Former AFL coach Rodney Eade says technology binges behind all-time low kicking skills in the AFL
IN 2018, kicking efficiency has dropped to an all-time low of 64.8 per cent. Just 17 years ago it was 78.8 per cent. What has led to such a dramatic drop? Sam Landsberger takes an in-depth look at the issue.
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TECHNOLOGY binges and a lack of problem solving skills are contributing to the substandard progression of young footballers, according to AFL coaches and recruiters.
The development concerns flow into the rules debate, partly because if the AFL slashes interchange rotations players will be forced to execute under heightened fatigue.
In 2018, kicking efficiency has dropped to an all-time low of 64.8 per cent. In 2001 it was 78.8 per cent, albeit when players disposed under less pressure in the pre-congestion era.
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“They’re not problem solvers,” former coach Rodney Eade told the Herald Sun.
“Everything is on Google and Siri and so when you coach them, you add layers. Layer A) and then layer B) and (by the time) you get to layer C) and they forget A) and B).
“They are literal learners. You’ll say this week in senior footy we’re doing contested ball, that’s all they do and they forget about the rest.
“I’m not being smart, and it’s a real noticeable difference in the last five to eight years. Their ability to retain information and apply it.
“They don’t think for themselves. They also get more injuries because they don’t climb trees and ride bikes and those sorts of things.”
Eade coached Gold Coast from 2015-17 and welcomed eight first-round draft picks to the club.
Port Adelaide list manager Jason Cripps said despite the AFL’s elite pathways, only a “really small pool” of draftees were elite kicks.
“The generations of today have more options,” Cripps told the Herald Sun.
“They’re not kicking the footy in the backyard, they’re not kicking it at school (and) a lot of them are sitting on devices. I’m talking the age of 5-15, so by the time they get in the talent pathway program it’s too late.
Eade said the AFL was the only sport in the world which had to develop skills at the elite level while Cripps said introducing Gold Coast and GWS had diluted the talent pool.
Wayne Schwass has called for the AFL to eliminate the expansion clubs and redistribute their players.
Paul Roos wants the draft age raised from 18 and while Cripps said that was a valid discussion, it would also stall their development.
North coach Brad Scott, who is on the AFL Competition Committee, wants lists cut to 30 players with the ability to top-up.
“And I’d like to see those 30 get significant pay increases,” Scott said.
“We spread our resources across 45 players, when really at the elite level we should be focusing on the top 30.”
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson also blamed technology while Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said kids didn’t spend enough time kicking the Sherrin.
“We get to a point where they’re 18 and mid-20s players and still have a long way to go with their skills,” he said,
“The skill level has dropped off over time and that’s partly because of what’s happened through the pathways.”
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Originally published as Former AFL coach Rodney Eade says technology binges behind all-time low kicking skills in the AFL