FOOTBALL isn’t just all about football anymore.
As the 30 attendees of this year’s AIS-AFL Academy move though this year’s program, they’ll be learning a lot more than just how to kick better, as the Academy tries to prepare them for life in the spotlight.
One part of the year-long program is placement with an AFL club for a week, designed to show them how a club operates behind the scenes.
AIS-AFL Academy high performance coach Alan McConnell said the time with an AFL club was invaluable.
“Some of the boys are lucky enough to actually live with players during the week,” he said. “There’s one young fellow, for example, who spent the last week living with Simon Black.
“I said to him: ‘How was that?’ and he said ‘Actually, I think he really liked me’, and he was quite astounded that that would be the case.”
McConnell said that a lot of the players came away from the week understanding that the stars of the game were real people, just like themselves.
The other thing that the group gained from spending time at an AFL club was an understanding of what is required to take the next step.
“I guess the other bit is really just about the footy – understanding where they’re at and where they want to go.
“They have a number of interviews they conduct over the week, with coaches, more experienced players and younger players.
“So they do come away with a much better understanding of what we’re trying to do.”
The week with the club works in conjunction with the Academy camps throughout the year in developing the participants as well-rounded people, not just athletes.
“It’s very much in their face. The great advantage of having Nathan (Buckley), Luke Darcy and Jason McCartney mentoring these young fellows is that when we’re out training they have a great deal of knowledge and skill that they can share with these young fellows, but the other thing is on a daily basis, they’re able to see how these guys live their lives.
“And that’s obviously the same thing that applies in the AFL club environment, where it’s the unspoken word that’s the more powerful message that they receive.”
