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Tactics for success in Australian youth football

 

Tactics for success in Australian youth football

Queensland has always been regarded as the development state of Australian Rules Football by the southern states of Australia. The impression people get from southerners is that the Queenslanders who play our national games are beginners in coaching. most written in one book Successful coaches in Australian Football League competitions. When I read about the tactics they used, I kept saying to myself the tactics I used or I saw used in Queensland. Our players may still be developing, but our experienced coaches are the best. Our dilemma is that we are in The coaching development role is first and foremost tactical development and they also have a greater developmental role than in the southern states where they grew up in Australian football.


Here are some thoughts I offer to young coaches who have worked with me for many years.


In a school playoff after halftime, I used a virtual center half-forward and encouraged him to dribble away from our two talented half-forwards to give them room to lead. It gave the half-forward more chances, which worked well, but the fake center half-forward played his best game ever. he is so Excited to have the opportunity to play center, his confidence has grown and he's playing more than he normally would. The half-time finals ended with an easy victory.


Your all-forward is usually a tall defender. That means he has a good leap forward. So often in the last five minutes of a quarter, I'll turn him into a ruck. Since he doesn't need to run as much as normal rucks, he has so much energy that he can ruck opposing players and Give us the first use of football.


Usually good players want to play in their favorite position. In schools and junior teams, this is usually not the best position for the team. The important thing is to have your best player likely to be where the ball is most of the time. This means the team will get a greater share of football and The rest of the team gets more access to football. In my Queensland boys' team in 1968 we had the best backs at the Australian Boys National Championships. But when the ball was passed to him, the opponent had already scored. The knowledgeable victoria coach said to me After just two games, he was wasted at linebacker. He doesn't have much of an impact on the game. So I moved him to centre-back and it had an immediate positive impact. He stayed there for the rest of the carnival. (The player went on to play many senior games for Queensland).


Another similar situation happened in Class A of our school. Here I have a player who won many awards during his youth career. His understanding of the game is excellent. So much so that he tries to get other players in the game by passing the football to them nearby. they didn't get up give it. So I tell the player to pass the ball long to the player in the best scoring position. Not only did it help the team win, it also showed the players how to make the best use of the football. The player went on to play VFL/AFL with two clubs.


In 1967, at the age of 24, I was appointed coach of the Queensland boys team, competing in the All Australia National Championships in Hobart. In 1966, Victoria beat Queensland by 20 goals. I knew I had to do something to at least make us competitive. So I chose only one Lachman in the center bounces with the two rovers. The job of the second rover is to roam to their passers-by. As a result, we were able to win most of the center's rebounds.


Adding to the confusion for the Victorian coaching group, I had as many as five players changing the field and on the ball as Rangers, and four players changing the ball as Patrol. Traditionally, your two rovers go in one front pocket, and your tap ruck man goes in the other front pocket, and the A second ruckman or ruck-rover stays in the back pocket on the center bounce, tagging the opposing tap ruckman. I've replaced all of these players in many different positions.


We lost the game as expected, but only by 10 goals. The tactic was a win for me because a fifty-year-old Victorian coach later told me that he and his coaching staff couldn't understand what I was doing. At this point, it's important to mention that swap rules don't exist.

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