The Collie Eagles Football Club have appointed Alan Fontana as coach of the women’s team for its inaugural season in the South West Football League.
Fontana, who played his whole 230-game League career for Mines Rovers in the 1990s, said he was excited for the challenge.
“My daughter asked me if I would coach and I told her if she was going to play, I would coach,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to the year. I think we’ll have a good year.”
Fontana met the team and led training for the first time on Tuesday evening. He said he was ‘impressed’, but they still had a bit to work on before the season starts.
“The girls are pretty keen and they all want to play. I was quite impressed,” he said.
“We really have to really focus on our basic footy skills – handballing, kicking, marking and all that.
“That’s what we’ll be concentrating on for the next month, is to make sure we’re improving those skills.”
The women’s team will play their first official game on Sunday, April 22 against fellow newcomers Eaton Boomers.
The team will also take part in a preseason carnival, which begins on Saturday, April 7, which will be the first time the team plays together.
Fontana said he’s looking forward to seeing how the team comes together and that he hopes more women will join up.
“We’re calling any girls out there, any age, come down to training at 5.30pm on a Tuesday or Thursday night and join in,” he said.
“The more we get here, the better [for the club].
“If you’re half keen – if you watch it on TV, it’s pretty big now – and you’ve thought about playing or even just training, you’re welcome to come down.”
