Henry set to make four key staff appointments

[DIEHARD]

Good signing by the club. Fresh blood!

[Titanic]

Henry/Matterson>Cartwright/Henry

Yeah ouch hard to please people these days. So who would you have as Head Coach / Assistant with the limited funds that we have?

Now boys, do I really have to explain that > means "greater than"?

[Tamwelg]

Good signing by the club. Fresh blood!

We asked for a coaching shake up and we got it. I'm rapt with the addition of Matterson.

[Toads]

Now boys, do I really have to explain that > means "greater than"?

Well, I was of two minds with that one.. either as you mentioned above, or possibly history repeating itself.

[Bayside Titan]

Well, I was of two minds with that one.. either as you mentioned above, or possibly history repeating itself.

That was my thoughts as well Toads. :-)

[Titanic]

Jumping at shadows you two … I would have thought my position on the ex-coach was clear

[Bayside Titan]

Jumping at shadows you two … I would have thought my position on the ex-coach was clear

Probably a sad learned behaviour that we all have developed over the last many years when it comes to the Titans. I guess a learned behaviour that will change in the years to come. :-)

[DavidBouveng]

i am pumped for matterson.

he was a favourite of mine when he played for broncs, and he seems to have been around quality organisations and has modern coaching abilities.

good job.

it is vital that we get the conditioning and recruitment positions bang on. they are incredibly important. cannot overstate that enough. and besides the head wobbler, that mean ferris is looking at being let go?

[Blade07]

When are we announcing these big sponsors to replace iselect
I know we announced a back of Jersey sponsor but what about the front and all these trips to Japan

[Titan4Life]

I asked a question in the Lurker and got an answer:

@gc_anthony Any ideas on who could be the other Titans assistant coach? Any update on what players Neil Henry has let go? #asklurk

The Lurker: There are a few good potential coaches around including Simon Woolford and Brett Kimmorley - don’t be surprised if one of them ends up there.


I know it's just a guess usually with the Lurker but what is everyone's thoughts about one of the two above possibly being at the club as an assistant?

[Titanic]

Noddy and Big Ears?

[Bayside Titan]

I asked a question in the Lurker and got an answer:

@gc_anthony Any ideas on who could be the other Titans assistant coach? Any update on what players Neil Henry has let go? #asklurk

The Lurker: There are a few good potential coaches around including Simon Woolford and Brett Kimmorley - don’t be surprised if one of them ends up there.


I know it's just a guess usually with the Lurker but what is everyone's thoughts about one of the two above possibly being at the club as an assistant?

Not sure on both but if I had to choose between the two I would choose Noddy....I don't know enough about what Woolford has been doing since he retired. As a player he was ok but not that good to sit up and take notice of him....

[DavidBouveng]

i think Noddy would be good too.

I have been thinking about the appointments and a positive is that Matterson, while only the assistant coach, had coached top level before, and has the experience to take a huge part of the load off Henry so Henry can work on development, planning, and the finer details.

I cant imagine Gilly or past assistant managers being able to do that for us in the past.

[Titanic]

Let's assume that Henry has the skills to coach the team in the key macro areas of strategy and personnel management whilst being able to fulfill his club-to-community commitments, so what do we need from his assistants?

1. A capable micro skills coach across all positions and skills.
2. A quality game analyst and technology buff.
3. A strength and conditioning expert.
4. A sports medicine practitioner and dietician.
5. A respected junior link man (I hesitate to use the term 'development' which I think is over-used and often misunderstood).
6. An experienced junior development system manager.
7. A professional player recruitment negotiator and talent identification network manager.

In summary, some of these positions can be doubled-up and others require a team to be developed but let's not underestimate the complexity nor the amount of planning that putting together a competitive group takes. Used footballers don't always make the best people to fill these positions ... the club should be trawling universities and regional clubs to find such talent within our budget.

I'll also pose this question: why have the vast majority of quality coaches had a teaching background?

And the answer is that no other industry has such a rigorous training regime preparing people with many of the skills required to handle the list above. As a Level IV coach myself I can assure you all that the things missing from the generally very good program that rugby league provides for coaches are all related to 'passing knowledge on' skills.

You will learn what to coach but not enough on 'how to'. Under the current system this is covered by candidates for each progressive level having to have had a year or two's practical experience. The problem is that this is a chicken or egg situation. You may have experience but is it the right experience? I am an advocate of senior coaches having the chance to study a B.Ed (Rugby League) with a combination of teaching, sports science and specific skills.

Sorry guys, it will be a long off-season