"Gods" Email

I would like to start this report by saying thank you to all of the Members, Sponsors and Staff of the WWTFC for your support over the first 6 months of my employment. There has been a number of changes at our club during that time and the way the people of the Club have embraced them and myself and supported functions such as the ‘Meet the Coach night’ has been fantastic. It has made me feel very welcome.

Pre-Season 2010

The Pre-Season started off really well with the appointment of numerous key personnel, which I and the Football Department worked hard in recruiting. After the loss of some long term players, we had to act quickly and aggressively. As a result of this we were able to secure the services of Scott Welsh, Craig Parry and Ben Greiger as our experienced recruits, and our development players Aaron Day, Seb Guilhaus, Scott Lewis, James Stewart, Nathan Rayner, Luke Thompson (mini draft) and ex basketballer Peter Hoban. I feel with these players we have secured the clubs immediate and longer term future. While the inclusions are all very positive, the existing players have really worked hard on the changes and many of our younger players have matured greatly over the summer; I look forward to seeing their improvement this year as I am sure you do.

Off the field we freshened up the support staff by adding in some really experienced personnel. They are Kym Hodgeman (Assistant Coach), Craig Smith (Reserves Coach and Development Coach), Rhett Biglands (Ruck and Key Position Coach), Bob Cross (Assistant Coach and Forward Scout), Jarred Jackson(League Runner), Simon Markwick (Bench Board Man) and Martin Millane (Skill Development Coach). With all of these new faces I believe we have the support systems in place to help our more experienced players get better and our next generation players to continue their development both on and off the field.

During the summer and into the season we have embarked on a leadership program which has seen a leadership group formed. The players have embraced the sessions and I believe it is going to help take this club to the next level over the coming years. Each of the leaders within the leadership group has taken on a lot of responsibility with their respective positions. They have all been very keen to work hard on their leadership skills, while helping the players grow by working in small groups to develop the next leaders of our club and give everyone a sense of belonging and accountability.

In November, the football department embarked on designing a pre-season which obviously was to make the group very fit and strong and with the inclusion of the training technique ‘Fast Twitch’ we have been able to really work on our power and core strength. Along with the necessary fitness we have also had to teach a new style of play which we have all worked tirelessly on over the entire off season; this will continue to develop during the season. Fitness testing this year has been in the form of a lot of repeat sprints over short distances, a 2.2km time trial, 3 x 1km time trials and a range of power and strength tests. Without going into too much detail I am very happy with the results so far and there will be no excuses from our physical preparation.

Finally, I am pleased to say that the players have embraced the game plan. I can assure you all they have worked tremendously hard over the off season and we are all looking forward to putting some very good performances together this year which you as a member will be proud of. All of us within the Football Department and Club are eager to get the 2010 Season underway.

It starts for all of us this Saturday, versus the Port Adelaide Magpies. As was mentioned yesterday, we need to see as many of you as possible at the game.

SEE YOU AT THE FOOTY!



Michael Godden

Club Coach