On Saturday 1 February Football SA hosted it’s first Coaching Conference for 2025. This event saw over 150 coaches come together for a day of theory and practical sessions run by expert special guests in the field.
The day began with keynote speakers Mitch Van Gellekom, Manager of the PSV Coaching Academy, who is known for driving innovation and excellence in football education. And Dr Rob Mason, Port Adelaide Football Club (AFL) Coach Development Manager, who consults to high performance sporting organisations around the world on the topics of learning, communication, and feedback.
Some of our other presenters included Neil Tate from Football Australia who holds over 15 years’ experience developing goalkeepers in elite pathway programs, and former Socceroo and current Olyroos coach, Tony Vidmar.
Football SA General Manager Football Development, Mike Cooper, commented on the day's success:
“It was great to get so many coaches together and offer them two interesting keynote speakers from industry leaders and then to breakout into some smaller interactive sessions to meet their needs. Events like these are invaluable to ongoing coach development”.
Football SA Girls Player Development Lead and Guest Speaker, Cristiano Dos Santos shared:
“It was a great opportunity to interact with many coaches from various clubs and share ideas about player development. It was also great to see how big clubs like PSV manage player development, and highlighted the importance of focusing on the technical and individual aspects of football before anything else”.
We look forward to welcoming and sharing more insight and knowledge at future coaching conferences throughout the year.
