About us
Our values
Aish Football Academy is committed to developing South Australia's best young footballers, supporting them to become the best version of themselves on and off the field.
Passion
Determination
Integrity
Teamwork
Honesty
Our story
Who we are
Since retirement from professional football in 1992, Michael Aish, along with his wife Pam and sons Karl, Jesse and Joel, football has continued to be in his blood. His daughter Georgia has also been actively involved with marketing for the Adelaide Crows, so you can imagine the dinner table conversations for this South Australian football family. In 2016, Michael recognised a gap in the market for adequate skills for talented youth in SA. Believing that skill is at the core of reaching that elite level, he felt passionately about giving back to the sport that he loved by performing a role in developing the careers of aspiring young players. It was this that drove him and Jesse to start the Academy. It was when they mentioned their idea to Stefan Lipkiewicz, who is now the Academy Board Chairman, in 2019 that firm plans began to fall into place.
The teams train on the Pulteney Grammar and Marryatville High School ovals, depending on the season and conditions. The Aish family are Pulteney Old Scholars, so it made sense for us to partner with them.
The players also spend time working on their strength, speed and agility in the gym with Bryan Beinke and his team at The Nth Degree, and at AFL Max to ensure that their bodies are adequately prepared for the game.
Footy is arguably the most athletic sport in the world, which is why we love it so much, but this also means that we've got a lot to cover to ensure that our players can perform at the highest level.
This is why we place such a strong emphasis on teaching how the body works. The body is rapidly changing, so getting young players aware of how to feel comfortable and confident in their bodies is really important, especially when playing sport.
Training facilities
Every parent loves to see their child succeed. But you can't have a high standard on the field and abuse it off the field. I'm just as passionate about what young boys and girls can achieve on the field as they can off it. We have an opportunity to play a game we love, but we all need to give something back.
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Michael Aish
Director and Head Coach
Where we train
Experienced role models
Specialist coaches
Our high-level program components were developed with the support of Kevin Norton, Professor of Exercise Science at the University of South Australia.
For us to provide elite development at the highest level across our holistic development areas, we realised the need to partner with a team of proven experts that had significant capability, knowledge, and a proven track record in their area of expertise.
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Our Advisory Board
Every business needs to have an advisory board to provide it with a sounding board, strategic guidance, and access to a group of skilled professionals that can assist the Academy to fulfill its potential.
We selected executives that gave us access to key skill sets in areas that were needed including financial, strategic, people expertise, sports administration, governance, clinical health, and physiotherapy as well as a high-performance mindset. Many of our board members have elite sporting backgrounds and have represented the state in their sport.
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All of our board members are experts in their fields. Two have reached the pinnacle of football, having represented SA, won league premierships, played at the highest level in the AFL and one has twice made the All-Australian football team.