‘Give me 18 months’: Inside the evolution of Trent Dennis-Lane’s coaching passion
If you’d asked Trent Dennis-Lane two years ago if senior coaching was in his sights, he would have waved it off. Now seeing it as a “vehicle to develop people holistically”, he harbours big ambitions.
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Trent Dennis-Lane spent the Thursday before last making trips to and from Officeworks.
He was on a tight deadline to make 60 player magnets for a Victoria Metro trial match the following day.
It was a component of coaching Dennis-Lane didn’t expect.
But so strong is his passion for footy, he didn’t mind the “arts and crafts night”.
“Footy is my happy place, whether I am playing, coaching, watching vision, anything footy related,” Dennis-Lane said.
During red-time of his AFL career, the 29-game Swan and Saint discovered that appetite to coach.
He went into a role at Sandringham where he would guide the development side ahead of playing in the VFL.
Bonbeach in the Mornington Peninsula league then came calling, allowing Dennis-Lane to bolster his resume while still scratching his playing itch.
Covid slowed his coaching aspirations to a crawl but eventually fuelled the “crazy juggle” in the short time after.
“Coming out of that (Covid) I said to my partner ‘give me 18 months’,” he said.
“I was working at a youth charity, I was at Sandy VFL, playing at Bonbeach and then I was at St Kilda’s NGA (Next Generation Academy).
“I was trying to fit into seven and a half days of work into seven. It was quite a challenge, I had three or four different uniforms in the boot.”
The sacrifice paid off at the end of 2022, when the job as the Western Jets coach opened up.
It wasn’t the path he had in mind but the role immediately won him over.
“It’s pretty cool, they’re a bunch of aspirational teenagers,” he said.
“I think my skill set really applies to that more driven athlete, they’re playing to get the best out of themselves.
“I got the call on the Friday asking ‘would you be keen?’. I got interviewed on the Tuesday and got the job on the Tuesday afternoon – it all happened pretty quickly.
“The path I kind of thought was as a VFL assistant, maybe go into a development coach role but this popped up and I couldn’t say no.
“If I end up doing this for the next 20 years, I would be pretty happy.”
In his time at the helm of the Coates Talent League club, Dennis-Lane has done as much learning as teaching.
He has grasped what type of coach he is, the type of coach he wants to be and where he wants it all to take him.
“I think I am a self-awareness, self-discovery kind of coach,” he said.
“I like to leave heaps of time and space for the athlete to figure out what they are good at, what they need to work on and then give them the opportunity to do that.
“I wouldn’t say I am heavily offence or heavily defence, the reality is the game spends a different amount of time on offence, defence, at stoppage, whatever.
“For me, it’s about teaching the player the role for the different phase and hopefully they can identify that and out of the information they’ve gathered, the role spits out.”
Dennis-Lane’s said his experiences at the highest level, where he once found out he was dropped via Twitter, has shaped how he builds relationships.
While he vows for “no smoke and mirrors” to all of his players, he admits the work must be done by the coach first.
“That (dropped via Twitter) shapes my whole philosophy around selection, no emails, no texts, it’s ‘you’re in, or you’re out’ and I give the reason why,” he said.
“I tell you straight up and if I can’t tell you face-to-face, it has to be a phone call.
“But you can’t have those tough, hard conversations with people unless you know them.
“There’s a lot said for the ‘dumb footballer’ but they’re smarter than we give them credit for, so no smoke and mirrors – connect with them so you can be real with them.
“I am not the perfect coach, no chance in hell, but that’s the benefit of being a player as well, I think ‘what would I want in this situation’.
“I would want the real, honest feedback but I also want a strong coach that’s approachable.”
Two years on from asking his partner for 18 months, Dennis-Lane’s goalposts have shifted.
The destination is still the same but the role itself is one his would never have imagined.
“I have some pretty ambitious goals to get into the system,” he said.
“I have been doing some networking and building to get myself out at club land, I don’t put any limits on myself.
“That’s definitely on the radar but if you had asked me two years ago, I would’ve said I never want to senior AFL coach.
“But I have actually enjoyed head coaching more than I thought I would.”
When Dennis-Lane is not blowing the whistle, he’s adhering to it, playing for Dingley in the Southern league.
He said he had “a stinker” in the Dingoes’ loss to Cheltenham last week but his passion for the game as a whole will keep him juggling playing alongside coaching.
“It’s (footy) one of my biggest passions, because I am good at it and it’s one of my passions, it’s my vehicle to develop people holistically,” he said.
“I understand it inside and out, and I can find the nooks and crannies to make someone a better person through football.
“That’s what it means to me, and I f***ing love it.
“At the end of the day, I could have the worst day and the reality is ‘how good, I get to blow a whistle and teach some kids how to play footy’.
“Having a kick, even if it’s pissing down with rain or I have had a fight with the girlfriend or something hasn’t gone my way.
“Footy is my happy place, whether I am playing or coaching, watching vision, anything footy related.”
As for the only thing that will force the 35-year-old to proper playing retirement?
It’s coaching, of course.
“I think it’s: ‘former player, current coach’,” he said of he would describe himself.
“Right on the fence … over the last couple of years coaching has definitely taken priority.
“I think the easiest way to answer that is that if there’s a clash with playing then coaching wins every day of the week.
“I am ‘TDL the coach’ at the moment that still has a little bit of fire in the belly.”
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