By David Nagel
Preparing a team for the rigours; the highs-and-lows of a football season presents many challenges for coaches across all levels of the game.
From the little tackers in the under-9s, to the developing phase of women’s, all the way through to the top-flight of community football – the challenges vary in so many different ways.
Getting an eight-year-old to kick a perfectly executed drop punt can be just as rewarding as watching a well-practiced chain of handballs travel from one end of the field to the other – ending in six-point glory at the senior level of the game.
Watching a developing women’s footballer listen to instructions; and realise that running to a certain position can get them an easy kick, or benefit their team in defence…is a light-bulb moment that coaches don’t forget in a hurry.
Nar Nar Goon senior coach Justin Stanton has his own challenges after the Goon was soundly beaten by 27 points against Inverloch-Kongwak back in round one.
Not all pre-season preparations are focussed below the shoulders.
The Goon had a successful pre-season, and the expectation from the West Gippsland football community was that the Goon would be a top-three proposition this year.
But that round-one blow was a real kick in the guts for Stanton and his playing group.
It was time to turn a negative into a positive.
“Initially we were disappointed, because we beat Drouin by 40 points, beat Warragul by 40 points, two Gippsland League teams, and then pushed an almost full-strength Traralgon to nine points, and you start thinking ‘we’re going alright here’,” Stanton explained.
“Then Inverloch just didn’t allow us to play the way we wanted to, but on reflection there were some positives.
“Scores were level at quarter time; we won the third and fourth quarters, so we only lost one quarter of football, and that ended up being the difference.
“We were disappointed, but this year we want to be playing our best football at the backend of the season, not in round two.
“And Inverloch is probably the equal best team in it this year.”
There were several reasons for the Goon to remain positive, and that gradual change in mentality – from being bitterly disappointed to having a clear perspective on things – was clearly translated to Stanton’s playing group.
After a torrid first-quarter battle with Kooweerup on Saturday, the Goon regained that confidence built through a highly-successful pre-season to thump the Demons by 88 points.
While Kooweerup coach Rhys Nisbet now has the job of finding some positives from a bitterly disappointing performance, Stanton will take a confident group into battle against Garfield.
When coaches say a week is a long time in football…you can certainly understand why!
