Beasts in Training: Eastern Clubs form Development Program

When it comes to a national sports program, the whole is generally only as good as the sum of its parts.

For teams in the Eastern US, they are hoping to add to the machine of American footy by cultivating some of the cogs that make it go.

The Eastern Australian Football League (EAFL) Coalition Development Program was officially launched this week, becoming the first such endeavor to represent an entire region within the USAFL.  The program is intended to be year round, with its first clinic in New York City the weekend of May 15-17.

Launched via a press release, the partnership “is designed to leverage the accessibility to high quality Australian Coaching in the Northeast… as well as former and current National Team players for the development and recruitment of American players within the EAFL.”

Seven teams have joined to form the alliance: the Boston Demons, New York Magpies, Philadelphia Hawks, Baltimore/Washington Eagles, North Carolina Tigers, Atlanta Kookaburras, and the Fort Lauderdale Fighting Squids. 

Spearheading the program is New York Magpies premiership captain Michael Murphy.  Murphy’s goal with the coalition is to strengthen the region and to create football ambassadors, bolstering their own clubs through the experience and the knowledge they get from it.

"The opportunity to create and implement a Regional Development Program is a huge step in strengthening not only interest in Aussie Rules and players’ abilities,” Murphy said, “but also a great leap in strengthening the region’s level of competition both internally and on the National Stage.  We hope we can prove it to be a model for countrywide development moving forward."

Murphy has been a longtime veteran of the Magpies, but his experience goes to the national level as well; he is currently fitness coach of the USA Freedom women’s national team program. 

The clinics intend to go beyond player development and into the realm of club development through drills and strategic theory that participants can take back to their clubs.

“We believe this directive will holistically strengthen the participating clubs and the region as a whole,” stated Murphy through the press release. “There will be a real emphasis that the purpose of this is not only to make them better players but better contributors and leaders to their clubs both on and off the field.”

The program has been well received by the league, and USAFL Eastern Vice President Mike Sheppard expressed his optimism in the program and the man who started it.

“I was very happy to see Mike Murphy step up and get this program going, first with NY Magpies and now across the Eastern teams,” Sheppard said.  “While it's going to be great to get some of our Americans in an accelerated development program, I think the real benefit of this program is getting our coaches and on-field leaders better versed in how to run sessions, come up with game strategies and implement back at their own clubs.”

The coaching talent in the EAFL helps to lend itself to the cerebral approach to the game, and there will be considerable input from them in developing the clinics.  Also contributing is former Essendon player Scott Gumbleton, who is among the programs’ staff.

The inaugural clinic kicks off on Friday, May 15th with a welcome function hosted by the New York Magpies.  Saturday’s activities will feature skills exercises and theory drills, and the weekend concludes with another light skills session and fitness workouts.

For more information or to register your interest in the program, e-mail Mike Murphy at mlmurph@gmail.com.  Players should include the number of years’ experience as well as their field position.