Coaching Coaches
Long conversations with coaches, from the AFL to the local club, about the job.
What it is
Coaching Coaches was started by Jeff White to give community coaches the lessons that other coaches learned the hard way. Each guest sits down for the better part of an hour and talks about the job: culture, leadership, development, and the moments that decide a season. The lessons each coach gives are priceless.
To help carry the series, First Use is lucky to have the support of Paul Reyne, who built a couple of successful programs in his own right.
Every episode is free, with no account needed. They are on YouTube, so you can listen in the car, at the kitchen table, or with the coaching group.
Episodes
Paul Reyne (Wangas)
AFL Queensland Division 1 coach on game plans, trust, buy-in and getting the best out of every player on the list.
Phil Carse
Redland-Victoria Sharks head coach on taking a side from one win in 2018 to the club’s first premiership in 26 years.
Matthew Lloyd
Essendon great and Haileybury College head coach on building a program from the ground up to three premierships.
Matthew Primus
Southport Sharks head coach, former Port Adelaide captain and senior coach, on coaching philosophy, leadership and staying calm.
Alistair Nicholson
AFL Coaches Association CEO on the traits that elite coaches share, and what community coaches can take from them now.
Mick McGuane
Former Collingwood champion and local coach on knowing the person before the player, and a culture that keeps winning.
Mark and Matt Wallin, Yeppoon Swans
The Yeppoon Swans coach and captain on an Australian-record 128 straight wins, 11 premierships in a row, and the club they rebuilt.
Matt Green
Brisbane Lions AFLW high performance manager, two premierships and nine finals series in, on keeping players available all season.
Daniel Ward
Sandringham Zebras head coach on taking Old Haileybury from Division 3 to Division 1 over nine years.
Anthony Klarica
Brisbane Lions sports psychologist, with 11 grand finals and six premierships at Hawthorn and Brisbane behind him.
Grant Fagan
Tasmanian Hall of Fame coach on a premiership with Clarence in 2000, years away from coaching, and winning it again in 2025.
Where to watch
The full series is a playlist on the First Use channel. Subscribe there and new episodes come to you.