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XLR8 TD Spotlight: Craig Tyrie

XLR8 TD Spotlight: Craig Tyrie

Get to know Craig Tyrie, one of our Programs Technical Directors at XLR8!

Introduce yourself, what’s your role this year and why did you want to get involved with XLR8? 

My name is Craig Tyrie, I have been in Australia for four years now and I am originally from the United Kingdom. I have been involved with XLR8 in multiple capacities since its inception in 2018 leading me to take on the role of XLR8 Programs Technical Director this year. I originally joined XLR8 due to its focus on raising the standard of football within the association through a person first approach.

What do you enjoy most about coaching? What is your favourite coaching memory?

The one thing that I enjoy most about coaching is helping other people to become the best version of themselves, both as a person and as a player through creating an environment of guidance, learning and support. My favourite coaching memory is difficult to choose, a recent memory I will pick is when I bumped into some young coaches this season, who had attended a coach education certificate I delivered on a couple of seasons ago, and they said thank you for the course and said they were really enjoying their coaching. To think I played a small part in their journey is a great feeling.

What you’ve enjoyed so far this season? What are the standout positives of the program you’ve been involved in? 

This season has already provided many great experiences for me after moving clubs, the positive challenge of building relationships from scratch with coaches, club committee members, parents and players has been my standout. The support and communication I have received by the club committee members has helped me facilitate a positive environment for all while building strong relationships. This relationship between XLR8 and the club has increased the engagement of the coaches to provide a positive football experience for all players and the players themselves showing engagement and commitment to take on new information. There was also the start of the weekly Goalkeeper Academy run at NTRA, serving multiple players across age-groups. These are just a few of the positive outcomes from the programme so far.

How have you looked to create, develop and create a positive ‘Coaching Culture’ within the program? Can you provide some specific highlights?

As an organisation we always advocate a positive coaching culture both on and off the ground for our coaching members. This happens in a variety of different ways, including but not limited to session mentoring pre-during-post-delivery, periodic social activities such as bowling and quiz nights, informal discussion, and contact support. By doing this our coaches feel valued and appreciated, which allows them to provide the players with great experiences at football. For me three highlight stories so far this season are.

· The engagement between the U9 & U10 SAP teams and their coach Fin Geragthy on match-days, this has been a leading example of the positive experiences and bonds that can be achieved when coaches and players feel valued.

· The develop of the G14 DL team as a collective over the first half of the season has been a joy to see, this is a huge compliment to the commitment shown by the players and their coach Kristi Murphy to continually self-improve and embrace challenges.

· The personally development of coach Isaac Riggs, a former youth now MAA TUFC player, who in his first official coaching position has done an excellent job with the U12 development team, inspiring players to take ownership of their development, while continually seeking to improve himself.

There are many more wonderful examples from across the programme from the following coaches, Adam, Ash, Ayon, Kate, Luke, Oli, Rex, Saskia, Seth and Stephen which I could have easily used to highlight the fantastic work taking place.

Finally, what will you look to implement and progress in the second half of the season?

Finally, we are going to continue with the open communication and seeking feedback as this allows us to meet the needs of all the players involved across all the programmes, progress the development of the Goalkeeper academy, and support the coaches both on and off the ground.

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