2019 Season Preview- The Senior Coaches
Peter Forbes - Senior Women's Football
How has the pre-season been going and which players have stood out over the summer?
We stated mid Jan and it’s been building up nicely, The premiership co-captains Erin Burns and Georgie Hassell have lead from the front, doing 6am fitness sessions in the gym. It's pleasing to see the leaders of our team making personal sacrifices this year to improve their football.
What can we expect to see from some of the new players who have joined us?
We can expect to see ferocity at the contest form all the first time players – Rochelle Kalla hits so hard that by the time the opposition gets up their clothes are out of Fashion! Marion Cooper, boy oh boy she will catch up to you, strip you of the ball and run away before you know she was even there!
We have some ready-made players joining us from Ballarat – Watch out for Ellen Werts and Portia Hughes in particular. The unknowable is how often and influential our VFLW listed players will play and be. We have a brace of Williamstown players all who’s names start with J that we haven’t seen on the track yet but know they’re training the house down elsewhere, plus Loz at Essendon and Amy and Maighan at Geelong.
Also looking forward to seeing Mikayla Meyer stepping out in maroon and gold for the first time. Throw in some prodigal daughters returning in the likes of Ingrid Duffy and Becky Irons and its going to be an exciting year.
What type of football can we expect to see from your side in 2019?
That’s such an unknown this year. We will be competitive, and expect to make finals, but how deep depends on a range of factors. I know already it will be different to coach this group and Leo and I are discussing how to adjust the training sessions to match where the playing list is at and how to accelerate their development. We have to re-organise the spine and on-ball rotations, this will provide some great opportunities for some players to step up and take more responsibility.
What have you enjoyed most with your coaching involvement at Redan?
The journey’s been so fulfilling personally, seeing the players grow as people and players and enjoy their time at Redan is so pleasing. To be part of many who helped provide a framework for the players to be successful and ultimately create history as the first Ballarat based team to ever win an open-age premiership was priceless, the celebrations awesome, I’m smiling as I type this even now!
What do you see as the main reason people decide to join our club and what was your own reason?
Redan was a pioneer of Womens footy, has been successful and one of the few constants over the journey, surviving while others have come and gone.
We have become a destination club for female footballers who want to learn to play footy the right way. A lot of credit must go to people like Garry Goyne and Tracey Boyce for staying the course. My own reasons are simple, I love footy and the Club for the opportunity it has given me and my son Zach and so it’s natural to want to give back in some capacity. Coaching forces me to be the best version of myself and better understand how people think, interact and learn.
What advice do you have for someone looking to get into coaching?
Absolutely, give it a go, be yourself, and remember, many coaches tell their team what they know – but it will not mean much to them until you show them how much you care. If you’re genuine in that vital aspect, you will know if this caper is for you.
Hayley Munro - Senior Netball
What type of football/netball can we expect to see from your side in 2019?
2019 will be learning and development year for all grades in netball. Our aim is to develop as individuals and as a team/club throughout the whole season. The A grade team is a completely new team which brings with it a lot of fresh faces ready to meet the challenges of senior netball in the BFL.
We have some experienced girls getting their opportunity to move from B grade to A grade and younger talented players as well. I would say the team is quick and speedy but most all positive and eager to learn.
What have you enjoyed most with your coaching involvement at Redan?
I have been lucky enough to coach a number of teams at Redan and the biggest highlight has been the support from all the players. All the girls appreciate the commitment you have made and want to win not only from their team and the club but also for you.
This could not have been highlighted more than with the team I coached last year.
What do you see as the main reason people decide to join our club and what was your own reason?
I think Redan as the ability to bring a wide range of people together. Whether you have been involved in the juniors, just moved to Ballarat for employment opportunities or attending University. It has always been a very inclusive club where the netballers and footballers have always bonded really well.
When I first joined there was a large number of students from the University of Ballarat involved. I always felt welcome and had a lot of fun on and off the netball court. This made it easy to return every year.
What advice do you have for someone looking to get into coaching?
Coaching does brings its challenges but the rewards outweigh them. Its amazing seeing individual players achieve things that they didn’t think they could or improve considerably throughout a season. It also nice being involved in a sport that you love in a different way.
Jarrett Giampaolo - Senior Men's Football
How has the pre-season been going and which players have stood out over the summer?
Pre season has been great, have had really good numbers on the track which has meant we’ve been able to work on a lot of things that we needed to improve from last year. A few new or returning players are looking fit for the season like Daniel Bond (Wodonga), Gus Cleary (Casterton) and Keenan Waterbury (Returning from an ACL).
What can we expect to see from some of the new players who have joined us?
We’ve been able to bring some great people back to the club like Gus Cleary, Brenton Riordan and Dylan Page and they’ve all contributed a lot throughout the preseason. We are really excited to have Daniel Bond on board who is a tough inside midfielder as well as a crop of new youngsters like Cooper Atchison, Liam O’Brien (Rebels) and Kayne Councillior.
What type of football/netball can we expect to see from your side in 2019?
Hopefully a much more competitive brand of football that will stand up against the better sides. We have a lot of young quick players which will hopefully give us some good pace through the middle of the ground and with our midfield depth increasing we should be able to be really strong in that area.
What have you enjoyed most with your coaching involvement at Redan?
I’ve loved planning training and working with the other coaches looking at how we want to play but also putting a lot of responsibility on the playing group to set their own standards for the season. The most pleasing part of coaching is being able to see players improve and achieve success which comes in many different ways, not just winning.
What do you see as the main reason people decide to join our club and what was your own reason?
Redan has always been a really open and inviting club, people that come here tend to stay for a long time and as witnessed this year, once they do leave they eventually end up coming back at some stage. This shows that the club is doing the right things to welcome people and look after them once they are here.
What advice do you have for someone looking to get into coaching?
After being unsure about what I was going to do with coaching, the best advice is just to throw yourself in the deep end and get some good people around you that you trust. Treat people fairly and with respect and good things will happen.
