AN ability to connect with players helped Terang teacher Paul Henriksen land Vic Country’s under 18 coaching role.
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Henriksen will lead the side at the AFL under 18 national championships — the elite pathway program for draft hopefuls — next year.
His appointment, announced in Camperdown yesterday, followed more than a decade gathering experience at local, TAC Cup and state levels.
Henriksen, 38, is a former Hampden league junior mentor and assistant coach at the Geelong Falcons.
He was Vic Country under 18 assistant coach from 2009 to 2011 before taking on its head coaching role at under 16 level for the past three seasons.
The Terang College teacher, who is father to 18-month-old Jonty, said the opportunity to coach some of the state’s most talented up-and-comers was one he couldn’t refuse.
“I say to kids and even to players ‘come on, get out of your comfort zone’ so for me this is practice what you preach,” Henriksen said.
He thanked his wife Leesa for her support, said his coaching methods incorporated technology and had a strong focus on building rapport with players.
“At this level it is pretty important for me to challenge the comfortable and comfort the challenged,” he said.
“The days of ranting and raving (are gone). Yeah there is a time and a place when you’ve got to be strong, but you have also got to be able to give them a cuddle at the same time and look after them because some of those players even though they’re elite, do have many frailties.
“You have to make sure they know you care.
“If you care about your players and can actually empathise with them and talk to them when they’re down, they actually can take a little bit if you’re strong towards them because they know deep down it’s not personal.” AFL Victoria high performance manager Leon Harris said Henriksen was the perfect replacement for outgoing coach Mark Ellis.
“We’re up against it all the time because of time constraints, training constraints but the beauty of it is he knows the program and will give our guys the best opportunities so it’s fantastic,” he said.
“Coaching is about one-on-ones and the strength of Henry is his one-on-one teaching and personal skills.”
