General News
13 November, 2019
Bombers announce junior mentors
COBDEN’S junior footballers are set to learn from some of the football club’s most respected players next season.
COBDEN’S junior footballers are set to learn from some of the football club’s most respected players next season.
Daniel Beard, Brett Taylor and Chris Walsh, all past senior players of the club and coaches in their own right at various clubs and levels, will take on the coaching roles of the club’s junior sides.
Beard will take charge of the under 16s having previously coached Kolora Noorat, as well as assisting the Bombers’ senior sides over the year.
Taylor will lead the under 14s having held various coaching roles at junior and senior level.
And Chris Walsh will guide the Bombers’ under 12s side having previously been a co-coach at Simpson with twin brother Leigh.
Beard said he was excited to return to coaching, with the under 16s mentor to be assisted by Sam Dalziel.
He said he and Dalziel wanted to continue moulding the club’s aspiring senior footballers by passing on their knowledge and ideas about the game.
“The previous coaches have done awesome jobs and there’s a talented bunch of kids (in the under 16s),” he said.
“It’s more about a little bit of instilling my ideas I suppose and a bit of footy nous into our kids and aligning that with what Brendan McCartney is bringing to the club as a whole so we’re on the same page.
“It’s not so much about the wins but about the development (of the boys) into senior footballers as well.”
Taylor said he was “pretty keen to get back into coaching” after a break, with the former Bomber’s centre-half forward to receive a helping hand off Leigh Walsh.
“It’s been a while since I’ve sort of been involved and had my own team so I’m keen to get back in and to develop the young kids coming through,” he said.
“I’m not 100 per cent sure how the side is going to be yet, but we will be competitive and our numbers are good so it looks like it’s going to be a good group.
“We’ll be trying to develop them so they can play at the Cobden footy club for the rest of their careers.”
And Chris Walsh will take charge of the under 12s with his focus to be on introducing the kids to football.
“A lot of them have played under 10s last year as well as others that have played under 12s but the main thing is that they enjoy it,” he said.
“We want to teach them the basics and teach them the skills.”
President Wayne Robertson said the junior club was thrilled to appoint born and bred former and current players as coaches for season 2020.
He said the club hoped the group could help “create an environment where kids can come and learn and enjoy the game” but also build a family friendly atmosphere.
Robertson said the coaches would also learn off Brendan McCartney, who has joined the club in a coach mentoring role.
“We’re just really happy that all the blokes that are coaching have all had senior experience as coaches,” he said.
“We think we’re going to create the ideal environment to really continue the development of our kids but to also make it an enjoyable environment.
“We not only want to focus on making them the best footballers they can be but also creating and allowing them to be the best person they can be.
“As a junior club we’re really excited with the coaching group we’ve put together and we think it’s going to continue the strong development of our juniors which we think is critical for the success in the future of our club.”
Robertson said the club would continue to focus on its junior program, but would have a bigger emphasis on developing their coaches.
He said the entire club would hold a coaching day in December with McCartney to implement programs at both senior and junior levels.
“That’s going to be really good for our coaches to learn off (him) and that’s why we’ve got some assistant coaches as well so we can really develop our coaches for the future,” Robertson said.
Cobden’s junior football sides will start training on a date to be confirmed next year.