The Hobart Zebra’s Football ClubThe Tilford Zebras were formed in 1956, they were then known as the Hobart Juventus Soccer Club. The Club was formed by Italian immigrants who had a great passion for football. After a slow start to our history, the Southern and State Premierships started to roll in, not to mention the Statewide Cups & Pre-Season Cups. This has made the Tilford Zebras the most successful Football Club in Tasmania over the last fifty years. |
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[Premier League Reserves Men's Coach, Nick Harrison and Premier League Men's Coach, Eamonn Kelly are ready for Brisbane]
Raelene Hennicke: On Wednesday, 25 January, you fly out to Brisbane with the Zebras squad of players for a pre-season tournament. How many players are you taking? What number of games will you play?
Eamonn Kelly: Wednesday 25 January we do fly to Brisbane at 6.00am. Thanks DJ! We will be taking a squad of 16 players. We would and could take about 20 as it has been a very difficult decision to pick the final squad. There has been a tremendous battle among the boys for a spot in the squad, but, unfortunately, as always, some people have to wait for the next opportunity, which will be the start of the Summer Cup. We will be playing three games in four days, so it will be a great test to see where we are at with our fitness levels.
The schedule will be: Arrive Wednesday 25at 9.30 am. Transfer to the accommodation and then train at 11.30am and 2.00pm, and then play our first game the same day at 7.00pm.
RH: What teams will you be playing in Brisbane?
E.K : First game, 25 January 2012 at 7.00pm versus Mitchelton F.C., Queensland Premier League 1.
Second game, 26 January 2012 at 7.00pm versus Samford Rangers, Queensland Premier League 1.
Third game, 27 January 2012 at 7.00pm versus Mt Gravatt Hawks S.C., Queensland Premier League 1.
RH: Do you think that playing and training in the heat over the five days will benefit the team for the Summer Cup more so than preparing in our cooler climate?
E.K : I firmly believe that training and playing in their sort of temperatures can only benefit the players for our assault on the 2012 Summer Cup and also be a good stepping stone for the up-coming season. We train and play in our climate every day of the week, so it will be great to, hopefully, see the benefits.
RH: What are your expectations of the tournament?
E.K: The expectations are very high from me and the coaching staff, as the club has invested a lot of money. We are not travelling that far to lose anything.
RH: What are your expectations of the players?
E.K: The expectations of the players is also at a very high level as they have worked their behinds off since November 2011 for this trip and beyond. I can only commend nearly all of the squad as most have been training five nights a week, and also week-ends. I would like to wish every one of them all the very best for the trip and 2012 season, and always remember that nothing in this world comes easily. If you want to be the very best, you have to work very hard, and harder again after that.
Malcolm Minty has taken on the new position as the club’s Premier League Women’s coach after assisting Robert Corradetti last year.
Raelene Hennicke: 2012 brings a new role as Premier League Women’s Coach for you. What are you looking forward to in this new coaching position?
Malcolm Minty: To continue the good work that Robert Corradetti put into the women’s programme over the previous years and bring in fresh ideas along with Bill Rowe as assistant coach.
RH: Do you have any past playing experience yourself?
MM: I started youth soccer at school, progressed to Metro Soccer Club at 12 years old and then was asked to go to Tilford Zebras as it is known today. I played state soccer during this time also until U/16s, then went to the senior programme at Zebras and later went to another club.
RH: Is there anything you will be introducing into the women’s programme this season that is different to previous seasons?
MM: No, not really. You can over analyse how football is played. What we will bring this year is going back to basics, with fitness and ball skills, and also working on movement off the ball.
RH: In 2011 it was reported that there were 29 million female football players around the world playing and enjoying football. Would you like to say anything to new players who are thinking about coming along to train with you?
MM: We feel that any new player that comes to our club would feel welcome as we have three different levels to play through. We work in an overall team environment that everyone can benefit from in terms of improving fitness and skill levels.
[Current women's training photos are featured in the slide show]
Romeo Frediani has been the Tilford Zebras Premier League Men’s coach for the past 2010 and 2011 seasons.
He has now taken on the new position of the club’s Youth Technical Director.
Raelene Hennicke: How does it feel to step down from seniors into youth in your new role, and what does this entail for you?
Romeo Frediani: My new role really started the day after the last senior game of 2011 for me, so I haven’t stopped.
I enjoyed the senior coaching position for the two years and, although I have taken on this youth position, I am still working towards more qualifications to be able to step back into a senior coaching role in the future.
Saying that, I am excited with my new role and the prospects of working with the talent we have currently coming through the ranks at junior/youth level in the club, and the opportunities that are coming up for myself and the junior/youth players and coaches.
I have been mapping out a direction for the club’s youth and junior players and coaches.
The first task was coach development, to make sure that all our junior/youth teams had coaches appointed for 2012 and are FFA accredited.
Secondly was to promote the club, running clinics/gala days for the wider community, giving them the opportunity to be guided by club-level coaches.
2012 starts the beginning of our Zebras junior/youth academy.
RH: Parents of youth and junior players who have a passion for football look to clubs with such programmes for their child’s development. What do you feel sets this programme apart from others?
RF: We have a clear vision for the development of our junior and youth players, with the point of difference for the Zebras academy being that we will not only be focusing on their skills and game play but their life skills and education off the park also, with courses organised for 2012 already.
RH: Having experience yourself as a high-ranked player and later moving into the coaching side of football, what are your thoughts on standardizing coaching through the club from junior/youth level through to senior level?
RF: I believe that there should be unified coaching methods in place from the juniors through to seniors, which I feel we have started with the juniors/youth over the last season. With us really focusing on making sure all our coaches are FFA/AFC licensed, with these courses teaching the FFA curriculum, all our coaches will be following this direction. As we move on throughout the year we will be aiming to add some new ideas that will give us as a club a point of difference from others.
RH: Would you like to say anything to junior/youth players and parents who are thinking about new prospects for the 2012 football season ahead?
RF: When parents look at a club for their children to go to, in the past clubs only started at under-13 level, but with Zebras we have started development early from U/10s. Look at the coaches, see what their qualifications are, look at what the club has in place for the future development and, lastly, you need to feel comfortable with the environment around the club. Not every club will suit everyone.
