Former Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson will oversee the development of the country's most talented draft prospects, as the newly appointed head coach of the AFL Academy program.
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Sanderson will become the academy's first full-time coach in a number of years, taking over from Brad Johnson, who is running the group's pre-season training camp at the IMG Academy in Florida this week.
The 40-year-old will be responsible for plotting training and development programs for players identified at the under-16 championships each year, through to when they are drafted.
The academy is split into two levels, with the level two players eligible for the draft in the year in which they take part.
The need for a full-time coach was one of a number of things identified last year by clubs as part of a broad review of the junior talent pathway.
The league is hoping to do more to decrease the gap between underage football and what the draftees are thrown into when they reach their AFL clubs.
Sanderson will start by coaching the academy players in two games against VFL clubs, with the first to be held on Easter Monday and the second five days later. Johnson, who was unable to apply for the full-time position because of other commitments, will stay on as a senior assistant coach.
The level two players arrived in Bradenton last weekend and have spent the week training heavily and participating in testing run by the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.
AFL football operations manager Mark Evans said Sanderson would work closely with the various state bodies and coaches as part of his role.
"The transition from underage junior football to the senior AFL competition is the largest step in the game for our elite juniors," he said.
"The NAB AFL Academy program seeks to fast-track that move into an AFL club with two major focuses around match-specific coaching to assist the on-field development of young talent and off-field education to ensure they can thrive in an AFL-club environment.
"Match-specific coaching that will be led by Brenton centres around areas including skill acquisition, game awareness, contested ball-winning, decision-making and physical preparation.
"The development of the individual off-field is equally important and the Academy program focuses also on personal development, presentation skills, nutrition and recovery and the values expected at AFL clubs.
