vastman wrote:
I don’t wish to be overly insulting but years of coaching and playing in the British game is hardly a badge of honour - certainly when talking about the Aussie game.
When it comes to coaching they are simply light years ahead, if you had spent some time in Oz you’d probably realise what an inadequate boast you’ve just made.
I doubt more than half a dozen British coaches cut hack it in Australia, none at SL level. You tend with your bombast to explain the reason why.
Coaches from across the world share best practice, new methods, ideas using new technology and just about anything that advances the efficiency of coaching. Gone are the days when the only way to access innovations brought in by a coaching genius from the NFL was to go spend time in his presence at a Miami Dolphins training camp.
Being a coach at the highest level is a talent, it’s honed by experience and enhanced opportunities to work with other talented coaches in a variety of environments. It isn’t exclusive to one competition or nation just because they have a higher profile and more money!
The best coaches willingly share their insights with the coaching community, they don’t keep it secret in the hope of maintaining an advantage.
So your assertion that NRL Coaches are “Light years ahead” is quite frankly naive and out of date!
I’ve spent time with current NRL coaches, former NRL coaches who have worked over here and plenty of U.K. based SL coaches and there’s little to no difference between 99.5% of them in terms of knowledge, their coaching processes and their day to day methods.
Do NRL coaches enjoy greater access to world class facilities, do they work with more talented players throughout their learning process, of course they do. Have they got larger teams of highly qualified assistants taking care of the minutia of the daily processes & analysis that we simply can’t afford over here, again yes they do. It makes them more efficient, it means they have time to spend on individual development of players but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a better coach, it means they have a more advanced coaching environment.
Does a career enveloped in that kind of environment make Craig Bellamy & Trent Robinson the best two coaches in the world 100% yes, IMO without a doubt but they were also two of the most naturally talented coaches before all that. Would Brian McDermott or Shaun Wane have been as good given the same environment, quite possibly.
The cross disciplinary abilities of the average UK based Rugby League Coach is very much on a par with the average coaching levels in Australia. Give them the same opportunities to coach within the same environments and they’re just as knowledgeable and talented.
