PRIVATE coaching platform One on One Coaching was created by former Richmond, Brisbane and Gold Coast midfielder Andrew Raines in 2018, but has quickly become a side hustle for AFL assistant and development coaches.
Since COVID-19 slashed the soft cap spending in football departments, coaching panels have been paid less for more work, leading some of them to look elsewhere to earn more. The average assistant coach salary was $180,000 in 2024, while development coaches were paid $125,000 on average last year.
One on One Coaching currently has Western Bulldogs backline coach Daniel Pratt – the 2024 Assistant Coach of the Year – Brisbane midfield coach Cam Bruce, North Melbourne head of development Michael Barlow, Collingwood development boss Josh Fraser and Lions development coach Grant Birchall on its books.
Brownlow Medal winners Simon Black and Jason Akermanis also provide coaching on the platform, along with ex-Richmond and Greater Western Sydney midfielder Brett Deledio, West Coast premiership player Jack Redden, ex-Cat and Swan Daniel Menzel and many others.
Raines retired at the end of 2015 due to a degenerative knee issue, adding six games in his only season at Gold Coast to the 67 he played for Brisbane and the 56 at Richmond, where he carved out a reputation as one of the most professional players at the time.
The Queenslander remained in Carrara and became the Suns' Academy coach in 2016, where he spent five years, before focusing on One on One Coaching full-time during the coronavirus pandemic.
"When I was transitioning out of the game, I was actually pretty fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. I got offered the role with the Suns' Academy. Back then it was in its infancy and we grew that over time," Raines told AFL.com.au.
"I was involved for six years, but even in my first year, I realised I was taking kids off the list and essentially breaking their dreams. I had to focus on really the top end when I was running the academy and couldn't really give them extra coaching. They didn't really have anywhere to go and do that extra work with proper coaching.
"A lot of my old teammates, who played 10, 15 years in the game, were struggling with the transition out of the game. They were doing a couple of little gigs in different careers and struggling to deal with the transition. I decided to come up with the mock version of a marketplace, where we connected 10 coaches to start. Then we grew from there."
One on One Coaching exploded during COVID-19, expanding from just Queensland and Victoria to now be in every capital city in each state and territory. There were approximately 50 coaches involved in 2020. That number has grown to more than 250.
AFL assistants and development coaches were stood down for months in 2020. Some never returned. During that time, Mark Williams, Luke Power, Nathan Burke, Tarkyn Lockyer, Matt Rosa and Adam Selwood all used the platform to coach.
"When COVID hit a lot of coaches, myself included, got stood down for six months and some never came back. I was actually part of the AFL Coaches Association and they helped me find a few coaches who were looking for extra income before the pandemic," Raines said.
"When COVID hit word got around that we were able to still do one-on-one sessions. Our marketplace boomed in terms of people looking to do sessions and also the supply side with coaches, not just AFL coaches but everyday coaches as well looking to put their skills to a market.
"Some people at the time were looking for extra income or had lost their jobs and have stayed ever since that. We are not a full-time gig, but whenever they get booked, it's obviously a reasonable rate for whatever they think their time is worth. Some of the coaches have gone on to earn 20-40 grand a year, which is pretty handy."
Growing up as the son of Richmond Team of the Century member Geoff, who played 254 games with the Tigers, Collingwood, Essendon and Brisbane, Raines had a mentor at home that helped put him on a path to the AFL. Others, especially in the northern states, don't have that guidance.
Now the 39-year-old is growing his project via Australia's leading equity crowdfunding platform Birchal with the aim of reach more aspiring footballers looking for private coaching, as well as athletes from a range of different sports, including rugby league and cricket.
"We're now at a point where we are ready to scale with other sports because we have a product that works in AFL. It's the biggest game in Australia, but there are other sports and coaches we want to target out there," he said.
"Most coaches are doing this as a side hustle at the moment, but some might want to turn this into an actual business. The market tells us there is a growing need for that more personalised coaching.
"We are going to push and target existing coaches out there who might want to jump on board our platform and create a business software solution to enable them to have their scheduling, marketing, payments and accounting all in one-stop shop. Part of that is trying to find the funds for that, hence why we are starting a capital raise. We are doing that via a crowdfund platform. We are hoping to bring a lot of people on board for the journey."