Cris Ola appointed Football West Coach Development Officer
Football West is pleased to announce the appointment of Cris Ola as its new Coach Development Officer.
The former Football West Technical Director and State Team coach brings a wealth of experience to the position, including working as a high-performance coaching co-ordinator within Football West’s Hyundai National Training Centre (NTC) for Girls development program.
“I am very pleased to be starting this role, it is an exciting challenge,” Ola said.
“The basic duties will be to maintain and build the coach education component, especially advanced coach education. It will involve organising, running and creating feedback and a database for the C Licence and for the B Licence, as well as helping out with the A Licence course we now have in WA.
“But I will also be helping put in place a structure for organising the coaching for community coach education.”
An ongoing issue for many junior team coaches is striking the balance between results and player development. Ola says these are not mutually exclusive.
“We probably need to shift a little bit from team-focus coaching to player-centre coaching, and put a lot more emphasis on individual player development,” he said.
“That would be in a team scenario, definitely, but with more accent on individuals being helped to maiximise their abilities rather than just being effective for the team on a Saturday or Sunday.
“This is a world issue and that’s why the countries that for years have had good player development process actually have strong competitions at the top.
“We have found that if you get the right coaches for players at very young ages and they do the player-centred, age-appropriate development, training and matches, the benefits are fantastic further down the line.
“I think for a number of years we have been doing a reasonably good job, but I think the percentage is still too high for team coaching rather than developing the individuals, and we have to shift that.”
Ola, who holds a Pro Diploma and was part of Perth Glory’s AFC Asian Champions League coaching team, says he is encouraged by the number of coaches looking to get accredited.
“There are probably 6-700 advanced coaches already, and on average we run four C Licence courses each year so that’s roughly 100 new coaches (accredited), and one B Licence course which is another 20-25 coaches.
“The C Licence is the first step on the advanced coach education ladder. A lot of coaches come probably not clear on what they are getting into. But after day two or day three, most are getting a better structure in preparing sessions, how they look at training, how they look at the game.
“I have been involved in several programs, including NTC, and probably that’s one of the benefits of being available to be part of different environments, being able to mentor some coaches but being able to learn from them as well.”
The Hyundai NTC program is a full-time training program, with the main purpose of preparing players who show the potential talent to progress through the Football Australia development model to achieve NPLWA – Women’s, A-League Women’s, and Matildas representation.
“The NTC program in my opinion is in very good hands,” he said. “They are very strong and we have a number of very good coaches there – Ben Anderton with the first team; Sam Geddes with the Under 15s; Courtney Owen with the Under 14s; and Salv Todaro with the Under 13s. These coaches are always looking to improve for their own benefit and that of the players. Ben, Sam and Conrad McKelivie, who is an assistant with the NTC U15s, are all on the current A Licence course.
“All of them have embraced the approach that the team needs to be there but with focus on the individual players, and we are consistently creating a challenging environment for players. Every year we have players invited to national team camps, which shows that yes there is talent, but there is also a good, strong, competitive environment.”
Talk of player development and national squads naturally turns attention to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand in July and August this year. Perth will host five matches.
“Of course, it is very exciting that the Women’s World Cup will be in Australia, it will be great for the profile of the sport, especially the women’s game,” Ola said. “And hopefully some of the money generated from it will be invested in coach education and development. That will be a true legacy.”
Football West Football Development Officer Gareth Naven said: “It is fantastic to have Cris back with Football West and in such a key role.
“His experience and knowledge are second to none and he is held in huge respect in the game in WA. I look forward to working closely with him and our coaches will benefit greatly from what he brings to the table.”