FORMER Essendon midfielder Heath Hocking will boost his involvement at The Hangar after taking on the role as coach of the James Hird Academy.

The academy focuses on developing prospective father-son recruits and Next Generation Academy players.

"The James Hird Academy was set up nine years ago now and it's about trying to accelerate some of the good talent in our area and father-son guys to hopefully play AFL football," Hocking said.

"We have a good group of players in the system who all have ambitions to play at the elite level.

"It is about having them at the footy club once a week. I will share some of my football knowledge with them including how to prepare and the skills of the game so they can improve and hopefully get the opportunity to perform at a higher level."

Hocking will help some famous names, including Mason Fletcher (son of Dustin), Tom Hird (son of James) and Jaxon Neagle (son of Merv).

"It was a chance to start my career as a coach and see if that was something that could flourish. I am doing a level-two coaching course, so this will complement that," Hocking said.

"My passion at the moment is to get some young guys through and teach them what AFL is about and hopefully build their skills and get them drafted."

Hocking was delisted at the end of last season after 126 games after being recruited in the 2005 rookie draft at No.20.

He sought to be picked up by another club but when nothing materialised, Hocking opted to stay on with the VFL side after winning its best and fairest in 2017.