Alastair Clarkson has never been a shrinking violet – just ask Ian Aitken – and he once again proved it during this week’s AFL Commission meeting in Sydney.
Addressing the game’s administrators, he claimed the game had been “ambushed” by the Essendon scandal last year and that the favourite son path taken by clubs when selecting coaches had failed.
”Hirdy (James Hird) needs accreditation to coach under nines but not an AFL footy team. It really concerns me that the game doesn’t protect itself in the way, say, the teaching industry does,” he told Fairfax Media.
”The game doesn’t protect itself from over-zealous board members, who become fixated on the idea of a club legend or a star player becoming their coach with no experience.”
The comments came on the same day that former Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss revealed that he wouldn’t have accepted the Brisbane Lions job if he had his time over again.
“I would have definitely spent a couple of years plying my trade,” Voss told SEN.
For expressing his views, Clarkson was subject to attacks from Essendon supporters and the Bombers administration, who questioned his temperament and knowledge.
Not only were the attacks childish and immature, they completely missed the main point of Clarkson’s address.
While Clarkson did use Essendon as the example, his message was for the whole competition – football coaches need better education.
The idea that someone can come in from a commentary box and coach a professional football club without any training or experience is dead.
Coaching is more than just working with a bunch of footy players.
There is a need to delegate, manage relations with the board, dabble in psychology, play parent to interstate draftees, spruik the club to sponsors and encourage fans to attend games.
The experiences of Michael Voss and James Hird have shown that for all their reputation and playing attributes, they were merely deer caught in headlights when dealing with the outside influences.
Clarkson’s plan to have a coaching accreditation course for prospective senior coaches is an idea that should be employed ASAP.
If accepted and implemented, coaches would have to serve a minimum apprenticeship while undertaking professional development courses on coaching responsibilities outside the match-day experience.
Clarkson got his idea during a visit to the English National Football centre at St George’s Park, where they have conducted training for the UEFA Pro Licence course over the past 10 years.
The UEFA Pro Licence is a perfect template for the AFL to base its own program on.
The Pro Licence is achieved over a period of a year, in which studious coaches are lectured and educated on issues ranging from injury prevention to dealing with player agents.
Prospective coaches require 240 hours of study plus a week’s residence at a University to pass the course and become fully accredited.
Importantly, the course is mandatory and no coach can manage a European football club at the top level without completing the course or being currently in study.
As such, football mangers are better people as their knowledge base of the world of professional sport is greatly increased.
The AFL should execute a similar strategy if it wants to avoid a repeat of the Essendon furore last season.
Coaches under the new system would be better educated and more well-rounded personalities who would be less likely to succumb to the traps Hird and Voss fell into during their coaching spells.
Coaches are fundamentally teachers. When you consider the steps required to become a school teacher, it should be an essential requirement of football that coaches go through a similar process.
Stavros
Guest
Its not the end of the story. Judge the appointment when he is definitely not coaching Essendon anymore. Got 14 wins last year, so you can't knock his on-field efforts.
Cat
Roar Guru
OR there are just far more 'mid-tier' players joining the coaching ranks therefore a greater chance at success than the 'top-tier' talent who more likely either disappear from the public eye having earnt enough money or go into media jobs because their name is recognizable and they get those jobs easier.
Australian Rules
Guest
Buckley at least had a few years as Malthouse's Assistant. Voss was at least about to begin an assistant coaching position with WCE, before he withdrew and took the Lions' job. These guys were at least looking to become career coaches. Hird had never coached and had actually said repeatedly that he *didn't* want to coach the team. But a few board members were so starry-eyed and persistent, that he eventually said "ok... but here's a list of what we need". Ended up well didn't it?
Kev
Guest
So? What's your point?
TomC
Roar Guru
The thing is, you'd think a minimum requirement would be totally unnecessary, because what sort of idiotic, destined-to-fail club would be stupid enough to trust their most important asset to a favourite son with no relevant qualifications? Step forward, Essendon, Collingwood and Brisbane. But at least Essendon and Collingwood worked hard to put in place personnel to ensure their favourite sons had the best chance of success. And frankly I think that's much more valuable than a coaching course. Ultimately I think we should generally let the clubs impose whatever minimum conditions they want on their candidates.
Stavros
Guest
Voss and Hird were both captains of their clubs during successful periods, so I'm sure they were well versed in a lot of the things that were going around the club. I'm pretty sure that coaches don't negotiate players contracts. I thought Hird handled the pressure that was on him superbly last year. Wouldn't be able to teach that in a coaching course.
Mango Jack
Guest
Few star players have made the transition to a successful coach. Leigh Matthews is one that comes to mind, but generally speaking the best coaches are the ones who had to fight hard to get and keep their place. Maybe they had to work out how clubs work more than their glorified team mates, or their playing career gave them more of the resilience they need as a coach.
Mango Jack
Guest
Because, as pointed out above, there's a lot more to it than simply planning tactics on the field. No matter how good a player, a bloke recently retired from playing is not likely to know much about negotiating contracts, managing players egos, communicating with club sponsors, etc.
Mango Jack
Guest
Manager is what soccer has called it for many years.
Stavros
Guest
I think coaching courses at AFL level is a load of rubbish. What can some plonker that has never played or coached at the highest level tell guys like Voss and Hird. Doing some coaching course wouldn't stop someone like Hird implementing a legal supplements program either. An apprenticeship as an assistant is a different matter. I dont' think it would have made any difference at Essendon though, as Hird managed 14 wins in his third year.
Kev
Guest
Coaching licenses would achieve the same thing. The AFL could very easily mandate that to hold a senior coaching position you must have met certain criteria such as an AFL coaching license, have sat an AFL approved or designed coaching course along with 2 years of experience as an assistant at AFL level or 4 years at VFL for example and clubs couldn't interview anyone who didn't have that let alone hire them.
Cat
Roar Guru
Maybe we should considering having licenses to be on footy team boards, just because someone was a CEO or self made millionaire doesn't mean they know jack squat about footy. After all its these rich dolts who keep hiring wanna be coaches with no experience.
Kev
Guest
True. I guess some clubs and boards will never do it unless the AFL make it mandatory and I like the idea of using the UEFA pro license as a model. I recall that when that was introduced, there was a fear established managers who didn't have the proper license would be pushed out of a job but it seems like they implemented it well and gave managers time to achieve that qualification. Who knows, if it had been implemented in previous years the whole Essendon supplements saga may never have occurred if they had had a coach who was actually competent and not a reckless risk taker who thought he could do anything because he was handed a cushy million dollar a year job despite having no experience.
mlesliec
Guest
I'm surprised you think the penny has dropped, 3 coaches last year got gigs based on their legend status as players at the clubs they coached, all three returned worse performances than the sacked predecessors.
Kev
Guest
I'm surprised it's taken this long for the penny to drop. Coaching and playing are two completely different beasts and anyone who thinks a playing career alone counts as sufficient experience to take on the role of handling the hopes and expectations of 45 players all of whom want game time, backroom staff, the expectations of the board, the members, sponsors and a multi-million dollar budget is delusional. If anything, senior coach is a bit of a misleading title. Considering what they do, manager is probably a more appropriate title.