Blake Dean
When an athlete gets their big break, it's a career-defining moment. The pressure ramps up as self-expectations soar.
In 2014, Blake Dean got a last-minute call-up to the Sydney Thunder for his first Big Bash League match. It was his moment — but after not performing when it mattered, his mental health took a hit and the doubts started creeping in.
A year later, when he was trying out for a BBL comeback, Dean faced another setback, tearing his right rotator cuff. This meant the all-rounder couldn't bat or bowl without having a shoulder reconstruction.
With a young family and mortgage to worry about, Blake turned down the expensive surgery and chose a different path to get back on track. He started re-teaching himself to play left-handed and began in Canberra's Third Grade competition, which led to the creation of The Southpaw Process.
This process isolates every shot in the cricket handbook 360 degrees. Blake wrote and started a new training schedule, hoping to re-teach himself the game he loved and work his way back to 1st grade cricket, the ACT Comets and maybe even the BBL.
Not only did the process work for Blake's opposite hand — it also continued to help the first 12 Southpaw students with their natural hand for the next five years. All 12 students improved from 5th grade to 1st grade premier cricket and beyond during their core development period.