With the dust still settling on last week’s fairy-tale finish at the Quiksilver Pro, Tracks thought it a good time to talk to the man behind the magic of the Wilko and Owen show, Mr. Glenn ‘Micro’ Hall.
Tracks: Good start to the year mate?
Micro: Yeah, it was a pretty special start to the year for me. You know, from my side of things I just want them to all do well individually. It’s a team environment but an individual sport, so I just try to help them all do well in their own way and so when you get to the end of the event and they’re one and two then it’s a dream result. They’re not at all trying to help each other so it’s really cool to see them fight it out. There was no holding back by either of them.
In a situation like that as a coach, do you just sit back and enjoy seeing them go head-to-head or is there still an element of anxiety for you?
I actually said to Tyler: ‘If they end up in the final together I’m going to go watch it at the bar.’ So we got a few beers and just kicked back and watched it. It was really weird because normally you’re just cheering for one guy in a heat but in the final I was cheering on each wave, whoever was on a wave I was cheering for them to do really well and getting psyched if they did a good turn and then the very next wave the other guy would be on it and I’d be doing the same thing. It was really weird. I’ve never actually had that before but it was sick. It was just straight up appreciating two guys doing really good surfing.
Did you honestly think Owen could win in his first event back, having worked with him over summer?
There was no denying that he could surf like he used to, and if he could surf like he used to then he could win events. So I definitely felt like he could win the event but there were a few other areas that were more of a concern for me—his fitness, and emotionally getting through it all, being his first event back. He had a few hurdles along the way but we got through it and then just kept trying to get him to put two waves together in each heat. Once he’s on a wave if he gets it from start to finish it’s unbelievable because he’s so good, so it was a pretty simple little plan along the way and yeah, it obviously got us all the way to the final.
It was a solid return to form for Wilko and great to see him make the Quikky Pro final two years in a row. Last year it seemed as though he struggled to maintain confidence through the whole season. Is that something you’ll be working with on him this year?
To work on confidence is really hard. You know, if you could go and buy it or have the perfect formula for confidence then everyone would have it (laughs). It’s just something that comes naturally after good results. Last year he obviously had a miraculous start and all of a sudden he was on top of the world but it was also a weird feeling because he’d never been there, so it was a strange mix of emotions and confidence but then the fear of being somewhere he hadn’t been. That’s not taking anything away from what he did. I think if anyone did what he did last year, coming from last to winning the first two events of the world tour, it was always going to be awkward. This year watching him roll through the draw and getting to the quarters and semis and final, he was so calm and relaxed and familiar with where he was. It’s going to be a different Wilko this year and I’m psyched for him.
That tough learning curve last year will serve him well this year you think?
Yeah. He’s surfing better and he’s fitter and stronger and more organised than he’s ever been before, but the confidence and the experience is something you can’t really work on and you can’t really buy so he’s just got that now from last year’s events. He was so different throughout this year’s Snapper event and I think he was so much better for it. He came in from the final and he’d just got second to his best mate Owen and he was kind of pissed off and I was so psyched when I saw that (laughs).
Where to from here, Micro? Obviously Margies is coming up, but do you have a game plan in place?
Yeah, I just sat here for the last couple of hours and wrote out the plan for Margs. After the last few years of going around the world surfing the events and with my coach’s hat on I’ve been taking notes and it’s really fun now sitting back and looking at my notes from the year before. I’m really psyched for Margies and it looks like there’s going to be some swell so hopefully the boys can do it all again.
And for you, has it been a really enjoyable transition from a pro surfer to your new role as a coach?
For sure. I’ve got to admit I’ve come in at the lucky end, straight into my crew getting good results, so I’m well aware that I’m very fortunate. But yeah, I straight up enjoy it, I love it. Even working with Laura and the groms, I just really enjoy trying to think outside the box and trying to get these guys to perform their best throughout the year and also to enjoy every part of the process.
Thanks Micro and good luck!
Cheers!
