Warrandyte Basketball is pleased to announce that all Venom coaching positions for season 2009/2010 have been filled, eight weeks out from the start of tryouts on September 20. The coaching depth has increased again, with new faces including senior coaching directors Kelvin Bowers and Jason Weidemann, along with senior women's players Janelle Lucas and Mollie Booth.

Given the task of assembling the coaching staff for season 09/10 before he hands the reigns over to Jason (women's director) and Kelvin (men's director), Justin Nelson is delighted with the coaching line-up, highlighting the increased experience across all levels.

"Since the end of 2005 the rep-ball (Venom) program at Warrandyte has grown nearly five-fold, and with that comes the huge resource of finding experienced coaches, as well as developing future coaches, and it's a tough task," says Nelson.

"Unfortunately many people think coaches grow on trees and they don't. Coaching at rep-ball level is a hard gig, the expectations of parents and players is high and it takes time to build coaching stocks."

"Thankfully, as we head into our fifth year of the Venom program, our coaching stocks have never been stronger. To have depth across all age groups is fantastic, and even better when you consider we're still eight weeks out from tryouts. That just goes to show the dedication we have here at the club."

New faces to the coaching ranks include the very experienced Kelvin Bowers and Jason Weidemann, both of who bring plenty of passion and energy to the club, not to mention plenty of coaching experience at senior and junior level.

"I'm really happy to again have plenty of experience with people like Gerry Pearce, Ian Wood, Emma Collins, Darren Evans, Shawn Sumner and Nicole Howard with us again, plus the list goes on with others who have really cemented themselves as quality coaches in recent years."

"It's great to have senior women's players Janelle Lucas and Mollie Booth (returning - coached in 2008) coaching teams, while other new coaches include highly-lauded George Demos and experienced duo Paul Brazier and David Crook."

"I think it's fantastic that we have young coaches like Janelle, George and Mollie coming through the ranks. All three are naturals and true leaders. They will play a significant role at this club hopefully for many years to come."

"On the flipside, the club extends a big thanks to Damian Arsenis, David Reinecke, Jo Richardson, Mandy Ratcliffe and Jill England, all of whom have provided wonderful service to the club and will be keen to spend more time with their respective families in 2010."

So, who is coaching who?

"Out of respect for the fact that some of our coaches have children in the program we haven't finalised who will be coaching which team. We always place the selection of players at tryouts as the priority, so in some instances the final coaching placements may not be known until the end of tryouts," added Nelson.

"However, in some age groups where parents aren't coaching we have made some decisions around coaching and these will be released as we enter tryouts and in our forthcoming on-court structure document for 2010 and beyond."

"If anyone has questions about the program I encourage them to come and see me. As we enter a new phase in our growth and I pass the reigns over to Kelvin and Jason, I'm happy to see the Venom program stepping up yet again and much of that strength comes from the coaches who dedicate so much time and passion."

And finally, for those who may hear the annual myth that teams have already been selected, Nelson is quick to add;

"It's amazing how often at this time of the year I hear people telling each other that the teams have already been selected for next season. I can assure you that the coaching staff haven't even met for the first time, let alone started discussing players or selections, that's what tryouts are for!"

# Anyone interested in being an assistant coach in 2009/2010, please speak with either Justin, Jason or Kelvin.

# The coaches listed below are not listed in team order. Final coaching placements are yet to be finalised.

# The number of coaches listed in each age group does not indicate how many teams we will have in each age group. In both the boys and girls program we have coaches who are available to switch to another age group if there are more teams in one age group as opposed to the one they are currently in.

# At this stage, as will be released in the forthcoming on-court structure, the club plans to have the following number of teams in each age group - Boys U12 (3), U14 (3 or 4), U16 (3 or 4), U18 (2), U20 (1) and Girls U12 (2), U14 (2 or 3), U16 (2 or 3), U18 (2), U20 (TBA).

2009/2010 VENOM COACHING STAFF

BOYS
U12: Andrew Robertson, Peter Unwin, Peter Anderson.
U14: Gerry Pearce, George Demos, David Daniel, Danny Black.
U16: Kelvin Bowers, Ian Wood, Gavin Eddy.
U18: Darren Evans, Shawn Sumner, Scott Rimes.
U20: Peter Demos.

Assistants confirmed at this stage include Rebecca Daniel (U14), Gary Sullivan (U14), Doug Hilton (U16).

GIRLS
U12: Emma Collins, Greg Pearson, Mollie Booth.
U14: Jason Weidemann, Janelle Lucas (pictured).
U16: Paul Brazier, Michael Flynn, David Crook.
U18: Nicole Howard, Justin Nelson, Brendan Ricci.

Assistants confirmed at this stage include Jenni O’Brien (U18), Josh Collins (U12), Kellie Taylor (U14), Andrea Peters (U14).