Fair to say year 2020 was a bit off with zero footy being played in the heartland of Aussie Rules here in Victoria.
With that came full jealousy to all the other states that were able to get some football in.
I lost my old man suddenly mid-year which was tough and has led to me taking stock of everything moving forward.
2021 brings with it similar challenges but to take a slightly different look at the last 12 months or so it has also provided a much needed opportunity for everyone to reset a little.
To find what's ultimately important to you and to rediscover what really makes you happy.
For me it's footy and music at the moment.
On the footy side I'm definitely intent on coaching in 2021, either at my current club or somewhere else, or possible in the private sectior somewhere.
It's fair to say that I've done enough research on the matter and I really need to put it into action and see how it works in reality.
Music is just a home thing but I've made great strides in my guitar playing (I think) and I've got myself a keyboard I'm teaching myself how to play as well.
Being self taught leaves a lot of gaps in my playing but I can do enough to get by.
Getting back to coaching I've plenty of people asking why I don't offer much 1on1 training and to be honest I just don't rate too highly for football outside of anything in the physical co-active and possibly technical co-active but that's a huge grey area in itself.
If all you can do as a coach or a player is 1on1 training then of course it's better than nothing but if you can get as little as 3 - 4 other mates involved than you can introduce true decision making activities and very easily take your football to a whole new level.
I had great plans to start up some in-person training this year with the focus being on teaching tactics and patterns of play to youth footballers and I hope to give it another try this year.
If you've read my most recent posts you'll have read that decision making is based on many things but is the most important aspect of football.
Having a team tactic that is instilled in all players means this some decision making is already made for all players at that point in time.
If a long ball is going into our backline to a free teammate who will mark the ball, than before the ball even reaches them, all other teammates know what to do next and start making position from any point on the ground.
The ball player already knows what they are going to do before they even mark the football and their teammates are already moving into position to make this happen.
The decision has been made before the ball has even been marked.
Without having to go back off the mark and scan for all available options and then to process which options are the better choices only to have them dry up as time goes by, the ball can played immediately catching the opposition completely out of position and you've got a huge advantage and a major chance to score very quickly.
This is where I believe coaching should start for at almost all levels to some degree.
The days of kicking from cone to cone in a formation that is totally unrepresentative of the game have to go - with only 2 - 3hrs a week to training whatever you think you need to cover whatever you think you need to cover for football preparation, anything that isn't efficient has to be given a re-thought at the very least.
I'm not saying my way is the only and best way to coach - hell I haven't even coached my own team yet - but what I write is what I'll use when I do eventually coach.
With a huge focus on a game model that puts huge importance on aspects of the game requiring zero talent, each and every player will have game day roles that are ultra important for the team to play the best football they can week in and week out.
Players being given roles and feeling like an important part of the machine is vital for on and off field success - they'll be highly motivated to do what's required of them and they'll want to play football for the long term.
My method/s would go a long way to winning games of football but it's the teaching and inclusion part of how I mash it up that trumps how successful a team could be.
A coaches job is to create an environment that players want to be a part of and training that pushes players just slightly beyond their capabilities but still allows some success and allows for players to drop back a level when needed, and to make the environment psychologically safe to be able to do this, is where coaching is going whether you want it to or not.
So if you want 2021 to be your best year of football ever, then join us at Aussie Rules Training, join other local/amateur coaches who are in the trenches just like you and receive the best Aussie Rules Football training and coaching content on the internet by taking up either of the memberships on the Register page.
Here's a quick look at some of the options:
- Level 1 - Training/Coaching Articles Only
- Level 2 - Training/Coaching Articles + Training Programs Only
- Level 3 - Training/Coaching Articles + Training Programs + Training Drills
- Footy Focus is an 8 week program for youth footballers with 4 challenges per week to complete spread over technical, physical and psychological co-actives.
- Develop Game Model is a 3 Zoom call (30mins each approx) + homework program where I guide you to build your very own game model for season 2021
- Season 2021 Package is a 12mth option that runs from October 2020 to September 2021
- Various pre-made packages of drills
Definitely something there for every coach of any level.
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