GUEST POST - PREMIERSHIP WOMEN'S FOOTBALL COACH JOSH HARTWIG

Today we break from tradition and welcome a local women's football coach, Josh Hartwig, from Melbourne.

Josh has been a part of the women's football movement long before it was cool so I asked him for his thoughts on training women's football and here's what he had to say.

There is a plethora of gems in here, many that you'd never even think about without the vast experience he has.

Josh's Background

My eldest daughter started playing football (AFL) in 2011 at the age of 9.  She loved it and was good at it.  The team was pretty good too, contesting every grand final up to 2014. Naturally, being the good parent I was, I attended every game, volunteered for various roles and just enjoyed the experience. However, come 2015, the team was without a coach.  The girls were now U15s, getting better, bigger, fitter and willing (wanting) to learn more.  About a month before the season was due to start I was talked into being their coach.  I’d not coached football before so was sent to do the Level 1 Youth Girls Coaching Course with AFL Victoria.

Fast forward……We won the flag in 2015.  I loved coaching so much I did it again in 2016 AND 2017.  We also won the flag in 2016 and 2017.

Here’s some things I learnt about coaching junior girls that male coaches (or those that have only coached boys) may find helpful.

Girls are very Social

Females in general are social people.  They love a chat and the interaction with others.  Teenage girls take this to the next level.  Whether they haven’t seen their teammates for a week or a couple of hours since school, the greeting is always the same – lots of hugs, laughter, talking, gossip.  I’m not saying this is a bad thing, in fact I encourage the communication between players as it creates greater bonds, however, when it delays the start of training by 5 minutes, a drill by another minute (each) or just a general explanation of something then it can get a bit stressful for a coach.

I’d suggest “starting” training 5-10 minutes earlier so that the players arrive, have their chats and then are ready to go by the “official” starting time.  I also found, in my first season, that applying a penalty to the whole team for any one person talking when I was soon got the whole team listening intently.  

Players very quickly learn to hate burpees and will actively silence a talker.  It was fun, for me at least.

Bottom line, girls interact with each other differently to boys.  Take that on board and make allowances.  By compromising, allowing a chat break, you will achieve more.

Focus on the Basic Skills

Most females coming in to football at the moment have not played the sport.  They join a team because they may have friends there, they want to get in on the whole AFLW hype, they love contact sports or simply because it looks fun.  Whatever the reason, they probably don’t have much experience with a football or the game itself.  Unlike boys, who have probably played since Auskick or U8s, girls need to learn the basic skills of kicking, marking and contested balls.  In my experience, many girls come from netball, basketball, soccer backgrounds so know how to catch, throw and kick (a round ball) but dealing with the oval ball is very challenging. 

Kicking has always been the most difficult skill for them to master.  It takes years of practice (for most players) to effectively and accurately kick a football. The ball drop seems to be the most difficult for them.  The way they hold the ball for starters, how it leaves their hands, the point of contact on their foot.  It cannot be emphasised enough how important this skill is.  Even now, in the AFLW, there are experienced players struggling to get this right. The number of times I’ve had players lining up for goal, 20m out dead in front and not knowing which way the ball will go……

Don’t worry about fancy or elaborate game plans, forget about matchups on opposition players.  Focus on the absolute basics, especially kicking.  You can’t do full oval (or even half oval) drills involving kicking if they can’t kick the distance. Get that right and you’re halfway there.

Language/Terminology

This has two parts.  The first follows on from above.  Most girls coming in to the sport are unaware of what Centre Half Forward is, or “fat side”, “zones”, “shepherding”, or any other colloquial football term.  Keep the language basic, simple and clear.  Use every day terms instead of footy terms.  Check to see how many blank looks you get back at you after you’ve explained something.  You may have to restate it.  Always ask if there’s any doubt, get them to repeat what you said so that you are sure they understand.  Of course, if your team has been around for a while they will probably be well aware of what you are saying.

Part two….these are footballers you are coaching.  The fact that they are female shouldn’t make a difference to how you treat them.  Which makes me concerned when I hear coaches using terms like “lovey”, “sweety” or “darling” and this from an experienced male coach! (of boys). It’s creepy and disturbing. Use their name or say mate or buddy. Don’t be condescending, don’t treat them as a niece, daughter or family friend.  They are footballers who just happen to be female.

New Players

Turning up to training for the first time can be a daunting experience for anyone coming into an existing team.  Teenage girls can be a bit clicky in their social groups and may be a bit intimidating.

In 2017 we had 10 new players join our team which meant 40% of our team hadn’t played football before.  Some of these girls knew some of the existing players.  I found it important for them all to get to know each other as it not only creates  a bond but it also might reveal a common interest outside of football, thus enhancing that bond.  Work on relationships and the footy will follow.

One tactic I used was to get the girls to go for a warmup jog and when they came back they had to tell me 5 things about that player.  Getting them to ask questions of each other, talking and helping the new player to relax and fit in. 

Make it Fun

By this, I mean fun for females.  Depending on the age you are coaching you need to consider what they like.  Younger girls love handstand and cartwheels, older girls dance and wrestle and they all love to sing.  Incorporate these into warmups. Play music when appropriate (during warmups or certain drills) but not if you are talking or instructing.  Think laterally, play games that get them warm or thinking or competitive.

Footballers, not ballerinas

One of the most surprising things I noticed was how much girls love, LOVE, the physical stuff.  Tackling, wrestling, bumping, contesting.  It’s amazing.  Don’t be afraid to use the bump bags too.  I reckon they saw red whenever I held the bags for them to charge into, they took it as a challenge to knock me over.  They are tough and always come back for more.  They will soak up whatever you give them.  You’ll know the ones who are a bit apprehensive but the majority will give 100%.

It is very important to teach the correct techniques to contest a ball though.  Many who have come from a non football background do not know the correct and safest way to pick up a ground ball.  Head injuries are very common.  Research or contact experts in body contact drills.  I can’t stress this enough.  If a girl is injured it is often the parents who withdraw a player. I highly recommend Malcolm Bangs (https://twitter.com/malcolmbangsTT) who is a tackling and take down guru used by numerous AFLW, VFLW and TACGirls teams. 

PreGame

The pre-game ritual is often very complex and individualised for many players.  Some need to deal with superstitions, pregame nerves or whatever.  I found with the girls I coached that they tend to take their time doing the little things – getting their boots on, signing team sheets etc because they are still chatting and catching up with their friends.  I recognised this early on and got them to arrive at games an hour before start time (even then that was a struggle).  Keep them on track by giving them warnings to move (eg 5 minutes to warm up) so they do get their act together.  

In the grand finals we competed in, that pregame time extended out to 90 minutes because hair needed to be braided and/or coloured, photos, selfies etc.  This is the nature of junior girls.  They love their interactions, doing things together but they also absolutely love their football.  Once the preparations are completed they are footballers and raring to go.  Be prepared. Be aware. Embrace it.

I'd like to thank Josh for his contribution and if you have any questions on this thn post them in the Aussie Rules Women's Football private group and Josh will be able to answer them from there.