Queensland coaching just got smarter thanks to Simon Black, Danny Daly, David Wheadon, Lawrie Woodman, Matthew Lappin, Ashley Prescott and Josh Fraser.
This impressive line-up was the feature of the recent AFL Queensland Coaching Masterclass – held over two nights in conjunction with the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast SUNS.
One hundred and five coaches turned up for the event, walking away with elite level coaching knowledge in areas such as contest skills coaching, goal kicking, stoppages in modern football, effective training sessions, role of the assistant coach, effective kicking and developing young players.
AFL Queensland Coaching, Volunteers and Education Manager Steve Wildschut said there were plenty of common highlights for coaches, whose charges ranged from under 6 juniors right through to state level seniors,
“There were topics that resonated across all grades,” Wildschut said.
“Simon Black spoke about contest skills, which for those at Under 6 level he called “finding the line” and for state league coaches was all about when to engage, and when to separate an opponent.”
Wildschut said it wasn’t all about the technical aspects of coaching, with SUNS Assistant Coach Matthew Lappin driving home the importance of coaching values.
“He spoke about the importance of pinpointing your coaching philosophy, pointing out that kids are the best ones at picking out whether you’re real or not real, as well as what you stand for,” he said.
With participants coming from as far afield as Harvey Bay and Dalby – Wildschut knew that expectations for the event were high.
“Those who came took an enormous amount of knowledge away with them,” he said.
“I’m confident we got the mix right.”
Head here for more information on coaching in Queensland.
