AFL General Manager Football Operations Mark Evans today said nine assistant coaches had been accepted into the new Level Four Senior Coach Program.
The newly-introduced Level Four Program seeks to prepare highly-rated assistant coaches for the rigours of a potential Head Coach position at an AFL club with concentrated mentoring and development work, beyond the existing Level Three Program.
Evans said John Barker (Carlton), Brendon Bolton (Hawthorn), Blake Caracella (Geelong Cats), Stuart Dew (Sydney Swans), Simon Goodwin (Melbourne), Robert Harvey (Collingwood), Adam Kingsley (St Kilda), Simon Lloyd (Fremantle) and Matthew Nicks (Port Adelaide) were the lead contenders in a high-quality field of applicants who sought be part of the program.
The selection process involved an extensive application, peer and senior coach review and an interview conducted by a combination of highly regarded coaches and CEO’s. Former AFL coach Peter Schwab and 2006 West Coast premiership coach John Worsfold were joined by Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou, leading Hockey coach Ric Charlesworth and club CEO’s Trevor Nisbett (West Coast), Greg Swann (Brisbane Lions), Peter Jackson (Melbourne) and Brian Cook (Geelong Cats).
“The course centres around four key components – core coaching modules, an individual learning plan, a program for high impact leadership and individual coach mentoring,” Evans said.
“The core modules will address areas including rules, regulations, governance, integrity, government relations and the economy of the game. Other modules will address quality coaching practice, strategic communications, media training and ethical leadership,” he said.
Mr Evans said the individual learning plan for each coach will be developed with their respective club and coach mentor, designed to round out the skills and experience of the coach.
John Barker – Played 168 games for Fitzroy, the Brisbane Lions and Hawthorn between 1994-2006. St Kilda Forward Line Coach 2006-07; Hawthorn Forward Line Coach 2008-10; Carlton roles including Defenders and Forwards Coach 2011 - current.
Brendon Bolton – Tasmanian Devils VFL and U18 Assistant Coach 2008; Hawthorn roles including Interim Senior Coach, Forward Line Coach and Midfield Coach 2009 – current.
Blake Caracella – Played 187 games for Essendon, the Brisbane Lions and Collingwood between 1997-2006. Collingwood roles including Opposition, Attack and Defence Coach 2007-09; Geelong Cats roles including Attack, Defence, Midfield and Opposition Coach 2010 – current.
Stuart Dew – Played 206 games for Port Adelaide and Hawthorn between 1997-2009. Sydney Swans roles including Senior Assistant, Strategy and Midfield, Stoppages, Defence and Development coach 2010 – current.
Simon Goodwin – Played 275 games for the Adelaide Crows between 1997-2010. Essendon roles including Assistant and Senior Assistant Coach 2010-13; Melbourne Senior Assistant Coach – 2014 – current.
Robert Harvey – Played 383 games for St Kilda between 1988-2008. Carlton roles including Development and Midfield Coach 2009-10; St Kilda Midfield Coach 2011; Collingwood roles including Midfield and Senior Assistant Coach 2012 – current.
Adam Kingsley – Played 170 games for Port Adelaide between 1997-2006. Port Adelaide Backline Coach 2007-10; St Kilda roles including Forward, Midfield, Stoppages Coach 2011 – current.
Simon Lloyd – Hawthorn roles including Development Coach, Pyschologist and Player Development Manager 1998-2004; Collingwood roles including High Performance Manager, Pyschologist and Specialist Coach 2005-09; Fremantle roles including Assistant Coach and Senior Development Coach 2010 – current.
Matthew Nicks – Played 179 games for the Sydney Swans between 1996-2005. University of NSW Senior Coach 2007-08; Scotch College Senior Coach 2009-10; Port Adelaide roles including Defensive and Development Coach 2011 – current.
