AFL NAB Cup

Hello again everyone.

The past week has been extremely busy for but also very memorable. With my internship with AFL NSW/ACT the past week has seen me help with the running of the recent NAB cup game that was held at the recently unveiled Robertson Oval in Wagga Wagga. Seeing first hand how some of the great players and coaches interact within the AFL and then also how they communicate, prepare and plan their daily routines around a game and the rest of the season.

Firstly I started out my day by giving a presentation on strength and conditioning at a local level 1 coaching course which the AFL asked me to help out with. I started by speaking about planning and making sure that as new coaches they are always walking into a session prepared and with a goal for the session but also a goal for the season. Next I spoke about some of the different principles of training such as overload, specificity, individuality, recovery and reversibility and how coaches should work with them to ensure they are getting the best out of their sessions. Lastly I gave the people an insight into some new and interesting ways to train their athletes firstly by trying to keep their sessions interesting but most importantly by trying to keep it sport specific and training the way you play.

During the coaching course we also got to here a presentation which was done by the 2 forward coaches from GWS. These guys gave us a little insight into the tactics that GWS are trying to employ but also reinforced what I said by showing some of their GPS data and saying how they train with specificity. It was good to see as one of the coaches told me the endurance training session I showed the guys was very specific and was a great idea.

Lastly in the course we herd from Tom Harley who is of the great Geelong players and now the head of NSW/ACT AFL. He spoke to us about preparation and how guys who stood out within his club such as the Joel Selwood, Gary Ablett and Jimmy Bartell all had the best preparation within the club. He was witness to these players being at the grounds first in the morning and last to leave at night and always pushing themselves to the max whilst making sure they do all thier recovery perfectly after each session. He told us they all weren't this way to start off with but some of them had to train hard to get this way except Selwood he was saying the mentality and commitment Joel had towards playing was freakish from word go and that's why he is the captain of Geelong at the age of 24.

Next on for the day we had lunch with the group doing the coaching course. The interesting thing that happened here was I was introduced to the great Kevin Sheedy and was able to here some of the great stories from a guy who has all the experience in he world. Great guy by the way.

The game then followed a lot of setting up and preparing for the crowd of 7000 or more to come. As the game approached I was busy with many jobs until the first quarter where I was able to sit down and watch a bit of the game. I was able to recognise some of things that the GWS coaches told us they were doing which was great to see. As the game went on I was asked to man a grandstand gate but also help out the GWS medical staff with some different things but what it ment to me was that I was able to spend a bit of time after half time in their change rooms. The interesting thing which I noticed in the change rooms was the white board which all the coaches had written on. In the quick glimpses which ivgot of this white board I could make out a game plan and in the middle was an outcome. Win against the Brisbane Lions. Everything that surrounded this outcome were things that needed to be fixed and continue to be done in order to reach this outcome. This was a great moment for me as it really gave me an insight as to how coaches at the top level of AFL operate and how the simple principles which we learn at university are being used in the real world.

Brisbane ended up winning by 3 points over the giants in a thriller and you could really see the disappointment on all GWS players faces at the end, they really wanted that win and came so close after leading almost the whole game.

2 days after the NAB cup game I was on the road with the AFL guys to Broken hill for a roadshow. Some great experiences were also had on this trip and some great people were met. But that will have to be for my next blog.

Thanks for reading Daniel Scroope.