Over the past year ACPE Sports Coaching (Management) student, Aaron Quince, has had the pleasure of working alongside Craig Whelan with the Waratahs and Wallabies within the Performance Analysis team.
My role at the Waratahs has been to help with training sessions recording and cutting up the drills to then upload for the coaches. I also attend the Waratahs games where I record angles not recorded by the filming crew on site to be able to use later when analysing the games. After the games I am given a specific area of the game to analyse using sportscode, this information is used to help the coaches improve on future performances.
Aaron credits his hard work during his internships to landing his current role with the Wallabies as well as how his internships connect to his Sports Coaching (Management) degree enabling him to build an understanding of different coaching styles and philosophies for the future. Also being in an environment where all coaches work a close environment with elite athletes around every day.
Getting the Wallabies role was due to my hard work and consistent efforts to be in and around my internship no matter how busy my calendar was. My role at the Wallabies has been to analyse the work rates for different teams including the Brumbies and the Rebels. I also have different little projects I work with alongside Craig to help make different game plans going into the next Wallabies tour. During this time, I’ve developed many different skills that will help towards my end goal of my sporting career. These skills include using sportscode, being in an elite sporting environment and learning a sport I didn’t know much about before starting the internship.
As Aaron continues his work for the Wallabies, he reflects on where his plans for the future:
My career aspirations are to be abroad coaching in any sport I fall into and spreading my sporting knowledge to as many people as I can in the future overseas. I have great ambitions of moving abroad and widening my understanding of all sports and building up a tactical understanding of what it takes to be a great coach.
Head of Performance Analysis at Rugby Australia, Craig Whelan, outlined how well Aaron represented himself as an ACPE student:
“Aaron has been a great addition to the analysis department with the Wallabies and Waratahs over the past 18 months. He had gained a huge insight to the professional sporting environment and embraced every opportunity that has come his way. His commitment and work ethic is at a very high standard. I look forward to working more with Aaron and watching his development as a performance analyst grow. He is acquiring the skills and building a CV that will set him up well for full-time employment in a professional sporting role.”
