Shifting clubs to take on a coaching role would take most people out of their comfort zone - but Blake Dean doesn't really seem to have one of those.
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For someone that has spent the past two seasons trying to revolutionise the game as an ambidextrous cricketer, jumping ship was an easy way to make the next move in his career.
Dean will lead Western District-UC for the first time in their Cricket ACT Gallop Cup opener against Tuggeranong Valley at Jamison Oval on Saturday.
The 31-year-old has linked up with Wests as head coach after bringing down the curtain on a successful stint at Weston Creek Molonglo with a Douglas Cup triumph last season.
Dean is relishing the challenge of leading Wests and says their standing as one of the region's strongest clubs made Jamison Oval an ideal place to launch his coaching career.
"At the end of last year after all the success we had at Weston Creek, I just wanted, as a player and as a person, wanted a new challenge for myself," Dean said.
"I had a think about what I want to do and I really want to go back down that road of coaching. Now I’m 31, I want to pursue that and learn as much as I can about coaching. The opportunity came up at Wests, I had a few chats about coaching the club and I took it.
"I’ve played against Wests in like eight grand finals, so I’ve got a lot of experience playing against them and obviously with them at ACT level.
"I think going to Wests, who have been a successful club over the last 10 to 15 years, will help me learn as much as I can about myself and my coaching role, and I can really develop as a coach as well as a player."
Dean's progress over the past two seasons has been tracked by a documentary dubbed The Southpaw Project, which will continue this season.
The former Sydney Thunder player has a Cricket ACT player of the year medal to his name but he sent shockwaves around the competition two seasons ago when he decided to play left-handed.
He did it in a bid to change the cricketing landscape and prove it's possible to play as an ambidextrous cricketer - last season he returned to first grade doing just that.
"Now I’ll start to put those left and right together this year and find the best way of playing as a player," Dean said.
"Also, one of my main priorities is obviously helping Wests do the best they can all through the grades, and really developing my coaching skills with them.
"This year, fingers crossed, I’ll be lucky enough to play Twenty20s for Canberra again in the [Sydney Twenty20 Cup]. Given the opportunity, I’ll be able to show my skills and show what I’ve learnt.
"But this year I’ve learnt more of a mixture of both, whereas last year was 90 per cent left-handed and 10 per cent right-handed. This year you’re looking at going 50-50 depending on the situation, I’ll try and use the skills to help win games."
CRICKET ACT - GALLOP CUP
Saturday: Queanbeyan v Ginninderra at Freebody Oval, Weston Creek Molonglo v Eastlake at Stirling Oval, Western District-UC v Tuggeranong Valley at Jamison Oval, North Canberra-Gungahlin v ANU at ANU North Oval. All games at 10am.
