THE CURRICULUM

Q Why do you think people are pointing the finger at the FFA curriculum as the problem with Australian football?

A I believe it’s the lack of understanding of what the curriculum is intended to do. The national curriculum was based on analysis from the best football countries in the world and research — the Spanish, German, French curriculum — so to blame the national curriculum is way off. It's the people implementing the national curriculum who need help. For example, if someone gave me a mechanic’s manual and said right, fix a car now, I’d be lost. I’d need to practice it, see it happening, get used to it, then experience it and then I might get better at it, with the manual. Football is about opinions. It’s a very important document for the country to give ourselves a footballing philosophy.

Q What is the biggest misconception about the national curriculum?

A I don’t know that people know where it came from. What bigger proof than the biggest footballing nations. We don’t produce players like other countries do. It’s not so much about the actual document it’s about the knowledge of football in this country and the standard of coaches. Germany has got 2000 “A” Licence coaches, Australia has got nowhere near as many, so it’s a work in progress. That’s why coaching and player development go hand-in-hand.