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Home , 1996 AFL Grand Final, 1998 AFL Grand Final, AFL Coaches Association, Ballarat Football Club, Ballarat Football League, Brendan McCartney

AFL 2012 NATIONAL COACHING CONFERENCE

CONCURRENT SESSION DESCRIPTIONS

Session 1: Saturday 18th February, 8.30 am – 9.45 am

1A Conducting Effective Drills – (AFL Coaching Ambassador) How do you decide what drills to include in your training session? The best drills, and perhaps the most satisfying, are those developed by you for a specific purpose. You can choose almost any aspect of the game, however small, and design a drill or activity to practice it. This session will present important principles in developing, selecting, and conducting drills to ensure maximum effectiveness from training.

1B Kicking Remediation – Kevin Ball ( University) With the game constantly increasing in speed, it is vital that players continue to maintain a high standard with their kicking. This session will review the history of teaching kicking, discuss today’s modern kicking requirements and put forward a skill template that coaches and players can use for their benefit.

1C Developing Children and Youth – Glenn Wilkins ( Grammar School) & Craig McBrien (Park Ridge SHS) The objective of this session is to outline the latest detailed information around coaching young players. The presentation will provide the coach with the skills to develop a structured program outlining the key components of training programs, drills, and game based training with a focus on development and building positive relationships. It also covers the most effective ways to get the most out of players focusing on communication strategies, questioning techniques, feedback, and assessment and how they can be utilised by the coach to get the best outcomes for individuals, team, and club.

1D Developing Players Ability to Perform When it Counts – Bo Hanson (4 x Olympian; Athlete Assessments) In this workshop we use the “stages of learning” model to understand the learning process and how to identify and reduce the degree to which an athlete may “choke” under pressure. We also learn strategies to ensure we perform at our best more often by discovering the principles of consciousness and unconsciousness. Whilst this sounds complex, this workshop makes it simple by explaining and using actual simulations during the workshop, to narrow your focus, expand it when required and how to control your focus to produce maximum performance.

1E Coach Coordinator Program – (AFL NSW/ACT) & Steve Teakel (AFL VIC) The role of coaching coordinator is a pivotal role in the Australian Football club environment and is designed to assist in the support and continual development of club coaches and support staff. The club coaching coordinator is a liaison between the club committee, local league and other football stakeholders including the regional AFCA branch and Regional Development Managers.

1F Perfect Preparation – Jenny Williams (Best on Ground Performance) If you could have access to a crystal ball that would help identify and recruit the best players and coaches, coupled with a program that develops extraordinary preparation and sound performance psychology wouldn’t you spend an hour finding out about it? Jenny used the world renowned Hogan profiles to look at the personality characteristics of successful AFL coaches and a group of X factor players. She will discuss the findings using the profile of an AFL coach (with permission) and how the profiles can be used to improve team performance at all levels.

Session 2: Saturday 18th February, 11.20 am – 12.35 pm

2A Defensive Strategies – Marty Allison (Calder Cannons FC) This session will look take an in-depth look at the defensive side of football, and in particular developing a defence that is capable of performing under pressure. It will explore the balance between attack and defence, creating turnovers vs. creating scores, positioning, adapting to forward lines, players physical make up and future trends.

2B Developing Elite Kicking – David Rath (Hawthorn FC) This session will provide the participant with an insight into the development of kicking performance. The session aims to challenge some traditional beliefs regarding kicking coaching and performance. By examining the characteristics of elite kicking, participants will establish an alternative framework for the coaching, and more importantly, learning of kicking.

2C Coaching Junior & Youth Kicking – Anton Grbac (AFL Victoria) This session will focus on identifying typical challenges when coaching, remediating and planning kicking development in youth and junior players. Simple activities and training parameters to achieve improvement outcomes will be introduced.

2D Inclusive Coaching - Communication and Development of Players from Indigenous and Multicultural Communities – Michael O’Loughlin & Jason Mifsud (AFL) With the continuous growth in the participation of indigenous and multicultural players in the AFL system, it is important that coaches at all levels understand the diverse backgrounds some of these players come from and are able to provide the support needed to allow these players to reach their full potential.

2E What Research Says about Youth Player Development and Transition to Elite - David Buttifant (Collingwood FC) & Jason Berry (Victoria University) This presentation will introduce the issues faced by AFL clubs in the transition of players from the junior ranks into AFL football. Combining evidence from a collaborative AFL club study that investigated training loads and injury status of 1st-year AFL players, David and Jason will provide a research informed roadmap of player development best practice methods to maximise young players potential in AFL football.

2F What Coaches need to know about Fitness – John Quinn (GWS Giants) This session will look at how to teach players to become fit. Often players complete running exercises because they have to, but not all players know how to become fit and how to push their physical boundaries. John will outline strategies in getting players to reach their potential in relation to their physical condition.

Session 3: Saturday 18th February, 3.15 pm – 4.30 pm

3A Understanding the Press – (Sydney FC) The press has become a common strategy in modern football. This session will look at what the press is and how to train your players to successfully implement a press and/or beat a press.

3B Goal Kicking – (Sydney FC) Goal kicking is a combination of science, skill and mental toughness. There are many different situations including goals scored from set shots, general play and snap shots which will be examined. Accuracy, or a lack of it, can win or lose many games. This session will examine the various methods that can be used to teach goal kicking with an emphasis on the art of teaching different types of players who have different abilities and personalities.

3C Auskick Skills and Drills – (AFL NSW/ACT Game Development Staff) In this practical session, AFL NSW/ACT Game Development staff will run delegates through a series of Auskick Skills and Drills with the emphasis on how to ensure the activities are engaging for AFL Auskickers and junior players.

3D Coaching Players from other Sports – Mark Browning (AFL Academies) With the increasing diversity of sports to which the youth of have access it is important that coaches are able to adapt coaching techniques to assist players from a different sport to participate in AFL football. From the recruitment of young players, to their skill development and use of the ‘oval’ ball, this session will outline the key strategies to coaching players from other sports.

3E Effective Body Contact/Tackling – Scott Hill (Sports Wisdom) Scott Hill will share his insights on how AFL defence can become more effective, from Techniques. Along with the use of the attacking fend in AFL to create further opportunities and space in AFL.

3F Combine Testing & Player Preparation – Kevin Sheehan & James Veale (AFL) This session will cover the history of the Camp/Combine and its growing importance in the football landscape. This session will give attendees an up-to-date interpretation of how “Combine results aid talent identification in AFL. Finally, each test will be analysed to give coaches and players an insight into how best to prepare for and train to perform well in a respective test.

Session 4: Sunday 19th February, 10.20 am – 11.35 am

4A Developing an Effective Forward Line – Leigh Tudor (Sydney FC) The session will include everything from how we score, to setting up predictable structures so that the synergy within your forward line (and the team) is at a premium. Some setup ideas will be shown along with vision.

4B Ruckwork– ( FC) This session will focus on ruckwork skills, training, developing young ruckmen (or big men in general), ruck tactics, the role of the ruckman on and off the ball (e.g. going forward, staying back, spending time in another position, including interchange), their relationships with other players and countering opposition ruckmen.

4C Successful Coaching for Juniors – Jason Saddington (AFL NSW/ACT) This session will consider the crucial elements to ensure the successful coaching of junior players. It will go through the basics including being on time and appropriately dressed and will provide strategies for controlling the group and ensuring a safe environment. Jason will go through communication techniques and how to best teach the skills.

4D Communication, Learning Styles & Personal Brand – Laurie Serafini (Serafini Communications) In this cutting edge session, Laurie Serafini will share with you the secrets of High Stakes Communication that he uses in the business world environment every week. Being an ex AFL player Laurie understands the challenges of a coach trying to communicate, motivate and lead a team. Laurie understands what players are looking for from a coach when it comes to Communication. In this super charged session expect to take away these all important points: What is Powerful Communication today? 2 Ways of Getting to the Point Delivering Key messages with Impact Running more effective meetings 8 vital planning steps for your next team presentation More effective presentation skills Understanding the Different Coaching styles of 2012 Talking and Understanding different player behaviour styles Delivery skills for Maximum results today

4E Performance Evaluation – (AFL) A range of factors influence performance and a coach’s role in developing and improving performance in a club. This session will explore coaches understanding of performance; the key factors which affect it and how to evaluate performance of players, coaches and the club.

4F Finding/Preparing for your next Job - (AFL Coaches Association) The session will focus on finding and preparing for your next coaching position at any level. Danny will also give an insight into the AFLCA and its objectives and outline how interested coaches can get their ‘toe in the door’ at AFL level. Objectives include providing a forum for coaches to meet and discuss opportunities and challenges, and providing career transition and support to coaches and assistant coaches both into and out of the coaching profession. He will highlight the importance of continuously developing skills and expertise of all coaches. Session 5: Sunday 19th February, 1.25 pm – 2.40 pm

5A Coaching Stoppages – AIS/AFL Academy Coaching Staff Modern football has a large of stoppages, which are the times during a game when the ball is in a neutral situation. Therefore it is a key area of the modern game and teams which can control play at the stoppages have a real advantage. This session will explore the key requirements of the midfield, stoppage fundamentals, basic stoppage principles and centre bounce structures.

5B Game Sense– Brett Hand (GWS Giants) This session will involve a presentation of game sense, its outcomes, training ideas and coaching methods to maximise player learning. How to develop games and questioning techniques will be explored. The second part of the session will involve a practical demonstration of small-sided games and coaching methods and how they are used to develop game sense. Some participant involvement will be required.

5C Skill Acquisition – Ben Moore ( FC) The amount of physical, team-based training that a player can complete in any given week is often quite limited. This means that every component of every training session should be structured in a way that helps to maximise skill learning. This presentation will detail a number of skill acquisition principles that should be considered when designing a training session along with some ideas that can be applied to help enhance skill execution and decision-making. Key topics include, “What makes an elite footballer?”; “Important skill acquisition principles to consider”; and “Practical strategies to enhance skill”.

5D Successful Coaching in Community Clubs – Ron Rooney (Coburg Districts FC) Setting your community club up for long term success in preference to the quick fix that has been unfortunately so unsuccessful time and time again over the ages for far too many clubs! A session from a long time grass roots coach outlining the implementation of a culture, coaching structure and professional benchmarks that has over a lengthy coaching career subsequently achieved a very positive win/loss ratio and taken a number of previous middle of the road teams to grand finals. *An extensive coaches’ resource booklet will be provided to all coaches attending this session.

5E Effective Teaching – Facilitating Learning – David Wheadon “Coaching is teaching”. Teaching is the most important competency of coaching and the best coaches in the world are effective teachers. Teaching ability is becoming an important part of AFL coaching. David will discuss methods of effective teaching linked to how players learn and present simple examples of good teaching in football.

5F Developing On-field Leadership – Wayne Goldsmith (Moregold) Leadership in AFL means different things to different people. To some, leadership is about values and attitudes. To others, leadership is about responsibility and accountability of off-field behaviours. To others, leadership is about professionalism, whole-of-life management and personal standards. But ultimately, leadership is most critical on field. On-field leadership is where leadership skills, behaviours and abilities are most important because it is on field that leadership can directly influence the performance of the team and the outcome of the game. This session will discuss the topic of on-field leadership, suggest ways of identifying and measuring the effects of on-field leadership and recommend practical coaching strategies for enhancing on-field leadership in AFL.

AFL 2011 NATIONAL COACHING CONFERENCE

THE PRESENTERS

OPENING & KEYNOTE ADDRESSES

Stan Alves – AFL Coaching Ambassador and the President of AFCA (Vic). He was Senior Coach of St Kilda from 1994-1998, including the 1997 Grand Final. Stan played 283 games with and the Kangaroos and is an AFL High Performance (Level 3) coach. He is the co-book author of Sacked Coach and a regular media commentator. In 2008 Stan was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to Australian football. He has been awarded AFL life membership and is a hall of fame inductee.

Andrew Dillon – as a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne and a post-graduate diploma in Applied Finance and Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia. Undertook Articled Clerkship at Corrs Chambers Westgarth in 1994 and was subsequently employed as a solicitor in Corrs' Commercial Division. From October 1997 to August 2000, he worked as in-house legal counsel at Village Roadshow Limited. Joined the AFL in August 2000 as Legal Counsel and was appointed General Manager - Legal and Business Affairs in July. Andrew is currently the AFL’s General Manager National & International Development.

Scott Hill - For the best part of a decade, Scott was one of the most talented and skillful players in world rugby league. He had his debut with the Bulldogs in 1996, played for the Hunter Mariners in the competition in 1997 and then was selected as an inaugural squad member of the . Scott played exactly 200 first grade NRL games earning a reputation as a highly skilled ball player, strong ball runner and robust defender. He is also credited as being a part of the leadership team that built the standards and culture at the Storm that most NRL’s most successful modern day clubs are founded on. His skill earned him a number of representative honours including State of Origin for NSW and 12 games for the Kangaroos.

After retiring from all competition following a stint with London Harlequins in the UK Super League, Scott inspires individual excellence in sport and business through the SPORTS WISDOM of Australia’s sporting legends.

John Longmire – Having served a long apprenticeship under premiership-winner Paul Roos, John proved he was more than ready for the step-up. He already has one notch on his belt that Paul did not achieve, leading the club to a victory over at Skilled Stadium, the club’s first win there since 1999. John led the club to finals in his first season at the helm and orchestrated a 25-point elimination final victory over the saints at Etihad Stadium. His contract has been extended through to the end of the 2014 season.

David Matthews – David has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from and a Master of Sport Management from Deakin University. David was the General Manager from 1993 to 1996 before being appointed as the Victorian Country Football League operations manager in 1997. He joined the AFL in 1998 and was AFL Auskick and Participation Manager for five years before being appointed General Manager Game Development in March 2004. David became CEO of GWS Giants in 2011.

Leigh Matthews – Played for Hawthorn in the VFL (now AFL) from 1969 to 1985, coached Collingwood from 1986–1995, and coached the from 1999 to 2008. As a player he is the official "Best player of the 20th century", is a Legend in the AFL Hall of Fame, is on the Hawthorn and AFL Teams of the Centuries, has polled the most Brownlow votes without winning a Brownlow and is one of the most successful AFL coaches of all time. Leigh has received four Jock McHale Medals (given to the coach of the winning premiership team).

Brendan McCartney – A long term Level 3 Coach, Brendan is the first person without AFL/VFL playing experience to coach the Bulldogs since Jim Cassidy in 1926. But the AFL’s assistant coach of the year in 2010 beings with him a wealth of coaching experience at AFL clubs and an enviable reputation as a developer of young talent. He coached Ocean Grove to four consecutive premierships (1994-97) and was a development coach under Jeff Gieschen at Richmond in 1998-99. He had 11 years (2000-10) under Mark Thompson at Geelong before joining Thompson as an assistant at Essendon under .

Paul Reiffel – Paul is a former Australian cricketer who played in 35 Tests and 92 One Day Internationals from 1992 to 1999. He was part of Australia's victorious 1999 World Cup team. After retirement he became a First Class cricket umpire. Paul's father, Ron, played for the . His grandfather, Lou Reiffel, was also a footballer and played for both Melbourne and South Melbourne.

Mark Williams - As the Giants’ senior assistant coach, Mark, also a long term AFL High Performance (Level 3) Coach, brings tremendous experience and tactical nous to the role. He spent 11 years as the head coach of Port Adelaide, leading the club to its first AFL premiership in 2004. He also coached the Power to the 2007 Grand Final, losing to Geelong, before stepping down in 2010. He played a total of 201 VFL/AFL games at Collingwood and .

CONCURRENT SESSIONS – Presenters listed in alphabetical order

Marty Allison – Coached senior football at Strathmore in Melbourne for two years before being appointed by Calder Cannons as an assistant coach. After spending four years as assistant coach at the Calder Cannons including a year as midfield coach for Vic Country, Marty was promoted to Head Coach in 2008. In the past two years under Marty's coaching, 15 players have been added to AFL teams from the Cannons two premiership teams, with players studying Year 12 still achieving high ATAR scores. Marty is the president of North West (Vic) AFCA and an accredited High Performance Coach.

Stan Alves – AFL Coaching Ambassador and the President of AFCA (Vic). He was Senior Coach of St Kilda from 1994-1998, including the 1997 Grand Final. Stan played 283 games with Melbourne and the Kangaroos and is an AFL High Performance (Level 3) Coach. He is the co-book author of Sacked Coach and a regular media commentator. In 2008 Stan was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to Australian football. He has been awarded AFL life membership and is a Melbourne football club hall of fame inductee.

Kevin Ball – Kevin Ball is a lecturer in sports biomechanics and is an authority on the biomechanics and skill acquisition of kicking in Australian football. He has worked as assistant coach at , as a sports scientist with Western Bulldogs and Melbourne football clubs and as specialist kicking coach for AFL teams, development squads and the Melbourne Storm rugby league club. Kevin is currently the AIS/AFL Academy kicking coach, the Melbourne Storm kicking coach and consults to a number of AFL clubs.

Jason Berry – Research Fellow with the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL) at Victoria University. Jason has a PhD in player development and is a senior premiership coach of the North . He was formerly a skill acquisition specialist and game analyst at Essendon FC. He has provided consultant services to a number of sporting organizations and teams including Collingwood FC and FC. At the community level, Jason is coaching the Aberfeldie FC U14’s in 2012.

John Blakey – Joined the Swans at the end of the 2006 season after being an assistant coach with the Brisbane Lions. A premiership defender with North Melbourne in 1996 and 1999, he played 135 games with Fitzroy and 224 with the Kangaroos. John is the Swans’ defensive coach.

Mark Browning – Played for the Sydney Swans from 1975 to 1987. He won the club's award in 1983 and captained the Swans for the following two seasons (1984-85). In 1988 he signed on as Captain-Coach of the Football Club in the Tasmanian Football League and skippered them to a losing Grand Final in 1989. His Hobart side went on to defeat North Launceston by 58-points, giving Mark his only taste of premiership success in football. He led the club as non-playing coach for the 1992 season where they fought their way into another Grand Final against North Hobart. Mark is an accredited AFL High Performance (Level 3) Coach and is currently AFL manager Talent & Academies NSW/QLD.

David Buttifant – Is in his 13th year as Collingwood Football Club’s Sport Science Director. David holds a PhD in Exercise Physiology. He has also worked as Senior Sport Scientist & Strength and Conditioning Coordinator at the NSW Institute of Sport, preparing athletes for the Sydney Olympic Games. Prior to this, he was Head of Strength and Conditioning at the Kangaroos Football Club. David is currently an AFL Research Board Member.

Stuart Dew – Joined the Swans late in 2009 as a development coach and has been an assistant coach the past two seasons. He helped look after the defence in 2011 and is in charge of stoppages this season. Stuart has a wealth of playing experience, with a total of 206 games with Port Adelaide and Hawthorn, winning premiership medallions with both clubs.

Wayne Goldsmith – is the Managing Director of Moregold performance consulting and producer of the popular coaching blog Sports Coaching Brain (www.sportscoachingbrain.com). Moregold is a specialist high performance sports program enhancement company with over 20 years experience at the highest levels of professional and Olympic sport. Wayne has worked with a range of sporting organisations around the world including national sporting organisations and professional football clubs in AFL, rugby, rugby league and soccer. Wayne is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Canberra studying how people learn in the fields of education, management and sport.

Anton Grbac – Began his playing career with a fleeting stint at Essendon in 1982 before joining West Torrens, in , in 1984. Anton has been an Auskick coach for seven years and held the position of Chairman of Selectors with Victorian youth representative teams for over 12 years. A former State Director of Coaching from 1996-2006, Anton is the current AFL Victoria High Performance Manager. Between 1994 and 2009 he has also occupied roles within the Vic Metro and Vic Country U/16 and U/18 teams as Coach, Selector, mentor/advisor and Opposition Analyst. Anton is an accredited AFL High Performance (Level 3) Coach.

Brett Hand – Brett started coaching at the age of 23 as a Reserve Grade Coach in the Spencer Gulf Football League and progressed to the as the u/19 and Reserve Grade Coach for 5 years. He then moved to the Northern Territory to coach the St Mary's Football Club to 1 & ½ premierships. In 2008, Brett took on the role as the Northern Institute of Sport AFL Head Coach. Brett is an accredited AFL High Performance (Level 3) Coach and inn 2010 he won the position as Development Coach for the GWS Giants Football Club. He was assistant Coach for the team in their TAC Cup year 2010 and in the NEAFL Competition last year. This year Brett is the Head Coach of the Giants Reserves team.

Bo Hanson – Bo draws from his experiences from four Olympic campaigns including three medal winning, formal university education and working in the corporate world for over a 15 years. He is now an internationally renowned speaker and respected coaching consultant, working with many coaches and athletes around the world. Bo regularly consults on athlete-centred coaching, leadership, team dynamics and how to develop self-awareness for both coaches and athletes using the CoachDISC and AthleteDISC behavioural profiling tools. Clients include top USA Colleges, national and professional teams to amateur sports clubs and high schools. Bo currently works with approximately 18 different sports, including AFL.

Scott Hill - For the best part of a decade, Scott was one of the most talented and skillful players in world rugby league. He had his debut with the Bulldogs in 1996, played for the Hunter Mariners in the Super League competition in 1997 and then was selected as an inaugural squad member of the Melbourne Storm. Scott played exactly 200 first grade NRL games earning a reputation as a highly skilled ball player, strong ball runner and robust defender. He is also credited as being a part of the leadership team that built the standards and culture at the Storm that most NRL’s most successful modern day clubs are founded on. His skill earned him a number of representative honours including State of Origin for NSW and 12 games for the Kangaroos.

Steven King – the 34-year-old arrives at the Bulldogs from St Kilda, where he was the ruck/midfield coach in 2011. He will have a similar role at , as well as concentrating on team defence. King played 240 AFL games with Geelong and St Kilda. He captained the Cats from 2003-06, was a two- time club best and fairest (2000, 2002) and was named All-Australian in 2000. Steven is currently completing his AFL High Performance (Level 3) Coach accreditation.

Craig McBrien - Craig, an accredited AFL Level 2 Coach, has over 10 years’ experience teaching and coaching in a variety of different settings, including school and State League Competitions. His first coaching appointment was with the North London Lions in the International Competition (BARFL) in 2001, where he captain/coached the club to their first BARFL premiership. Craig’s involvement led to him promoting and developing the game abroad working closely with British players. In 2003 Craig captained/coached Campbelltown in the Sydney Football League. In 2008 -2009, he joined Morningside Football Club (QAFL) as both a Senior Assistant and Development Coach. Currently, he is the Head of Department for Health and Physical Education at Park Ridge SHS, an AFL School of Excellence in Queensland. In 2011, Craig has co-written ‘Groundwork Coaching: A comprehensive program for football clubs and schools’, with Glenn Wilkins.

Jason Mifsud – Jason is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Football League Foundation and was formerly the national Indigenous Programs Manager for the Australian Football League. In 2006 and 2007, Jason held professional coaching roles with the St Kilda and Western Bulldogs Football Clubs. Jason has held national Indigenous mentoring roles and has recently been appointed to the Victorian Governments Aboriginal Economic Development Board and consults to industries on cultural auditing and leadership.

Ben Moore - Ben studied Human Movement as his undergraduate degree at the University of Birmingham and completed his Postgraduate degree (MSc) at the University of Sydney. He is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Sydney in ‘Skill Acquisition in AFL’. Ben provides support to the players and coaches on structuring training sessions in order to maximise motor learning and decision- making opportunities. He is also the Technical Director at the Swans Academy and is responsible for the direction, design and coordination of the player development program, incorporating skill acquisition, physical preparation and personal development.

Michael O’Loughlin – Played 303 games for Sydney between 1995 and 2009. Michael’s honours include Club Best and Fairest winner 1998, All-Australian representative 1997, 2000 and Medallist 1998. He was also a member of the Swans premiership side in 2005 and was selected as Full Forward in the Indigenous Team of the Century in the same year. Since his playing retirement, O'Loughlin has launched the Goodes O'Loughlin Foundation, which aims to develop and empower the next generation of Indigenous role models in Australia. Michael is also the Head Coach of the Level 2 AIS/AFL Academy Squad.

David Parkin – An accredited AFL High Performance (Level 3) Coach, David is an AFL Coaching Ambassador and President of the AFL Coaches Association. David's accomplishments include captaining the to their second premiership in 1971, and then coaching them to a flag in 1978. He later coached to successive Premierships in 1981-82, as well as taking them to a record breaking number of victories in 1995, which culminated with them again becoming Premiers. Overall he coached 519 games. He spent twenty-four years as Senior Coach, Victorian Football League/WAFL/AFL and nine years as Physical Education Adviser to Hawthorn Football Club. He was State Director of Coaching for the Victorian Football Development Foundation from 1989 to 1990 and was State Coach in 1979, 1982-83 and 1989-1990. Throughout his time in football David maintained his other roles as a teacher and then lecturer at Deakin University. David was elected to the AFL Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2010.

Luke Power – Luke, a three time premiership player with the Brisbane Lions, brings his enormous experience over 14 seasons to fill a playing and coaching role at the GWS Giants in 2012. He will play in the Giants midfield and undertake a role as an assistant midfield coach. Luke is undertaking his Level 2 AFL Coach Accreditation and is President of the AFL Players Association.

John Quinn – John is Sports Science Manager at GWS Giants. John’s career has spanned more than 25 years. He has worked with many of Australia’s leading athletes and coaches across a number of sports. He was a team coach for track and field at the Sydney Olympic Games, has been the Australian fitness coach for two International Rules Series (AFL), traveled with the Socceroos in 2006 and was strength and conditioning coach for the Dhaka Warriors in the Indian Cricket League. He was high performance manager at Essendon FC under Kevin Sheedy from 1998 – 2008. John has interacted with some of Australia’s most legendary sportspeople including Kevin Sheedy, James Hird, Catherine Freeman, Lauren Hewitt, Darren Clark, Daniel Kowalski and many more.

David Rath – Is an industry leader in sport science, biomechanics, skill development and information technology. David is the High-performance Coach at Hawthorn and previously worked at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. David has a specific interest in kicking coaching and is an accredited AFL High Performance (Level 3) Coach.

Ron Rooney – Ron Rooney has coached a number of clubs in the Essendon District and the Western Region football leagues over a 30 year period. Selected as a coach and player in the Oak Park team of the century Ron captained- coached Oak Park to its’ first ever senior flag as well as representing the WRFL and EDFL as a player and head coach on a number of occasions during his long senior playing and coaching career. Currently employed as a physical education teacher and sports co-ordinator at Pascoe Vale Girls College Ron has also worked at the elite level of sport being a fitness advisor to the Victorian Cricket team (1979 -1983) and the full time Coaching and Development Manager for Cricket Victoria and Cricket Australia from 1990 to 2000.

Jason Saddington – Played a combined 162 games for Sydney and Carlton. Following his retirement from the game in 2008, Jason took up an assistant coaching role in the VFL while also running a sports program for primary school kids. He participated in the AFL/AFLPA Level 2 Coaching course and at the end of 2009, he was appointed State Coaching Manager for AFL NSW/ACT. He is currently undertaking the AFL High Performance Coach Accreditation

Peter Schwab – Played 171 games for Hawthorn in a career spanning 12 years, including three premierships in 1983, ’86 and ’88. He began his coaching career in 1992 as an assistant at Richmond, before becoming the head coach at Hawthorn in 2000. In 2005, Schwab took the job as chairman of the AFL's Match Review Panel. In February 2007, Schwab joined AFL Victoria as its Chief Executive Officer. He is currently the Director of Coaching at the AFL. Peter is an AFL High Performance (Level 3) coach.

Laurie Serafini - Laurie is Director of Serafini Communications. He has been consulting based in Melbourne, over the past 15 years. His area of expertise is across Face to Face Communications. He is also a past Director on the Board of the Brisbane Lions FC., having “hung his boots up recently”. Laurie played AFL for Fitzroy FC, made his name as a key defender and represented Victoria on several occasions.

Kevin Sheedy – One of the most prominent figures in the history of Australian Football, Kevin decided he was not done with coaching when his 27-year association with Essendon ended in 2007. Following four premierships and 634 games at the helm of the Bombers, he was appointed as the inaugural coach of GWS. He has fully embraced the challenges of creating a new club in western Sydney and is a firm believer in the need for the AFL to expand.

Kevin Sheehan – Played 108 senior games for Geelong. In 1976 he was appointed Geelong’s first full time Promotions Officer working for the club in developing the game. He was assistant coach of Geelong’s senior team in 1982/83. After retiring, Kevin was appointed as the VFL’s Development Manager in 1983, and then later as the AFL‘s National and International Talent Manager. He was honoured in this role by having the Kevin Sheehan Medal awarded to the best player in each year's AFL Under 16 Championships. He is a member of the AFL football operations sub-committee, a selector for the AFL Rising Star award, and regular media commentator on the AFL’s Rising Star program. Kevin is an AFL High Performance Coach.

Steve Teakel – Is the Coaching Development Manager for AFL Victoria, previously holding other roles including Youth and Schools Manager and Development Manager for the Eastern region. In his role he oversees the provision of Level 1 and 2 coach education programs which are conducted for coaches in VFL, community clubs, schools, and universities. Steve is an accredited Level 2 coach with experience in the Eastern Football league, with Vic Metro U16 teams; four time premiership player with Camberwell and Box Hill in the VFA, manager of the Vic Metro U18 team and is also a Level 2 cricket coach having coached teams at school, junior and senior levels.

Leigh Tudor – is an assistant coach at the Sydney Swans an accredited AFL High Performance (Level 3) Coach. He has a wealth of coaching experience after a successful playing career. He played eight games with North Melbourne from 1989-92 and 60 with Geelong from 1993-96. Leigh was assistant coach of the Calder Cannons from 2011-03 before being coach of the Western Jets in 2004. He was coach of Geelong in the VFL from 2005-08, winning a premiership in 2007, before joining St Kilda as assistant in 2009.

James Veale – Holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Exercise Physiology. He has been working in the AFL Junior Development Pathway since 2003. James spent five seasons with the Western Jets from 2003 until 2008, firstly as Strength & Conditioning Coach and then as Head of Fitness, as well as three years with the AFL Victoria Metropolitan U16 program. In 2007, he commenced work with the AIS-AFL Academy U/17 Program as Strength & Conditioning Coach. He is currently AFL Conditioning & Information Systems Manager.

David Wheadon – Was the Skills Acquisition Coach at Geelong between 2007 and 2010 and he has previously been a career Assistant Coach with previous periods at Geelong, Carlton, Essendon, Collingwood and Richmond. David is the author of a number of books on coaching skills, drills and tactics for football, including the new edition of Drills & Skills in Australian Football in 2008. He is an accredited AFL High Performance Coach.

Glenn Wilkins - Glenn, an accredited Level 3 High Performance Coach, has over 14 years coaching experience from grass roots/country level to being involved in the talent pathway programs. Glenn’s first senior coaching assignment was the Sebastopol Football Club in 1996-1998 at just 22 years of age. He has since coached Donald Football Club in 2004 – 2005 (premiers 2004), been an Assistant/Backline Coach at North Ballarat Roosters in 2007, as well as a Development/Opposition Analysis Coach of North Ballarat Roosters in 2008 (Premiers). In 2009-2010, Glenn was appointed the Head Coach of the North Ballarat Rebels. Currently he is the Football Director at Ballarat Grammar, as well as taking on a developmental role with the where he mentors Junior Coaches. Over the past 12 months, Glenn has co-written, ‘Groundwork Coaching: A comprehensive program for football clubs and schools’, with Craig McBrien.

Jenny Williams - Jenny is qualified with a degree in teaching and masters in psychology and she has coupled this with the practical experience as an elite level coach and player. Jenny is the daughter of AFL Hall of Famer Fos Williams and sister to Mark, Anthony and Stephen all of whom had distinguished football careers with the SANFL, VFL or AFL. In the sport of lacrosse Jenny won a world cup gold, silver and bronze medal as a Captain or Coach of Australia and she represented SA in 5 different sports, Captaining 3 of them and winning 13 National titles. Jenny understands people, leadership and group performance and gained her M. Psych with a thesis examining the behaviours of elite level coaches and X factor players. She currently works with elite sports people and organizational groups.