Round 1 of season 2012 is only a month away and the Lakes Entrance Football Netball Club are on track to make a strong start to the season.
Helping the Seagulls in working towards success on and off the field in 2012 are the sponsors and the Club is pleased to announce the continued support of their Major Sponsors; The Central Hotel, Eastcoast Plumbtec, Lakes Oil and Ausscom. Sponsorship is a major part of every sporting club and the Lakes Entrance Football Netball Club are lucky to have such loyal major sponsors as well as a large number of other sponsors who have supported the Club over many years.
On the footy field training has been strong with solid numbers since resuming training after Christmas. A number of new faces have come to the Club in that time including Reserves Coach Barry Kenny who has come on board after a long and successful time at Orbost and later Orbost Snowy Rovers as a player, coach and committeeman.
Along with Kenny have come a number of players to the Club including former player James Pitt who has returned from a successful stint at Swan Reach. Pitt looks set to go straight into the Senior side and will add another dimension to the team balance with his ability to play in any number of roles. Joining him at the Seagulls this season will be Chris Mathers, a former junior at the Club who has also returned after a couple of seasons away, Jamie Darcy, who moved to the area over the Christmas period, Jack Heydon from Darwin and Toby Eiseman from the Parkside Football Club.
Seasoned veterans Nathan Pegler, Steve Battista, Gerard Kennedy, Andrew Stevens, Kane Thompson and last season’s Best & Fairest Winner Adam Lowcock among many others have also featured consistently on the training track. The Club is also looking forward to the improvement of several of its younger players including Ryan Hooper and Brendan Gallus who will be looking to cement senior spots this season.
At this stage the only loss for the Club has been the move by dominant ruckman Xavier Ryan into Bairnsdale to try his luck in the Gippsland League. Dyno, as he is affectionately known, had the full support of the Club to make the move and challenge himself at the higher level.
Senior Coach Rod Bills has been pleased with the training and the commitment of the players so far.
“We’ve seen upward of 40 players on the track over the last six weeks and have had 30 consistently each session,” he said. “Training has been solid with the use of the footy important in each session. You can do just as much work, just as much running while using the footballs and I think the players have really appreciated that aspect of the training.”
“The Thirds players have started turning up now too and they are looking good. There is plenty of talent here at Lakes right through the ranks.”
Training continues this week on a Tuesday and a Thursday starting at 6pm.
On the netball court In recent weeks 4 of the 5 netball coaches were finalised with the appointments of Lidia Thorpe and Hayley Smith [A Grade], Tracey LeMaitre [B Grade], Jemma LeMaitre [C Reserve] and Deanne McKendry & Julianne Webb [D Grade]. The C Grade coaching position will be finalised this week. Training has been excellent and will continue to take place on a Monday night at 6pm at the netball courts while teams will be organised in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, last Wednesday the footballers and netballers took to the lake and the streets in a full club triathlon. The teams were formed with a mixture of footballers and netballers young and old while the event proved to not only be a challenge, but also a social success. It was the first of a number of planned events where the football and netball clubs will continue to work together and socialise to generate a strong Club atmosphere.
Off the field there has been plenty happening at the Club itself with a number of working bees in recent weeks to help to improve the facility. The old base boards have been removed and replaced around the social rooms, the goal posts have been painted, cupboards and storage facilities have been built in the change rooms and the umpires change rooms have had a huge overhaul among many other improvements being made to the Club.
The Club has two practice matches booked to play in March with Rosedale [Saturday March 24th] and Boisdale/Briagalong [Saturday March 31st] both being played at Lakes Entrance. The Club then has the BYE in Rd 1 while the first home game will be Rd 2 against Lindenow on Saturday 21st April. The Club is also playing a night fixture under the new lights on Saturday 5th May against Paynesville.
The Club is continuing to search for people interested in being trainers throughout the season. Anyone who is interested is encouraged to contact the Club.
Last Modified on 14/03/2012 19:37