Eastern Newsletter (1st edition) Welcome from the Eastern Region Coaching Association

Dear Coach, Welcome to the first edition of the Eastern Region Coaches Association e-newsletter for season 2014. What a huge year of football in the region we have in front of us. A very big thank you and congratulations to all our coaches in the region who have made the commitment to coaching our great game in season 2014. The role of a coach is an important one. It holds great responsibility and influence. No matter what level you are at, as a coach, you significantly shape, influence and support the social, physical and emotional development of the participants in your team. During the year we will be offering many seminars and development programs to coaches in our region that we believe will help coaches from all levels across the region in their development. Please keep an eye out for upcoming events across the region. In 2014, we are looking to enhance and develop on the changes in the structure in the Eastern Region from 2013. We are continuing to offer up to date coaching courses for all levels of coaching, informative coaching seminars, coaching resources and developing an online coaching mentoring program. We have already held our first coaching course of 2014 with over 80 coaches attending our senior and youth course at the Knox Football Club. We are excited to be holding our first coaching course in the Yarra Valley being held at the Mt Evelyn Football Club. The junior course will be on the 31st March and 14th April. We have 2 other course coming up – Youth course on the 28th April and 12th May, and Auskick course on the 7th and 21st May. Also, we held our first seminar of the year, “the Hawthorn FC Mini Coaching Conference”, on the 15th February at the Hawthorn Football Club. The day was a fantastic success with around 160 coaches attending the seminar. Coaches heard from Hawthorns assistant coaches around topics like Elite Kicking, Teaching the game, Suburban Football and the AFL, and Player to coach transition. We are looking forward to holding further coaching seminars for coaches in the Eastern and Yarra Valley regions. We will continue to offer ERCA coaches the best possible coaching development and we look forward to working with you all in season 2014 and wish you the very best of luck at your respective teams Should you wish to find out more information about the Eastern Region Coaches Association and its role in the region please don’t hesitate to contact me dean.rice@aflvic.com.au or Aaron Bailey abailey@efl.org.au Dean Rice

Football Development Manager AFL Victoria Country Yarra Ranges dean.rice@aflvic.com.au 0414 402 398

‘ERCA Committee members’

Dean Rice Football Development Officer- Yarra Valley Level 2 Coach Aaron Bailey Level 2 Coach Game Development Manager- Eastern Football League Brian Cartwright High Performance Coach Assistant Coach Northern Knights TAC Cup Mark Fisher Level 2 coach Assistant Coach Eastern Ranges TAC cup/ Vic Metro under 16 head coach. Leeann Gill Level 2 coach Rowville Football Club Graeme Hocking Level 2 Coach Mooroolbark Football Club Under 19 Coach John Myers President Dandenong Rangers Junior Football League Craig Winter Director-The Modern Game Level 1 coach

Mark Neeld takes on Eastern Ranges

It’s been a good six months since Mark Neeld last heard the siren blast on a football field, but it won’t be long before the former Melbourne Demons coach hears the familiar sound again. The 42-year-old has accepted a role as AFL Victoria’s eastern region talent manager and believes the role is perfectly suited to him. “It just read well right off the bat; I spoke with John Hook [state league and talent manager – AFL Victoria] and [the role] really appealed to me,” Neeld says of the job, which includes managing the Eastern Ranges team. The Ranges play in the TAC Cup, Victoria’s under-18 competition, which has more than a 50 per cent AFL draft rate to date, and Neeld plans to keep that going. “I thoroughly enjoy the TAC Cup and the development side of things; it is where the game’s future players come from. It’s exciting.” Neeld has been away from the TAC Cup for six years, coaching the Western Jets before his Demons tenure.

After a less-than-perfect coaching record at Melbourne – spanning 33 games for five wins – Neeld felt he needed to take a step back for the first time in 23 years, But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, he says. Neeld credits the past six months as being his best in a long time, allowing him to experience things he may never have done, had he still been at the helm of the Demons. “I have been very lucky to go off and study a business course at New York University and spend a lot more time at home with my family.” He plans to incorporate his business skills into his new role, which encompasses football operations, talent identification and player welfare. “I’m here to help out in any way I can; my main focus is to maintain the winning culture of the Ranges. I won’t be making enormous changes but I hope to blend individual targets of the players with the team’s needs,” he says. When asked if the new job would be a pathway back into the AFL, Neeld is quick to maintain that his core focus is the Eastern Ranges and the season ahead. It isn’t long before the first bounce opens the TAC Cup season and, as every football fan knows, almost nothing is certain in this game. There is one thing that we can be assured of though: Mark Neeld may not be front and centre on camera or in the papers, but he will be giving it his all.

Knox Weekly By Aaron Pereira 08/02/2014

2014 TAC Cup Eastern Ranges Squad Congratulations to the players listed below who combine to make the 2014 Eastern Ranges TAC Jumper List.

EASTERN RANGES

NO. SURNAME FIRST NAME DOB HT WT LOCAL CLUB/SCHOOL 1 CYSTER Jayden 20-Jan-97 179 66 Croydon 2 KLEP Patrick 17-Aug-97 180 66 Lilydale 3 EVANS Nick 01-Jun-95 178 74 Norwood

4 SHERIDAN-FERRIE Rory 30-Jul-96 189 76 Vermont

5 HANNON Luke 26-May-96 187 76 Upwey-Tecoma 6 BURT Matthew 22-Feb-96 182 70 Lilydale 7 PETRACCA Christian 04-Jan-96 186 92 Beverley Hills 8 NIELSON Daniel 09-May-96 193 90 Vermont 9 KIDD Liam 22-Apr-96 176 79 Knox

10 EDWARDS Jack 11-Feb-95 191 87 Scoresby 11 BATTY Bryce 16-Jan-97 182 75 Lilydale 12 TRAYNOR Matthew 12-Dec-96 179 75 Rowville 13 WEIDEMAN Sam 26-Jun-97 195 88 Vermont/Whitefriars 15 JEFFS Liam 30-Mar-97 192 80 East Ringwood 16 HARE Jack 14-Dec-97 183 76 Knox 17 PARSONS James 12-Apr-97 188 75 Norwood 18 COTTE Aaron 12-Dec-96 180 76 Knox/Mazenod 19 CLARKE Ryan 17-Jun-97 184 79 Rowville /Melbourne Grammar 20 PATOLO Agape 22-Dec-95 197 98 Noble Park 21 CROCKER Darcy 26-Feb-97 173 70 Beverley Hills 22 JONES Christopher 18-Mar-95 192 73 Emerald 23 COLLINS Jayden 18-Jan-97 196 80 Boronia

24 GATWECH-CHOL Chudier 01-Jan-96 183 70 Lilydale

25 MABIOR Athiei 17-Dec-96 177 74 Knox 26 HARDWICK Blake 05-Feb-97 180 72 Donvale 27 MITCHENER Beau 05-Jun-96 195 90 Woori Yallock 28 HARVEY Ryan 14-May-96 181 78 Lilydale 29 HORNER Stuart 04-Oct-97 182 74 Olinda/Ferny Creek 30 KIFT Daimon 10-May-96 183 81 Mt. Evelyn 31 MCDONALD Lachlan 31-Aug-96 178 69 Rowville 32 SKATE Hugh 13-May-96 184 74 Lilydale/Yarra Valley 33 CLARKE Christopher 23-May-96 188 76 Rowville 34 CONNOLLY Jade 01-Jan-97 183 72 Norwood /Yarra Valley 35 HANEGRAAF Mitchell 11-Dec-96 185 81 Knox 36 SANTAMARIA Aiden 08-Jul-97 185 79 Knox Falcons 37 LAKE Jarrod 10-Jan-96 190 83 Boronia 38 WILSON Lachlan 06-Sep-96 174 65 Lilydale 39 BUXTON Liam 09-Sep-96 199 90 Upwey 40 SVERNS Lachlan 22-Sep-97 188 80 Heathmont 41 WRIGHT Samuel 08-Jul-97 181 76 Norwood 42 NYOK Abraham 06-Dec-96 197 92 Norwood 43 ADAMS Oliver 10-Mar-97 195 81 Croydon/Yarra Valley 44 NOLAN Jack 17-Oct-97 190 87 Lilydale 45 HEALY Jarrod 10-Mar-96 183 76 Lilydale

Game Development Initiatives

YVMDFNL COACHES FORUM

Every season the YVMDFNL hold their pre-season Coaches Forum, this year it was held at the Upwey RSL. The Forum is an important get together to share with senior and junior coaches:-

• what AFL rules have changed for 2014; • which rules apply to our local football; • how YVMDFNL Umpires are instructed to interpret key rules; and • for the coaches to develop a rapport and relationship with YVMDFNL’s Umpire Director,

Trevor McGary As we can all appreciate, many AFL rules are subjective, so therefore it is important for coaches to understand how umpires are instructed to interpret certain circumstances and how that interpretation is then passed on to all field umpires. Every attempt is made to try and get all YVMDFNL umpires on the same page, perhaps an almost impossible task. I have yet to see a game of football umpired perfectly; similarly, I am yet to see a football team execute their skills and plans to perfection for the entire game. The important message is that we must continually strive to achieve that goal, and never let that objective out of our sight.

YVMDFNL Umpire Director Trevor McGary presented his perspective on umpiring and has offered an open communication channel for all clubs and coaches to discuss any matter. Trevor has generated much interest with his appointment amongst the umpire fraternity with umpiring numbers significantly up on last season.

Talking solely on umpire decisions and interpretations at a forum can be a touch unexciting so the League typically invites a guest speaker to break up the night. The guest speaker this season was Oakleigh Chargers Coach Justin Wenke. Justin presented his philosophy on coaching and how his team prepares for matches and analyses team and individual player performance. Justin

provided an insight into the tools available for TAC coaches, including Champion Data which clearly is a wonderful development / coaching tool.

The night is also an opportunity for coaches to catch up with each other outside of competition which importantly helps build the YVMDFNL’s camaraderie amongst competing coaches and clubs.

Open and honest communication channels are the key to ensure our football continues to improve and grow in an ever-changing environment. I wish all coaches the best of luck this season and trust that your express objective is to provide opportunities for your athletes to compete and play to their potential. If you can combine that aspiration with soundly executed game plans, you will be successful regardless of whether you win or lose.

Stephen Walter

Yarra Valley Auskick

The Yarra Valley Auskick region held their 2014 start-up meeting on the 5th March. The meeting outline the responsibilities and initiatives involved for coordinators of the 16 centres in the Yarra Valley. The meeting also launched a new initiative around holding Level 0 coaching courses directly to Auskick centres Adrian Fittolani and Jarrod Clarke both District Managers will hold 2 hour coaching information sessions for Auskick coaches and parents. The sessions will give coaches and parents tips and ideas around drills for the different age groups and strategies around communicating with the different age levels.

As we know one of the hardest things for Auskick centres to do is to attractive volunteers to undertake the coaching role. This new initiative will hopefully make it easier for Auskick centres to attract coaches and make those coaches better equipment to educate kids about Australian Football.

EFL GOES DOWN TO VAFA

THE VAFA has produced a seven-goal fourth quarter to defeat the EFL by 46 points in the main event of the AFL Victoria Metropolitan Championships at Visy Park.

The EFL led by one point just minutes before the three-quarter time siren, until a goal from the VAFA's Matt Handley sparked an eight-goal run.

VAFA's Brendan Goss starred with five goals, while Murphy Ambrose was named Best on Ground for his three goals and electrifying performance through the midfield.

Tom Paule and Handley finished with two apiece, both chiming in at crucial stages.

For the EFL, Balwyn's Luke Barker booted two goals, while ruckman Simon Taylor was awarded the EFL's best on ground medal for his tireless ruck work and ethic. Joel Perry was excellent in defence, providing plenty of drive off half-back and winning most one-on-one contests, while Leigh Williams tried hard up forward.

The EFL began strongly, booting the first and only two goals of the opening quarter via Barker and Shane Tregear.

However Goss produced two telling goals in the space of five minutes during the second term that put his side slightly ahead at half time.

The game opened up in the third quarter, with Marcus Hottes, Tom Schneider and Daniel King beginning to accumulate disposals. One of King’s was an inspirational goal form outside 50m.

However, classy VAFA midfielders Adam Bentick, Tom Roach and Tom Paule found space and used handball to link up and create play through the middle of the ground.

With only five points separating the two teams at the final break, most anticipated a tight finish. It was not to be.

FINAL SCORES

VAFA 0.1 3.3 5.8 12.8 (80) EFL 2.1 2.1 5.3 5.4 (34)

GOALS VAFA: B. Goss 5, M. Ambrose 3, T. Paule 2, M. Handley 2 EFL: L. Barker 2, D. King , L. Williams , S. Tregear

BEST VAFA: M. Ambrose, T. Paule, B. Goss, B. Mahon, T. Roach, W. Tardif EFL: S. Taylor, T. Gilchrist, S. Tregear, S. Kemperman, J. Chirgwin, L. Barker

CONCUSSION IN FOOTBALL

CLUBS have recently been distributed resources covering the Management of Concussion in Australian Football.

These guidelines, developed by the AFL Medical Officers in conjunction with world leading concussion researchers, provide practical information for clubs and trainers on how concussion injuries occurring at community level football should be managed.

CONCUSSION INFORMATION ON AFL COMMUNITY WEBSITE

Concussion Management, as a topic, is covered at training courses for, not only trainers, but also coaches.

EFL CEO Phil Murton says the EFL will continue to be guided by the AFL Guidelines with regards to the management of concussion.

CONCUSSION TESTING IN THE EFL

“With the quality of doctors and researchers involved, the Australian Football industry is at the forefront of world research into the issue of concussion in sport," he said.

"The policies and programs are based on world expert consensus for the management of concussion with the information that is currently available.

"Our message to players, coaches, trainers and parents is that while there is no need for alarm, there is a need for everyone involved in contact sports to become more educated with regards to concussion and how it should be managed."

EFL APPOINTS DYSON BAKER

LONG-TIME EFL Media Team member Dyson Baker has been appointed the EFL’s new Media Manager.

He replaces Ben Waterworth, who has accepted a role with News Limited’s AFL online football department.

Baker, who is about to complete a Sports Management Degree at La Trobe University, starts full-time employment with the EFL after seven years as a media team volunteer. He has also been involved at EFL club level as a coach and committee member over the last few years.

League CEO Phil Murton says Baker beat a strong field of 50 applicants.

“Dyson’s experience in the media team across all its platforms, combined with his knowledge of the league and our clubs, make him an ideal choice," Murton said.

“He has demonstrated a great work ethic, talent across numerous media areas and ability to work as part of a team during his seven years with the EFL media team, as well as during his time studying, which has included media and journalism subjects.

"We are excited to have him on board to build on the good work of Ben Waterworth and continue to grow all EFL media platforms”.

INTRODUCING Netball EFL

THE EFL will launch a netball competition in 2014.

The competition will be played at the Eastern Indoor Sports Centre (Ferntree Gully Road, Knoxfield) on Friday nights.

The season will start with a round robin tournament before Easter, followed by the season proper commencing on 2 May and culminating in finals being played at the same time as football finals in August and September.

EFL CEO Phil Murton says the two sports go hand-in-hand, exemplified by the highly successful country football-netball model in regional areas.

“We are excited by this development, which we think has the ability to help grow participation and community engagement for both sports. We look forward to growing netball in the East and the wider EFL community,” he said.

“Despite being structured differently with a centralised match venue, the success of netball competitions ran in conjunction with other football leagues across Melbourne demonstrates the potential for a strong connection between the two sports.”

Murton says the competition has been largely driven by clubs who have seen the benefits of the two sports combining in other competitions nearby and in the country.

“There has been a lot of discussion from clubs to the EFL regarding netball over the last few years. A number of our clubs already have pre-existing relationships with local netball clubs, so they may work with those clubs to field a team or build from within,” he said.

“We think it works in well with Netball Victoria’s Strategic Plan of having more people play netball more often. It will also complement other netball competitions in the East.

“We are aiming for an eight to 10-team competition in year one then hope that growth will continue quickly as clubs see the benefits of this initiative.”

Expression of Interest from clubs is being sought at present. All enquiries should be directed to Phil Murton at the EFL offices on 9762 5766.

BISHOP APPOINTED FOOTY OPS GM

THE EFL is pleased to announce the appointment of Matthew Bishop as the league’s new General Manager – Football Operations.

Bishop is currently the Port Adelaide Magpies (SANFL) General Manager. He previously worked as the Football Services Manager for the club’s AFL operations. He is also a trained accountant, recently completing an MBA at the University of Adelaide.

CEO Phil Murton says Bishop was the outstanding applicant in a quality field of 60.

‘We are delighted to have Matthew on board at the EFL. His football operations and administration experience at the Power and Magpies, combined with his education and understanding of our competition, makes him an ideal selection,’ Murton said.

Bishop, a former Mooroolbark player, played 150 AFL games with Melbourne and Port Adelaide. He was a member of the Power’s inaugural premiership in 2004.

Bishop is delighted with his appointment

‘This is a great opportunity to utilise the skills and expertise I’ve developed at Port Adelaide in various admin roles and applying those at the EFL,’ he said,

‘I grew up playing junior footy in the Eastern Footy League, so it’s a fantastic opportunity to oversee the league in that sense.’

Bishop and his young family will move back to Melbourne to assume the role. He will start his new role at a date to be confirmed in December.

Collingwood Community Camp

2014 Australia Post AFL Community Camp was held in Kinglake, with the entire Collingwood Playing list and coaching staff attending the Camp in the North-Eastern Victorian town on the 17th/18th February The players and coaches spent two days visiting a number of schools, hospitals and nursing homes in the local Kinglake community and surrounding areas. As a part of the camp Collingwood F.C head coach Nathan Buckley and his assistants Robert Harvey, Matthew Lappin, Ben Hart and Scott Burns held a coaching seminar at the Kinglake F.C. The seminar was a success with over 30 local coaches listening to advice, ideas and roles around coaching from the very experience and well respected coaches. The Community Camps always provided a great opportunity for the players to spend some time in a regional area before the beginning of the season. The players are very fortunate to be given some time each year to spend with time to meet people in regional areas who may not be able to make it to a game during the year. They were able to give something back to the community and promote the game in the Kinglake community.

Also as a part of the Kinglake Camp, the players were involved in running the super clinic to over 200 local kids at the Kinglake football ground. The super clinic was a great opportunity for the kids from Kinglake and surrounding areas to come down and have a kick with the players. It was great to see so many kids and their families enjoying the clinic especially all the kids smiling faces. The overall camp with a great success and it definitely gave a boost to the Kinglake community and a kick start to the Kinglake F.C 2014 season