Conference season delivers for coaches
The State Coaching Conference season is in full swing with events taking place around the country.
Football West Football Development Manager Gareth Naven and Coach Development Officer Cris Ola recently joined coaches from across Australia at the 2025 Football NSW Coaching Conference.
The two-day gathering at Valentine Sports Park in Sydney is the biggest of the Member Federation coaching conferences, with both days attracting more 600 people.
This year’s conference included a Football Australia Coach Education meeting for State Coach Education Managers.
There were also presentations from DFB (German FA) Head of Talent Development Damir Dugandzic; Japanese FA Head of Coach Education Kimura Yasuhiko; Italy U17 Women’s assistant coach Silvia Piccini; (English) FA Women’s National Coach Developer Amy Price; and Brighton and Hove Albion FC Academy Manager Ian Buckman.
Other speakers included FIFA Technical Expert Sean Douglas; Olyroos head coach Tony Vidmar; Junior Matildas head coach Michael Cooper; and Young Matildas head coach Alex Epakis.
“The quality of presentations – both practical and theory – was outstanding, with sections addressing specific aspects of the game and training in separate rooms as well as main key speakers addressing the whole audience in the main hall,” Ola said.
“And as well as the five key speakers, there were many other quality presentations which were educational for everyone who attended.”
The FNSW conference followed the Football West State Coaching Conference, which was held at the Sam Kerr Football Centre.
The main guest was Football Australia Elite Program Manager Ian Crook who delivered a presentation on Principles of Play.
FA Coach Education Officer Instructor and Young Matildas Analyst Faye Chambers spoke on Transforming Data into Decisions; while Cris Ola broke down 'How Goals are Scored', using footage from FIFA World Cup games to assess how goals are scored based on where the ball is regained and if the scoring team used ‘Direct Play’ (five passes or fewer) or ‘Controlled Possession’ (six passes or more).
“Many thanks to Ian and Faye for giving excellent, up-to-date presentations on key aspects of the game and all of the WA coaches who came along and supported our conference,” Ola said.
“They offer great networking opportunities for coaches of all levels and the chance to swap ideas and receive very good verbal feedback. They also allow coaches who attend to receive important CPD (Continuing Professional Development) hours.”
For details of Football West coaching courses, please visit: