottom of the ladder. From what I hear, no one was having fun, they just weren't enjoying it. You can't expect to come out in the hot sun every weekend and do well if you're not having fun," said Heading.
"I think that the only way you are going to win is if you go out, enjoy it, and come back to the clubhouse and have a good time.
"The focus for this year's group is to maximise the enjoyment levels."
All jokes aside, Heading is a very talented cricketer.
At the age of 17, he was selected in the ACT Comets squad after showing massive potential in the local competition.
A couple of years on, a fallout with the coaching staff resulted in Heading's departure from the area and was awarded a stint with the Sunshine Coast Scorchers team in Queensland.
"The Scorchers was a good experience. I had a lot of injuries which made things hard, but I learnt a lot from the coach up there," said Heading.
A re-selection in the ACT Comets prompted Heading's homecoming, along with the prospect of playing AFL with the Queanbeyan Tigers.
A Queanbeyan junior cricketer from the age of 14, Heading's experience, talent, and youthful exuberance is a recipe for success, says Queanbeyan Cricket Club President Michael Frost.
"He's a champion player who hasn't yet reached his potential. Ability wise he will be the best player in the competition and with his role in the Comets, he has loads of experience," said Frost.
"We selected him as coach because he is so talented, and everyone can relate to him.
"He is very approachable, and people will listen to him because he backs it up on the field.
"We have a young team, so he really is a senior player. He and Coleborne will be very good together.
With big wraps on Heading and the pressure to perform as a player and coach, a lack of cone-placing practice and whistle blowing doesn't bother him.
"Mate, I just copy off what other coaches have done. My old coach on the Sunshine Coast was pretty good and I've borrowed some of his drills, but the main thing is for me to just be innovative and try different things.
"For example, cricketers hate doing fitness work. But you can't expect to score a hundred or bowl 20 overs in a day if you haven't done any fitness work.
"So one of the things I've done this year is toincorporate the fitness element into certain activities such as touch footy. The boys don't even know they're doing it!"
In contrast to Heading's limited coaching experience and Jack-Russell-like hyperactivity, is newly appointed captain, Peter Coleborne.
"Peter has loads of experience. He's been around for a long time and will do well as captain. He's very laid back and takes it all in his stride.
"I think it's also important to have a mixture of age in the club," said Heading.
And a mixture of age they have. As one of the youngest ever Queanbeyan head coaches, Heading is faced with the uncomfortable responsibility of having to tell the old-heads what to do.
"It's really weird," said Heading.
I don't know if it's because my old-man told me to respect my elders or whatever. But everyone has been pretty good about it and things are running smoothly.
"You just have to bring it back to enjoyment. You have to get people's egos out of the way and remember that it's just a sport."
Heading will lead his club for the first time as they take on the ANU in the opening of the Konica Cup.
"I think we'll do pretty well, it has been a very different approach to previous years, so in a way, anything could happen.
"We have a few good young players coming up, but we are still rebuilding after losing a stack of players a few years back," said Heading.
"To be honest with you, I'm not hugely worried about wether we win or lose. If we give it a go and come off with a smile on our faces, I'll be happy."
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