Watsonia has appointed Corey McCall as senior coach for the next two seasons.
McCall joins the Saints after five seasons in development coaching positions at TAC Cup clubs the Northern Knights and Eastern Ranges.
His two seasons at the Knights were spent working closely with the under-16 squads. He also worked with the under-18 team this year.
Speaking to NFL.org.au, McCall said he felt he was well suited to now develop Watsonia’s young playing list.
“With my experience in developing young adults to play football I believe there is a lot there to work with and we can get a lot more improvement out of the team,” he said.
“I think they had 14 under-19s play last year, the captain of the club is only 27 so they are a very young group.
“With further announcements regarding the coaching of the under-19s we will be able to deliver some other young talented football players for the club that will be coached by coaches who have a fairly good background in development.”
In a statement released on Thursday, Watsonia said it was excited by McCall’s appointment.
“Corey has a real passion for the game and improving people who love football. Our role at Watsonia is to win games and provide a great experience for our players,” the statement read.
“Corey’s appointment will complement our plans to recast Watsonia Sporting Club as a primary choice for players who want to improve, learn and compete in a modern friendly and dynamic environment.”
McCall will meet the Watsonia playing group on October 17.
There he plans to outline his direction for the club as it looks to build on two consecutive Division 3 finals campaigns.
“We’ve got a clear direction and a clear plan,” he said.
“No longer are we going to be known as just a third division football club.
“We’re going to improve our training standards, we’re going to improve our accountability to each other, the coaches will be accountable, the committee will be accountable and there will be a lot of change.
“We’re expecting some massive improvement over the next two years.”
Watsonia’s pre-season training schedule will be broken into three phases, the first of which – prior to Christmas – will include building the team’s culture and setting its values.
“We have to set our non-negotiables and get our values in place at the footy club for the first part,” McCall said.
“We’re more going to try to build the culture of the footy club in the first part of it.
“And then after that we’ll start to build our game plan and our game style.”
McCall replaces Damian Zanic who took the Saints to a fourth-place finish in his sole season at the club. It followed a one-point Grand Final in 2013 under playing-coach Lochie Dornauf.
