COACHING THAT STAYS WITH PLAYERS

I have known and coached Ashton and Jac since they were around 12 years old, starting from their U13 years.

Through team coaching, small-group training, 1-on-1 sessions, and ongoing individual long-term athlete development support, I had the opportunity to work closely with them during important stages of their youth development.

One of the most memorable periods was our U14 JBNPL Division 1 season in Queensland (2007 born players), where the group went on to become both Premiers and Grand Final winners. It was a special team, and many players from that environment have continued to progress into strong football pathways.

𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧 (19) and 𝐉𝐚𝐜 (18) are now progressing into NPL Queensland top-team environments, which makes their reflections especially meaningful to me.

Ashton was always one of the standout attacking players in his age group. From U13 through to U18, he was consistently among the top goal scorers in NPL Queensland / Junior NPL Division 1 competitions.

With Ashton, my focus was not only on his ability to score goals, but on building a more complete attacking profile: finishing variety, ball striking, movement, hold-up play, technical detail, decision-making, and a deeper understanding of his own strengths and development areas.

That long-term work is now reflected in his progression into the NPL Queensland top-team environment, where he has already made senior appearances and scored.

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𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉 (𝑨𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒆 𝑪𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑭𝑪/𝑵𝑷𝑳 𝑸𝑳𝑫)

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴?

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘪 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 1 𝘰𝘯 1 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭”

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄?

“𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰, 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰”

𝗜𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁?

“𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘙𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘪’𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘐𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺. 𝘓𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

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Jac is another player I have strong memories of coaching from his U13 years. Even as a young player, he showed leadership qualities, strong tactical understanding, and the ability to support and cover players around him.

With Jac, my focus was to develop the next layers of his game: decision-making after winning the ball, angled passing, first touch, contact quality, playing with fewer touches, staying strong in duels, and using refined technique to influence the game more decisively.

His reflection clearly shows how those technical details are still part of his game today.

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𝑱𝒂𝒄 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒕 (𝑴𝒊𝒅𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝑶𝒍𝒚𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒄 𝑭𝑪/𝑵𝑷𝑳 𝑸𝑳𝑫)

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴?

“𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭.”

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄?

“𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸”

𝗜𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁?

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 2 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺”

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Reading their words reminds me that meaningful player development is not only about what players show in the moment.

Purposeful and passionate coaching stays with players. It becomes part of their technique, decision-making, game understanding, and the way they continue to grow years later.

I'm proud to see Ashton and Jac continuing their football journey, and I truly hope they keep progressing toward even higher levels in the years ahead.