Yze keen to help develop next crop of Islamic coaches

The balmy winter breeze whips through the stands of the MCG as Adem Yze engages in deep discussion about Melbourne’s midfield group.

There’s a mid-there, one and two here,” Yze said.

“So why do we feel the need to crowd the ball?”

He poses the question to a class of aspiring coaches, all keen to absorb as much information from Yze as they can over their first coaching masterclass day of 2023 as a part of the Bachar Houli Foundation (BHF) Coaching Pathways Program.

The program, set up by the Foundation, hopes to give aspiring Muslim coaches a chance to develop their craft and provide them with the opportunity to reach the highest level of coaching.

He calls this first session a “coaching masterclass” and a day of professional development, no matter the coaching level of the participants.

“The main thing about coaching is getting our people [to be] better,” he said.

“So that was the main theme around today and how quickly we can do that.”

A coaching career spanning over a decade, four flags, and two clubs have Yze possessed a wealth of knowledge at the hands of those in attendance, keen to absorb as much from the session as possible. Yze sees his work mentoring these coaches as a vital step in opening coaching pathways and helping to ingrain standards across all levels of football.

“There are different levels [of coaches here] today,” Yze said.

“But the themes are similar [no matter the level].

“In the end, if you as a coach, whatever team you are coaching, your players are improving, and you can see that improvement, we are doing our job.”

Starved of the opportunity to give back to the community due to the pandemic, Yze is making up for lost time with more practical sessions already booked with all coaches from the pathway program.

“The next time we sit down, there will be more around training drills and things they can take back to local footy,” Yze said.

Yze hopes that through the planned follow-up sessions, he and the coaches will build a good rapport, building and collaborating on different coaching ideas and philosophies.

“I do like that they’ll be able to work with the same crew,” Yze said.

Not restricting himself to the coaching pathway program, Yze also hopes to work across other programs run by BHF, including the Academy programs.

X

Back