Choco Williams is the New Goal Kicking Coach

[Demonland 66,971]

Choco mentioned this before a player sponsors event on Saturday but here it is confirmed by Channel 7 in the last 10 seconds of the clip. 

 

[DEE fence 4,594]

I take it fwd coach and goal kicking coach are two seperate things?

[Wodjathefirst 2,456]

Just now, DEE fence said:

I take it fwd coach and goal kicking coach are two seperate things?

Good question!

[rpfc 27,692]

5 minutes ago, DEE fence said:

I take it fwd coach and goal kicking coach are two seperate things?

If you have enough money or too many people - yes.

[DemonOX 8,578]

Great news. 

Hopefully Gawn and Petracca spend a lot of time with our new goal kicking coach. 

[dee-tox 4,831]

He has plenty to work with including Gawn's arc, Petracca's high ball drop and Kozzie often missing on the run.

[Brownie 5,510]

About time. We really are slow to react.

[jnrmac 19,508]

So we were bottom 8 for accuracy last year.

That wouldn't be because we attacked from the forward pocket would it?

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,588]

1 hour ago, DEE fence said:

I take it fwd coach and goal kicking coach are two seperate things?

Greg Staford was/is our forwards coach and I'm not sure we need to rush in and replace him.  From what I recall, JVR credited Staford with simplifying and breaking down a philosophy for JVR that really helped him develop his game in the second half of last season.

I'm also not 100% sure that our goal kicking inaccuracies are all about technique as it could be somewhat of a result of where we end up leading to and taking our shots from.  That said, it can't hurt to give Choco a go at the job either and perhaps he'll bring a fresh aproach that could really click for some players.  As I've said elsewhere, if we can get a few more goals out of Trac and Clarry purely through better accuracy, that would add significantly to our scoring potentency.

[rjay 24,193]

48 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

So we were bottom 8 for accuracy last year.

That wouldn't be because we attacked from the forward pocket would it?

 

47 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

I'm also not 100% sure that our goal kicking inaccuracies are all about technique as it could be somewhat of a result of where we end up leading to and taking our shots from.

I think you are on the money here...

A few years back we were at the top end for accuracy.

The game plan then was to bring the ball into an area that was easy to kick goals from.

Pretty much in front and not too far out.

 

[McQueen 17,864]

Nothing revolutionary about this to be fair. Just kick it through the bloody middle.

[Supreme_Demon 3,065]

Mark "Choco" Williams understand the importance of good kicking in football.

That's why he gets AFL players to do various kicking drills and has designed AFL Sherrin footballs with the red or yellow tape on them to help improve kicking.

 

Making Mark "Choco" Williams the goal-kicking coach makes sense.

He was leading Collingwood goal kicker way back in 1984 and actually kicked 7 goals in a match against Hawthorn once. Not bad for a midfielder!

Let's hope he can get Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver to kick more goals!

Edited February 13, 2023 by Supreme_Demon

[David-Demon 514]

I am sure Stafford will continue his current role but having added responsibility placed on Choco in the role of Goal kicking Coach makes sense.

Personally I do not see this as shuffling the chairs on the deck of Titanic but rather an observation made and respected  from within the Coaching panel who "all" work together to bring the best out of and for the Team.

[Jaded No More 60,129]

Can’t be much worse…

[durango 1,985]

Stafford is both ruck and forward coach so Williams would take some of the duties.

[tiers 2,785]

10 hours ago, DEE fence said:

I take it fwd coach and goal kicking coach are two seperate things?

Yes. A forward coach might be teaching running and leading patters, blocking techniques, setting up at contests etc that have nothing to do with actual kicking for goal.

It is important to receive the ball in an advantageous position, but so many goals are scored from what would normally be considered non-advantageous positions, that there is probably not much to be gained from over analysing forward entries.

On the other hand, goal kicking whether from set shots or on the run is a specific skill that need not be taught by a goal kicking guru but rather by an expert kicking teacher. Things like reaching balance at the point of the kick, holding the ball, the actual ball drop, the motion of the kicking leg, the need for stability from the other leg, concentration on the target, follow through and other micro habits all contribute.

As for converting shots, that is often a mental problem for which a whole team approach might be need. For example, a designated player is instructed to whisper the magic words to prepare the goal shooter mentally.

In all this the best outcome would be to score goals from the goal square uncontested. Now that would be innovative as well as productive.

 

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,534]

In principle, I see nothing wrong with Williams coaching goalkicking. But if it's a new duty for him, it means he must have given up something else. I hope we don't lose more than we gain through that change. 

[Bring-Back-Powell 13,646]

Anyone know what the good news is regarding Treloar?

Assume he's tracking well for our round 1 game after an interrupted pre season.

As for a goal kicking coach, something needed to be done. The second Collingwood loss and the Brisbane final was lost in the accuracy department. One side took their opportunities while the other didn't. 

[monoccular 16,665]

39 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

In principle, I see nothing wrong with Williams coaching goalkicking. But if it's a new duty for him, it means he must have given up something else. I hope we don't lose more than we gain through that change. 

I suspect that a man of his talent, and ingenuity, may enjoy the challenge of multitasking. 

[buck_nekkid 5,648]

It is also a way to identify that this was an area that needed improvement - we all can see it, the club is now acknowledging it and defining a specific resource to address it.  It becomes something the team get specific training/drills/encouragement/reminders about.  

[layzie 30,412]

There's a few reasons why we struggle with this. Where we taker our shots from is one part of it and doesn't help.

Another part is psychology and the mental aspect with a lack of set shot routine, then another is fatigue especially with the way our game style demands pressure and repeated sprints. 

There's no magic bullet cause but moving Chocco into this position and being able to look at the mechanics of how the ball is being kicked at goal, surely it can only be a good thing. 

 

[La Dee-vina Comedia 16,534]

56 minutes ago, monoccular said:

I suspect that a man of his talent, and ingenuity, may enjoy the challenge of multitasking. 

It's not a question of multitasking. I expect he's already doing that. Unless Williams' time was not being used properly, he must have to give up doing something else to take on this role. I just hope that whatever he gives up has either become superfluous to needs or has been taken on by another assistant coach who can do it to a similar standard.  

[Lefty 363]

10 hours ago, McQueen said:

Nothing revolutionary about this to be fair. Just kick it through the bloody middle.

I don't think it is as simple as that. Already in this thread there have been issues identified in 3 of 5 of our most important players.

[Dr. Gonzo 22,828]

1 hour ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Anyone know what the good news is regarding Treloar?

Assume he's tracking well for our round 1 game after an interrupted pre season.

Back on the track after ankle surgery I believe. Played half a game in their match sim yesterday. I assume he'll be back for round 1 as well but potentially underdone.

[Dee Viney Intervention 1,607]

2 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Anyone know what the good news is regarding Treloar?

Assume he's tracking well for our round 1 game after an interrupted pre season.

 

Hope he does play, he had front row tickets to the Bang, Bang, Bang show being in the midfield at the time.