Welcome Victor. What attracted you to Latrobe Uni Women’s Soccer Club?
Thank you. There is a very special atmosphere associated with university based football clubs and I wanted very much to be a part of it. Since my arrival I noticed it almost immediately, not only with the women’s team but also the men’s teams.
There is a collective and very warm environment. The culture of one big family is quite obvious even for new arrivals like myself and already I have been made to feel more than welcome by everyone associated with the club.
You coached in the Women’s Premier League. What challenges will you have at Latrobe?
The first and most difficult is as this is a university based club most of the players come via the university and will not be arriving until the education year starts. Therefore one does not have the complete squad assembled and able to train with them all. Other clubs are already doing pre-season with almost their full squads. I will not really know the numbers, calibre or quality of the players until much later in the month. That puts us at a disadvantage.
To a lesser extent there is always a learning curve when you go to a new club, both for the coach and the players. We have to get to know each other. I have to quickly determine their skill levels, strengths and weaknesses and plan the training accordingly. Getting to know your players takes time. The better you know them the better your training will be as you tailor it according to various skill sets.
Having said that from what I have seen in our early training sessions the girls are a great team. Very keen to learn and play. That in itself is a huge bonus.
Tell us about your coaching philosophy and what you expect to achieve from your players?
I have a very strong belief that you need to be coaching for the right reasons and for me that is about passing on knowledge and experience to others and getting them to enjoy all there is about this wonderful game.
At the end of the day I would like for the players to come up to me at the end of the season and say “Victor, I really enjoyed this season and I would like to play next year”. Then I know I have been successful.
My main objective is to instill confidence back in the players, to be able to make them believe they can play better. I want the players to know, that I as their coach have faith in their abilities, that we have worked together to get them there and that they can show to themselves, their teammates and opponents that yes they can play. Then I can say it is a job well done.
Latrobe Uni Womens play in Division 2 NE. What are your thoughts for the season ahead?
I think State Division 2 NE will be a very exciting competition this year. There is a team coming down from Division One, who will bring with them a competent and large squad and I expect them to be one of the teams contesting promotion. Then we have two or three teams that missed out on promotion last season, who have been actively recruiting and will pose more of a threat than last year.
In addition we have two teams promoted from Division Three that blitzed the competition and I expect they will continue their strong showing this season.
So it will be a very competitive year, but I am looking forward to it and there is a renewed feeling of excitement at the club. I have been receiving communications from many players who are keen to play and a few other players want to come over to Latrobe. It will be an exciting season and hopefully a good one for us.
Thank you and good luck for the season.
Thank you. We at Latrobe Uni Womens Soccer club are really looking forward to 2010.