The Dolphins last week welcomed seven Papua New Guinean coaches from Digicel Cup clubs for an intensive three-day professional development opportunity.
While most of the coaches have never ventured beyond PNG borders, it was a chance for an immersive experience that will leave a mark on the young coaches and the future of high-performance coaching in their home country.
The coaches learned everything from session planning and essential skills to video analysis and player development strategies.
Dolphins Game Development Manager, Shane Morris, relayed the importance of video analysis from a coaching perspective, while also incorporating development principles set out by the Dolphins NRL high-performance team.
“Developing the knowledge of coaches as well as the strategies to deploy their knowledge, ultimately improves the game in PNG, but also helps grow junior rugby league development and pathways for teams across the PNG provinces,” said Morris.
The PNG delegation was also aided by Dolphins Academy Strength & Conditioning Coach, Anthony Wood, who highlighted data as a tool to develop training programs focused on advancing conditioning and skills at an individual and team level while Dolphins NRL Assistant coaches, Kristian Woolf & Nathan Fien, and Redcliffe Dolphins coach Ben Te’o ran them through a typical field session.
PNG Coaching Development Manager, Joe Grima, said the coaches were deeply appreciative of the opportunity.
“This experience will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact on our coaches and the development of high-performance coaching in Papua New Guinea.”
