Ron Smith Gives Manly Coaches a Boost
Manly United and local grassroots coaches from within the Manly Warringah Football Association had a memorable opportunity to broaden their football knowledge last weekend after Manly United organised a two-day coaching workshop with arguably the most respected football mind in Australia, Ron Smith.
Smith, who was a former Head of the Australian Institute of Sport during the emergence of football’s Golden Generation and a member of the Socceroo Coaching staff, spent two days imparting his vision, knowledge and philosophy with the Manly United coaching group to give the coaches and Technical Director Andrew Christiansen an extra edge leading into the 2019 season.
Smith went through a series of workshops, inside the Clubhouse and out on the pitch, as well as attending Boys Youth League matches against Sydney FC at Cromer Park on Sunday to allow coaches to work through their learnings and observations during matches.
“Having Ron Smith spend two days with our coaches was an amazing experience for them and a great opportunity for all of us to sharpen our knowledge and hear from the best football brain in Australia,” said Manly United Technical Director Andrew Christiansen. “We believe strongly in giving our players the best possible coaching and football experience and this will allow our coaches to drive that.
“We spoke with Ron extensively over the last few months and put together a program that allowed him to impart his knowledge but also relate what he believes to be key behaviours and habits for players into the Curriculum that we work to at Manly United.
“It was a tremendous weekend and a great “value-add” for our coaches that will eventually assist all of our players.”
The workshop was organised by Manly United following an off season of change with Christiansen joining the club as Technical Director and a concerted push to put more resources into coaches to continue the club’s history of strong youth programs.
Smith also left Manly United with his methods and thoughts to be able to share with other coaches who missed part or all of the workshop due to pre season trials that were held all over New South Wales.
“When we appointed Andrew (Christiansen) as the Technical Director late last year we decided that due to the size of the program we needed to give him the resources to be able to deliver on the impressive programs and structures he presented,” said Manly United CEO David Mason. “Ron Smith is without peer in Australian coaching and he was more than happy to impart his knowledge.
“We have a good group of young co aches who are learning and developing under Andrew’s guidance and this extra opportunity with a legend of Australian football is a great boost as we enter the 2019 season.”
Coaches from grassroots clubs in the Manly Warringah Football Association (MWFA) who are part of the Club Coach Coordinator (CCC) program also attended some of the workshops that were transferable into grassroots coaching to ensure Smith’s knowledge was passed down as deep into the Northern Beaches coaching fraternity as possible.
“We believe in educating coaches at all levels at Manly United and the MWFA and this was also a great opportunity for some of our dedicated grassroots coaches who take part in the CCC Program to broaden their coaching knowledge,” Mason said. “Andrew (Christiansen) and Ron identified some of the workshops that would be best suioted to grassroots football and we opened it up, which was a great show of unity for football on the Northern Beaches.”
Manly United starts its seasons for Men’s and Women’s Seniors, Boys Youth League and Girls Youth League on the weekend of March 9/10 with the SAP teams kick off the following weekend.
