SYDNEY Swans recruit Kurt Tippett will try his hand at coaching while sitting out the first half of the Swans' premiership defence.

Tippett, who won't play until June 22 this season due to his part in Adelaide's salary cap saga, will work under Swans' academy head coach Paul Roos and alongside former AFL players Amon Buchanan and Mark McVeigh.

Tippett will help mentor the academy's under-16 and under-18 squads and is hoping the role will sharpen his football smarts while he's not playing.

"Being able to help the kids out, particularly the taller boys, really interested me and hopefully I can pass on some knowledge to them," Tippett told the Swans' website.

"I've also got a big break at the start of the season before I can play.

"So it provides a great opportunity to keep my head in the game and keep really sharp.

"If I can teach other people the skills then hopefully I am reinforcing them to myself as well.

"... I guess I'm still developing my skills as a coach."

The academy's operations manager Chris Smith said Tippett impressed in his first session with the youngsters.

"He was working with our key position players on their leading patterns and understanding space and body positioning," Smith said.

"We found that he communicates really well and has already shown an ability to implement drills that draw on his AFL experience as a key forward and a ruckman."

Tippett, 25, will have even more time to devote to the academy in the short term, having undergone surgery to repair a finger injury.

"He hurt his finger about a month ago and it was just grumbling along and it was just a timely matter at the moment," Swans physiotherapist Matt Cameron said.

"He's not going to be playing for a period of time so we can just repair it and have his finger ready to do some skill training and get him ready for his return."