Sport
19 December, 2025
Troy Chaplin set to host free super clinic
Former Port Adelaide and Richmond key defender and 2021 AFL Premiership assistant coach Troy Chaplin will return to Maryborough next weekend to pass on his expertise to aspiring footballers and their mentors.
Presented by the Maryborough Football Netball Club, the current Melbourne Demons assistant coach will host a community junior coaching and super skills event next Tuesday, December 23, at Princes Park.
Chaplin said he jumped at the opportunity to host the clinic, which is open to all junior players, coaches, club presidents and parents from across the region.
“It’s always good to be able to help out the community that you grew up in,” he said.
“I just think for me, football has given me so much across the journey ... so I think it’s only fair to give back too.
“The reality is, I was a young kid like that one day, I remember Essendon coming down and running clinics.
“To pass my knowledge and expertise on and help out some young kids, but also coaches who are passionate about helping their kids improve and grow as well.
“There will be a young kid down there who wants to play AFL football, there’s no doubt about it, so to be able to give back and maybe help them reach their goals one day is really important to me.”
After starting his footballing journey with the Maryborough Rovers, Chaplin went on to play 215 games across 13 seasons at the AFL level.
Chaplin immediately transitioned to coaching with the Tigers following his retirement in 2016 and has rapidly risen through the ranks. He was named the 2022 AFL Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year and was interim head coach for the Demons at the tail end of the 2025 AFL season.
Alongside his AFL coaching duties, Chaplin also coaches his son’s junior football team at the Camberwell Sharks.
According to Chaplin, his passion for teaching and nurturing others fuels his coaching, a passion he hopes to pass on to junior coaches and club presidents during the clinic’s coaching presentation.
“I love coaching, whether it’s at AFL level or junior level, I see it as a real opportunity to shape those kids’ careers,” he said.
“The influence and impact you can have on those kids is probably greater than what their parents can at some stages because they will listen to you as a coach more than listen to you as a parent.”
The presentation, which will open the event at 4 pm, will cover Chaplin’s coaching journey, what coaching entails, and how community football clubs can shape their junior environment to nurture the next generation.
“Things have changed since I was playing in my day, even as a junior, coaching has shifted so much in the way that you should use training as a teaching tool,” Chaplin said.
“I would implore as many coaches as possible to come along and learn. As a coach at the junior level, the only restriction you can put on yourself is one of not actually going to these country opportunities.
“Even I, as a coach now, I’m a lifelong learner, I will take on opportunities to do professional development along the way.”
Following the presentation, a junior football super skills session will run from 5-6 pm, which will facilitate junior boys and girls players of all abilities.
“We will do some drills as well that will challenge them. I don’t want it to be just a kick and a catch, I actually want them to push themselves and understand that it’s ok to make mistakes,” Chaplin said.
“What we coach at the AFL level should be coached at the junior level as well.
“We spend a lot of time on fundamentals, decision-making, the difference being that you are just doing it with elite athletes.”
A kids and parents’ presentation and Q&A will immediately follow the skills session, as well as a sausage sizzle for attendees.
For more information, or to register for the Troy Chaplin community junior coaching and super skills event, click here