The Coburg Football Club’s Men’s team kicked off it’s 2023 VFL season preparations on Monday 14th November and whilst there were many new faces out there on the track including new Senior Coach Jamie Cassidy-McNamara, there were more familiar faces in both the playing and coaching staff groups.
New Senior Coach Jamie Cassidy-McNamara will be ably assisted by James Saville (Backline), Matthew White (Midfield) and Sam Willatt (Forwards), all three of which are returning after having 2022 as their first season in a coaching role with Coburg in 2022.
During the club’s previous alignment with Richmond, James Saville played 6 Senior games for the club after debuting in 2011 and was the club’s Development League Premiership Captain in 2012.
During that same Richmond-Coburg alignment, Matthew White played 41 games and kicked 29 goals for Coburg to go along with his 153 games and 98 goals at AFL level with both Richmond and Port Adelaide between 2006-2017.
Sam Willatt is originally from the UK where he first got involved and played footy before coming out to Melbourne. Since arriving in Melbourne Sam played community level football and also spent time with both Sandringham and Footscray VFL as a VFL listed player but also a passionate and motivated student of the game. Sam is a teacher by trade and uses those acquired skills in his coaching.
Brendan Murray returns as Coaching Director and is an experienced and valuable resource for our coaching and playing group.
Jeremy Dickson returns in 2023 as Head of Development which is a new role which will focus primarily on the ongoing and holistic development of the club’s 1st to 3rd year players.
Supporting Jeremy in the Development Coaching area is Joseph Serra who held a similar role in 2022. The club is on the lookout for two more development Coaches to join the team and if you’d like more information please email club CEO Sebastian Spagnuolo – s.spagnuolo@coburgfc.com.au
Nick Johnson returns in 2023 in a new role as Head of Strategy and Analysis and will lead a team of football analysts who have a responsibility for the teams stats, vision and data which is a fantastic aide to the coaching team and players.
Josh McPhee (High Performance Manager), Ian Martin (Head S&C Coach) and Beth Dowling (Assistant S&C Coach) make up our new look High Performance team and the playing group is looking forward to being led by them in the gym and out on the oval during preseason.
From a Football Department administration perspective, supporting CEO Sebastian Spagnuolo in 2023 will be Luke Foley. Luke will also lead a team of matchday assistants and the property services team.
Senior Coach – Jamie Cassidy-McNamara
Assistant Coach – Backline – James Saville
Assistant Coach – Midfield – Matthew White
Assistant Coach – Forwards – Sam Willatt
Coaching Director – Brendan Murray
Head of Development – Jeremy Dickson
Development Coach – Joseph Serra
Head of Strategy and Analysis – Nick Johnson
High Performance Manager – Josh McPhee
Head S&C Coach – Ian Martin
Assistant S&C Coach – Beth Dowling
Football Operations Co-Ordinator – Luke Foley
To join these new and returning staff members and become a club member today, please click here: https://coburgfc.com.au/club/membership/membership-2023/
Stay tuned for a Women’s coaching structure announcement when the Women’s program starts preseason in December.
