Fran looking to the future

Fran Wilson is fully committed to Western Storm’s quest to rekindle past glories in the women’s domestic game this summer, but she is also keeping one eye on the future.

A former England international and World Cup winner, the 31-year-old is already putting in the groundwork in preparation for life after cricket.

Not only has she coached in Gloucestershire’s emerging player programme and worked as a media commentator at the women’s World Cup last winter, she has also enrolled in the PCA’s professional coaching level-5 apprenticeship.

As part of her own personal development plan, Fran has stepped outside of her comfort zone to work with players at Bristol Bears Rugby, utilising all of her considerable experience in one sporting code to assist those in another.

“It’s not about cricket coaching, it’s about people coaching and getting the best out of individuals,” she explains.

“I had to get hours to fill my logbook as part of my apprenticeship, so I went along to Bristol Bears and asked ‘do you need a personal development officer?’

“For people who don’t know, that’s someone who works with the players on off-the-field matters. It covers work, school, transitioning out of academies and general personal wellbeing.”

Vice-captain at Storm last season, Wilson is eager to use her own leadership skills to help develop others, no matter what their sporting profession.

She added: “It’s a cool job because it entails being a helpful person and, as such, it’s very rewarding. I’m helping people to make decisions in line with their values and what they want to do. I’m helping them learn all those skills that the platform of sport can give you.

“It didn’t matter that I was coming out of the world of cricket to work in rugby, because what I do involves addressing basic human needs, irrespective of the workplace.

“Martin Cropper, my PCA officer, has been brilliant and he’s helped me in my dealings with the Bears. If I’m stuck for what to say at any time, I can just call him up and he’ll advise me. It’s double edged – I’m helping others while learning and developing myself.”

Although Wilson is a consummate communicator with a warm personality, winning hearts and minds among Bristol’s professional rugby players was by no means a straightforward matter.

“Not everyone buys into the personal development stuff straightaway and it tends to be a slow burner with some, while others simply dig their heels in and refuse to engage,” she explained. “But it’s all about building relationships with people, and once you’ve done that, it becomes easier to cut through. It only takes one player to speak with you and benefit and then go back to their mate and say ‘that was really useful’, to start spreading the word. It’s about building trust and, I’m glad to say, I got there in the end.

“It’s gone so well, that I’m still doing it, working for one day a week with the Bears on a voluntary basis. I’m not ready to retire yet, but this is something I’m thinking of doing after cricket. There are so many different avenues to explore, including coaching and directorship roles. It’s about listening and asking the right questions in order to help people.”

It was also with one eye on the future that Wilson decided to relinquish her role as vice-captain, passing that particular baton onto talented all-rounder Danielle Gibson.

Afforded more time to spread her influence in other directions, she has since been instrumental in establishing a leadership group within the Storm squad with the aim of identifying captains of the future.

Wilson takes up the story, revealing: “We’ve set up what we call the senior leadership team and the idea is to develop influencers for the future. There have always been leadership groups in every team I’ve been involved with, but I don’t think they always worked as well as they could have done.

“I’m keen to use my own experiences over the years to create something that gets things done rather than just paying lip-service. I want us to create leadership moments, whereby players recognise those moments and stand up to be counted rather than passing responsibility up the line to the person above them in the pecking order. I want players here to have the skills to deal with things as and when they happen and to own difficult situations.

“Not only will that help them in the here and now, it should also come in useful later on. Hopefully, they will look back to the things they learned in their time with Western Storm and think ‘that stood me in really good stead’.”

Owing to an injury which sidelined regular skipper Sophie Luff for the first month of the season, Gibson has had an opportunity to put her burgeoning leadership skills to the test in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy.

Wilson added: “I think it’s a good thing for Storm that I stood down and took on another role, because that has cleared the way for others to come through and push themselves forward for leadership roles.

“We don’t want a situation where the likes of myself and Sophie Luff stop playing and leave a void. We have to plan for that day and, in four or five years’ time, be a in a position where we have a choice of new leaders. Dani is one of those we are looking to push and she is doing a really good job since taking over.

“Sophie as captain is more of a tactical head, whereas I am more of a shoulder to cry on, so the likes of Dani are able to learn from two different types of leader and use those characteristics to develop their own style of leadership.

“We’re a democracy and we conducted a group vote to identify a potential leader from each demographic of the squad. There’s a pay-as-you-play player in Isla Thompson, a new professional (Chloe Skelton), a senior pro (Lauren Filer) and then myself to oversee it.”