What a week in SKILD! We officially kicked off the SKILD Coaches Community 🚀 and it’s been awesome seeing everyone dive straight in. The energy, the ideas, the shared thinking — exactly what this space is about.

This month, our conversation spotlight landed on Lewis Evans, Cricket and Coaching Director at Cricket For All. One line stuck: “Players have to be the ones who drive their journey.” It sparked a real reflection across the group — how often do we over-direct our athletes instead of letting them explore, fail, and figure things out themselves? Ownership, it turns out, is everything.

Lewis also reminded us what really sets a coach apart: care. “They all had one thing in common; they cared about me.” The discussion turned to how listening, noticing, and building trust can transform players — and programs — more than any technical tweak ever could. Then we got practical: scaling coaching, mentoring junior coaches, keeping fundamentals strong. “The basics are what allows you to do the extraordinary,” Lewis said, and it hit home. Clear systems, strong communication, and genuine support — that’s how coaching thrives.

Amid the spotlight, the community kept buzzing. AJ Dawson shared a huge win — bringing an AFLW premiership player and current Suns player into Footy Teacher — and we got into some deep conversations on Individual Development Plans, insurance, content growth, and coaching systems. Toby Prunty dropped a Ben Crowe podcast about confidence vs self-belief, sparking even more reflections.

The real takeaway? It wasn’t just about one coach, or one win, or one podcast. It was about the shared thinking, the questions, the conversations that push all of us to be better — for our players, our teams, and our coaching journey.

And if you haven’t jumped into the conversation yet… this is your sign.