Under 19s coaching appointments

The most successful under-19 club in the Southern Football Netball League, the Cheltenham Rosellas have hit the ground running with their program for 2019 confirming a number of key coaching and support staff appointments for the upcoming season.

Former 250-game Rosella Daniel Knopers returns to the club as the under-19’s coach and will be ably supported by Adrian Hale. Daniel coached Chelsea Seagulls’ under-19s in 2018 and boasts a strong record as a junior coach with Mordialloc-Braeside. Adrian is a local policeman and has previously been involved with a number of junior teams after playing the majority of his football in the Eastern league with Noble Park.

Current senior players Richard Ryan and James Carcassi – who coached the Cheltenham Panthers’ under-17 Division One and Division Two teams respectively in 2018, will be involved as assistant coaches to help facilitate the transition from the Panthers to the Rosellas, while senior coach Des Ryan will also work with the coaching group to teach the players the game-style used at senior level.

“The standard of the SMJFL Division One was exceptional this year and I am confident a lot of the players will end up playing senior football with the key personnel we have put in place to fast track this process,” a buoyant club president John Graham said.

“With a number of players coming from a variety of football clubs in the local area, we are expecting to field our strongest under-19 side in a long time, with the view of going deep into September.”

The club is hosting an under-19 information day for all potential players and parents at the Jack Barker Oval clubrooms on 18 November 2018.