TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT

THROUGH CHALLENGE COMES OPPORTUNITY!

Across the Football NSW landscape both resilience and creativity were required to ensure that positive and best practice learning environments for both players and coaches continued to be provided in the most adverse of circumstances.

‘Adaptable, Brave and Creative’ became the tag line used to deliver a variety of formal and informal coaching settings throughout the past 12 months. After coming out of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coach Development Unit managed to bring to life a series of coaching courses in a face-to-face setting. This saw the months of October to December packed with C, B and A licences delivered in centralised and decentralised venues to enthusiastic coaches wishing to both learn and become involved in the game after such a dramatic and unparalleled season. In support of these and others, and conscious of social distancing provisions and capacity restrictions, and utilising the very best in the latest advances in technology, Football NSW delivered the 2020 Australian Coaching Conference to more than 1400 participants. Due to the global reach of the internet and without borders and boundaries, the online conference managed to attract participants from across the country, Asia and throughout the world from far afield as the UK, Brazil and the United States.

With the decision being made to go online, Football NSW collaborated and worked well with Football Australia, Football Coaches Australia and the other Member Federations to ensure that as many coaches as possible had access to some fantastic speakers and content.

Legendary coach, Arsene Wenger, formerly of Arsenal and now with FIFA, kicked off the day, and we were also incredibly pleased to have two iconic players of women’s football, Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain – both of the champion US Women’s team of the nineties – involved in a discussion with former Matildas’ coach, Tom Sermanni. Other guest presenters included former Socceroos’ captain, Mile Jedinak, Changing the Game founder, John O’Sullivan, members of Football Australia’s national teams unit, including Socceroos Coach, Graham Arnold, and Young Matildas Coach, Leah Blayney, and many others. Normally held at VSP over one day, all registrants were able to participate and watch it on the day, and those that could not attend at that moment, had access to all the content throughout the past 12 months ‘on-demand’.

When restrictions were lifted and face-toface contact permitted, a total of 17 ‘C’ Licence courses across metro and regional NSW, two Level 1 Goalkeeper courses, four B Licence courses and two A Licence courses were also offered by our range of instructors. The delivery of the courses was only possible because of the collaboration and flexible approach that both Football NSW and Football Australia took to ensure our coaches could continue with their individual professional development.