Thanks to the QT, Jay Buchan ,David Nielsen
IF RECENT experience counts, then Brendon Lindsay should make a pretty good fist of coaching the Ipswich Jets colts in 2013.
Less than three months after retiring as the second most capped Ipswich Jets Queensland Cup player, Lindsay finds himself wearing a coach’s cap at pre-season training.
“Obviously it’s going to take a little bit of time to get used to everything,” Lindsay said.
“But it’s something different.”
Lindsay and his assistant Adam Boettcher have a blank canvas to work with, with only six of last year’s colts squad back.
“It’s a pretty good mix,” Lindsay said of those who have attended the first fortnight of pre-season training.
“It’s a youngish side so we’ll just see how we go.”
Given the lack of familiarity with most players, the new coaching team will be looking for the character the players show in training. “We just want them to compete with everything they do in training,” Lindsay said.
“It looks like a good bunch of kids so far. We want to mirror what we’re doing in the top grade.
“It’s all about competing and commitment, training hard and things like that.
“That will give us a feel for what the boys are made of.”
Lindsay and Boettcher will get an up-close look at what their charges have to offer as they take a hands-on role in training.
“Both myself and Boettch join in with the colts,” the 35-year-old former five-eighth said.
“Ben and Shane do a lot as well with the Cup squad. It makes it a bit easier. We’re not too far out of the game and the beauty is we don’t want to change too much.
“There’s a lot of systems in place already and we know they work.”
Lindsay will also incorporate things he has learnt from other coaches and try to put his own stamp on the team.
“That’s what coaching is all about,” he said. “Pinching bits from each of the coaches you’ve been under and try and shape a little of your own as well.”
Given the early stages of their tenure and new squad, it is far too early to be making goals or predictions about results in 2013.
“We haven’t really sat down and had a chat about our goals for the year,” Lindsay said.
“When the season gets a bit closer, we will work out what we want to achieve.
“For now the focus is on getting them nice and fit and working on their skills. We do a fair bit of that in the Cup side and I’ll try to mimic what they do up there.
“We’ll also be focusing on one area we need to add and that’s defence. But every team needs to work on those things.”
So laid back is Lindsay about his role that he has no idea about the length of his contract.
“I always wanted to take the next step (into coaching) but probably wasn’t looking at it so quickly,” he said. “But the opportunity came up so I thought it was too good to let it pass.”