Sports
There’s a new coach in town
The new coach of the Lower Clarence Magpies has arrived in town and is keen to get started as soon as possible.
Ryan McGoldrick met with the committee and club stalwarts last Monday and impressed all with his vision for the future. He sees himself as a club coach and not just the mentor for the A Grade side. Seems like players too are keen to meet him and get started on some training regime before Christmas. Already he has made appearances at the local touch football competition. Training therefore will start next Thursday December 3 at 6pm at the Maclean Showgrounds. Training will only be weekly till the new year when training starts in earnest. He has already made it clear that 6pm means just that so it would be a good start for aspiring players to be there early. He wants the players to “get excited about coming to training and being part of the club”.
Everyone will train together in the weeks leading up to Christmas and even if adults just want to join in for some fun and fitness that’s fine too. He is keen to develop a real family feel to the early sessions. Fitness will come via the skills and drills and not by repetitive laps or 400metre runs so that will please a lot of patrons. Who knows, the younger ones may have a competition of ‘guess the number of tattoos on our new coach’. It will all be fun culminating in a family day on the beach at Brooms Head on Sunday December 20, Santa (without tats) will be there too.
At the meeting he made it clear that he is not going to make any outlandish promises but that he wants to work with the committee to get back to the days when there was a good feel about the town, the club and the teams. He has already embarked on a ‘meet and greet’ outing by attending the Friday night raffles at the club as well as the downtown raffle of a Saturday morning. All locals are invited to step up and say hello. Although he has a number on contacts in England and in other country areas he would prefer to use local lads whenever he can. There is a real positive mood in the club, as members want to put some rather sad times behind them.
There was a packed AGM recently and no shortage of people ready to put their hands up and take on some committee positions. Ryan (alias ‘Goldie’) wants to see the committee work as another team within the club. He has a particular penchant for the junior players and does not want to see any of the locals go elsewhere when they leave Under 18’s. So, there you have it players, bring your mates (and girlfriends as there will be a female side as well) and join in these next few weeks.
Colin Hennessey