West Coast Eagles Academies coaching panel has been finalised with the appointment of Rohan McHugh to the role of Head Coach Academies.
Rohan has coached at West Coast Amateur Football Club for the past seven years and was employed by Hockey Australia as Manager of Athlete Wellbeing.
He joins a highly experienced panel of coaches supporting First Nations and Multicultural youth across Western Australia.
Coaching panel:
Michael Prior
Senior coach of West Coast Eagles AFLW team and former West Coast Eagles player. Prior is responsible for the Academies strategies and staff development.
Jan Cooper
Football Woman of the year and Order of Australia recipient supporting regional women’s football pathways.
Chris Brown
Former Perth District Development Manager overseeing the Nainanui Academy operations and AFL liaison.
Chad Morrison
Former West Coast Eagles player coordinating the Academies regionally and women’s football.
Kim Hannah
West Coast Eagles life member and long-term recruiter driving talent identification.
Kato Bosmans
Former State WA player overseeing operations of the programs and supporting skill development.
Steve Malaxos
Former West Coast Eagles player and highly experienced coach driving the development of future male & female coaches.
General Manager Community & Game Development, Richard O’Connell says West Coast’s ability to support their aligned WAFL Clubs – Subiaco, Perth, East Perth, Swan Districts and Claremont (Great Southern) to foster football development at the grassroots is a really important role they play across WA.
“Recently we appointed Eagles staff into the Pilbara, Great Southern and South West, our coaches are connected to these staff, and are regular visitors to the regions,” O’Connell said.
“With our upcoming expansion into the Goldfields and further committing to the Pilbara and South West regions we will further collaborate with the local leagues to grow male, female and All Abilities footballers.
“Currently over 1000 youth are registered with our Academies programs, and while many may not reach AFL or AFLW we hope they will continue to live active lives through WAFL or amateur football leagues across the State."
Complimenting the coaching team, the Eagles have also introduced a New Futures Program – a High Performance session giving elite insights into football for emerging players 15-17 who play in WAFL/PSA competitions.
While an important focus is football development, the Academies programs provide an opportunity for charity partner Youth Focus to engage with the players.
AFL and AFLW players who have been supported by the academies program include Jarrod Cameron, Sebit Kuek, Roxy Roux, Ella Smith, Sasha Goronova, Arthur Jones, Emma O’Driscoll, Laura Pugh, Neil Erasmus, Sydney Stack and Tarir Bayok.
West Coast Eagles Naitanui and Womens Academies are generously supported by BHP, making the opportunities free for all participants.
