Harristown State High School, Physical Education and Biology teacher, Mr. Tom Marshall has been appointed as the 2011 Darling Downs Brisbane Lions academy coach. Tom will oversee the Lions academy program here on the Darling Downs under the guidance of Brisbane Lions Academy manager Luke Curran.
Tom Marshall comes from a very strong football background, after living in the AFL loving state of Tasmania for a number of years, Tom moved with his family to the sunshine state and since he has moved here, has left his stamp on Queensland’s AFL programs; after representing Queensland at schoolboy level and Under 21 level, Tom played several games for the Brisbane Lions reserves and also played a number of seasons for the Mt Gravatt Vultures in the Queensland AFL State League competition. He now teaches at Harristown State High School, where 90% of the Lions Academy program will be run from.
Tom is very excited about being appointed as the first Lions Academy coach on the Darling Downs and believes that with this academy in place, it will provide players from the Darling Downs with a direct link to an AFL Club.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for all involved and I hope it leads to the strengthening of AFL in the region”, Marshall said.
The Regions Development Manager Keith Webb is also very excited about the appointment of Tom Marshall as the Regions Lions academy program coach.
“Tom is a very knowledgeable coach and is familiar with the representative programs in place, as he represented the Western Taipans as a junior”, he said.
“With Tom’s involvement at Harristown State high School, the program will probably have access to the schools world class facilities and we also will be able to utilise Tom with his role at Harristown SHS and access more talented athletes from various other sports at Harristown SHS”, Webb said.
The Darling Downs Brisbane Lions Academy will officially start in February 2011 and all relevant information including who will be in the Academy will be contacted via post by Brisbane Lions academy manager Luke Curran in the near future. The Darling Downs Brisbane Lions academy will link in with the regions representative programs and the Brisbane Lions academy in Brisbane.
Photo: Tom Marshall (right) during this years Charlie Rose Cup game at Gold Park.
Last Modified on 03/02/2011 18:18
