By Jonty Ralphsmith
They went out and targeted him, and now the Hampton Park Football Club has secured Hayden Stanton as its senior coach for the next three seasons.
Stanton most recently was at the helm at Garfield from 2018-21, and also has senior coaching experience at Officer, Mulgrave, Doveton Doves, the Monash Blues and South Belgrave.
The 2021 season was the first in two decades that Stanton has not been coaching, as he opted to pursue opportunities in real estate and take a breather from local footy.
He takes over from Nathan Wilson who stepped away for family reasons with a 15-12-1 record after two seasons.
Football manager Paul McGowan, and Wilson were part of the process of finding a new coach and were rapt to get Stanton.
“We’re looking for someone who can take us to the next level and his record is that,” McGowan said.
“Everyone speaks highly of him, he’s a player’s coach and structure-wise he’s brilliant.
“He’s very clear on the way he thinks the game should be played. Everyone will understand their role, and structurally we’ll be set up better.”
The club spoke to one other candidate, a player-coach, who ultimately pulled out of the race.
Wilson played under Stanton at Doveton for one season, more than 10 years ago, with Stanton recasting ‘Nanga’ from the defence to the forward-line which delivered an excellent season.
“He was one of the best tacticians I played under,” Wilson said.
“He is exactly what the group needs – someone with more experience, direction and a strong game plan.
“He was very impressive when we sat down with him because it was all upstairs, there was no notepad – his way is built in and he could talk about it for hours and hours.”
The coach-elect has spoken to players and people at the club individually and seen some of the Redbacks’ footy in the second half of the season, including the reserves team’s grand final defeat to East Brighton last weekend.
He will address the whole club for the first time next Thursday to outline expectations and map out preseason.
Stanton said the club’s direction appealed to him and working with people he knew and respected in the local footy landscape helped allure him to the club.
The pandemic evolved and streamlined Stanton’s perception of coaching.
“As head coach of a local footy club, you are a figurehead to lead people which was most pointed during Covid-19 when the players were all going through their own little demons,” Stanton said.
“What I learnt from that is that clubs are a great sounding board for life, so you have to make sure your time there is enjoyable, and training has to be interactive and fun, and it gets away from the daily grind of work life.
“We need to reward them for playing their role and executing, and provide them the data for why that will lead to team success.”
Like Wilson said at the beginning of his tenure ahead of 2021, Stanton too wants to get Hampton Park to division one.
“I have always been a coach that likes to be more offensive and score, I want to make our brand attractive for members and supporters and players to be involved with,” he said.
“I am trying to sharpen up our ball movement and ability to score and as a team we want to be able to defend. If we do that, I think we have the capacity to get into division one.
“There are some really experienced guys, but I am looking forward to getting my teeth into some younger guys who plateaued a bit with football development.
“I have a strong focused plan with what I want to do to fit those guys inside a structure that will stand up in local football.
“I really have missed upskilling and turning a young talented junior player into a senior adult footballer.”
A key component of elevating the club to the next level is improving the pathway program.
The club currently has no under-19s team meaning it is heavily reliant on recruits, making it difficult to remain competitive under the player points system.
The Redbacks will be without their home ground next year while the facilities are redeveloped, but Stanton has put an under-19s team on the agenda as an important early focus.
“We need to become a destination club more than (we have) been in the last few years,” Stanton said.
“My philosophy in the short term is that we won’t get one up with no ground next year, but all we do next year will be building towards having an under-19s team in 2024.
“Otherwise, I think player points will be an issue and we will be pushing uphill, competing against teams like Dingley who have a plethora of kids to pick from.”
From his time around the club so far, Stanton has observed Hampton Park’s loyal fanbase.
Prior to winning the division three premiership in 2019, the Redbacks endured several tough years, yet the members have remained supportive.
With a refreshed focus on field, Stanton highlighted the importance of taking the supporters with them on the journey.
“I want to make sure we connect the past players a lot better. I want us to embrace the history of the club and while we’re writing our own history, we need to remember where we’ve come from.”
“I want to have some days in preseason where we can get past players involved in training or have corporate days to build that connection to the club.
“It is so important because guys might retire and have kids after 15-20 years and then their whole connection to the club dies.”
Stanton echoed the common sentiment around the club that a big ruckman is a desperately needed commodity if the Redbacks are to take the next step.
He is also hopeful that senior heads can complement the youth focus that drove 2022.
“We would be looking down the angle of experience to come in now to work with our kids and show us the way to improve,” Stanton said.
“Mid 20-year-old range guys who have played 100 plus games at various levels and have something to bring to the table from a leadership point-of-view.”
The club currently has verbal agreements with several potential recruits and expects to be able to announce its first batch within the first two weeks.
Hampton Park also need to confirm a replacement assistant coach after Matthew Cox stepped down.
The Redbacks will replace him with a playing-assistant.
