KARI Foundation held its 2nd Indigenous Coaching Conference from 17th – 19th of January. The Indigenous Coaching Conference was designed to bring in coaches from across New South Wales to educate them on different aspects of coaching rugby league.
The Coaching Conference was held in the NSW Rugby League Centre of Excellence providing participants with direct access and first hand insight to quality facilities that can assist coaches in getting the most from their players.
Guest speakers included former Wests Tigers coach Wayne Pearce, current Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire, as well as high profile guests and media identity Paul Kent. KARI Foundation CEO Casey Ralph, was also a guest speaker during the conference.
The conference consisted of 10 sessions over the course of 3 days, providing insight and information on modern techniques used in today’s game. Sessions included:
- Your Coaching Journey
- Coaching Philosophy
- Running an Effective Training Session
- Coaching Elite Womens Players
- Attacking Play
- Defensive Play
- Referees
- Team Culture
- Working with Media
- Relationship Management
The inclusion of current referees and representatives of the media in this year’s conference, allowed participants to understand other key areas surrounding the game. The ‘Working with Media’ session in particular provided insight on how to collaborate with the media in a professional manner.
“Developing from LLT to tackle in the NRL, is a great opportunity for women in our area. Being able to do this course has given me insight on what I need to do culturally also. It is important to understand the struggles that Indigenous players go through; I will continue to work with mainstream organisations in the area and get them to understand the importance of having Indigenous people to lead Indigenous people, creating self-determination and cultural competency. Thank-You KARI” – Letitia Kelly, Tweed All Blacks
As another successful conference comes to an end, we can only hope to see this program grow in the years to come, allowing aspiring Indigenous coaches to achieve their goals of one day coaching in the National Rugby League. KARI Foundation would like to thank the NSWRL, NRL, Sydney Roosters and Wests Tigers for their support and commitment to pathways for Indigenous coaches.