IT HAS been four months since he officially began his new role as a Hawthorn Assistant Coach, and Brett Ratten reveals he’s enjoying the ride in his new surroundings.

Ratten arrived at the Ricoh Centre in October to much fanfare, bringing with him a wealth of experience and knowledge of the game and of the coaching landscape.

It is that experience that has made him a valuable addition to the Hawks coaching group, but too, the Hawks coaching group a valuable addition to him.

He now sits in the inner sanctum of the Hawks at the Ricoh Centre, entrenched fully in his role under Coach, Alastair Clarkson.

He says life in the brown and gold has reinstalled his love for the game.

“Everyone just loves the game of footy and to be involved and to try and help and assist young men in their quest to become the best that they can and from there the best team we can build, is always a challenge,” he told hawthornfc.com.au

“You always enjoy that about coaching; having the opportunity to teach these guys and help them forge their careers.

“It’s great working with Alastair as well in regards to what he does and how things are done at the Hawthorn footy club, which have been very successful.”

The Hawks assistant shares an office at the Ricoh Centre with fellow assistants Luke Beveridge, Brendon Bolton and Adam Simpson, an environment he reveals is enjoyable in itself.

He says the vibe and dynamics have given him the opportunity to speak more about the game he loves.

“To be able to be in a room and talk a lot of footy and have players come in so much, the door’s always open because there’s so many of them coming in and out,” he said.

“We talk about the game a fair bit, whether it was games we were involved in or just games that were played on the weekend.

“It’s good to get back to talking a lot more about football and what’s been going on in the competition.

“It’s been really good to throw ideas around, especially with the systems Hawthorn has versus other clubs and I’m sort of working through that, especially game day and then back in the office and how it actually operates.”

Part of his role, Ratten reveals is to bring a new set of eyes and a new set of ideas to the Hawks coaching group.

“When we play different teams we’ll all throw up different things we think might work or things we’ve seen things that have worked, so it’s probably a different set of eyes,” he said.

“It’s different, my ideas might be out of a different basket because sometimes when you spend a bit of time together you can actually influence each other and to have someone who comes in from another club or seen things that are different, it brings a different set of ideas to the table.

“Hopefully we can work together and get that success because it’s all about working together and doing things together and my job is to add some different ideas.”

The 41 year old says the change of scenery has sparked memories of times past and enabled him to reflect on his experiences in the game.

“Being here brings back memories of playing games out here, my first few games in reserves in under 19s were out here, TEAL Cup trials and a lot of those things you reflect on around here,” he said.

“The other day we went to Glenferrie Oval and I played my first under 19 game there as a kid.

“I took my son Tanner there (on Family Day) and told him they played games here and things like that.

“It’s been good to reflect a little bit on not just your coaching, but your playing career and some of those memories you have at certain venues and certain places.”

One thing Ratten has noticed about the Hawks since arriving in October, are the values that resonate within each and every person involved with the football club.

He believes the “family club” reputation and the values that permeate from that are alive and well within the Hawthorn Football Club.

“I’ve been really impressed with how united the football club is,” he said.

“It’s not just the football department who is united or the commercial operations team or media, it’s very united across all departments, which is sometimes hard to get because everyone has their own KPIs.

“It’s just the little things at the end of the day that make a big difference.

“That’s what is so positive about the Club, we’re all in it together. It’s not just your department over there, we’re all in this together and we’re working hard to get success.”

Kate Salemme is a member of Hawthorn Football Club's Digital Media team reporting exclusively for hawthornfc.com.au from the Ricoh Centre.