MWFA

Over the last few months, MWFA has been sending our Coach Mentors out to visit all of our clubs to provide coaches with guidance and support with their training sessions, as well as occasional match visits. During this time we have come across several examples of coaches who are doing a really great job.

This week we’d like to acknowledge Ben Walker who coaches the U8 Goannas at Seaforth.

See this video to check out some highlights of their recent training session, as well as some quick interviews with the coach!

MWFA Coach Development Manager Eugene Lawrenz said: “Ben is a very organised coach, as he always comes to training with a clear plan, and he is always reflecting on how he can help his players improve their skills in every session, not just ‘putting on drills’. He always includes competition and makes sure they are fun, which his players respond really well to. Ben’s manner is great for this age group, as he is calm, patient and encouraging, while he also improving at finding the right balance between trying to teach as much as he can without disrupting the flow of the games too much.” 

Well done Ben, and keep up the good work!

As a reward and recognition for their efforts, we are also pleased to provide their team with a few special gifts:

• extra training balls, because every coach wishes they had more balls to use so they can do exercises where every player has a ball each to work on their control
• mini goals, because scoring into actual goals always makes training more fun, and finishing is a skill we should encourage players to develop ever more
• a whiteboard, so coaches can help players understand their positions and how to support each other visually, which is much more effective than just using words

MWFA would like to thank all coaches for their efforts this year, and we look forward to hopefully seeing you all again, and continuing to provide our support, in the 2025 season.

Over the last few months, MWFA has been sending our Coach Mentors out to visit all of our clubs to provide coaches with guidance and support with their training sessions, as well as occasional match visits. During this time we have come across several examples of coaches who are doing a really great job.

This week we’d like to acknowledge Adrienne Vaughan who coaches the W7 Firebirds at Narrabeen.

See this video to check out some highlights of their recent training session, as well as some quick interviews with the coach!

MWFA Coach Development Manager Eugene Lawrenz said: “Adrienne is very organised which makes a big difference with kids this age. She is incredibly patient, always calm, and very understanding, which are all very important skills too. She also has some great helpers who deserve credit, and she coordinates how they all contribute very well. Her sessions are a lot of fun, and she does a good job trying to keep all of the girls engaged throughout. I’m confident she will help them develop their skills even more over the next few seasons.”

Well done Adrienne, and keep up the good work!

As a reward and recognition for their efforts, we are also pleased to provide their team with a few special gifts:

• extra training balls, because every coach wishes they had more balls to use so they can do exercises where every player has a ball each to work on their control
• mini goals, because scoring into actual goals always makes training more fun, and finishing is a skill we should encourage players to develop ever more
• a whiteboard, so coaches can help players understand their positions and how to support each other visually, which is much more effective than just using words

Over the next few weeks we will be highlighting some other coaches from different clubs, so make sure you stay tuned to our website to see who else will be MWFA Coach of the Week.

Over the last few months, MWFA has been sending our Coach Mentors out to visit all of our clubs to provide coaches with guidance and support with their training sessions, as well as occasional match visits. During this time we have come across several examples of coaches who are doing a really great job.

This week we’d like to acknowledge Claire Fitzgerald who coaches the W9 Stingrays at CC Strikers.

See this video to check out some highlights of their recent training session, as well as some quick interviews with the coach!

MWFA Coach Development Manager Eugene Lawrenz said: “Claire gets her players engaged as soon as they arrive, and throughout her sessions, because she always keeps them moving, having fun, and she mixes things up regularly. She is good at demonstrating and asking questions to help them learn, and is always keen to learn herself too. In particular, Claire is really good with the girls, and creates a very inclusive environment in the team given they have a mix of skill levels. She is also a great role model for them.”

Well done Claire, and keep up the good work!

As a reward and recognition for their efforts, we are also pleased to provide their team with a few special gifts:

• extra training balls, because every coach wishes they had more balls to use so they can do exercises where every player has a ball each to work on their control
• mini goals, because scoring into actual goals always makes training more fun, and finishing is a skill we should encourage players to develop ever more
• a whiteboard, so coaches can help players understand their positions and how to support each other visually, which is much more effective than just using words

Over the next few weeks we will be highlighting some other coaches from different clubs, so make sure you stay tuned to our website to see who else will be MWFA Coach of the Week.

Over the last few months, MWFA has been sending our Coach Mentors out to visit all of our clubs to provide coaches with guidance and support with their training sessions, as well as occasional match visits. During this time we have come across several examples of coaches who are doing a really great job.

This week we’d like to acknowledge Liam Chapman who coaches the U9 Eagles at Narrabeen.

See this video to check out some highlights of their recent training session, as well as some quick interviews with the coach!

MWFA Coach Development Manager Eugene Lawrenz said: “Liam has a very good manner for the age group he coaches, as he is always calm and he creates a positive learning environment that the players respond really well to. His training sessions are always fun and stimulating, as are his match warm ups, as everything they do involves teamwork, decision making and competition. Liam is especially good at engaging his players through using Q&A, which gives him an opportunity to check their understanding, but more importantly triggers them to reflect and problem solve, which is the ideal way to approach long-term learning.”

Well done Liam, and keep up the good work!

As a reward and recognition for their efforts, we are also pleased to provide their team with a few special gifts:

• extra training balls, because every coach wishes they had more balls to use so they can do exercises where every player has a ball each to work on their control
• mini goals, because scoring into actual goals always makes training more fun, and finishing is a skill we should encourage players to develop ever more
• a whiteboard, so coaches can help players understand their positions and how to support each other visually, which is much more effective than just using words

Over the next few weeks we will be highlighting some other coaches from different clubs, so make sure you stay tuned to our website to see who else will be MWFA Coach of the Week.

Over the last few months, MWFA has been sending our Coach Mentors out to visit all of our clubs to provide coaches with guidance and support with their training sessions, as well as occasional match visits. During this time we have come across several examples of coaches who are doing a really great job.

This week we’d like to acknowledge Chris Mitchell who coaches the U10 Yetis at Curl Curl.

See this video to check out some highlights of their recent training session, as well as some quick interviews with the coach!

MWFA Coach Development Manager Eugene Lawrenz said: “The most important skill that Chris has is his manner with the boys. He is so welcoming, encouraging and positive with all of his players, giving each of them individual attention, and I’m sure they all love to come to training every week because of that. He is also very adaptable and good at ‘reading the room’ with his group. His sessions have improved a lot this year, and he makes sure he always has every player constantly active so they can maximise their training time, and he always adds competition into every drill which makes a big difference to the intensity.“

Well done Chris, and keep up the good work!

As a reward and recognition for their efforts, we are also pleased to provide their team with a few special gifts:

• extra training balls, because every coach wishes they had more balls to use so they can do exercises where every player has a ball each to work on their control
• mini goals, because scoring into actual goals always makes training more fun, and finishing is a skill we should encourage players to develop ever more
• a whiteboard, so coaches can help players understand their positions and how to support each other visually, which is much more effective than just using words

Over the next few weeks we will be highlighting some other coaches from different clubs, so make sure you stay tuned to our website to see who else will be MWFA Coach of the Week.

MWFA would firstly like to thank all 2,300+ coaches in the association for their hard work this year, and we hope everyone has been having an enjoyable season despite the challenges with the weather. As we approach the remaining few weeks, we are pleased to be able to provide several new resources coaches might want to take advantage of to help them finish the year strongly and give them some new ideas to freshen things up.

MWFA Coach Development Manager Eugene Lawrenz recently completed several new session plans and uploaded a number of new coaching videos to our website. There are now 14 session plans in total with 44 different drills, all with variations as well. Most of these include videos too, and are applicable to all ages and levels including U6s all the way up to senior men and women. Youth and senior teams could essentially use all of them, while younger players will likely find the first 6 to 10 the most relevant. See here: https://www.mwfa.com.au/coaching-resources/

Eugene also shared his most important coaching tip: “I would love to see every team just playing more in training sessions – whether it’s an actual game like 5v5, or a drill that involves teamwork, opponents, scoring, movement etc, the key is to maximise the training time you have by having everyone constantly active, making decisions and practicing their skills. Avoid laps (they could be doing ball work instead), lines (they will muck around and get less practice, so get them all involved) and lectures (it won’t take them long to switch off because they just want to get back to playing, even if what you’re discussing is important).”

Eugene also added his most valuable trick for being a great coach regardless of the level: “Can you get your message across and influence their behaviour in a game or game-like exercise (this can be achieved using methods you would’ve picked up on courses or workshops like using Q&A, demonstration, highlighting role models etc)? This is what you want anyway – if they can execute it well in a training game, they’ll be able to do it in a real match too. Drills are a tool, not the objective, so if you can get them running around while playing more and still developing their skills (which is definitely possible), they’ll have more fun, try harder and get better, and not just go through the motions. This is what makes a great coach, even if you don’t necessarily have a lot of knowledge or experience. Can you give them a fantastic experience so they keep coming back?“

For any coaches keen to take their coaching even further in the off-season, we also have a Foundation of Football course taking place across 3 nights (Monday September 2, 9 and 16), with limited places still available. This course is about giving coaches the opportunity to practice, collaborate and receive feedback, and it is a lot of fun along with being fully practical. It will give coaches a deeper understanding of what and how to teach core skills, and is also the pre-requisite for the C-Diploma. See here for more details and to register: https://www.mwfa.com.au/events/foundation-of-football-cromer-park-3/

We would like to wish all coaches and players the best of luck for the remainder of the season, and thank you again for your hard work.