On behalf of the Victoria Police, I wish to extend my sincere thanks for your contribution to the Superintendents Conference at Kalorama on 14th August 2008.

There are a number of common synergies shared between AFL Football and policing.  The ability to develop a team, provide leadership, the ability to adapt and overcome adversity are some of the key attributes Victoria Police seek to develop in its people and are equally applicable in a sporting environment .

Strong community partnerships have provided the very foundation and support for many of our innovative strategies.

Your insights into initiating and managing change and setting organisational direction in a demanding operating environmental were thought provoking and insightful.

I would like to thank you for providing the Superintendents with your insight into these and other key areas of personal and team development.  I am sure that they have found your views most enlightening.

Christine Nixon
Chief Commissioner of Police
APM

“I have only been at North Melbourne FC for six months however in that time, we have undergone major staffing and structural changes within the administration. Accordingly, when I turned to Denis Pagan to assist with a leadership and team building session, the majority of my staff had only been at the Club for a very short time. Denis took charge of a group that included senior management, executive staff and junior employees. The diversity of the group in terms of age, experience and skill set was challenging to say the least.

The presentation by Denis was truly inspiring. His thought provoking statements and philosophies about what drives individuals and organisations to be the best were compelling and inspirational. His address was captivating and demanded attention. His ability to merge sporting achievements, personal and team success with an executive driven message about leadership, loyalty and honesty was refreshing and clearly made an impact with his audience. The subsequent workshop on personal qualities and improvement provided an interesting and honest exercise in team building. I found it particularly useful as I learned more about my staff in three hours than I had known in the previous six months. More importantly, each and every one of my staff now know what we need to do and how we need to conduct ourselves in order to succeed as a team.

During my twenty five years of professional life I have attended countless planning meetings, strategic sessions and leadership courses. I consider the team building and leadership program provided by Denis Pagan to be one of the best I have ever been a part of and I know that every one of my staff will build on the messages delivered by Denis to make a difference for the better, both personally and for the North Melbourne Football Club “

Eugene Arocca
Chief Executive Officer
North Melbourne Football Club.

"Denis Pagan has been one of the foremost AFL coaches in the past generation, while premierships are important the most important things he left with each of his charges was the philosophy that integrity, honesty, toughness and hard work are the fundamental ingredients to success."

Bill Kelty
AFL Commissioner

"A Coaching career spanning 28 years, 19 Grand Finals for 12 Premierships. A unique record of success achieved through a tough no nonsense uncompromising commitment to team ethic. At North Melbourne in the '90s our players thrived on it."

Ron Joseph
Legendary Administrator
27 years. General Manager,
North Melbourne FC.
Current Director

"Denis Pagan had a massive influence on my career. He taught me discipline and what was required to become a professional in football and in life. His work ethic, positive attitude, and ability to communicate with everyone describe him best. It was a privilege to be coached by him and I will be forever indebted to him."

Brendan Fevola
Carlton FC Full-Forward
2006 Coleman Medallist

"Despite an obvious lack of results amid many other setbacks during the recent tumultuous times at Carlton, Denis would always be the one who would come in Monday focusing on the positives to pick up the football department and direct, manage and lead the group towards the next challenge. He absorbed the brunt of the pressure in sometimes adverse circumstances with his characteristic dogged work ethic, meticulous analysis, resilience and, in the end admirable dignity."

Grant Williams
General Manager - Football
Operations Carlton FC.

"Football is a team sport, yet there has been no bigger influence on the NMFC or my own personal career than Denis Pagan."

Wayne Carey
244 Games North Melbourne FC
Captain, Team of the Century
Four-time Best and Fairest
Dual Premiership player

Denis spoke to a large group of our senior managers from all around Australia and we found his message about what it really takes to create a true team environment and how to go about effectively achieving it, to be very empowering.

Rodd Morgan
National General Manager
Mainfreight Distribution

Denis Pagan goes to the very heart of the challenges faced by all organisations, both large and small.  Denis presents the parallels between business and sport in an entertaining and engaging manner.  He provides new insights into introducing leadership and team rules into your business.

David Trusler
Director
The Faith Agency

To hear Denis speak was truly inspirational and a reminder to us all on connection between life and sporting values.  Fundamentals, personal discipline, how to be the best you can and what really makes the difference…..heard them before?  I doubt it…..not unless you to have been privileged to be in the “Pagan Inner Sanctum”.  This is about the man, the art and the passion……the epitome of team success.

Robert Shaw
General Manager Football Operations
Fremantle Football Club (Previously Fitzroy, Adelaide & Essendon Football Clubs)

Thank you for addressing our group of leading CEO’s and senior managers as part of their executive development.  It was evident from the groups previous weeks discussion prior to your attendance, that whilst they were from different industries their major challenge in today’s fast moving and dynamic business world is people.

I think they were pleasantly surprised at the challenges you spoke of and addressed as a Coach at an elite level, they identified strongly in their own role.

The presentation was fast paced, gave an insight from behind the news headline, which made it so interesting , but also comprised of many ‘parables’ from the world of sport, which each quickly aligned to their own team leadership.

On another level, the group warmed quickly to your own openness and willingness to share not only your successes but also your challenges (This assured them that their situation wasn’t unique)

Everyone today is looking for that competitive edge.  With your influence, looking to elite sport could provide that advantage to many businesses.

Keith Millar
Principal
Leadership Management Australia

From a Management perspective, I found Denis’ message to be extremely powerful.  Not only was he entertaining, but the tips he provided on workplace culture, engaging with your staff and creating unity with your leadership, is something I’ll be able to implement easily for, I believe,  prompt positive change in my office.

Rhett McLennan
Senior Program Co-ordinator
GPA South Gippsland

I am not too sure if you realise what you managed to achieve at our recent Paint & Hardware Legends Club, but it was significant.

Significant, in that your presence increased our usual regular attendance by one third.

Significant, that this increase in attendance boosted our raffle takings, and the modest profit that we make per head in terms of catering etc.

Those funds that we generate are, as you have been made aware, donated to needy children's causes, not to the big charities such as the Children's Hospital appeal, but to individual situations of dire need.

The donation of your valuable time (by way of not accepting the fee that we had on offer), touched us all very much indeed.

Your presentation was first class. . . it came across as inspiring, in that you had proved from the time that you were a young boy that if you keep at it. . . give it everything that you have got. . . be determined, then you can and very likely will succeed in achieving your mission in life, as you did as a footballer at the highest level, and subsequent to that, achieved a very high and respected status as a senior coach of an A.F.L. club in North Melbourne.

I was also most impressed with the extremely relaxed & friendly manner that you adopted in your presentation.

Equally impressed with your ability of name retention, I noticed that you remembered every person's name throughout the day that you met, and you met many.
Your eagerness to answer people's questions demonstrated your desire to satisfy your audience, this can only be interpreted by those in attendance, as a mark of your respect of the audience.

Ron Fletcher
President
Paint & Hardware Legends Club

Denis' presentation was fantastic, it gave me an insight into a man I had always admired, not only by what he had achieved at North Melbourne but perhaps because of what he didn't at Carlton. He was forthright in his achievements and life as a player and coach. I come away from Denis' presentation energised and knowledgeable of his life and of footy in general!

Shannon McFerran
St Albans Captain.
5 time Helen Lambert medallist (VWFL best & fairest), Victorian Vice Captain, All Australian footballer

Thought he was very good with his presentation. Really gave a personal account of his time in football, didn't seem to hold back any information. Very positive in what he said, always looking  for the best in players. Interesting comments about feedback from players to coaches. Enjoyed his presentation. 

John Booker
VWFL umpire
Western Region Football League Life member. 

Meeting with our playing group was a huge success. Rarely do they get the opportunity to meet and learn form somebody with his credentials.  Sharing his vast experience and knowledge of the game with our group, has seen them not only play better, but their leadership qualities have risen to a new level, both on and off the field.  We are coming!

Adrian Campbell
Coach Leongatha FC
Ex player Western Bulldogs FC
Ex player Melbourne FC

Denis Pagan was a guest speaker at a dinner that we recently held in Hobart.  His witty sense of humour and honesty gave the audience an insight into his personality from an unbiased point of view.

 Denis was able to transport the audience to days gone by from the time that he played football until his first coaching position.  You could feel his excitement as if it were your own.

As a coach, Denis has mentored a number of AFL greats.  He was open and frank in regards to the relationships he holds with Wayne Carey and Glen Archer.  His ability to answer the hard questions honestly and from the heart was the highlight of the night.

Chris Hawkins
Director
Chris Hawkins Promotions

The keys to success in any part of your sporting, personal and professional life are many. Denis' ability to teach the values of discipline, recognising your core values, setting realistic goals and the building of teams is second to none.
That Denis travelled to Foster for the Gippsland Coaches Association to address coaches in these areas, speaks volumes for his dedication and desire to help interested people to achieve great things. For anybody to be able to use this website and have access to such powerful material is an opportunity not to be missed.

Rob Reid
AFL Victoria Development Manager
East Gippsland Region

I recently engaged the services of Denis Pagan to speak with the players of the Templestowe Football Club.    What was most impressive about this highly motivated and successful person/coach was his ability to immediately engage the group (ranging from ages 18 to 30) with his wisdom, open and honest demeanour and, sometimes cheeky 'wit'.   A highly skilled and polished speaker, Denis held the concentration and interest of the room by relating true stories of success and failure (many of his own) and challenged his audience to reflect on the core values of successful teams such as unity, truth, respect and leadership.  As Denis was able to gain the confidence of the player group very quickly he identified some core issues surrounding our recent poor performances and lack of confidence.  He challenged the group to address the issues and provided us with some practical 'problem solving' strategies.    As a result of Denis's presentation, the players seem re-invigorated and have that 'sense of purpose'  back.    From a personal point of view, Denis employed to me the importance of regularly practicing and performing the basic skills of your trade.  I could have listened to Denis for many more hours, and couldn't thank him enough for the time, passion and effort he afforded us.    I, and the team have already implemented a number of Denis's strategies and will continue to remind each other - "If its worth doing, then its worth doing it properly"    

Paul Breen
Senior Coach
Templestowe Football Club