Last Friday night one of the VAFA’s own, Ormond coaching legend Mike McArthur-Allen was presented with the Victorian Australian Football Coaches Association Allan Jeans Lifetime Achievement Award at gala dinner at the MCG.
Mike is only the fifth person to receive an the Lifetime Achievement Award since the awards ceremony was first held 25 years ago.
Upon receiving the award with both friends and family in the room, Mike said he was honoured and completely humbled at the recognition.
The annual evening was a collection of Victoria’s finest coaches who were being honoured in front of over 300 guests at the MCG for the 25th annual Victorian Australian Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Awards.
Twenty Victorian finalists attended the event across five award categories of Auskick, Junior, Youth, Female and Senior Coach of the Year.
The categories were given further recognition this year with each award this year being named after an individual in recognition of their service to coaching and coach education.
David Parkin, Stan Alves, Allan Jeans, Gerard FitzGerald, Peta Searle and Ray Allsopp were all recognised for their contribution to coaching with the various awards on the night being named after them.
Alves – a former president of Victorian AFCA – was further recognised on the night by AFL Coaching and Umpiring Manager Lawrie Woodman for over 10 years of service to AFCA.
“The Victorian AFCA awards night provides an opportunity to celebrate football at all levels and to acknowledge the significant role coaches play in the development of individual players and teams,” AFL Victoria Coaching Development Manager Steve Teakel said.
“The Victorian AFCA Executive has decided to name each award after an individual in recognition of their service to coaching as part of the organizations 25 years of celebrating coaches.”
Since its inception in 1988 the AFCA Victoria Coach of the Year awards has seen two senior winners move through the coaching ranks to AFL football. Western Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney won in 1997 and Melbourne coach Mark Neeld – who was a special guest speaker at the 2012 awards – was acknowledged in 2002.
The following are a list of the 2012 winners:
Ray Allsopp NAB AFL Auskick Coach of the Year – Dean Kilpatrick – Warrnambool Auskick from the Hampden region.
From everyone at the VAFA we congratulate Mike on his award.
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