I used to laugh at these comments when I was coaching, but now I am outside of the day-to-day operations of an of AFL club, it is so true. Supporters just can't wait for it to get underway again.
When coaching is your full-time occupation, there is so much to do between the last game of a season and opening round of the following year.
It starts with list culling. Imagine if you had to sack between 15 and 20 per cent of your staff every year. Premiership coach Mick Malthouse was heard to say the other day that coaches were both dream makers and dream breakers.
Sacking a player - or the more kindly term, list management - is a fundamental part of a coach's responsibilities but something he should never become comfortable with.
List management is a growing occupation, and just as in any business, it's vital that your first choices are quality choices, with long careers at the club. The time before the trade period, then the week of the AFL Combine in Canberra, then the NAB AFL National Draft are all days in which not an hour is free; add to that the preparation required to ensure the playing group has the right blend of training in the pre-season.
No well-coached team can pick up last year's agenda and re-run it. As players get older and more experienced, their needs change. So too, roles change, and preparations differ for different roles. All this is going on at the same time.
Once the playing group arrives back for the start of pre-season it is a solid six-day per week routine, with most days commencing before dawn. Most keen football supporters still have no idea how hard these boys are pushing their bodies over the summer months - perhaps they think an occasional photo from a triathlon or long swim is the extent of the work.
If the fans reckon the season comes on quickly, the players and coaches can't believe, these days, how quickly the pre-season comes along. It's getting close to a 52-week season.
As well as the obvious need to restore fitness after the holiday break, the second critical aspect of the pre-season is the importance of continuity of training and playing throughout this period. How many times have we heard players during a breakout season say that they had their best pre-season ever? Coaches stress the importance of players making gains through the summer.
There are so many layers to summer training, with the first being on the players' "holiday time." As a coach, I would always stress that a player's holiday was time away from the club environment and a well-earned mental break, but it was certainly not to be a break from physical work.
Each player gets a specific daily and weekly schedule to perform while on holidays and must log his training details with the club's strength and conditioning coach. At the very least the expectation is for the player to come back in the same shape he left, so he is not playing catch-up on his return.
It is particularly frustrating when players let down their club and teammates by coming back out of shape. Instead of making gains, you are working to get them back to square one. Fortunately, in this professional era this is becoming less frequent. Players are well aware of their responsibilities, and those with experience fully understand what a loss of fitness can mean, not just for the pre-season, but throughout the year.
Once the group is back into a solid training regime every club will build on the team's residual fitness. Every year a club or two will claim they have put in the best pre-season for the club ever, which can be quantified these days as fitness techniques and measurements continue to improve.
Each year, each player's strength and power are making substantial gains. With assistance from specialists (sports scientists, dieticians, weights coaches, etc) a young player training hard, and eating up to six or seven times per day and using natural supplements can gain four to six kilos in a year. This is the time that players must concentrate on making substantial athletic, muscular and athletic improvements without injury niggles and soreness from match conditions getting in the way.
Let's not forget that this game is called 'football', so as important as the fitness element is, equally important is the work done on game learning, style of play, combating opposition defensive tactics and general match play.
As recently as two decades ago, footballs wouldn't be brought out until after Christmas; this now looks archaic as you would never see a golfer or tennis player down their tools of trade for months at a time.
All clubs now ensure training is constructed meticulously to assist the vital function of decision-making with as much game simulation as is possible.
Before the start of the NAB Cup and NAB Challenge matches, which play a huge part in a team's preparation, all clubs would have done the following:
1. Refined their style of play
2. Analysed and practised breaking down opposition defences
3. Ensured all individuals had enough competitive training minutes behind them on the track before playing matches against opposition; this includes in-club matches
4. Ensured that the group had a clear understanding and confidence in the team structures leading into playing opposition.
For all that, there is a sense of reality within each club. The football department is well aware of the strength of the list, and should all go to plan (e.g., injuries are minimal), it will know pretty well what to expect through the season.
So much of what happens through the pre-season continues unabated through the year: the list is constantly analysed for the now, and the future, and training patterns varied depending on results, available players, weather conditions, and the draw.
Before you know it, somebody will be saying: "Crikey, I can't believe it's round 22!"
Managing your Toyota AFL Dream Team list
For all those looking for a bargain buy in the Toyota AFL Dream Team, I suggest that you have a look at the Gold Coast Suns' Seb Tape. He was one of Suns' first round picks in last year's NAB AFL National Draft. The inside mail suggests that the GCS coaches see a bright future for this young man, and he has the body structure to step straight into a defensive role at a bargain basement price. Most importantly for Dream Teamers, I think he will be given every opportunity to play weekly.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs.
