Shaun Sparks is now in his fourth season as coach of Cora Lynn and has built a glowing reputation across the WGFNC during his 59 games at the helm. His record stands at 40 wins, 18 losses and a draw…with last year’s minor premiership living proof that the Cobras are doing things well. This week, in ‘The Coaching Roller Coaster’, Sparks provides an insight into the week-to-week demands on a coach.
I thought I’d take the opportunity to give you all a little insight into what a week looks like from a coach’s perspective – from Monday right through to Friday – and a quick recap of our round one clash against Tooradin.
MONDAY
The week kicks off by gathering as much info as possible from our previous two games against this week’s opponent. I go through my coaching notes, photos of the whiteboards, Premier Data stats, and chat with a few of the boys to hear what they think worked (and didn’t work) last time we played them.
A few calls and messages get thrown around between the coaches to chat about drills for the week and start throwing around ideas for team selection and matchups before the Match Committee on Tuesday.
At about 6:30pm, I chuck a post-up to keep everyone in the loop about training and what’s happening around the club.
TUESDAY
I normally roll into the ground around 4:45pm.
First job is to open the rooms, set up cones for drills, and make sure the footys are ready before the boys start arriving.
Match Committee kicks off around 5:15pm – for about 30 minutes where we lock in the team, finalise matchups, and tick off any tactical plans for Saturday.
From 6pm to 6:30pm the boys get stuck into pre-training craft.
Training kicks off properly at 6:30pm and goes for about 90 minutes. Here’s what it usually looks like:
• Warm-up
• Touch Craft
• D50/F50 Transition
• Space Invaders (Diamond Zone)
• DeWalt to C
• Floor is Lava
• Scenarios to finish the night
(Yes, we name our drills… makes it a bit more fun and keeps the boys switched on.)
WEDNESDAY
Wednesdays are about getting the Thursday night presentation sorted.
I put together six slides for the boys:
Slide 1 is our “theme” for the weekend (this week it’s a Dalmatian and a windmill… I’ll let you figure that one out).
The rest are quick hitters: the team line-up, key tactics, and a few important focus points to give us an edge.
THURSDAY
Thursday’s about setting the tone.
We start by letting players know – face to face – if they’re playing seniors or development this week. I think it’s really important to deliver that news in person rather than over the phone.
From 6:30pm, the development squad is out training, while the senior 24 head inside for our Thursday night presentation.
We also make senior debuts a big deal; if you want to see how we announce them, check out our Facebook page!
Training for both groups includes:
• Warm-up
• Defence to Attack to Defence
• Pigeonhole Drill
• T-Tone Spread
• Half Ground Transition
After training, everyone jams into the social rooms for a meal, plenty of laughs, and the team selections for the weekend get read out.
FRIDAY
Friday is all about winding down.
No more planning…just a quiet night at home with the family, a big bowl of pasta, and watching Friday Night Footy.
SUMMARY
Unfortunately, in round one we didn’t quite get the choccies.
We were up by a goal at three-quarter time but played some inconsistent footy across the day.
Full credit to Tooradin; they were strong, consistent, and deserved the win across four quarters.
There are plenty of learnings to take into our next encounter against Inverloch-Kongwak in three weeks’ time.
Cheers, Sparksy
