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.
