Spagnuolo building the Lions for the future
Following the end of the Coburg Football Club’s 2014 season, it’s first in years as a standalone club, quick abrupt changes were made to the clubs coaching staff. One of the newer members of the coaching staff came in Sebastian Spagnuolo, and was appointed as the forwards coach for the club’s development side.
Sebastian came to Coburg following a local football career in the EDFL with Taylors Lakes, Keilor, Hillside and Moonee Valley where he also gained coaching experience as a playing assistant coach. Time was also spent in the Talent Identification team with the Northern Knights TAC Cup side.
He was instrumental in 2015 towards the success of Coburg’s development side which saw them go from last place with two wins in 2014 to a preliminary final appearance in 2015. While Seb was keen to continue as a development assistant coach, the recent birth of his second child and full time work commitments were unable to have him devote any further time available towards coaching.
However, 12 months later once again changes needed to be made. In October 2015, Sebastian was put into the newly appointed role as the clubs list manager. Having become concerned with how the clubs recruiting had been put in place in recent years especially since the club became non-aligned, the purpose of his role to report to and support General Manager Craig Lees and he’s now responsible for all recruiting aspects, especially the liaising with potential recruits and also acts as a conduit between Calder Cannons and Coburg.
“Having been a coach at the club in 2015 I witnessed some of the frustrations that the club had regarding the recruiting and talent ID programs put in place, as there was no clear direction or formal processes in place to create checks and balances, so to be able to create and introduce a program which sees me filter through scouted talent to only bring in the best available talent has been terrific and I hope the club sees great reward from this new program moving forward.” said Sebastian.
And while it not only became his responsibility to ensure that the Burgers come up with the best talent possible to further their football at Piranha Park, it was also for those recruits and the current crop ensuring they’re enjoying their time at the club, and are also here for the long haul. “My aim is to be able to work closely with Craig Lees and Peter German to continue to improve our list to the point where we have some real list stability. There have been large numbers leave the club each post season in recent years so I’m really keen to see a young group of Coburg Lions stay together and get the success that I feel they are destined for if they do stick together. Of course we’ll always be looking to add certain players to the mix year on year but we need to keep a core group of players that drive the club towards and through a period of sustained success.” said Sebastian.
From changing roles from one aspect of the football department with instance from coaching to list management, recruiting and talent identification, Spagnuolo has found the transition reasonably smooth with not many issues.
“The transition has been really easy. I’ve been able to work with Craig Lees to implement and introduce a program which I could then pass onto the Talent ID staff in a format which has allowed them the freedom to get out and watch as much footy as possible. In the past, too much was left to too few with regards to recruiting, so to be able to bring in a team of Talent ID volunteer staff has been fantastic and having seen the reports that they’re sending to me so far this year, I am excited by the future and direction of our recruiting program from here on.”
His first task was to engage with the Calder Cannons graduates of 2015. With a talented crop coming out of Highgate Reserve, he was out early on to sell the opportunity that Coburg were the best club for their development to be furthered, even though they didn’t get drafted. Continuing to further develop, maintain and strengthen the alignment between the two sides has been an aim for the Lions since they became stand-alone again, after having not fully embraced the alignment during the years of the Richmond alignment.
“We recruited eleven new players from the Calder Cannons which again outlines the great relationship our two clubs have and that the pathway is developed to the point that if Cannons players don’t make it to the AFL, then Coburg is definitely their preferred destination for continual football development.” TAC Cup graduates also came from Northern Knights, Western Jets, Murray Bushrangers and Bendigo Pioneers.
His next task was then to form a team of Talent Identification Volunteers responsible for watching football at various levels around the state, whether it be at State League Reserve Level, TAC Cup or at local or country suburban level.
“The program is pretty simple, there are 5 scouts out watching footy each week, they report back to me on players they feel could impact at VFL level or ideally, be players that the AFL scouts may have missed the first time but are still very much draftable. Each scout was given a set of criteria and a brief to follow throughout the year. It’s hard to get all of the Talent ID team together due to their own work/family commitments but we still communicate regularly throughout the season to ensure certain leagues, teams and players are being watched and reported on.”
While most of Sebastian’s work was done throughout the period prior to the beginning of pre-season, the term ‘footy never stops’ applied to him as well. “We’re always looking at and evaluating our current playing list, identifying certain types of players that we may be missing or on the lookout for. We’ll soon start to focus strongly on re-contracting a number of our current players for 2017 which will then form the basis of our recruiting program as we’ll then know how many players we’re after and which positions need to be covered, list necessities etc.”
And while the 2016 season is approaching it’s second half, plans for the 2017 season with recruiting targets have already began. “Planning is well underway and conversations between Craig, Peter and myself are regular. At the conclusion of the 2016 season I’ll have the opportunity to present the results of the Talent ID team’s work in 2016 and we could well see some of the players that have been scouted in 2016 join the Coburg Lions for season 2017.”
While new processes and innovations have been put in place, there are still challenges that lay ahead for Sebastian and the team that he has formed, as well as the club’s administration. “Our rival VFL clubs would have similar Talent ID programs so it all becomes very competitive and challenging when we’re trying to gain the services of players, this is an obvious and ongoing challenge so we just have to focus on and point out what makes Coburg different and explain the opportunities that we offer to young men that want to continue to play at the highest level possible against the best possible opposition for as long as possible whilst being a part of a club that demonstrates AFL attitudes and implements AFL-like programs such as our Development Academy, which we believe is the best in the VFL. Timing of our conversations with players is another challenge, for example with TAC Cup players we are always mindful and respectful of their schedules with regards to their VCE studies and football commitments. We’d love to talk to players ASAP about our football club and the VFL but we have to be mindful that they are young men with a lot on their plates
– studies, exams, playing footy, draft aspirations etc., after their VCE is wrapped up we still have to wait for the AFL’s National Draft and Rookie Drafts to be completed before we know who may still be available for us to talk to. Informal chats can be had but there are multiple things to consider before rushing in and speaking to players.”
While the club brought in more than 20 new recruits over the 2015/16 off season, there are a few who stick out in Sebastian’s mind as having an impact so far at Piranha Park. When asked, he replied with “all 2016 recruits have brought something different to the club to be honest, but if I had to pick a few names I’d suggest Michael Mattingly (from Northern Knights), Peter McEvoy (Box Hill), Matthew Stillman (Calder Cannons), Luke Ryan (Calder/Maribyrnong Park), Dylan Tarczon (Calder Cannons) and of course current VFL leading goal kicker Ahmed Saad (St Kilda) have been really impressive in their first year at the club in 2016. We brought in some talented young players but also some fantastic young leaders which has been really pleasing.”
While the first half of the 2016 season have seen some tough results, Sebastian was happy with the work being put in place throughout that off season. “In terms of where our new Lions came from, in the off season we cast a really wide net, much wider than usual. The club addressed it’s needs well and we feel that we’ve improved our list depth this season, meaning that the coaches will have access to more players capable of playing senior football for the club. We’ve also been able to build a really solid platform of young and determined players that will be given every opportunity to grow into solid senior VFL footballers together whilst at Coburg. Our club undoubtedly boasts one of the youngest player lists in the VFL in 2016 and that really excites us because we can see that we have a group that is eager to learn and develop at the highest level possible for as long as possible.”
Lions General Manager Craig Lees had nothing but praise for Spagnuolo not only since beginning in the role but also from the time he joined the club as an assistant coach in 2014. “Seb has been a valuable member of our football club for the past 18 months now, his role in 2015 was very important in helping him understand our future direction and our development principals. Seb has been able to transfer these skills learnt in coaching/administration and really drive our list management structure. His work ethic, people skills and talent knowledge, and seeing some great results, as we continue to plan for the future.”
The hard work that Sebastian has done in less than twelve months in the role has showed the level of professionalism that the Coburg Football Club has been taken to, and in order for the club to aspire to the vision being put in place, this new element of professionalism will hopefully see a boost in the clubs playing stocks and further enhance on field success.
