Podcasts
CHRIS ADAMS AND LES BEE – MANAGING YOUR PLAYERS’ BEHAVIOUR AT TRAINING
On Thursday, 14 May 2020, Former FFA National Community Coach Development Manager Les Bee and Football New South Wales Coach Educator Chris Adams spoke to Football Coaches Australia members on the topic: ‘Managing Your Players’ Behaviour at Training.’
The session, designed for community coaches and coaches of junior players, included discussion on session design, coaching behaviours and their effect on player behaviours, building positive and meaningful relationships with players, arrival routines that set the team up for a positive training session and the concept of mixing ages and genders in youth football.
This podcast is converted from a forum that was conducted with a live audience on the virtual meeting platform Zoom.
During the forum, Les and Chris answered numerous participant questions, some of which can be heard in this podcast.
YOUNG SOCCEROOS HEAD COACH GARY VAN EGMOND AND FFA TECHNICAL ANALYST ADAM BARBERA
On Tuesday, 19 May 2020, Young Socceroos Head Coach Gary Van Egmond and FFA Technical Analyst Adam Barbera spoke to Football Coaches Australia members on the topic: ‘Young Socceroos qualifier process & challenges towards Uzbekistan 2020 (now deferred) U-19 Asian Championships.’
The coaching duo spoke about their approach to preparing the team for crucial qualifying games, including individual player and performance management, own team analysis and opponent analysis, and delivering on a strategy for success.
They also answered participant questions on a range of coaching topics.
** The talk was presented via the video conferencing platform Zoom, and has been converted to audio for this podcast. Therefore, the presenters refer to some visual aids that were shown on the screen at the time.
SCOTT O’DONELL – TECHNICAL DIRECTOR CAPITAL FOOTBALL
On Wednesday, 20 May 2020, Capital Football’s Technical Director Scott O’Donell spoke to Football Coaches Australia members on the topic: ‘A Facilitated Learning Match Day Approach for Community & Junior Coaches’.
Scott, a former professional player who has previously coached the Cambodian national team and is the current Assistant Coach of Canberra United in the W-League, spoke on a number of themes, including warm-ups and half-time team talks, timing for announcing starting lineups and the fair division of playing time.
He also spoke about strategies for creating a positive environment for youth players as a coach or parent.
This podcast is converted into a podcast from a forum that was conducted with a live audience on the virtual meeting platform Zoom.
During the forum, Scott answered numerous participant questions, some of which can be heard in this podcast.
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL COACHES SERIES: HEATHER GARRIOCK – FOOTBALL COACHES AUSTRALIA VICE PRESIDENT
On Wednesday, 13 May 2020, Football Coaches Australia Vice President Heather Garriock was the guest presenter for FCA’s monthly Women’s Football Coaches Forum and spoke on the topic: ‘Bridging The Gap – It’s time to Reset – Preparing players and coaches for the next step from Club to Elite football.’
During the presentation, the former Matilda with 130 national team caps to her credit discussed four main areas with problems that need to be resolved in order for the Australian Women’s National Team to continue experiencing success in world football. These areas were players, coaches, pathways and competitions.
Heather discussed problems and proposed solutions for the way we develop players and coaches from Mini Roos through to the professional ranks, spoke about the absence of a dedicated scouting program to identify talent and proposed new competition structures for the W-League and NPLW competitions.
She also called on friend and former Australian Women’s National Team coach Tom Sermanni to discuss talent identification, and engaged in discussion with Australian coaching legend and FCA Ambassador Dr Ron Smith.
Always candid and brave, Heather Garriock delivered a frank assessment of Australia’s elite player pathways for women’s football and outlined her concerns regarding the lack of depth in Australia’s beloved Matildas.
This podcast is converted into a podcast from a forum that was conducted with a live audience on the virtual meeting platform Zoom.
During the forum, Heather answered numerous participant questions, some of which can be heard in this podcast.
What needs to be fixed to make way for the future success of the Matildas? It’s all here in ‘Bridging The Gap – It’s time to Reset – Preparing players and coaches for the next step from Club to Elite football’ with Heather Garriock.
A CONVERSATION: MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN THE HIGH PERFORMANCE WORLD WITH NICK BRACKS AND LUCIEN OKILL
On Tuesday, 12 May 2020, an expert panel of mental health experts led by Nick Bracks and Lucien Okill from Mental Health Masterclass spoke to Football Coaches Australia members on the topic ‘A Conversation: Mental Health and Well-being in the High Performance World.’
The expert panel also included:
Dr Mark Jones, Chief Medical Officer, Football Federation Australia
Dr Deidre Anderson, Well-being Manager, 2021 Olympic Softball Team; Chair – Rugby League Players Association
Dr Craig Duncan, Founder/ CEO Performance Intelligence Agency
The forum was conducted to provide football coaches, especially those working in the high-pressured world of professional football, with tools to maintain their own mental health and well-being, and also advice on how to help players and staff through mental health struggles.
The forum was conducted on the virtual meeting platform Zoom, and has been converted to an audio file for this podcast.
During the forum, the panel answered participant questions, some of which can be heard in this podcast.
ERNIE MERRICK – AUSTRALIA’S MOST SUCCESSFUL A-LEAGUE COACH
On Tuesday, 5 May 2020, Australia’s most successful A-League Coach, Ernie Merrick OAM, spoke to Football Coaches Australia members on the topic ‘Coaching, Strategy and Survival.’
Ernie’s passion for football is beautifully conveyed in this podcast, which features his personal recollections from his career as an A-League as Head Coach of the Newcastle Jets, Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix, and his time working at the Victorian Institute of Sport.
He also brings friends and colleagues into the conversation, including cameos from Damian Farrow (Professor of Skill Acquisition), Neil Craig (former AFL Head Coach) and Gary Cole (coach and Socceroo).
Ernie was inducted into the Order of Australia in 2014 for his services to football.
The son of Scottish circus performers, Ernie certainly knows how to engage an audience and this podcast is not to be missed.
The forum was conducted on the virtual meeting platform Zoom, and has been converted to an audio file for this podcast.
During the forum, Ernie answered numerous participant questions, some of which can be heard in this podcast.
AUSTRALIAN COACHING LEGEND DOCTOR RON SMITH
At the end of April 2020, Doctor Ron Smith – one of Australia’s most respected football coaches and founder of ‘The Football Centre’, spoke to former Socceroo Gary Cole on the topic ‘building elements of the game into practice.’
Ron Smith’s coaching Résumé is impressive, boasting stints as head coach of the Australian Institute of Sport, as a staff coach with the Socceroos, an A-League coach with Perth Glory, and a personal coach to Harry Kewell. Overseas, he has been an instructor for both the Asian Football Confederation and the Oceania Football Confederation. In 1996, he won the Malaysian championship with Sabah, an achievement he still regards as the highlight of his career.
In this podcast, Ron speaks about the importance of developing football practices that include game realism.
Ron has mentored many coaches throughout his career and is an Ambassador for Football Coaches Australia.
He has his own coach education website, which can be found at: www.thefootballcentre.com.au
FOOTBALL SOUTH AUSTRALIA COACH EDUCATION MANAGER ALEC WILSON
Football South Australia’s Coach Education Manager Alec Wilson spoke to Football Coaches Australia members on Thursday, 30 April 2020, on the topic: “Empowering Self-Directed Learning for Junior Players.”
Alec shared his thoughts on helping children to truly fall in love with football and the importance of that love of of the game to future high performance outcomes, as well as strategies for providing an environment where young players can to chose their own adventures on the training pitch.
The forum was conducted on the virtual meeting platform Zoom, and has been converted to an audio file for this podcast.
During the forum, Alec answered participant questions, some of which can be heard in this podcast.
FFA HIGH PERFORMANCE COORDINATOR ANDREW CLARK
Football Federation Australia’s High Performance Coordinator and Head of Sports Science Andrew Clark spoke to Football Coaches Australia members on Tuesday, 28 April 2020, on the topic: “Sports Science in Football – Where are we at? – Simple tips to help make you a better coach.”
Andrew shared insights into the high performance and sports science strategies implemented for the Australian men’s national team ‘The Socceroos’, including methods for achieving high performance from players when faced with the challenges of very short national team camp windows with significant travel requirements and limited training sessions.
The forum was conducted on the virtual meeting platform Zoom, and has been converted to an audio file for this podcast.
During the forum, Trevor answered participant questions, some of which can be heard in this podcast.
FFA NATIONAL COACH EDUCATION MANAGER SEAN DOUGLAS: ‘RE-THINKING GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL – INSPIRE THEM TO PLAY INDEPENDENTLY OF YOU’
Sean Douglas, the National Coach Education Manager at Football Federation Australia, spoke to Football Coaches Australia members on Thursday, 16 April 2020, on the topic: Re-thinking grassroots football – inspire them to play independently of you.
Sean spoke discussed themes such as listening to grassroots players and delivering a the football experience they want, developing football programs that enhance enjoyment of the game and the strategies for tackling the challenges of getting young people outside to play.
The forum was conducted on the virtual meeting platform Zoom, and has been converted to an audio file for this podcast. Some portions of the original presentation which relied on visual delivery have been removed to improve the podcast experience.
During the forum, Sean answered participant questions, some of which can be heard in this engaging podcast, which challenges widely held beliefs on the role of the coach in grassroots football.
SOCCEROOS HEAD COACH GRAHAM ARNOLD: LEADERSHIP, CULTURE AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Graham Arnold, the Head Coach of the Australian Men’s national team ‘The Socceroos’, spoke to Football Coaches Australia members on Wednesday, 15 April 2020, on the topic: Leadership, Culture and Crisis Management.
Graham also gave his assessment on the state of Australian football, spoke about the challenges of developing future elite players and shared his learned-experience of effective man-management.
The forum was conducted on the virtual meeting platform Zoom, and has been converted to an audio file for this podcast.
During the forum, Graham answered participant questions, some of which can be heard in this podcast, providing frank and candid answers not often heard from national team coaches.