By JARROD POTTER
OLD boys, new stars and familiar faces alike have gathered to make St John’s OC Football Club a VAFA powerhouse.
St John’s has the jump on the competition as it gets its affairs in order quickly ahead of the 2015 Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) Division-2 season.
Returning to Thomas Carroll Reserve in 2015 will be a 10-year premiership reunion of sorts as St John’s has brought back 2005 premiership-coach Ben McGee to take the reins of the senior side from outgoing coach Steve Ware.
The JOCs also enlisted a number of former players to guide the club back up the ranks and hopefully into the Premier competitions.
With the club’s 25th season less than a year away, president Adam Paterson wants St John’s to star in their silver anniversary and start the gradual rise up the ranks from Division 2.
“I think we’re ahead of the game in terms of getting prepared for next year,” Paterson said.
“We’ve been working on the coaching panel since the season ended and Chris Horbury has put a lot of work into that.”
It starts at the grassroots level for the JOCs, as the club will also restart its under-18 team and has established a pathway program with South East Juniors’ team Fountain Gate to develop the next generation of local footballers.
“We’re excited about the under-18s,” Paterson said.
“To have a network from Fountain Gate through to under-18s and then into senior footy, we’ve got a recruiting ground year after year and we’re trying to build a sustainable model to make recruiting a bit easier rather than working overtime.
“We want to have that transition from junior footy to senior footy here at the club for a long time to come.”
Coaching the reserves will be Matt Soufoulis while the under-18s will be the domain of premiership captain Ben Pickering.
The club is in the process of recruiting new players and looking for main sponsors. For more information, email the club at info@stjohnsocfc.com.au.
For more on St John’s appointment of Ben McGee, grab a copy of next week’s Dandenong Journal.
