Kevin Sheedy, are you for real?

[Silverado]

This quote from Sheedy in an article about coaches burning out

"Don't tell me that a player puts more into the game than a coach does."

That must give the players a confidence boost

 

[UrLordLeper]

I kinda agree with him, to be honest..
The coaches are responsible for the players - for their mental attitudes to how much training they do and how they play their footy. The players only have to worry about their own game.
The coach has to worry about evey players' games - including those in the reserves.. Injuries.. Not to mention they are the ones doing the research on their opponents and working out strategies to use against certain clubs / players..
And when things aren't going so well they are the ones in the spotlight, facing the axe..

 

[pie35]

Silverado, are you for real? I think you underestimate the amount of time and energy coaches put in each week.

 

[Silverado]

Yeah yeah, Coaches do long hours of research into opposition and so on but lets face it, they aren't the ones physically AND mentally busting their gut 6 days a week and watching their diet, dealing with physical injury etc etc. The players put just as much effort into perperation for a game as a coach, if they didn't then they would most likely get dropped to the magoo's.
Players are often given a handfull of games to prove their worth before they are relegated or delisted all together, coaches are given the grace a few years and a lot more lattitude to prove they are capable, they also have the get out of jail free card of blaming the players or one of the miriad of other supprt staff for their shortcomings, a player does not get that luxury!

Coaches have a responsobility to get others to perform but ultimatley the players are the ones who play the game which is the key ingeredient in the end result.

 

[dlanod]

If you had an AFL team with no coach, imagine how well it'd do regardless of the players involved. And you can't have an AFL team with no players. They're both indispensable. You're just rating players higher because they do the physical work. In the interviews I've read with coaches it's basically a seven day a week job - while the players may have a rest day or two each week (not to mention the offseason), if the coach isn't considering upcoming games, matchups, selections, potential draftees, delistings, training plans, etc, every day, he's not going to be a coach for very long.

 

[Vinnie Vegas]

The head coach also doesn't get to lean on anyone, and there's no mentor there for him to go to when he struggles.

The efforts of an entire football club, including the head coach and everyone else, are there to help the players in any way possible to get them to perform. On the other hand, a bad 10 weeks and the coach can get sacked.

Sure, the players have to physically and mentally perform, but they have a staff of upwards of 100 people helping them to do their best. Coaches are lucky if they have 10 people that are geared specifically towards helping them perform their role.