The Football Coaching Life Podcast

Alen is the current Head Coach of the Philippines Women’s National Team (the Malditas, yes that’s correct!), and is preparing them for the 2022 AFC Asian Cup, which is being held in India. The Philippines will play in a group with Indonesia, Thailand and of course Australia (the Matildas). His Serbian background led him to Bonnyrigg White Eagles in Sydney’s west, but a knee injury shortened his playing career and as a teacher he began coaching. Staj has had a remarkable coaching journey that began at the Hills Sports High School and at New South Wales Institute of Sport, coaching the Sapphires in the Women's National Soccer League. Both of these institutions saw teams achieve repeated successes with championship wins, but Alen learned that success comes in many ways. He had an early taste of coaching a national team in an Assistant Coach role with the Young Matildas at the 2006 World Cup in Russia, before becoming the inaugural Head Coach at Sydney FC Women, which saw them win two championships and two premierships as well as third place at the FIFA International Women’s Club Championship. Then followed five fantastic years as Head Coach of the Matildas, during which they beat Brazil and World Champions USA for the first time, changing the belief of the players and achieving successes at the Asian Cup, Olympic Games and World Cup. Alen’s ‘One Piece of Wisdom’ is ‘It’s got to be fun; you’ve got to enjoy it because it’s a tough job. Coaching can be a lonely experience, so you’ve really got to find the enjoyment, fun and reward, and the connection to what it is you want to achieve. If it's not fun, it's just too tough a job!’ Enjoy this discussion about Alen Stajcic’s Football Coaching Life.

Michael Valkanis was most recently the Assistant to John van’t Schip as the Greece National Team Coach. Michael played his junior football at South Melbourne and as a student at De La Salle College. He made his senior debut in the NSL with South Melbourne before heading to Greece to play with Iraklis and then AEL Larissa. He played for eight years in Greece before returning to Adelaide and the A-League. His coaching journey began at Adelaide United with the youth team and then as an Assistant Coach with the first team. A new opportunity took him to Melbourne City to work alongside John van’t Schip and then a brief spell as head coach before joining John in Holland with PEC Zwolle. This was followed by the move to Greece with the National Men’s Team. Michael has served a wonderful apprenticeship as Assistant Coach in Adelaide and Melbourne, with brief stints as Head Coach at both Clubs. He is now keen to stretch his wings and take on the mantle of Head Coach as his journey continues to develop. He firmly believes that there are many Australian Coaches that are good enough to work overseas. Coaches like players need to “get out of their comfort zone”. This is another conversation full of wisdom, including Michael's belief that "Your football philosophy will come to light through knowing yourself." Please join me in sharing Michael Valkanis’s Football Coaching Life.

Belinda Wilson began her football journey in Byron Bay on the far north coast of New South Wales, Australia. She is currently enjoying autumn in Zurich, Switzerland where she is the Senior Technical Development Manager of Women’s Football with FIFA. A remarkable achievement for a young Australian Coach and Administrator. After falling in love with the game on a family holiday to the UK, Belinda returned to Byron Bay where she was unable to play as she was a girl. At the time there were no girls’ competitions and girls weren’t allowed to play with boys. She was eventually allowed to play as a twelve-year-old in the senior women’s team. Her coaching journey began as a teenager coaching her younger brother's team from U6 through to U13’s. Her talent was rewarded as coach of FFNC U14 girls’ representative team. Belinda has worked as the Coach Education Manager for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and in full-time club roles in Sweden and Denmark. She returned to Australia to work with Football New South Wales, the New South Wales Institute of Sport and as Head Coach of the Australian U17 team, also winning a Premiership with Brisbane Roar in the W-League in 2013. She was appointed as Head Coach of the Guam Women’s National Team and National Technical Director in 2017 and has also been on the FIFA Technical Panel for World Cups in 2007 and 2011 and the 2008 Olympic Games. Belinda’s ‘One Piece of Wisdom’ is ‘Don’t be afraid to take a risk. Go out there and challenge yourself to see who you are as a person but also as a coach. Take the opportunities and take a risk, the worst that can happen is you end up where you started, and sometimes that’s not a bad place to be.’ Please join me in sharing Belinda Wilson’s Football Coaching Life.

Paddy Kisnorbo is busy preparing his Melbourne City Men’s team for the kick-off to the 2021-2022 season after finishing his first season as Head Coach as A-League Men’s Premiership and Championship winners. A first ever for Melbourne City! He played his junior football at Essendon City and Bulleen, made his NSL debut with South Melbourne before heading to Hearts in Scotland as a nineteen-year-old. He then had a long professional career in England with Leicester City, Leeds United and Ipswich Town. Paddy represented the Socceroos 18 times and unfortunately missed the 2010 World Cup with a torn achilles. Paddy’s preparation for coaching began while he was playing in the UK, where he started to gain his coaching licences before returning to Australia to play with Melbourne City. He served a five-year apprenticeship at Melbourne with the Youth Team, the A-League Women’s Team and then the Men’s Team. He worked as an assistant with Joe Palatsidis, Joe Montemurro, John van’t Schip and Eric Mombaerts, learning from them all. This is a fantastic conversation. Paddy is so open about his development as a coach, including his learnings and self-doubts from a run of losses. He talks about mentors and the importance of mental health for players and coaches. Paddy’s ‘One Piece of Wisdom’ was ‘Be true to yourself’. ‘Do your apprenticeship and don’t be in a rush, you need to learn and understand’. Enjoy listening to this walk through Patrick Kisnorbo’s Football Coaching Life.

Steve Corica is Head Coach of the A-League Men at Sydney FC. He played his junior football in Innisfail in North Queensland, before heading to the Australian Institute of Sport.  He played just under 500 professional games in Australia, England and Japan. Steve’s preparation for coaching began while he was playing, and he started to gain his coaching licences before taking on an assistant role with the Sydney FC Youth Team. He served a seven-year apprenticeship at Sydney with the Youth Team and then as an assistant to Vitezslav Lavicka, Frank Farina and Graham Arnold, before taking on the Head Coach role in 2018. He learned from each of these coaches, and shares that his greatest lesson upon graduating to Head Coach was that "he didn’t know, what he didn’t know." Steve believes that team and club culture are key to success. He understands that while he is the driver of the culture, that buy in from all of the players is integral to behaviours being demanded from the playing group of one another. Enjoy this walk through Steve Corica’s Football Coaching Life.

Ash Wilson is the Head Coach of the Newcastle Jets A-League Women’s team. Ash also works in the Jets Academy program and in addition is a full-time teacher at Hunter Sports High. Ash played her early football in Lismore on the far north coast of New South Wales. Her dad was integral in helping Ash into the game, being her role model as well as helping her to fall in love with the game. She began coaching early in her career, working first in the Macquarie Academy while she was playing and then continuing as she moved to Adamstown Rosebuds after moving to Newcastle to play. This is another wonderful conversation with a coach who has experience beyond her years working with players at school, community and elite level. Ash is a teacher at heart and wants to teach/coach her players to improve. She is also a strong advocate of ‘lifetime learning’ and is always looking to continue her own football education. Ash speaks to Gary Cole about the importance of resilience for players and coaches, and how she uses her roles as a secondary teacher and coach to teach young people how to become more resilient. This is Ash Wilson’s Football Coaching Life.

Phil Moss is currently the Head of Coaching & Distinctive Leadership at the National Australia Bank and President of Football Coaches Australia. He is also an analyst with Big Sports Breakfast in Sydney. ‘Mossy’ played his junior football in Manly Warringah and progressed as a senior player on the Central Coast and Eastern Suburbs before getting a professional contract with Northern Spirit in the National Soccer League, where he played with Graham Arnold, Robbie Slater and Ian Crook. His coaching career began at Dee Why with a Championship win. He worked as an assistant with Graham Arnold at Central Coast Mariners, the Olyroos and Sydney FC before enjoying two seasons as Head Coach at the Mariners. Phil has been a part of the successes at all of these clubs and helped the Olyroos qualify for the Olympic Games. President of FCA since its inception, he describes the importance of FCA in ‘wrapping a collective arm around coaches’ in what can be a very lonely experience. He discusses the importance of ‘collaboration’ with Member Federations and Football Australia in achieving successful outcomes for football in Australia. Phil also explains why he is proud of what FCA has achieved through a tough couple of years during Covid lockdowns and what the focus is for the organisation in both the short and long term. Mossy provides wonderful insight into moving from sports coaching into the corporate world. He also delves into the differences between coaching and leadership and developing resilience. This is a conversation filled with wisdom. This is Phil Moss’s Football Coaching Life.

Jeff Hopkins is currently the W-League Championship winning Head Coach of Melbourne Victory. Jeff was born in Wales and played over four hundred games for both club and country. He started in Fulham’s Academy before playing over two hundred games in the first team before heading to Crystal Palace and Reading. Jeff also played for Wales at U21 and Senior level. His coaching career began working with young players in the UK, where he started his coaching licences before heading to Gippsland Falcons as a player and then a year as Head Coach. As a former professional player, Jeff, like so many of us, thought he had a good grasp of football until he began his coaching journey and learned he didn’t know what he didn’t know! With over 20 years of experience as a coach at youth, assistant and head coach level, Jeff is very aware of the changes he has made to his coaching over the journey. He has a number of premierships and championships to his name with Queensland and Brisbane Roar Women and both a Premiership and Championship with Melbourne Victory, which he is very proud of, but he also finds a great deal of satisfaction in seeing his players and teams grow and develop. Jeff was honest and open discussing his journey and believes that finding a mentor in the beginning would have helped him make fewer mistakes on his journey. In fact, in answering the ‘one piece of wisdom’ question he had two pieces of gold for developing coaches! You'll have to listen to find out what they are! Please join Gary Cole in exploring Jeff Hopkin’s Football Coaching Life.

Dr Craig Duncan is one of Australia’s top ‘Human Performance Scientists’.  Craig played for New South Wales as a junior before realising his best bet in the world of athletic performance was via a university degree. In this episode, he tells Gary Cole that his role today is to take a holistic approach with footballers to ensure they are as best prepared as they can be to enable the Coaches to do their magic with them on the pitch. He has worked with Vitezslav Lavicka at Sydney FC and won a championship; worked with Tony Popovic at West Sydney Wanderers and won an Asian Champions League; and worked with Ange Postecoglou with the Socceroos, winning the Asian Cup as well as qualifying for a World Cup. Craig has also worked for Carlos Queiroz with Iran at the Asia Cup. He tells Gary how he learned from all of these very experienced coaches. They also discuss the importance of finding a ‘mentor’, and how both mental health and being present can only improve coaching and player performance. Dr Craig is leaving a legacy by sharing his wisdom as both an author and content creator.  Join Gary Cole in this exploration of Dr Craig Duncan’s Football Coaching Life.

Gary Cole has had an immense impact on Australian football during a playing, coaching, mentoring & administrative career that has seen him occupy roles at all levels of the game (amateur, semi-professional & professional). His passion for the game & driving it forward with a pure agenda of what is in the best interests of the game is second to none. He has a 100% inclusive mindset & an ability to adapt to any level, situation or person he is dealing with. His relationships with every person & stakeholder in the game & his reputation is testament to that. Gary played four seasons in the Victorian State League with Ringwood City Wilhelmina & Fitzroy United Alexander before playing in the inaugural season of the National Soccer League, then a decade long career at the highest level with Heidelberg United and Preston Makedonia, amassing 247 appearances (109 goals) He made 40 appearances (21 goals) for the Socceroos, 19 of which were A internationals, with 17 goals including a world record for goals scored, at the time, in a World Cup qualifying match when he nabbed 7 against Fiji in 1981.   His coaching career involved time in charge of Altona Magic (Championship 1995), Bulleen Zebras & Bentleigh Greens, coaching 193 matches in Victoria’s top flight, with 89 wins, 49 draws and 55 losses. He also coached the Victorian State team whilst under the tutelage of Ron Smith at the Australian Institute of Sport. Gary enjoyed great success as a football administrator at the top level of professional football in Australia, occupying the role of Director of Football for both Melbourne Victory FC & Sydney FC – the A-League’s two biggest clubs and at Football Victoria as Manager Strategy and Special Projects and then as Executive Manager Facilities & Advocacy. Gary joined the Football Coaches Australia Executive Committee in 2019 and his tenure has been highlighted by his  hosting of the successful FCA “The Football Coaching Life’ podcasts. In a rare moment where the host becomes the guest, Heather Garriock asks Gary Cole about his Football Coaching Life.