Lunch with the legends goes down a treat

AFL legends Alastair Clarkson and Ryan O’Keefe followed up their visit to Lismore to support the Swans with a stop at C.ex Coffs for ‘Clarko’s Counter Lunch’ last Friday.

The two greats entertained a crowd of local coaches, Presidents, and Life Members with stories of their time in footy and lessons learnt along the way. With Alastair as the AFL’s Community Football Coaching Ambassador and O’Keefe working for AFL NSW/ACT as its Coaching Development and Education Lead it was inevitable that key topic of the lunch would be coaching.

Some of the key themes discussed included:

• The important part that community footy clubs play in the fabric of the local society, and in the lives of the people who belong to the club.
• The key role that coaches play in fostering a love of the game in their players – that teaching skills and developing all aspects of the individual are far more important than wins and losses.
• The importance of celebrating milestones that reflect the player’s development, rather than just the number of games played.
• Being prepared to show players the coach’s imperfections and empowering them to find their own solutions rather than being reliant upon the coach.

All in attendance on the day were struck by how down to earth and approachable both Alastair and Ryan were, with much discussion generated through both the Q&A session and during lunch.

The lunch also provided the perfect opportunity for a donation of gear to be made to the Bellingen Bulldogs whose home ground, Burdett Park, has twice been submerged under recent flood waters. Footballs, jumpers, socks, and training bibs were all donated by the Sydney Swans and GWS Giants and passed onto Bulldogs President Milo Bowd by the Head of AFL NSW/ACT Tiffany Robertson.