Let the Children Play

How many times have we seen it at a sporting field, or stadium where ever we go around the country, adults showing poor behaviour at junior sport or interfering in an over-bearing way. I know that over my 18 years or longer coaching sport, I have witnessed it, and I have zero tolerance for any behaviour like it whether it be towards the players, officials or other spectators. If you as a parent, coach whatever want to behave like a thug or something out of the godfather, then for god sake stay away from sports field please we don't need you type around.

The approach to all junior sport, should be about letting the children play, develop and grow, we shouldn't be placing pressure on them to be elite or perform at an un-realistic levels, we really do need to let our youngsters have there child-hood. If we don't it can lead to real problems, and I have experienced it twice as a coach, where young players who I coached, had at some-time during there teenage years eating disorders. In each case the cause was different, but ultimately it was the pressure of needing to do better, to be elite.

Now I can tell you that each of these girls pulled through to the other side, and became stronger, but they should never have been placed in that position in the first place.

So what should we being doing, well like I say, we should be taking the pressure off and letting them just play, have fun and enjoy what they are doing. Let our youngsters in what ever sport it is soak up the experiences, and enjoy the moments that come along.

First Trial Game done and dusted

So this weekend, marked our first trial game of the pre-season, up in Bunbury v Towns South, it was a solid first outing and one we can be happy about and a foundation from which to build off.

As a team we started slow in the first 5 minutes, but this was largely due to everyone getting use to everyone else, but after the first 5 minutes the game was very much even split between us and Towns, which was good considering that Towns have been in the comp for a number of years and we are just starting out. As I say after the first 5 minutes we slowly clawed our way back into the fight, winning the second half comprehensively which was good.

While as I say the game was solid, there is allot to do, and a great deal we can build off from that game as we move forward over the next four weeks towards March 24 and Round 1 of the season. So we now move onto training this week, which will be an opportunity to continue the build up, then I will spend the long weekend resting and relaxing, before we come back and work through our last two trials game, then select our squad then hit the turf for round 1.

Exciting times ahead.

First training successful first start

So yesterday's first training session for the 2017 hockey season was a successful start, but going forward there is a great deal to work on, as we pull this squad together and limited time to do it.

Its interesting before last night, I was going in with plan, after I am came out of last night, I moved away from that plan, and now will need to devise a hole new plan. We will now most likely need to start with as simpler game as possible, and gradually build it up of the course of the year introducing aspects as we go, otherwise I suspect it may over-load some of the players.

Its like anything, this is going to take time, its going to take patients, and its going to take allot of hard work but in the end we will get. The focus now shifts to Saturday afternoon, in Bunbury and our first trial game v Towns, this will really start sorting out where we are going and who we are going to go with.

Looking forward its going to be a very exciting year.

Bring on Saturday.

First Training Eve

Well woke up this morning, on this the first training eve, to a cooler morning, and the news that we will now have less time to put this squad together than I had originally anticipated.

Was informed this morning that the first time we go into battle for real in with be on the 24th of March. This will be Round 1 and the official start to the 2017 South West League season, which now means we have less weeks than I have planned to pull this all together. Our last trial game leading into the season will be on the 18th of March, that now gives us exactly one week as opposed to the two I thought we would have.

Still thats part and parcel of what happens leading into the start of the season, and this now means that we will just have to step things up and work harder to make sure we are ready to go. The biggest impact it will most likely have is on the timing of selecting the final SWL squad, instead of perhaps being able to go right the way through to the 18th of March, we now may have to settle on as close to a squad as possible the 11th of March after our second trial match against Towns.

This will allow us to iron out any kinks in the last trial game and also give us time if we feel we need to make any last minute decisions. Alternate to that we go right the way through to the 18th of March and to finalise the squad and pull it all together in 1 week. Either way I am confident it will all work out and we will be ready for game 1.

So as my nerves build, it all starts tomorrow with the first turf training, I am looking forward to it, my plan is to make sure we hit the ground running and get through everything we need to get through tomorrow night. Its going to be a very full on session.

Anyway that is it for now, bring on our first training.

Coaching Skills Tip 1: Hitting and Sweep Hitting Technique

HITTING TECHNIQUE

COACHING POINTS

Posture:            Double V Grip

                        Sit low- two bent knees

                        Arms away from the body- critical

                        Hands together- top of stick, half way down grip for short grip

                        Feet square to the passing line

Action:            Use a flat backswing (baseball swing)

                        Turn the left shoulder towards the ball

                        Step with the left foot towards the ball toe pointing at target

                        Finish with weight over front foot and hold 2 seconds

Stick:                        Raise the stick in the backswing with left wrist- break wrist

                        The stick is low at impact- long follow through

Ball:                        Left and in line with ball of foot/shoulder line

                        Ball speed generated by:

⁃                                                                     Upper body rotation

⁃                                                                     Armand wrist action

⁃                                                                     Stick action

⁃                                                                     Transfer of weight

EMPHASIS

•                Stand square to the passing line

•                Play to each others forehand

•                Weighted pass (direction-speed-height)

•                Step forward with the left foot when playing the ball

SWEEP HITTING TECHNIQUE

COACHING POINTS

Posture:            Double V Grip

                        Body weight over left leg

                        Arms fully extended

                        Toe points to target

                        Hands are over the left foot at impact

                        Hold the low finishing position (head over knee, over ankle)

Action:            Make the back swing over the ground

                        Turn left shoulder towards the ball

Stick:                        The tip keeps pointing upwards

                        Stick remains in contact with the surface for follow through

                        Release right hand after impact

Ball:                        Slightly right and in front of the left foot

                        Play the ball on the shaft just above the hook (sweet spot)

EMPHASIS

⁃               Stand square to the passing line

⁃               Play to each other forehand

⁃               Weighted pass (direction-speed-height)

⁃               Step forward with the left foot when playing the ball

Ensure ball positioning is far enough away from body

A Coach is not always to blame for success or failure

Today, we have witnessed yet again with the sacking of Dan Marsh coach of the Tasmanian Cricket Team, what tends to go on in the Sport Coaching industry, when a team performs badly, the first person blamed is the Coach. Its funny isn't when a team succeeds we rarely praise the coach for this, its normally the players who are given all the praise, yet as soon as the team fails straight away its all the coaches fault.

You look in AFL, this has been Richmonds problem for years until Damien Hardwick, who that club finally seems to be sticking with. It happens in other sports to particularly if the club that coach is at has been used to long sustained success take Manchester United, David Moyes was always destined to fail, you just cant walk into a club who has been so used to one person so long as Manchester United were with Sir Alex Ferguson, and expect last more than a few years. Essendon have had the same problem here since the departure of Kevin Sheedy, its only now the John Worsfold has gone there that things are starting to look good again.

Mind you success doesn't always me you keep your job either, take what happened to me in 2015, I took on a coaching role with a club in Sydney, we had a very successful season, going through the season undefeated, winning the minor premiership, gaining promotion and going on playing in the finals and winning the Grand Final. I was the first Coach to take a team from this club to the finals for 8 years, and I was the only Coach in this clubs history to take a team through undefeated, but it did not keep me my job, anyway these things happen, and I have no regrets.

So success doesn't always me you stay either, I guess what I am saying is clubs need to learn to have a little faith in the Coach, because its not always the Coach who is the problem, often its because the Coach has a plan and they are working towards it.

Take Geelong under Mark Thompson, they had a plan, the club stuck with him and in the end he delivered them Premierships, yes it took 7 years but it happened, the same for Alistair Clarkson at Hawthorn, he had a plan and in the end they became the best club of the modern era of the AFL.

So what I am saying to Sporting clubs you need to be patient,  and wait because there is a saying change the Coach, change the team, and that may not always be a good thing.

Day 8: One week today since arriving in Busselton on this journey

Well today marks exactly one week, since I arrived down here in Busselton to begin this Coaching journey in 2017.

So what has happened in the first week, well like I say only bits an pieces of hockey, I am still yet to really get into all though, I am doing all my prep work getting ready for autumn training to get under way next Wednesday, when everyone will report for the first official training run of the new team and the new year. I am going to be looking for fit, fast and 3 dimensional hockey players, the style of play is going to require allot of hard running up and back, and people who can think fast and think on there feet.

So today was again another day started off with doing my washing turns out the place I am staying at does have a washing machine, after that it was spent in the Library doing some more prep, where I will be tomorrow again once I clear away my morning commitments. Saturday I head up to Peppy Grove Beach to hold our first fun session of the year some beach hockey with the girls. As a coach I believe you need to throw little things in like this to break up the training and keep it fun and interesting.

You also do it to take the players out of there comfort zone a bit and get them to have fun and engage, because the season is long and with any team people can as time goes on get on each others nerves this helps to release that tension and keep every on track. A happy team is a successful team.

Anyway so what will Day 9 bring, well its look at more permanent venues, then a visiting to the early voting booth, followed by more time in Library, getting ready for both Saturday and the week ahead.

I will sign off now and talk more tomorrow night.

Day 7: Its almost 1 week down

Well as of tomorrow, I have been here in Busselton for 1 week, and its been an interesting opening week, with bits and pieces on, and hockey in a slow build.

This morning woke to cloudy skies which quickly turned to sunshine, and a very nice day, I spent the day deep in the hockey work in the library putting together the various information that I will be given the girls over the coming weeks as we build the Capel SWL squad ready for the start of the South West League 2017 season. This morning I was woken to a phone call from my Victorian coaching mate Robbie, who wanted to let me know he had passed my name onto a couple of the Kookaburra men's players who will be looking for coaching opportunities, from time to time, will see how we go might be able to use them from time to time, if they dont cost a huge amount of money.

Rob is a great guy, he is very similar to me in how we go about, he is a risk taker and isn't worried about losing games in order to win them, he also tell it like it which I also do, we became firm friends when we both Coached Victorian teams at the Women's Master National Championships in 2013. He was one of the many lining up back in 2015 when Manly for no explained reason got rid of me, to tear them a new one. I hope one day to be able to Coach together in some capacity.

Anyway I also got in touch with a contact from Leading Teams who I know Mike, to fill in with everything that has been happening, as last time we spoke before Xmas this certain wasn't the direction things appeared to be heading. I am sure he will be very surprised when he reads the email and txt, sure I will recieve a phone call tomorrow.

Anyway I checked out a room today, which was all right, I have another on Friday to check out so its hopefully looking good for a better venue, dont get me wrong the back-packers are all right but one needs one's own space.

Also look to maybe do some Laundry tomorrow, I will wash then bring it back to the back-packers and hang it up.

Anyway 1 week down and things gather from here on in. Bring on Day 8.

Day 6: Sunshine finally comes back

Well today the sunshine has finally return, all though it brought with it some really humid conditions as well.

Today I spent it at the library, focussing on getting in place my training plans for next week, and developing my focus points for the pre-season training over the coming weeks to bring the team up to speed and give them the strong backgrounding in the game style I would like to us playing as a team. There is allot to get through from-

- How I want the forwards to play.
- How I want the team to press throughout the game
- The structure and formation and the importance of interchangeable positions.
- The penalty corner battery, and the variations.

This will be among other things, its going to be exciting to watch it all come together, at its best it will look like one unit moving down the field in a wave, sweeping all before it. It is a high risk game plan, but there are massive rewards when it comes off.

Good news we now have a A2 Coach in place as of today as well, and that is good because we can start to work everything out in terms of transitioning between the SWL squad and the A2 squad during the year.

The search for a more permanent base is starting to take shape to, I have a a viewing coming up tomorrow which really looks promising, and hopefully that might come off, if that doesn't then there will be another on Friday which looks promising to.

Anyway I want to say Happy Valentines to my dear lost love Casey, I miss you every single day in some way.

Bring on Day 7.

Day 5: Queen Mary 2 is in Town and I look at some Vintage Cars

Well up early this morning to yet another grey morning, overcast morning with a little bit of rain around. I was up early so that I could head down to the Busselton foreshore again to watch the Queen Mary 2 come in, it was due in at 8am, as it happened by the time I had got down there it was all ready just about in apart from a little bit of moving around before taking up anchor.

Anyway Busselton certain put on a little bit of a show for the passengers as they arrived, all though when only ten people got off the first ferry into the jetty I am sure they must have been having doubts as to whether they would get the crowds they had been hoping for. Anyway a brass band greeted them with various tunes, and then the passengers headed off on various tours, while I made my way into Town.

On my way back into town I stopped by the Vintage Car Club to have a look at some of the vintage cars that were there, then stopped in on the craft market.

After that I checked out the laundry on my way through town, will need to go there in the next couple of days to do some washing if the backpackers doesn't have one, will check that out tomorrow morning before doing it. I then headed across to the Library to do my hockey work, and further prep for the pre-season coming up, worked mainly on my training plans and selection process and laid out what needs to be covered in the pre-season to get everyone up to speed as far as we can with in reason.

Anyway tomorrow I plan to spend more time and the Library in addition to checking out some real estates to see if I can put my name down in the continued search for a more permanent venue.

To everyone out there I realise these early blogs seem boring, and they are in away, because this is the slow period really before it all cranks up from Saturday this week. Please stick with me, more of my hockey adventures will be coming very soon, starting with Beach Hockey on Saturday morning.

Bring on Day 6.

What do I look for in a hockey player?

I have had many coaches at workshops I have run, and in conversations with me around the place, ask me this question-

What do I look for in a hockey player when I am selecting teams I coach?

Well this is an interesting question, and the answer is not perhaps as complex as people might think. For many years in hockey, and still amongst certain coaches, and selectors today the prevailing theory has been to look at the skills of the player. This is part of it yes, but it is no longer the first thing I look at when I select players for my teams anymore.

The first area I look at now is how they think, how the react to what is happening around them on the field, do the have a what I like to call a 3 Dimensional Hockey mind, or are they simple one of these players who passes the ball then thinks thats my job done and doesn't react any further. Thats it I strongly believe you can teach a players the basic skills of the game so that they are able to get by, but you can teach them to have that 3 Dimensional hockey mind, they have to all ready have this in place.

Once I have looked at how they think on the field, then I look at how they engage with there team-mates, the opposition, coaching staff and in young players even there siblings and parents. This tells me allot about a players character and whether they will fit into the team we are looking to build and the culture we are trying to create. If they are a good person first and foremost then as a Coach I am not sure if this is someone we should have in and around the team.

Then we move onto whether the player has any special skills like do they drag flick, and are they versatile can they play more than one position. There is a trap out there with some people out there who become volunteer selectors for representative teams to fail to look pass the flash at the real substance. I remember I was accused once around a selection table of being a fool, and that if I didn't select this one player because she had a good tomma, that we would fail and be crap at the tournament.

My answer to this was ok so she has a good tomma shot at goal, but its no good to me if she cant do the basics well to get in a position to use that skill, and she is unable to engage with her team-mates in a way that is good. In the end we went on to finish 3rd in that tournament and miss the final by 1/2 a point, she ended up playing for another team in that same tournament and they ran last. So this shows you as a Coach remember to look at substance first before looking at the flash.

In the end its your call as a coach, on what you look at, but have a 3 dimensional hockey brain and good character I believe are a must when selecting players for teams.

Day 4: Watching the Busselton Jetty Swim

Well day 4 starting off with some clear skies and no rain, which was great for the swimmers participating in the Busselton Jetty Swim, all though the wind was up which means it was well and truely a struggle apparently to remain on course.

I arrived down at the Busselton foreshore at little after the start and in time to see the first swimmers heading back in, these people are amazing how they manage to do it, there was a kid as young as 12 who completed the solo swim which is 3.6km from start to finish around the entire jetty pretty amazing effort might I say, hats off to the young lad who did it.

The foreshore was pretty well packed and the jetty was very crowed with people trying to monitor the progress of there family or friends doing the swim, I believe there were various game going on on the foreshore as well and the day would end with a free concert by Shannon Noel, I wasn't planning on staying around for that. The town itself was sort of dead to a degree but imagine that would change as the swim rapped up.

The rest of the day, I spent working through plans and ideas for the up-coming pre-season and season ahead.

Tomorrow its off to the foreshore again to see the Queen Mary 2 come into Geographe Bay that should arrive around 8am, so try to make sure I am there a good hour before to watch it come into view. Then I will be popping into a couple of estate agents as I continue my efforts to find a more permanent base before heading over to the Library to do some hockey work.

Bring on Day 5.

Re-structuring WA hockey.

So WA hockey is about the face the biggest challenge it has ever had to face in the coming years, when the AIS, and Hockey Australia High Performance program along with all the Hockeyroo's and Kookaburras players leave WA for the East coast when the program moves in 2018-2019.

I do know there are those with WA hockey who believe it wont happen, but these people live in a fictional fantasy world, the fact is for the future of Australian hockey the program must move and its the best thing that could ever happen for both Australian hockey and WA hockey. However WA hockey must re-structure in order for success to happen after this occurs, if they continue to do what they are doing now, they will fade into the background and no longer be able to lay claim to being a power of Australian hockey.

So what am I proposing, well I think the following must occur-

- The Premier 1 (MTL League) as it is current know in WA must be completely re-structure in both Men's and Women's its needs to be reduced from the current 10-12 teams down to 8 teams in each competition, for the first two years then expand to 10 teams in the third year.

- These teams should be set up as Premier 1 clubs only, there would be 4 clubs in the Metro area and 4 country based clubs.

- These would be
1. North Suburban
2. South Suburban
3. West Suburban
4. East Suburban
5. Rockingham/Peel
6. South West Strikers
7. Midwest
8. Goldfields

- All current clubs in the Metro area would be allocated which would look like the following-

1. North Suburban: Joondalup, North Coast Raiders, Whitfords, Hale, Newman, (other Northern suburbs based clubs.)
2. South Suburban: Fremantle, Melville, WASPS, Canning, Southern River, Dale, Curtin Trinity Pirates, (other Southern Suburbs clubs)
3. West Suburban: UWA, Suburban Lions, Westside Wolves, YMCC, (other Western Suburbs clubs)
4. East Suburban: Old Guildford, Eastern Blades, ECU Rangers, Vic Park Panthers, Kalamunda, (other Eastern suburbs clubs)
5. Rockingham/Peel: The current Rockingham Hockey Club and Peel Hockey Rebels would merge to form one club which will cover the Rockingham/Peel Region.
6. South West Strikers would continue as they currently stand.
7. Midwest: this would be a new team based Geraldton.
8. Goldfields: this would be a new team based in Kalgoolie.

- After the first two years, two more clubs will be added these would be-
9. Lower Great Southern.
10. Upper Great Southern.

- All currently Metro clubs would continue they would just never play in the Premier 1 grade anymore, they would instead play in lower grades and act as feeder clubs to the new Premier 1 clubs.

Now this is a bold change and I know there will be the gang of 10 clubs in Perth who think they own the game kicking and screaming about this but reality here, the current structure will not work when you haven't got the Hockeyroo's and Kookaburra and AIS players running around for you and making the current competition strong. Once these players are gone the competition will dramatically weaken.

ITS TIME TO CHANGE.

Day 3: First hockey event to attend

Today mark the first hockey event to attend since coming down to Busselton to Coach hockey in 2017. Today I attended a clinic with former Hockeyroo Madonna Blyth and the Busselton Hockey Stadium.

Today started waking up to more cloudy skies but fortunately less rain, I got up had my shower next to some guy in the backpackers who obviously decided to have swim in the next shower, and also that he was a great singer, I must admit I nearly didn't need to turn on the water in my shower because I could have had a bath in the water from his show lol, but seriously he better not quit what ever he does during the day because he cant sing. Anyway had my shower got dressed then went out for a wander around town, and down the the foreshore to see the preparation going on for the Busselton Jetty Swim, and caught the end of the Half Marathon and Fun run they had, I think some local won it.

To be honest the walk was more to get my legs moving after my first two days of walking, and to stretch out. I do plan to go down to the Jetty tomorrow morning early to watch the swim and partake in the festivities. Mind you I think the swimmers competing have to be nuts with talk of a 3m swell which coming in will be fine, but on the way out I would imagine it will be a nightmare.

Anyway tonight was the first real hockey event since being down here and the first hockey event for 2017, I set off from the centre of town at about 3:30pm and walked out to the stadium, it was a nice walk, surprising it didn't feel as far as I thought it would be. I arrived out at Busselton Hockey Stadium at about 4:20pm, just in time to catch up with a couple of my future players before Madonna arrived for the clinic.

I briefly said hi to Madonna before she went out onto the turf, the kids seem to enjoy the clinic and she did give them some good advice and did some interesting drills with them, like always they hung off her every word. I can now see why Hale have asked her to be there Premier 1 Coach in 2017, I think she will be extremmely successful.

Some drinks, nibbles and a Q and A followed and she was surprising very candid, and offered allot of insight into how she got into hockey etc, but also into what she will be like as a Coach, it will be team first.

Anyway tomorrow will be a big day as I will head down and watch the Jetty Swim will need to be up early should be allot of fun, there looks like allot of other events on as well, plus I will drop in on the association sausage sizzle as well to say hi.

I have attached a few photo's from the day.

Bring on Day 4 and the rest of the 2017 hockey season, exciting times ahead.

Time for an Australian Super League

Its time in Australia for our very own version of the Hockey Indian League, why because if we dont do something pretty soon, the sport of hockey will lose any space it had in the market.

We are see the success of the Big Bash League in cricket for both Men and Women, the all new Women's AFL and the brand new Super Netball League in Australia is bound to be a success, so its time more than ever for Australian hockey to develop its own Super League.

The Australian Hockey League has played a part for many years now, but its not a true league, its really just the old State Championships given a fancy name. Now I do know the Hockey Australia are in the process of moving towards a professional league, but I think the speed may well now need to pick up even more.

So I here you say what would my new Super League look like, well here is my proposal-

- To start with I would not use the current 11-a-side Olympic format, but instead use the very successful Ric Charlesworth designed Super 9's format.

- The teams would not be state based but franchised based and I would have 10 franchises in total to start out with, these would be

1. Perth
2. Adelaide
3. Sydney
4. Melbourne
5. Brisbane
6. Hobart
7. Newcastle
8. Auckland
9. Christchurch
10. Geelong

- Each franchise would have a playing list of 24 names, which can include 2 over season imports and must include 3 players 21 and under drawn from the teams local area.

- Each team would play each other in two series of three matches one home and one away, with the final four contesting a best of three finals series 1 v 4 and 2 v 3. These would be based on 1 home game for the lower ranked team and two home games for the higher ranked team.

- The Grand Final would be a best of three series as well with the lower ranked side hosting 1 game and the high ranked side getting two game at home

I think this would be an exciting format and could prove very successful.

Day 2: First full day in Busselton

Got a good night sleep last night, and woke up this morning to grey skies and rain, great start to my year coaching hockey in the South West of Western Australia, in fact I must confess when I woke up this morning I thought I was back in Melbourne.

So today was a day for looking around for a more permanent place to stay, but not with a great deal of luck, I walked about 30 minutes to the east of Busselton out to the suburb of Geographe to have a look at a Caravan and that was a bust. It just would not be suitable, I would get buffed around in winter if I staid there, add to the fact that the women made a comment which made me think she was far to nose and also made me think you know what I have a Mum and she lives in Mandurah, I dont need another one.

Anyway I just need to sit tight and keep looking something will eventually present itself at some point if I am patient and take my time. The down side of walking there and back though on top of my walk to indoor last night is I have in a very real sense possible worn myself out, but I plan to get a good nights sleep and see how I pull up tomorrow on that front.

Its a big day and big weekend here in Busselton with the annuel Jetty Swim so I will head to the Busselton foreshore and have a look at what is going on over the course of the weekend and get some photo's etc.

I also went and joined the local library today as well, which will give me a place to go to do my work etc.

Now I know that these early posts are lacking anything on the hockey front, but that is all about to change over the coming days and weeks as things start to heat up, in addition I will from time to time do special posts on hockey throughout the year as well which will be very much focussed on the sport I love.

Anyway depending on weather tomorrow night I am off to check out the Busselton Hockey Stadium and also watch a clinic they have down here tomorrow night hosted by ex Hockeyroo Madonna Blyth should be interesting, lets hope the weather is not to bad.

Anyway I will sine of on day 2 and look ahead to Day 3.

Day 1: Arriving in Busselton

Day 1: I made the move today from Mandurah to Busselton to begin my exciting year as Coach of the Capel Hockey Club all new Ladies South West League Team. I am really looking forward to the season ahead, and working together to build a successful team.

So today started off with a drive down from Mandurah to Busselton where I will be living for the next year. For now I have settled into a nice little temporary venue near the centre of town, while I look for a more permanent venue.

After having dinner I took a wander out to the Geographe Lesiure Centre to watch some of my young squads members playing indoor and to meet some of the parents.

Stay tuned for more of my year coaching hockey in 2017 tomorrow and in the future.