Player-coach puts faith in assistants
PLAYING AND COACHING AT THE SAME TIME CAN WORK THESE DAYS, WRITES JORDAN GERRANS
THEY are extinct at the elite level but the role of a playingcoach is still kicking at a local level in the Far North.
Some of the biggest names in the game once coached their VFL clubs while still playing, with Alex Jesaulenko a premiership captain-coach. Malcolm Blight carried also both titles at North Melbourne for a short period.
The practice of players calling the shots was once commonplace in the US with baseball and basketball using the tactic in the early days of the professional game.
While no Major League Baseball team has been led by a player-coach since 1986, the first six World Series were won by player-coaches, or player-managers as they call them.
As countless country footy leagues around Australia start to implement salary caps, playing-coaches may become more prevalent again in a bid to still pay players top dollar without going over the cap. AFL Cairns powerhouse Cairns Saints have a long history of playercoaches during their recent reign with Zac Kelly, Nick Braybon and now Tim Lamprill holding the whiteboard while still wearing the boots.
Lamprill focuses on his coaching roles during the week at training and then looks to be more of a player on game day.
The Tasmanian said the dual role was something he struggled with earlier in his career but it has grown on him with retired Saint Joey Morrison bench-coach on game day.
“When I first started doing it, I was probably trying to put my coaching hat on too much and not focusing on playing my role in the team,” Lamprill said.
“It was about mentally noting things we needed to fix at breaks and not trying to do them right then and there on the field.
“Saints have always had player-coaches and I think it is a good leadership thing on the ground. You can be closer to the players around the contest and get the instant feedback out there.”
Like Morrison at Griffiths Park, Ty Harrison looks after the Cutters bench on game day, leaving South Cairns playing-coach Cameron Campbell to focus on snagging a goal or two.
“You need to put emphasis on the people you have around you,” Campbell said.
“You need to have faith in your assistants, making the changes on the sidelines and running the coaches board.
“As a playing-coach, if you get too caught up into trying to coach out on the field, your own game will suffer.
“As I usually play deep in the forward line, it gives me the chance to watch more of the game instead of say playing in the midfield.
“You need to trust each other. I will play my role on the field and the bench will look after itself.”
Cairns City Lions had young key-forward Aaron McNab as a player-coach in 2016 while other AFL Cairns clubs have used the option in the past.
Campbell is enjoying his dual role at Fretwell Park and he said he personally preferred a stand-alone coach.
“Just because people are good players, it does not necessarily make them good coaches,” Campbell said.
“If I had two people with the same coaching ability and one was a playing-coach and one was a non-playing coach, I think I would take the nonplaying coach but other people would have other opinions.”