Inside AFLW: The expectations & demands of playing football at the highest level - what it’s really like with Beatrice Devlyn

Hailing from Perth, Coach Bea has recently joined the PEAQ family and has signed on to play for West Adelaide Football Club. Bea’s exceptional football career has seen her be awarded a number of accolades including:

3x u16/18 All Australian
3x Youth Girls Best & Fairest
WA under 18s Competition Best Player
2014 State Captain
2013 & 2014 WA National Championship Team Selected
Played for both West Coast & Freemantle in AFLW since 2017
And, now a West Adelaide SAFLW Player

Having also been the Head of Strength & Conditioning for Subiaco Women’s Team, Coach Bea knows what it takes to get into peak condition for the football season.

In a series of blogs, Bea will take us through some key areas that will provide up-and-coming players insider knowledge around the expectations and demands of playing football at the highest level.

Training Volume

Taking the step from WAFLW/SANFLW etc to the AFL is quite significant in many aspects but the greatest of these are the physical and psychological demands of training.

In lower grades at many clubs, you only train twice a week, and depending on your club, you may potenitally have access to a gym or players may go off and do their own thing.

In contrast, at AFLW level, skills training is three times a week, and performed at a lot higher intensity. This is due to the fact that it is now assumed that every player is at a high level of fitness, skill and understanding of the game. Training sessions are often shorter, but far more efficient when compared to the lower grades (typically). On top of this, in preseason, players have gym sessions up to three times a week.

These sessions are coached and over seen up the head of high performance/ strength and conditioning and another 2/3 S&C staff to ensure players are executing lifts the way they should be and are able to get the most out of themselves.

These are the main sessions that are absolute must’s, outside of these, are optional skills/ fundamentals sessions to hone in on some of the basic skills or specific craft areas, such as ground balls or stoppage work. Physio screenings and check ins, to ensure that physically you are ready to go, and able to get through another week and perform to the best of your abilities.

Psychology & Wellness

Psychologically and wellness metrics are recorded daily or at least on training/game days. Wellness is crucial so that the performance and medical staff know how you are travelling from a mental side of things. Because all facets of an individual will affect performance. If you’ve slept poorly, or are having issues at work that might be causing high stress, injured or at a certain phase within your menstrual cycle, WILL impact the way in which your body adapts and recovers from training/ match day demands.

This can seem invasive at first, at lots of girls struggle initially with this, the mindset of saying “I am fine” to ensure they can train is quickly changed so that accurate reporting can take place. Wellness and load monitoring is to look after individuals and the team, to make sure everyone is getting what they need out of training without breaking them.

Managing Fatigue

Fatigue and burnout are very real and have every chance of de-railing someone’s season if not managed and accounted for. Which is why all the wellness questionnaires, staff check in and external load measurement’s (total Km’s etc) become essential.

The Upside!

The step up also means access to a lot more! Multiple physio’s and trainers, live GPS data, an extended wellbeing team, a dietician, doctor and plenty of football staff at every single training session. This can be an added level of pressure with the sense of lot’s of eyes on you, but all these people are vital to ensuring programs run smoothly and effectively and provide the best opportunity for the team and those within it to succeed.

Everything happens so quickly within the AFLW, due to the short nature of the season, by the time preseason starts it’s basically over. As such it’s crucial for players to try and settle as early as possible, physically your body is going to get a big shake up, because the volume and intensity of everything is far greater than at the lower grades. As it should be when you move up to the elite level. But, understanding this and preparing your body, working with all the staff at the club, will ensure that this step up isn’t too daunting!

So, what does a week of training look like?

Below is an example of what a week within pre-season or in-season may look like from a physical loading stand point, and a general wellness questionnaire may read like.

PRE-SEASON

IN-SEASON

WELLNESS QUESTIONAIRE

How would you rate your sleep?
1.Poor – 5. Excellent
How would you rate your muscle soreness?
1.Very sore- 5.Feeling great
How would you rate your stress levels:
1.Not stressed at all- 5. Very stressed
- What is causing this stress?
What phase of your menstrual cycle are you in?
How would you perceive your energy levels?
1. Flat/not interested – 5. Up and about/ ready to go
What would you rate your readiness to train?
1.Not at all- 5. Ready to train the house down

Stay tuned for the next install of Coach Bea’s insider’s guide to AFL or to hear more from her, check out her podcast - The Buzz with Bea

Bea is an ACSA Level 2 Strength & Conditioning Coach currently working at PEAQ Performance Centre. If you are looking at taking your football to the next level or just getting yourself in PEAQ condition, get in touch with her via instagram.