PORT ADELAIDE FOOTBALL CLUB Head of Football Development, Aaron Greaves has won the AFL Coaches Association’s Phil Walsh Memorial Scholarship.
The annual scholarship was set up in 2015 and is awarded to a young coach to help with personal development through study and travel.
Greaves joined Port Adelaide in 2014 as a development coach after arriving from Melbourne where he was an assistant midfield coach.
He was announced as the scholarship winner at the AFL Coaches Association AGM on Wednesday.
The scholarship was judged by a panel of three AFL Premiership Coaches including Mick Malthouse, Denis Pagan and Mark Williams.
The Association said he won the scholarship on the basis of his innovation and creativity in his submission, his commitment to formal study to improve as a coach and his commitment to travel to learn about coaching.
Greaves said it was an honour to receive the recognition from some of the game’s greatest coaches.
“I feel very honoured to be selected to win the award but the main thing for me is that to win an award that carries Phil’s name is something that means a lot to me,” he said after the announcement.
“It’ll always be a reminder of both the football and life lessons that Phil taught me and all of us at the Port Adelaide Football Club.”
Greaves thanked the club for its support in pursuing further education including an MBA.
“Both Ken and (GM of Football) Chris Davies have offered so much support in terms of allowing me to explore different personal development opportunities to bring things back to our coaches,” Greaves said.
“This award wouldn’t have been possible without them and the wider group at Port Adelaide.
“I’m very fortunate to work with such a good group and a group that is so supportive of us getting better.”
The CEO of the AFL Coaches Association Mark Brayshaw said Greaves was very deserving of the prize.
“Phil’s pathway was patient, he served a long apprenticeship and it was no surprise to anyone that he was making such a good fist of it early on (in his senior coaching career),” Brayshaw said.
“He was a studious guy who worked with a lot of people and had great success at several clubs and he was always travelling and learning.
“The beauty of the scholarship is that not only does it celebrate and give us a chance to remember Phil, but it also rewards coaches at the same time.
“Aaron is a very well educated fellow, the other Port Adelaide coaches love him, Ken Hinkley speaks glowingly of him and he is establishing a reputation in the industry beyond Alberton.
“He also travels and studies and then he applies that to the football environment in a way that people like Mark Williams say is exactly what Phil used to do.”
Brayshaw also praised Greaves for his persistence after he was runner-up in the scholarship judging last year and, in the top-three in 2016.
Greaves receives $10,000 in Professional Development funding as his prize.
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