The SUNS last week hosted a pair of online coaching seminars designed to help local community club coaches as they return to the field after the coronavirus shutdown.

The seminars acted as Q&A sessions with GM – Football Operations Jon Haines and Senior Coach Stuart Dew, with coaches from the Gold Coast region able to glean knowledge from the pair about their own experiences in the return to training phase.

Haines told SUNS Media it was important for the SUNS to continue to strengthen its relationships with local clubs.

“At the SUNS we place a huge importance on being a community club and really listening to what the people at grassroots football are experiencing on the Coast and in our Academy regions,” Haines said.

“These sessions were run for both junior and senior coaches who might want to know more about what we went through as an elite club navigating the protocols from COVID.

“We found the sessions to be really engaging and hopefully those who joined in were able to take some learnings back to their clubs as they prepare for local football to resume shortly.”

70 coaches in total registered for the sessions across the Gold Coast, Northern Rivers and North Queensland regions, both senior and junior football clubs.

The conversation ranged from mental health of players during the shutdown period, to how the club was able to navigate the non-contact phase of training and even how players and coaches have adjusted operationally to the new normal of social distancing and hygiene measures.

Haines and Dew were able to give practical examples of drills which comply with the regulations and also how to handle training in smaller groups. 

Clubs are presently permitted to return to train at community level in groups of 20 and will be allowed to return to play from July 11 with contact training and groups of up to 100.