The commitment to excellence of AFL club Player Development Managers (PDMs) was in evidence over last week as nine club PDMs from eight AFL clubs across Australia descended on the AFL Players' Association to undertake a unit in the Graduate Certificate in Athlete Career & Development.

The Graduate Certificate in Athlete Career & Development qualification forms a key part of the AFL Players' Association drive to assist in providing the specific range of professional skills demanded of effective Player Development Managers in the modern AFL industry.

Attendees worked on the Sports Counselling unit of the Graduate Certificate, which was delivered by Ruth Anderson, Head Psychologist of the Australian Institute of Sport and upcoming Australian team at the Beijing Olympics.

The unit studied is the second lot of hands on training the selected PDM's have completed.

AFL Players' Association General Manager - Player Development Steve Alessio (at left), a long time advocate of ensuring AFL players receive the best support and advice from clubs, was pleased with the week's outcomes.

"As far as supporting our AFL players, this is a wonderful initiative by the AFLPA to ensure people are suitably qualified at AFL clubs to provide the appropriate advice and support for the off-field Career Development of AFL footballers"

"The Graduate Certificate in Athlete Career & Development is aimed at providing a base qualification for an area of the industry which has not been recognised for its importance in the past. We are working hard to rectify this." Alessio said.

Geelong Football Club PDM Ron Watt was impressed with the unit saying, "Going through this process has allowed us to understand the existing skills we possess in this area. Formalising these skills with this course will give us the confidence to continue to be leaders in professional sport in providing ongoing support to AFL players."

Unit facilitator Ruth Anderson, from the AIS was full of praise for those club PDM's in attendance, commenting, "I've been impressed at how the PDM's have embraced the opportunity to discuss issues concerning elite athletes and their willingness to be open to new ideas and how to apply these strategies when they return to their clubs."

Club PDMs to attend the training included;
Kangaroos: Neil Connell & Michael Kennedy
Brisbane: Craig Lambert
Geelong: Ron Watt
West Coast: Ian Miller
Carlton: Rod Ashman
Hawthorn: Jason Burt
Richmond: Dale Weightman.
Melbourne: Sam Wloszczowski