Skild blog

SKILD Coaches Community: Friday Recap – April 10, 2026

info@skildapp.com (SKILD Coaches HQ) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:31:55 GMT

This week inside the SKILD Coaches Community, conversations centred around managing the balance between coaching and personal life, especially during busy holiday periods. We also shared a key platform update as we move closer to launch, welcomed a new coach focused on grassroots participation, and celebrated strong results from remote coaching at a national level.

Key Highlights This Week

🧠 What We’re Learning

A valuable discussion this week focused on how coaches manage the balance between work, family, and recovery — particularly during school holidays when demand for sessions tends to increase.

Glen, a Melbourne-based coach, shared his approach to avoiding burnout. He spoke about the importance of having support at home, being mindful of overcommitting to sessions, and listening to physical limits — especially when actively involved in training.

Andrew added to this by highlighting a common tension for coaches: holidays can be a key revenue period, but long-term sustainability depends on building in time to rest and reset. Finding that balance is essential for longevity in coaching.

📍 What’s Going On

There was also a key update on the SKILD platform.

Following a question from Toby, Andrew confirmed that internal testing is expected to wrap up shortly after Easter. The next phase will involve onboarding a small group of beta coaches to test the platform in a live environment.

Coaches selected for this phase will be contacted directly in the coming weeks.

Andrew also opened up a broader conversation to the group around how different coaches manage their schedules and commitments — an ongoing topic that remains highly relevant across the community.

👋 New Faces

We welcomed Trav to the community.

Trav is a Level 2 AFL coach who now runs GeckoSports Gippsland, a business focused on delivering school-based sports programs. His work introduces students to a wide range of activities — including ultimate frisbee, volleyball, hockey, table tennis, squash, and badminton.

His focus is on helping young people explore different sports in a fun, low-pressure environment, allowing them to discover what they enjoy without the emphasis on competition.

🏆 Wins and Shoutouts

Mike Armstrong shared a strong coaching result this week, highlighting the effectiveness of remote coaching.

After two seasons working together, his athlete achieved her goal of making her first Australian final in the Victorian Open female beach flags, finishing 5th overall.

He also coached Pipi Tepania to a win in the U19 Ironwoman final.

These results reinforce that high-quality coaching outcomes can be achieved even without consistent in-person sessions.

📅 What’s Next

The SKILD platform launch is approaching.

With internal testing nearly complete and beta testing around the corner, the next phase will involve bringing coaches into the platform and continuing to build out the community experience.

More updates will be shared soon as we get closer to launch.

Final Thoughts

This week’s conversations reflected a key theme for coaches at all levels — balancing performance, workload, and sustainability.

Whether it’s managing session demand, supporting athlete outcomes remotely, or helping young players find their place in sport, the shared experiences across the community continue to highlight the practical realities of coaching today.

As SKILD moves closer to launch, these insights will play an important role in shaping how the platform supports coaches moving forward.

Sources:

SKILD Coaches Community - A WhatsApp Group

Coach Spotlight: Lewis Evans on Care, Connection and Cricket

info@skildapp.com (SKILD Coaches HQ) — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:51:00 GMT

Lewis Evans, Cricket and Coaching Director at Cricket For All, believes coaching isn’t just about runs and wickets — it’s about connection, care, and helping players drive their own journey. From starting out at a Premier Club junior side to leading one of South Australia’s biggest coaching programs, Lewis shares insights on building athletes, coaches, and teams with heart.

The Care-First Coach: Lewis Evans and the CFA Approach

There’s a moment every coach has — when the game stops being about drills, plans, or results.

For Lewis Evans, it came in a workshop. A simple question: Who’s the best coach you’ve ever had?

He ran through the names. The resumes. The experiences.

And then it clicked.

They all had one thing in common — they cared.

Not the most technical. Not the most decorated. Just the ones who genuinely gave a damn.

That insight now drives everything Lewis does.

The Backstory

Lewis Evans is the Cricket and Coaching Director at Cricket For All (CFA), and his mission is pretty simple — connect more cricketers in South Australia to the opportunities the game can offer.

But his path into coaching wasn’t some grand master plan.

It started as a practical decision. While still in school, Lewis began helping coach an Under 13 shield side at his Premier club. It was a way to give back — and, in his words, “a better option than working at KFC.”

From there, things snowballed.

He picked up coaching opportunities while travelling to the UK to play. The seasonal lifestyle suited him. Coaching became a constant thread — something that fit around cricket, not the other way around.

Then COVID hit.

No UK. No travel. Just a stack of jobs — four or five at one point — and time to think.

That’s when coaching shifted from “something he did” to something he genuinely loved.

Since then, Lewis has gone all in. Full-time coaching. Building programs. And now leading operations at CFA — scaling coaching across the state while trying to keep quality high and access open.

Key Insights

1. Care Is the Real Competitive Advantage

“They all had one thing in common; they cared about me.”

It’s easy to get caught chasing knowledge. More drills. More systems. More credentials.

But Lewis flips that.

Care isn’t a soft skill — it’s the foundation. When athletes feel it, everything else lands better. Feedback sticks. Trust builds. Growth accelerates.

Without it, even the best technical advice falls flat.

The takeaway: If your athletes don’t feel you care, nothing else matters.

2. Let Players Drive the Journey

“Players have to be the ones who drive their journey.”

There’s a temptation to control everything as a coach. Structure every session. Solve every problem.

Lewis pushes the opposite.

The player has to own it. Their development. Their decisions. Their direction.

The coach’s role? Guide, support, challenge — not dictate.

Because long-term growth doesn’t come from being told what to do. It comes from learning how to figure it out.

The takeaway: Great coaching isn’t control — it’s ownership.

3. Keep It Simple — Then Master It

“The basics are what allows you to do the extraordinary.”

In a world of complex drills and high-performance buzzwords, this stands out.

Lewis keeps coming back to fundamentals.

Not because they’re easy — but because they’re essential.

The best players don’t skip the basics. They double down on them. Over and over again.

And from that foundation, creativity and flair can actually show up.

The takeaway: Master the basics before chasing brilliance.

4. Talk Less. Listen More.

“Talking; as coaches we talk too much, explain too much…”

It’s a trap most coaches fall into.

Over-explaining. Over-coaching. Filling every silence.

Lewis sees it differently.

Give direction. Then step back.

Let players think. Process. Try. Fail. Adjust.

And when they need help — be there.

It’s not about saying more. It’s about saying what matters.

The takeaway: Clarity beats volume. Say less, mean more.

5. Build Humans, Not Just Athletes

“‘What is the most important thing we can talk about today?’”

Every session starts with that question.

And sometimes, the answer has nothing to do with cricket.

That’s the point.

Lewis is big on creating space. Space for players to talk. To vent. To be heard.

Because performance isn’t isolated from life. It’s connected to it.

When athletes feel safe, understood, and supported — they learn better. They trust more. They perform more freely.

The takeaway: Coaching starts with the person, not the player.

The Bottom Line

There’s a clear thread through everything Lewis does.

Connection first.

Whether it’s scaling a coaching business, mentoring young coaches, or working one-on-one with players — it all comes back to understanding people.

Not just their technique. Their story.

Because once you understand that, you can actually help.

And maybe that’s the simplest way to sum it up.

Lewis isn’t trying to reinvent coaching.

He’s just bringing it back to what matters.

Want to connect with Lewis? Jump into the SKILD Coaches community and say g’day!

Sources:

Internal interview and notes compiled in Google Sheet titled “🔥 SKILD Coach Spotlight – Lewis Evans (Question Set)”.

SKILD Coaches Community: Friday Recap – March 27, 2026

info@skildapp.com (SKILD Coaches HQ) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 09:03:31 GMT

This week marked an exciting step forward as we officially launched the SKILD Coaches Community — a space designed for coaches to connect, share ideas, and grow their coaching businesses together.

Key Highlights This Week

🎉 Wins & Milestones
AJ Dawson shared an exciting update in the Wins & Milestones channel:

“Should be having a new coach start with us at Footy Teacher. AFLW premiership player and current AFLW player with the gc suns !”

A huge step forward, with the announcement expected soon.

🧠 Coaching & Athlete Development
Andrew shared practical examples of Individual Development Plans (IDPs), sparking valuable discussion around how coaches structure athlete progression:

“For those who were in this discussion or just joined last week - here are some examples of IDP’s (Individual Development Plans) - absolute gold for your athletes, participants and/or clients. First one is a one pager I recently designed helped keep everything visible and simple and to the point. The second one was the one I designed when i worked for the GC Suns (Academy Head Coach Role).If you can break your specific sport up into the key criteria that makes the ideal player go from here. With AFL - it’s technical (kick, mark, handball), athletic profile (speed, endurance etc), mindset (grit, resilience), game sense (reading play/cues, decision making), then off field development. Be interested to hear what some other sports base their development categories off?”

This was reinforced by Mike Armstrong, who shared how he applies similar principles in a gym setting:

“This is brilliant, I do something similar, just less formal in the gym. The ability to perform key moves are my metrics for progression, then tie that to quantitative results such as sprint times etc to ensure the ability to move is converting to actual improvements.”

💼 Business & Operations
Important conversations also took place around the business side of coaching. AJ Dawson asked:

“Hi Guys,

Quick question around insurances and what do you guys do or how are you guys are insured with your private coaching businesses?

Any advice tips or tricks or contacts would be awesome”

Andrew shared insights into current solutions and hinted at future opportunities for SKILD coaches, particularly around group insurance options.

🎧 Learning & Development
Toby Prunty contributed a valuable learning resource:

“Hi Team, hope you all had successful weekends. Just wanted to touch base with an interesting podcast I found today. Talks about confidence vs. self belief. ”

A great reminder that coaching development goes beyond sessions — it’s also about mindset and continuous learning.

What’s Next for the Community

Andrew has opened up a poll for an upcoming:
“Coaching Online Event/Discussion (Coaches Triad)”

The goal is to bring coaches together for a short, high-value session (approx. 45 minutes) to dive deeper into key topics and share insights across the community.

Final Thoughts

The first week of the SKILD Coaches Community has already shown the value of bringing coaches together in one place — sharing wins, exchanging ideas, and supporting each other through both the coaching and business sides of the game.

This is just the beginning!

Sources:

SKILD Coaches Community - A WhatsApp Group

Bobby Quiney — Coaching Lessons from a Test Cricketer

info@skildapp.com (SKILD Coaches HQ) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 10:00:42 GMT

Bobby Quiney played just 2 Tests for Australia, scoring 9 runs total. His coach called it "the best nine I've ever seen." Now he's one of Melbourne's most sought-after batting coaches. Here's what failure at the highest level taught him about helping young players succeed.

Above the Shoulders with Bobby Quiney

If you blinked, you missed Bobby Quiney’s Test career.

Twenty-two balls.

Two Tests.

Nine runs.

In 2012 at the Gabba, he walked out at 1–13 and got handed Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.

He scratched out 9 off 12.

Then he hooked one.

Close enough to be a six.

Just close enough to become a story.

It landed at fine leg. Steyn took it millimetres inside the rope.

Mickey Arthur called it “the best nine he had ever seen.” It became folklore.

But those two Tests don’t explain Bobby’s career.

He won five Sheffield Shield titles with Victoria. He was Domestic Player of the Year. He played 96 first-class matches and clocked up 5,600+ runs.

Those Tests just turned the volume up on the part of performance every coach eventually comes back to:

What’s going on above the shoulders?

So when we spoke with Bobby about what actually makes him effective with players at Big Dogg Cricket, five things kept coming up.

1. Coach Mindset, Not Just Technique

"I've always been more technically solution focused and now I'm more mindset. I suggest players remember times they've done well and work out how they did it. What are they thinking about when they're batting their best?"

Mechanics are visible. That's why coaches love them.

Mindset is quieter. It's also what decides whether the mechanics show up.

Bobby doesn't fix grips when a player is drowning. He starts with memory. A good innings. A clean feeling. A moment the player trusts.

That question isn't a speech. It's a map.

The takeaway: Start with what worked. Build from there.

2. Help Players Break Out of Ruts

When a player is stuck, it's usually noise. Too much thinking. Too much pressure. Too many people watching.

Anyone can coach the kid who's already cooking.

The job is the one who's stuck.

Get them moving again and they get dangerous.

The takeaway: Coach momentum. The rest follows.

3. Balance Aggression with Foundation

"A lot of batters now tend to be more aggressive and take the game on. I encourage this but still want them to have a base/foundation to work from."

Modern cricket rewards bravery. It also punishes guessing.

Bobby’s message is simple: go hard, but don’t go hollow.

Aggression without a base is just vibes.

Aggression with a base is a weapon.

The takeaway: Let them attack. Make sure they’re built to last.

4. Address the Rest Gap

"Kids are not resting or putting the bat down for very long after the season. There are SO many under-age pathway squads that parents and kids feel like they need to be constantly training."

The pathway has turned into a treadmill.

Squads. Camps. Extras. “Don’t fall behind.”

The kids feel it.

The parents feel it.

Coaches see it first.

Sometimes the most professional call you can make is boring on paper:

Stop.

Rest.

Come back keen.

The takeaway: If you don’t schedule rest, burnout will.

5. Your Playing Career Doesn't End at the Last Ball

The trap for retired athletes: if the public story is small, you start shrinking your own story.

Bobby could have stayed stuck in 22 balls and a meme. Instead he turned the messy parts—pressure, scrutiny, self-doubt, the aftertaste of "what if?"—into coaching advantage.

Experienced players don't bring highlights into coaching. They bring pattern recognition. Standards. The ability to spot "stuck" before the athlete can name it.

The takeaway: Your career doesn't disappear. It becomes leverage.

The Bottom Line

Bobby Quiney's Test average is 3.00.

That's what the internet keeps.

The real record is in the player who stops spiralling and starts competing again. The kid who leaves training lighter. The parent who sees their athlete smiling after a session.

Bobby's been in the furnace. That's why the advice lands.

Bobby Quiney is a specialist batting coach at Big Dogg Cricket in Melbourne. Want to connect with Bobby (and other coaching legends)? Jump into the Coach Collective community and say g’day.

Sources:

Charles Wright: It Always Starts With Grip 🔥

info@skildapp.com (SKILD Coaches HQ) — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 08:40:58 GMT

PGA professional Charles Wright has built his reputation on clarity, adaptability, and a deep understanding of the game. This piece explores how his competitive experience and years of coaching shaped a practical, player-first philosophy that helps golfers improve with confidence. It reveals why his approach has made him a trusted figure in Australian golf coaching.

Coach Spotlight: Charles Wright

It always starts with grip.

Not some complicated swing theory. Not a flashy drill. Grip.

When Harry asked Charles how he figures out which issue to fix first — especially when someone rocks up with “multiple” problems — the answer was simple. Strip it back.

The Backstory

Charles Wright is a PGA-qualified golf coach based at Burleigh Golf Club on the Gold Coast. Six years into coaching, running CW Golf Coaching, and he’s all about beginner clinics and 1:1 private sessions.

His biggest recent win? Not his own trophy.

It was one of his clients — someone who came through his beginner clinics, stuck at it with ongoing private lessons, and ended up winning her division in the ladies Club Championships. That’s the good stuff. Long game. Development. Watching someone grow.

Andrew Raines has seen it up close:

I’ve had the pleasure of having a few lessons with Charles here on the GC. After not having a lesson in years and years!! Gave me a couple of simple tweaks and I was able to hit the ball a lot more effectively. Love my golf. Best thing about golf is anyone can play or start it up. For me as another coach to be coached by someone else was great for me personally. I kept thinking how for eg. Set shot goal kicking relates to your tee shot!! Pressure, routine and hitting/kicking through the ball.

That’s when you know a coach knows their craft — when another coach walks away better.

Key Insights

1. Start at the start

For me, almost every 'fault' can be loosely traced back to fundamental mistakes (grip, posture, alignment etc.) I like to start with grip and work through from there.

No drama. No panic.

Most faults? Fundamentals. Grip. Posture. Alignment. Work through it in order.

It’s not sexy. It works.

The takeaway: If in doubt, go back to basics.

2. Don’t jump to the fancy stuff

Eg, does their grip match the directional issue they are having or does it affect the direction the wrists hinge. Then work through other fundamentals before moving on to their actual movement patterns (arm structure, rotation, sequence).

There’s a process to it.

Does the grip actually match the miss? Is it changing the wrist hinge? Fix that first. Then move to movement patterns.

It’s calm. Measured. No guessing.

The takeaway: Fix the cause, not the symptom.

3. Simplicity wins

There's a lot to look at but with club level golfers you can certainly overcomplicate it which is why so many people go their whole lives without lessons but are happy watching YouTube videos which never ends well!!

You can almost hear the smile in that one.

Golf’s full of noise. Charles isn’t adding to it. Especially with club golfers, overcomplicating things just kills confidence.

Keep it clear. Keep it manageable.

The takeaway: Clarity beats chaos.

4. Basics beat talent

The process to find the issue with most recreational golfers can be fairly obvious and easy to see but with more elite level players it can be harder to spot but working on the basics wins everytime.

Elite players might mask errors better. But the solution? Still the basics.

Even at higher levels, it still comes back to the same thing.

The basics.

That consistency in philosophy is what makes Charles’ approach scalable — from beginners to better players.

That consistency is what makes good coaches different from loud ones.

He’s not reinventing the game. He’s refining it.

And when Andrew wrapped up his thoughts, Charles kept it simple:

Thanks @⁨Andrew Raines⁩, love what I do.

That’s it, really.

He loves the game. He loves helping people get better at it. And he’s not trying to make it more complicated than it needs to be.

The takeaway: Mastery is built on repetition of the right things.

The Bottom Line

What stands out about Charles isn’t just his technical eye. It’s his steadiness.

No ego. No overcomplication. Just a clear belief that improvement starts with foundations and builds outward.

When Andrew thanked him publicly in the thread, Charles’ reply said everything:

Thanks @⁨Andrew Raines⁩, love what I do.

That’s the thread running through it all.

He loves the craft. And it shows.

Want to connect with Charles? Jump in and say g’day!

Sources:

Burleigh Golf Club. (n.d.-a). Coaching team. Burleigh Golf Club. Retrieved February 23, 2026, from https://www.burleighgolfclub.com.au/cms/pro-shop/coaching-team/

Burleigh Golf Club. (n.d.-b). Golf coaching. Burleigh Golf Club. Retrieved February 23, 2026, from https://www.burleighgolfclub.com.au/cms/pro-shop/golf-coaching/

Burleigh Golf Club. (2025). Annual report 2025. Burleigh Golf Club. Retrieved February 23, 2026, from https://www.burleighgolfclub.com.au/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Annual-Report-2025.pdf

CW Golf Coaching. (n.d.-a). Home. CW Golf Coaching. Retrieved February 23, 2026, from https://www.cwgolfcoaching.com.au/

CW Golf Coaching. (n.d.-b). About. CW Golf Coaching. Retrieved February 23, 2026, from https://www.cwgolfcoaching.com.au/about-3

GolfPost. (n.d.-a). Charles Wright: Scores. GolfPost. Retrieved February 23, 2026, from https://www.golfpost.com/players/charles-wright/scores

GolfPost. (n.d.-b). Charles Wright: Tournaments. GolfPost. Retrieved February 23, 2026, from https://www.golfpost.com/players/charles-wright/tournaments

Queensland Golf Industry Awards. (n.d.). Qld Golf Industry Awards finalists. Retrieved February 23, 2026, from https://qldgolfindustryawards.com.au/qld-golf-industry-awards-finalists/

Reddit. (2023, July 15). Recommendations for golf coaches on the Gold Coast [Online forum comment]. Reddit. Retrieved February 23, 2026, from https://www.reddit.com/r/GoldCoast/comments/14nj262