As we continue our countdown to the opening bounce of the Division 1 Grand Finals, we hear from the two Reserve coaches ahead of the big match.
FINAL WORDS FROM THE COACH- ST ALBANS
As a player I played the best part of 24 years for the St Albans FC and since hanging up the boots I’ve been coaching the Reserves team for the past 3 years. The Reserves competition is as even as I’ve ever seen it and the talent at this level is unbelievable! With the top 6-7 sides all being able to match it with each other, it has been a very tough season. Obviously we are all excited about the opportunity to play in a Grand Final this year. Our club hasn’t had a senior team in a Grand Final for nine years (2005) so it’s been a long time between drinks, especially for our die hard supporters. Training wise we intensified the training program in the back half of the season with the intention of being in peak physical condition for a big finals campaign. Other than that we have had a pretty low key build up. Internally we believe we have some handy players throughout our team but at this stage we’ll be keeping our cards close to our chest. In what has been a successful season to date, I would like to thank everyone who has helped get us to where we are today, the coaches, my staff, our committee, our supporters, our sponsors, our families, our team mascots (Zane Stott, Ryder Stott & Brandon Muhtari) and most importantly the players who suffered season ending injuries or just missed out on selection. Whatever the result today you all played a major role and are all very much a part of the success!
Aidan Stott
St.Albans Reserve Coach
FINAL WORDS FROM THE COACH- SUNSHINE
I arrived at Sunshine in 1985 and have coached the reserves the last two seasons, so it’s been home for nearly 30 years. 2014 certainly has been challenging as we have had to endure a lot of injuries right throughout this season. We have had a number of players step up and as a results we’ve had a lot of qualified players to select from for the reserves finals campaign. Unfortunately this also means some players missing out today, but very much a part of what we have achieved this year. The feeling around the group and club in general is one of genuine excitement and reward for effort. In regards to training and preparation for the big match, we’ve done nothing different to normal, we obviously played St. Albans a couple of weeks ago and have no false sense of the challenge today presents. I think the crowd should enjoy a high quality standard of reserves football with no doubt the two best teams for the season putting it on the line to win the cup. I’d like to thank everyone that’s been involve this year, all my officials, the match committee (in particular Brett Jacobs) and the best team manager in Australia Tommy Oughtred. Most importantly the players who are just a sensational bunch of mates and group to coach.
Nathan Wilson
Sunshine Reserves Coach
Last Modified on 12/09/2014 10:28