St Kilda Senior Assistant Coaches Adam Kingsley and Aaron Hamill will take control of the Saints for the first two games of the JLT Community Series as the club looks to further develop its personnel, says Senior Coach Alan Richardson.
Kingsley will be at the helm this Thursday night in St Kilda’s opening pre-season fixture against Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium, before Hamill takes control of proceedings for the encounter with Carlton at Ikon Park a week later.
Having followed a similar route last pre-season, Richardson believes the growth opportunity is highly beneficial for both the individuals involved and for the football program as a whole.
“One facet of why we change the structure is because I think it’s a really good opportunity to grow and improve our people,” Richardson told saints.com.au ahead of St Kilda’s first JLT Community Series game.
“I strongly believe that it’s important our coaches grow and develop and there’s nothing like being challenged to go to another level in the heat of battle to grow and improve and get feedback from that opportunity.
“Both Adam Kingsley and Aaron Hamill in the next two games will run the last meeting, they’ll do the media commitments pre and post-game, they’ll do the post-game meeting and obviously they’ll run the game day.
“Then they will be able to get feedback from Danny Sexton, Jamie Cox and myself and from the media department regarding how they performed in that space.
“We think they will grow from this experience and that’s good for our players and for our program. Our coaches have a significant influence on what we’re doing here at St Kilda so if they can improve then our program can improve.”
Richardson, who led the Saints to their first winning season since 2012 last year, will still be actively involved on game day, although he will remain away from the coaches box, situating himself on the bench to expose himself to a different perspective.
“I’ll be wired up to the coaches box, but certainly strategically it will be run from upstairs,” Richardson said.
“I will be an observer from ground level. Focusing on our method and of our players ability to communicate with each other whilst on the ground or on the interchange. Communication has been a big focus for us this pre-season”
Ahead of his fourth season at Linen House Centre, Richardson said the opportunity to observe from ground level will provide him with a closer insight into how his players are leading and communicating in the heat of battle.
“We’ve had a real focus on leadership all pre-season given the change we’ve made, so it gives me a good opportunity to see how the guys are leading, communicating and supporting or driving their teammates” he said.
