For some AFL players, the end of their football career leaves an enormous hole in their lives that cannot be replaced. While Scott Camporeale is still getting used to not playing, his retirement has seen a new beginning with the former champion midfielder loving his job as an Essendon assistant coach.
""It's funny not doing the pre-season training and the
""I have been very lucky to get the opportunity to coach though and it has been an excellent challenge. I am learning more about computers too which I didn’t have to do before (he said laughing).
""The main change has been to my schedule. As a player you have much more flexibility.
""When you are a player you are worried about improving yourself but as a coach you are trying to prepare 40 blokes and teach them what you can and get them ready. My focus has gone from an individual focus to a group focus and you have to spread yourself around.
""Your presentation skills have to be spot on and getting your message across will be the most difficult thing for me. You speak differently with 40 people listening than one person so I need to develop that skill so what I say hits home for all of them.""
Camporeale played 233 games with
He said his main strength is knowing the players and, being straight out of the game, he can give the other coaches an insight close to home.
""Only 12 months ago I was doing a pre-season and playing. For Knighter and the others, it's like having a player on the coaching panel. I have been able to give them good daily feedback,"" he said.
""Most of my focus from here on in will be on set plays at centre bounces, a ball up and boundary throw ins. The way the game is played now I will be working with 15- 20 guys who rotate through there, guys like Hille, Watson, Stanton, Winderlich, Laycock and those sorts of blokes.
""We have been pretty solid at clearances but instead of it being 50-50 in the contest we want to get that more in our favour. If you do that, you have gone along way towards getting yourself in a good position to win.""
Camporeale joins Gary O'Donnell, Ashley Prescott and Adrian Hickmott on Matthew Knights' 2008 coaching team.
Only O'Donnell has AFL coaching experience but, according to Knights, it is a quality group and he says Camporeale is quickly developing into his role.
""Initially, he probably thought 'this will be a big mountain sitting in front of me' with all he had to learn in the first month but he has adapted beautifully and he is now up to speed with some computer technology which he needed to do and he is doing a coaching course in February which will help him enormously as well ,"" Knights said.
""I think his relationship with the players has made the transition fairly comfortable for him and there has been some scenarios where he really has moved from a player to a coach - particularly with some confidentiality areas surrounding the
""He’s really going to move into his coaching area of structures and set plays in January and February so, from a work perspective, his bigger type chunk will come then.""
