Carlton assistant coach John Barker is one of nine assistant coaches across the AFL who have been accepted into the new Level Four Senior Coach Program.
The newly-introduced Level Four Program seeks to prepare highly-rated assistant coaches for the rigours of a potential Head Coach position at an AFL club with concentrated mentoring and development work, beyond the existing Level Three Program.
AFL General Manager Football Operations Mark Evans said Barker and the other eight assistants were the lead contenders in a high-quality field of applicants who sought to be part of the program.
The selection process involved an extensive application, peer and senior coach review and an interview conducted by a combination of highly regarded coaches and CEO’s. Former AFL coach Peter Schwab and 2006 West Coast premiership coach John Worsfold were joined by Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou, leading Hockey coach Ric Charlesworth and club CEO’s Trevor Nisbett (West Coast), Greg Swann (Brisbane Lions), Peter Jackson (Melbourne) and Brian Cook (Geelong Cats).
Carlton assistant coach John Barker. (Photo: AFL Photos)
“The course centres around four key components – core coaching modules, an individual learning plan, a program for high impact leadership and individual coach mentoring,” Evans said.
“The core modules will address areas including rules, regulations, governance, integrity, government relations and the economy of the game. Other modules will address quality coaching practice, strategic communications, media training and ethical leadership,” he said.
Mr Evans said the individual learning plan for each coach will be developed with their respective club and coach mentor, designed to round out the skills and experience of the coach.
Barker played 168 games for Fitzroy, the Brisbane Lions and Hawthorn between 1994-2006. Since retiring from football he has held assistant coaching roles at St Kilda, Hawthorn and Carlton. Barker joined the Blues in 2011, initially coaching the forward line before switching to the role of back-line coach at the start of the 2014 season.
