THE PLAYER COACH

This topic is one I have been meaning to touch on for some time. Having experienced coaching from solely on the sideline and with role of player coaching I would like to share my own learnings from the coaching perspective of continuing in the player role.

Firstly, you have to practice what you preach. If your match goals include communication, you need to make sure that as a player you are driving that goal through an example. If your sport of choice is a collision sport and you frame your goal around putting your body on the line for the team, then you better put yourself in harms way for the cause.

There is no escaping you will feel pressure to perform as a player. You don't need to be your sides X-factor player. But you will need to show key playing traits. You will need to be a calming influence when the pressure comes on. You will need to show composure. You will need to combine 'do as I say' and 'do as I do'.

Player Coaching is a fantastic way to be involved with your sporting code whilst mixing all your experience as a player and combining your learnings as a coach. Finding a coaching mentor at this stage of your journey is a really important thing to do. Having a experienced former coach, even from a different code, can give valuable support and also challenge ideas and thoughts, identify room for improvement across different craft areas and importantly give credit where you are on track.

Often a Player Coach will be responsible for a team where your players are some of your closest friends. This will be a new hurdle for a Player Coach to approach. You can't play favourites. It may mean that where in the past you particularly socialised heavily with some of your tight knit playing group, those key relationships could be exposed by other players that feel perhaps they are on the outside, perhaps selection will be influenced by who you choose to have after training or after game drinks with.

You must be open and honest from the outset as the Player Coach. The team must be under no illusions from Day 1 that you are there to serve the team first and foremost, and that selection and relationships are forged by effort and sporting IQ and not by friendship. This I believe is critical. Get this wrong and your season could quickly unfold.

I have enjoyed coaching as a player and solely from the coaches box or sideline. It is my belief that as you progress from club land to representative sport that the coaching role should be for those that have finished their playing careers. There is often too much 'results wise' that will be on the line.

However, what will define this is the simple question - "Are you good enough as a player to be in the side?". If the answer is yes, and you have great assistant coaches that can manage game day from the sidelines then play until your body screams "no more".