WRFL: Altona coach discusses coronavirus ‘rollercoaster of emotions’
Altona boss Corey McCall has detailed the personal challenges he has experienced during the coronavirus crisis after taking charge of the Western Region Football League club last October.
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Altona coach Corey McCall has opened up about the “rollercoaster of emotions” he experienced in the lead up to the cancellation of the Western Region Football League senior campaign.
McCall was appointed to steer the Division 1 club in October last year, having previously spent three years in the top job at Watsonia, and took charge of a talented squad.
The Vikings also recruited strongly and looked poised to contend again after falling painfully short of the ultimate prize in 2019.
But the coronavirus crisis left clubs in limbo for months, with the WRFL last week deciding to rule a line through the season amid constant uncertainty.
McCall also had to deal with working reduced hours in his day job in what was a stressful period.
Having to keep a playing group he had only known for short time engaged and dealing with a fluctuating state of play almost daily proved draining.
“Football does offer a break away from your work life,” McCall said.
“I’m very passionate about football and coaching.
“To have stripped away from you at the start with lockdown and then being drip fed bits and pieces back and getting excited (about possibly returning), it’s a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions.
“Trying to obviously stay connected with the players and have those discussions and give feedback, it’s really hard to do (with restrictions). That was probably the thing I struggled with the most.
“But knowing now we can put some emphasis on the future makes a big difference.”
McCall supported the WRFL’s call and said relief was his overwhelming emotion.
He said the summer months proved a “really exciting time” for an Altona side chock-full of talent and emerging youth.
Mitch Van Den Berg, Chris Giampaolo, Josh Bench and Michael Giles were among the arrivals in a fruitful recruiting campaign.
“To go from that high to the low at the start of winter, it does make a difference with the players,” McCall said.
“But they’ve remained active with their training.
“It’s really about the connection and relationships you have with your mates and the players, the coaches at training – not so much game day. Players were really missing that.”
McCall said the Vikings had moved swiftly to lock away their senior players, with AFL Victoria to cut salary caps to $100,000 for the next three years in top-flight competitions.
“That was something I initiated early with the leadership group,” McCall said.
“Obviously everyone’s waiting for an announcement on the salary cap, but we’ve come up with a model we think works, the players have warmed to nicely and agreed to.
“We do have some have time on our hands to focus on 2021 and have some concentration in other areas of your football club.”
Altona last tasted a senior premiership in 2012 and went down to powerhouse Deer Park by three points in last year’s decider.
But McCall said on-field results were not the be-all and end-all.
“We probably underestimate in footy how much the players love going to training and the mateship, the bond, the brotherhood that exists at training and playing football, regardless of results and missing out on premierships,” he said.
“The playing group was driven obviously after getting close to go one step better, 100 per cent, but that wasn’t the main focus for us as a team and club.
“We gained some really good momentum over the Christmas period, had some high (training) numbers, and that was all built off the foundation of players coming through as juniors and being Altona people and Altona players.”
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