But for those doing it for the first time, it’s an eye-opening experience stepping into the unknown.

LUKE WEST this week caught up with three first-year senior coaches to find out just how daunting a challenge it is.

MARK LLOYD

(GOLDEN SQUARE)

LW: Lloydy, when did the coaching bug first bite you?

ML: My dad (Phil) coached at Kerang and Quambatook when I was a young fella, so at a young age I always hung around footy clubs and thought I would be interested in coaching if the opportunity presented itself.

When I came back to Golden Square in 2008, Addo (former coach Mark Adamson) said he was keen to get me on as an assistant coach and it progressed from there.

I was lucky enough to have a couple of years with Addo and a couple with Nick (Carter). I just really enjoy the teaching side of things and seeing the improvement in the young fellas.

LW: What skills do you need to be a good senior footy coach?

ML: You need to be a good communicator, and you really need to have a lot of passion for football because every spare moment I have seems to be consumed with football.

If you don’t live and breathe it then you’re going to find it pretty tough to cope with, so communication and passion are a couple of the main things you need to have.

LW: Could you put a figure on the amount of hours footy takes up each week?

ML: It’s a lot... I spend 40 hours a week at work, and if I sleep for eight hours a day, I reckon with training, game day, phonecalls and time spent one-on-one with players I would be looking at 20 to 30 hours a week on football.

One thing I’ve found really helpful is the guys behind me in my assistant coaches Grant Weeks and Simon Rosa, chairman of selectors Jason Griffin and Shawn McCormick. If I didn’t have those guys it would be much tougher.

LW: What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered so far that you weren’t expecting?

ML: Probably the toughest part I’ve found is match-day and being a playing coach and getting in the right headspace.

During the quarters I’ve got to just concentrate on me as a player, rather than what’s going on around me. As each game has gone on I’m feeling a lot more comfortable and confident with that aspect.

It’s not so much that I wasn’t expecting that aspect, but I thought I would be able to handle it a little better than I have.

LW: I haven’t come across two more intense coaches than your predecessors at Square in Nick Carter and Mark Adamson.

What’s your coaching style?

ML: I’m definitely not as intense as those two guys.

I really like to focus on the match-ups, set-plays and the structural side of things, and I’m probably more of a one-on-one coach.

I like getting around to all the guys each week to let them know how they’ve been going, what they’ve been doing well and what they need to work on.

I also like to lead by example out on the ground.

LW: Lastly, there’s always pressure on coaches, but do you feel a bit more taking over the team that has won the past three flags?

ML: Talking to friends and family outside Bendigo, they see it that way, but I certainly don’t feel that it’s make or break if we win the premiership again this year.

Although, we’re certainly aiming to win it, but we know we have a lot of hard work in front of us.

TYRONE DOWNIE

(KANGAROO FLAT)

LW: Tigga, what first sparked your interest in coaching?

TD: We’ve had a young group for a few years now and I saw the opportunity to work with them and thought I could offer something and hopefully, take us into finals footy.

LW: Having played with a lot of the guys at Kangaroo Flat for the past few years, how have you found the transition of drawing the line between being a mate and now the senior coach?

TD: When we’re on the footy field and on the training track I’m the coach and I definitely try to deal with everyone the same.

When we’re out of that environment then it’s, hopefully, back to friendship. It’s important to get the balance right.

LW: As a 23-year-old, what have you found to be the biggest challenges so far in coaching major league footy?

TD: Probably the time aspect. You’re basically doing something footy-related every day.

At times during the pre-season I struggled with things like recruiting. If I missed out on getting blokes because they chose another club over ours, I took that pretty personally, so that sort of stuff was hard.

But once we got into practice matches I really started to enjoy it.

LW: Can you switch off from footy during the week?

TD: That’s a hard thing to do. I think I’m a pretty passionate person, so I definitely don’t sleep well on a Saturday night if we’ve been beaten.

LW: Obviously you’ve got your own things to worry about at your club, but how much time do you spend during the week analysing the opposition.

TD: Probably from Tuesday onwards leading into a game I’ll start to look at the opposition and how we’ll match-up.

But my main aspect with a young group is to just worry about what we’re doing.

We may lose a few games because a couple of opposition players got under our guard and dominated, but that’s stuff you can fix down the track with match-ups.

But playing as a team and doing the things we want to do is a longer work in progress, so that’s the main area I target.

COREY GREGG

(MARONG)

LW: Corey, at just 23 you’ve got into the senior coaching caper younger than most.

CG: As a kid when I was growing up playing footy I’d always had aspirations to coach a football side.

I didn’t expect it to come as early as it had, but I’m rapt with the way things have turned out and I’m really enjoying being the senior coach at Marong... I wouldn’t change a thing and it’s certainly addictive.

LW: How do you see your young age working in your favour?

CG: Having a young list out at Marong, I think the young fellas find it a little easier to come and talk to me only being that two or three years older, so I’m really connecting with the younger fellas and helping their development from junior football into senior football.

Also, having the experienced footballers out there as well, they are really helping me and guiding me in the right direction.

LW: Being a first-year coach you’re basically learning on the job. Who are some of the people you seek guidance from?

CG: Brendan Blandford is my senior assistant and he played in Marong’s one and only senior premiership (in 1989).

He has experienced the highs and lows of senior football and played and coached at a few different clubs, so he’s one I really turn to and has been really helpful.

LW: What are some of the situations that have arisen when you’ve needed to draw on Brendan’s experience?

CG: Just a few questions about way certain guys who were already out at the club play.

We work together to get our structures right for the list that we’ve got.

As well as Brendan, I’ve also had Lee Franklin, who is our captain and assistant coach, be a really good help, too.

When it comes to selection on a Thursday night we bounce ideas off each other and the three of us are working well.

LW: How much of your week is taken up by footy?

CG: I’m always thinking about footy, be it different things we can do at training or on game-day and ways we can improve.

Being a young list, there’s a lot of improvement there, so it’s hard to switch off from footy because every night I’m thinking about something to do with it.

It’s probably more full-on than I first thought, but it’s something I’m really growing into.

It’s definitely a life-changing experience and I’m really relishing the challenge.

First-year coaches in 2012:

BENDIGO – Mark Lloyd (Golden Square), Tyrone Downie (Kangaroo Flat), Nathan Thompson (Kyneton, co-coach), Joel Malone (Maryborough, co-coach).

HEATHCOTE DISTRICT – Bryce Scott (Elmore), Stacy Fiske (Huntly).

LODDON VALLEY – Brad Wickham and Zac East (Bridgewater), Corey Gregg (Marong).

MARYBOROUGH CASTLEMAINE – Adrian Pilgrim (Avoca), Daniel Parkin (Navarre), James Shelton (Royal Park), Troy Cunningham (Talbot).

NORTH CENTRAL – Brendan Jennings (Donald).