FULL-TIME WAY TO GO

RUMOURS always circulate about how much coaches are being paid when they take up positions at local clubs.

But perhaps the day is coming when they earn a fulltime wage.

Coaching hours are at least worthy of part-time status and given the full-on nature of spending up to seven days a week at the club, a full-time role can’t be far away.

Coaches are expected to watch hours of video, help out with recovery and plan training sessions all before Hump Day, before turning their attention to their next opponent.

Game planning and opposition scouting takes place before Saturday and the time at the club has resulted in multiple coaches stepping away, including most recently Clinton Wells at South Barwon.

The club legend said that balancing a young family and a job with time as a senior coach was almost impossible.

“The demands of coaching at GFL level are pretty high now and if you don’t put the time in you do find that you get left behind,” Wells said.

He said that money was too tight at most clubs to be able to put on a full-time wage but an overall position overseeing football may be a way around the issue.

Many clubs spend as much time working on player administration, so a person in charge of admin, overseeing junior programs as well as coaching the senior team would well and truly put in the hours to receive a large enough salary.

Finding someone appropriate to basically control the entire on-field performance at a club is certainly challenging and possibly carries risk, but there is no doubt a day is coming where a potential candidate will be offered enough to make coaching their one and only job. It just takes one club to take the plunge and others will follow. – JOSH BARNES