The US coach inspiring Adam Simpson’s journey of reinvention

After being backed to launch West Coast’s rebuild, Adam Simpson says he’s not focused on his own longevity in the job

Across a combined 532 AFL games as a player and senior coach, Simpson had always entered matches believing his team could win. But that belief was finally compromised during the most testing periods of two West Coast seasons that have netted just five victories and included seven losses by more than 100 points.

The 47-year-old didn’t know if he would be leading the Eagles in 2024, and if he was, it was clear that a youth-led rebuild would move into overdrive as the core of senior players and leaders who were central to the 2018 flag departed.

So when he was endorsed by the Eagles board to continue as coach and his attention turned to how he could evolve alongside his team’s changing dynamics, Simpson drew up plans for a week-long personal development trip to the United States with a focus on learning more about educating young athletes.

“I hadn’t been able to do it for a few years with the COVID years, but I had a good chance to do it this year. Having a look at more educators than coaches is what I went after,” Simpson told AFL.com.au.

“How to best educate this generation and how to get the right drills in the right space and the right reviews. And how do we get the best out of our players in the classroom as much as the coaching element?

“I did catch up with a few coaches … the longer-term ones that had longevity. How do they keep reinventing themselves or keep themselves relevant to the modern game? I did a fair bit of that.”

Amongst a packed seven-day schedule that included visits to professional sporting clubs, Simpson met with Gregg Ritchie, the 60-year-old head coach of the George Washington University baseball team.