Does anyone know if this is still on? Given we have so many young players on the list, you would think it was still operating?
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Mentoring program
- Thread starter Hairydolfin
- Start date
The program still exists but has been changed slightly, it now consists of one mentor for the whole playing group, his name is Damien Hardwick.
Elmer said:
Agree. All Wallace rubbish. I always wondered how some of those mentors who were average players with us would be any good for our current players to learn from.
They made it look like all our players had psychological problems in needing these mentors.
Elmer said:
I'm not so sure Elmer - I wouldn't mind catching up with Francis Bourke regularly to discuss football.
No, I am suggesting it was (unsurprisingly) an extremely poorly executed concept bordering on the fraudulent. IMO it was an attempt to disseminate a perception amongst fans and the general public that a new era of player development and guidance had arrived at Tigerland. That we introduced 40+ volunteers and effectively managed an "advanced" mentoring program for each player on our list.Streak said:
My point is we couldn’t stump up for full time recruiter but we expected (or perpetuated) to adequately manage/resource a extracurricular program involving 80 plus people. I doubt there was any real structure or benefits, certainly not related to improving individual player techniques within specific coaching guidelines. I’d be willing to bet that most players only got an awkward initial meeting, a cup of coffee and ‘a chat’ from a mentor that 80% of them had never heard of.
Did David the world of good.Skills said:
Seriously, there are not many people in the AFL held in the esteem of Francis Bourke. If he told me something as a player I would listen. However above generic life and football practices I’m skeptical to the level of benefit his knowledge of practices and techniques from a bygone, part time, amateur era actually derives.
I’ll even stick my head into the Tiger’s mouth and say David would be a better mentor as he has a more intimate knowledge of modern football practices and certainly the pitfalls. Although I am happy to concede David might struggle more than Francis to articulate it.
As a young player I would have personally craved 5 minutes of Nathan Foley’s advice over any ‘outside’ mentor, including Francis Bourke.
Baloo said:
Agreed BigBear. Mentoring is great used wisely. I thought the programme was fantastic, and to those that were dissing the calibre of player, the point of mentoring is not a replication of skills, but a sounding board where commonsense can be considered, challenging life skills can be discussed and even grievances kept in perspective once shared.
I miss my mentor.
Elmer said:
Thanks for the clarification. I was gobsmacked to think that we might have coughed up some valuable dollars for this.
I do think the idea had some merit, but not sure how it went.
Phar Ace said:
So is coaching, an area we have missed out on since 1995, Dimma excepted (the jury is still out).
