History was made at the ME Bank Centre today (April 1) when the Korin Gamadji Institute (KGI) opened its doors for the first time, hosting 33 Indigenous participants in a Level 1 coaching course.
The KGI - which was made possible due to the support of the Federal Government through DEEWR - will focus on Indigenous leadership development, training and employment, and some key appointments, set to be made in the coming weeks, will give the Institute further momentum.
Following a traditional “Welcome to Country” ceremony from respected Aboriginal Elder, Aunty Joy Murphy, a day-long, Level 1 Indigenous coaching course kicked off in the Institute centre.
The course was run by the Indigenous Program Manager at AFL Victoria, Leon Egan, who admitted to being “blown away by the facilities” on offer at the ME Bank Centre’s Korin Gamadji Institute.
“Very honestly, there was a lot of skepticism from the Aboriginal community on what it was going to look like, how user-friendly it would be, and so forth. But the significant thing for me is that today is the first day we’ve been able to access it, and we’re first cab off the rank,” Egan said.
“I’m excited about the fact that we’ve been given this opportunity to host a Level 1 coaching course - Indigenous specific - for our community . . . that’s fantastic.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to go and visit a lot of clubs and have a look at their facilities and, from a Melbourne-based club’s perspective, this is the best that I’ve seen.”
The Institute’s level one coaching course attracted guest speakers such as triple Hawthorn premiership player, former Hawks’ coach, and now the AFL’s Director of Coaching, Peter Schwab; three-time Brisbane Lions premiership player, and now coach of suburban club, Avondale Heights, Chris Johnston; AFL Community Engagement Manager, Jason Mifsud; Richmond’s Head of Development, Tim Livingstone; and Tiger assistant coach Danny Daly.
“We know there’s a gap in coaching in the Indigenous community . . . we just don’t have enough coaches out there,” Egan said.
“I’ve been with the organisation now (AFL Victoria) for two years, in my capacity as the Indigenous Program Manager, and this is the first Level 1 coaching course that we’ve offered . . . Indigenous specific, for an Indigenous audience.
“We had 43 registered to come and participate, and we’ve got 33 here, which is a fantastic result for our community.
“The level one course is about ‘up-skilling’ them - giving them some basic tools, so that they can go out, return to their communities, clubs, Auskick centres, senior football, etc. and they can contribute in coaching.”
