So you want to be or have been asked to be a junior coach in Australian Rules Football. Below are some suggestions of how best to prepare yourself and continue your development as a coach.
Obviously, you ought to have played the game at some level. You don’t need to be a talented or above average player. Often less talented players make excellent coaches because they understand what they had to do to be successful.
Here are the ideas I believe you should consider.
Firstly, find yourself a mentor. This should be someone who most likely has been your coach in the past or a respected figure around your club. It could be a parent involved with your team who has coached or played at a high level. You could start as an assistant coach with the team coach becoming your mentor.
Secondly, as soon as you are appointed to coach a team at school or at a club, enrol in the level 1 Australian Football accredited course with your local league. Once you have coached a year or so and are ready to advance your coaching accreditation, enrol in a level 2 course. Level 3 course are also available for those wishing to coach at a higher level. 스포츠토토
Thirdly, create your own library of coaching books. When I first started to coach, there were very few books available on coaching our game. They concentrated mainly on skills training. Today there are many more that look into how the game is played. The first real book of this type came out in 1978. It was called “The Coach” and it detailed how Ron Barassi coached the North Melbourne team during 1977 to premiership glory in the Victorian Football League.
Next, watch and listen to others coaches. Listen to coaches discussing the game on TV, radio and other media. Slip out to the huddles at ¼ and ¾ time at your local club to listen to the coach’s instructions. Sit neat the bench to watch and listen to coach’s instructions to the runner.
Fifthly, watch TV programs that dissect games. This is, as far as my coaching career is concerned, a relatively new option. In my early coaching career, the only TV program that was available to me was the ABC program “The Winners” late on Sunday night. Once direct telecasts began, this helped the development of all coaches, especially in a minor football state like Queensland. In today’s world, a dedicated coach would subscribe to Fox Footy to be able to see not only every game each week but every program run after each game and during the week dissecting every aspect of each game.
Then, transfer what new ideas you have learnt to your team. When you hear a new idea, note it down and try it with your team ASAP. Don’t discard it if it does not work immediately. You may need to pick the right time to introduce it.
Seventh, complete a basic first aid and strapping training as you may need to become a backup for your club trainer.
Learn how to umpire if only for your team’s practice games. You should
a. Buy a rule book.
b. Make sure you read how each rule should be interpreted.
c. Do, at least, a level one field umpire’s course.
d. Umpire practice games with your team as a starting point;
e. Watch experienced umpires to gain experience on how rules are applied.
f. Discuss new rules/interpretations with players early in the season’s training.
g. Watch practice games to note how these new rules are being applied to advice your team.
Lastly, create your own coaching file. It should include:
• Copies of your team addresses, notes from game breaks and so on;
• Team selections and notes on game success and losses;
• Notes on skills and faults of your players;
• Player traits, playing positions;
• Coaching tips;
• Tactics to use;
• Notes on grounds;
• A library of books on football;
• Notes on opposition teams; and
• Videotape of games that show some tactic or skill at work.
You should constantly review your coaching file particularly at the start of the season and before any finals in which your team plays to look for ideas to improve your coaching and your team’s development.
Conclusion:
It is important to remember that your education as a coach has no end point. The rules and the way the game is played is ever changing. So you must continue to think about the game and discuss ideas with other club coaches and your coaching mentor.