Coaching The Junior Football Nationals in Australia
Jun 13th, 2009 by Coach DeLorm
Here is another great post from football coach Dan Levin. He is a Head Coach of a football team in Australia. If you would like to contribute to the site please drop me a line using our contact form.
Some time ago I wrote how I was a football coach on the Junior State Team forVictoria. Below is my recap of the event:
The Australian Gridiron Junior Nationals were held in Runaway Bay,
Queensland from May 31 - June 7. The tournament included the best
players on offer from every single state in the country, which doesn’t
sound nearly as impressive as it really is. See, frequently, teams do
not put forth a side because players have to pay their own way, and
it’s not cheap. The cost of attending is roughly $750 US, which is
nothing to scoff at, not including the week off school that these
players (aged 16-18) need to get. Often, the teams that have to
travel the farthest (Western Australia, South Australia) don’t show.
Getting 6 teams together is a huge accomplishment in itself.
Each team played 3 games. The states were seeded according to last
tournament’s finish (Vic finished dead last, but showed, so we were
the #5 seed), and broken into 2 pools. It was round robin in the
pools and the winners squared off for the national championship. The
tournament was held at the Runaway Bay Super Sports Centre, a world
class sports venue that was host to the Japanese National Rugby team
The Cherry Blossoms as they prepared for their match against the
Queenslands Reds. The games were played on the soccer/rugby field,
which is a FieldTurf field, though it clearly needed to be patched up
a bit!
When players weren’t practicing, recovering, or playing games, they
were treated to the coaching of Jeff Reinebold, Receivers coach at SMU
(formerly of Hawaii, CFL, and NFL Europe). Coach Reinebold was truly
an ambassador of the game, and his experience in player development in
Europe gave him a welcome bit of insight into our game from an
International perspective. He showed al of us coaches something new
that we could take back to our clubs.
When football was being played, it was often of an excellent caliber.
Some games were blowouts, but by and large the games were competitive.
The Victorian games however, were something else. I missed game 1,
which we won 54-0 over ACT because of work committments, but made it
up in time for game 2 against defending champion Queensland. We had
17 players (and a punter/kicker on scholarship), they had 34 (for a
9-man competition). We had a handful of parents that had come down,
they had had homefield advantage. By the end of the first hald, the
score was 8-6 QLD, and we had 5 starters out with injury. It was
about to get ugly.
Or not. Somehow, some way, the players found it within themselves to
find another level. They went back out there and absolutely dominated
the Queensland offense, sacking their QB at least 7 times, stuffing
the run, and otherwise embarassing the defending champs. We managed
to find the endzone for the lead, which we were clinging to when the
Sundevils (QLD’s state team name) were backed up at their 2 yard line
with 10 seconds to go. With one last ditch effort, their QB heaved a
pass down the far right sideline, which beat our coverage and went for
a 98 yard score…or so it would seem.
In a display of sheer insanity, a QLD lineman decided to king-hit our
DT from behind as their guy was running downfield. A ref thankfully
saw it and flagged it. 15 yard personal foul, replay 2nd down.
Incredible. A play later, now it’s 4th down, and there’s 1 second on
the clock. QLD calls a timeout. They go into punt formation, which
we couldn’t understand - there’s just 1 second on the clock. The
coach must’ve thought he could go for a safety and try an on-sides,
but there’s no time with 1 second. Ball was snapped, punter steps out
the back, safety, ball game.
I’d been in close games before, I’ve won a championship here 6-0.
I’ve had close losses before and come from behind wins, and I’ve never
cried. I never understood why players cried after a win or a loss
until this tournament. It’s not about people who are overly emotional
- its about the investment they’ve put into the game itself.
As a player, I never put that kind of an effort into a game - into any
athletic competition. I didn’t have that kind of mentality. Sure I
played hard, but I’d never say that I was ever emotionally invested in
the outcome. These guys were. As a unit, these 18 players bonded on
a level I’d never seen before. Players who during the club season
wanted to kill each other on the field were now arm-in-arm on the
practice field.
What makes the tournament so bittersweet is the way it ended. We lost
12-8 against New South Wales (Sydney) in a game that was just as
frought with tension as the Queensland game. Our offense was stifled
all day by a phenominal defensive front, but we scored late in the 3rd
quarter on an INT return for TD. We gave up another score midway
through the 4th, but we had the ball and were driving when the worst
thing possible happened. On a lead run, one of the NSW players got
hit and collapsed to the ground. Medics were immediately out. He had
pins and needles feelings all over his body. The momentum immediately
died as we waited 30 minutes for him to be secured and carried off the
field. The resulting drive finished just short on a 4th down play.
NSW knelt out the clock to end the game.
For this team, the grand final represented the end of 6 months of hard
work. From October to May (With a break over Dec/Jan), these guys
busted their butts to get down to practice, learn new playbooks, and
bond. Sadly, only one of these players is young enough to play again
in 2011, as the others will be age-ineligible. However, I had the
chance to see them fall in love with the game, and that alone means
that it won’t be the last football experience for them. With all the
opportunities they have for sport in Victoria (Aussie Rules, Rugby,
Soccer, Basketball, etc), I don’t see any of them choosing those over
Gridiron - not after this week. Even though this tournament won’t
make any of the papers, won’t be talked about on any radio show, and
won’t even get a mention on a TV broadcast, the Junior Nationals was
more important for building the game internationally than 100 super
bowls or 1000 NFL games played on Australian soil. I saw 6
states-worth of players fall in love with a game, and I’m phenominally
proud to have been a part of that.