Matt delighted with chance to Cook up coaching plans
Matt Cook is thoroughly enjoying absorbing as much hockey knowledge as he can from the sidelines. INJURY has not halted Matt Cook’s involvement in the sport he loves; in fact it has taken him deeper than ever to become one of the state’s emerging hockey brains.
Barking orders comes naturally to the 19-year-old and he is getting plenty of practice in charge of the North Queensland Rubies, Cairns Academy and Queensland under-15 boys sides this season.
Late last year he was part of the emerging coaches workshop that sat in on the Kookaburras’ successful Champions Trophy campaign and on the weekend he helped both men’s and women’s Northern Storm sides at Brisbane’s Super League.
Every day he is on the turf at the North Cairns facility helping players of all levels improve and he has travelled to all part of Cape York exposing remote communities to the sport.
A hip injury that required surgery earlier this year has stopped him from playing a single game this season, but Cook says he is loving life in the dugout.
‘‘It’s what I want to do in the future,’’ the development officer said. ‘‘I’m still young and learning new things every day and every time I’m involved like this I’m picking up something.’’
As Nick Watson’s assistant he has helped Trinity Stingers’ Classic League men’s side to 11 straight wins this season – his half-time chats are riddled with statisticdriven advice.
That ‘‘coding process’’ is the way forward as hockey evolves according to Cook and was his focus on the long weekend.
‘‘It’s just like the AFL really. We’ve got stats on everything, but the big ones are NCTs ( noncontested turnovers), field positioning and circle penetrations,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve been busy with this coding program and it’s something coaches are all using now.’’
Coaching is in the blood, with uncle David McNeil the current regional coaching director in Cairns and a fixture of Queensland hockey ever since Cook was a baby.
‘‘Dave’s a great teacher and all the other RCDs are great help too, that sort of exposure is great for my development,’’ he said.
Cook will oversee the Queensland under- 15 men’s team at the Australian titles in September this year and is also helping Hockey Queensland figure out how to best administer its representative format.
He agreed that current Super League and Premier League tournaments needed a revamp and hinted that a proposal was already being drafted to overhaul it.