Control – an essential element for success …
There are many elements that revolve around the word ‘control’ in Australian footy. The main ones involve the coach, the team, the individual players, styles of play and the competition.
Control incorporates the four other parts of the 5 C’s we have discussed in this series and without their input a team has no effective control over its activities.
Coaches must have unchallenged authority and have the respect and the confidence of the players in the team.
It is now certain that the difference between a winning and losing team lies in the superior knowledge of a coach and his application of that knowledge. Successful coaching is based on how he leads and interacts with his players.
Players are expected to place selfish needs behind those of the team and club. The greatest respect earned by players is through their ability to overcome their fears. Good teams have courageous players who will take enormous physical risks to win the ball and dispossess the opposition.
So called ‘receivers’ and ‘fringe’ players can only destroy the trust which exists between the individuals in a team. Clubs need footballers who possess enthusiasm, aggressive outlooks, ability to make self-sacrifices, who have personal accountability, emotional control and great determination, but above all, self-discipline.
It should not o be necessary to impose rules, regulations, or fines to ensure discipline as players should control themselves and each other. Belonging to a team is an immediate reward in itself.
Mateship is that intangible something which binds a team together. It is a bond that grows between people who earnestly seek a common goal. In achieving that goal, they share a deep realisation of inter-dependency – a realisation which must be understood before team success can be achieved.
Aussie rules football is one of few remaining institutions in our society which places men in a position of constant physical and emotional danger. At the same time, it emphasizes the need for cooperation, trust, and inter-dependence amongst its participants – if the end result is to be achieved.
To be a good footballer a player should be coachable, courageous, dedicated and responsible. He has to be loyal, have intense desire, be willing to practice and be able to concentrate.
Very often in football and life its not the person with the most natural ability who wins, but the person who ‘keeps on Keeping on’. In a game of Aussie rules that extends for more than a hundred minutes, the ability to persist and keep on plugging away, becomes a crucial factor in attaining the goal.
The perpetual loser always has something or someone else to blame for his failure. To succeed in football its essential for players to recognise and assume total responsibility for their success or failure.
‘The wise man practices detachment from his emotions. He is indifferent to praise or abuse. He will not succumb to provocation and become the victim of his own emotions’. Sun Tzu Bing-Fa
The many elements that revolve around Control in our Australian game can be found in the ‘Strategic Intent’ of the club and the effective planning to avoid unpleasant surprises and outsmart our competitors.
The adoption of the 5 C’s as part of strategic and tactical planning, is a way of peering into the future with confidence and that our actions today will yield the best possible outcomes tomorrow.
This page is dedicated to the Yaksich Osteopathic Clinics, proud sponsors of the Kalamunda Football Club.
162 Lesmurdie Road, Lesmurdie WA 6076 (08) 9291 9991 http://yaksich.com.au
