OPPORTUNITY and development will be the key pillars for reigning CMFNL A Grade premiers Lake Boga under new coach Lisa Ryan this season, with the club confirming her appointment last week.
Ryan will take over from Anne-Marie Stewart as senior netball coach at the Magpies following their undefeated 2024 season, which saw the club break a 59-year A Grade premiership drought with a 12-goal win over Swan Hill.
Although it will be the first time in almost six decades that Lake Boga will enter a season as reigning premiers, the black and white army will have a vastly different look to it this year, with all seven players from their drought-breaking premiership moving on ahead of the upcoming season.
But while an entirely new squad could seem like a daunting prospect, Ryan and the Magpies hierarchy are already looking forward to watching the next generation of Lake Boga netballers get their opportunity.
“We’ll be in a bit of a transitional period within our club and squad this year, with every player in the A grade side from last year not returning,” Ryan told The Guardian this week.
“There’s no doubt we will have a young team, but it will give the club a good opportunity to develop our next generation of A Grade netballers and focus on youth, rather than worrying too much about winning premierships.
“I think there is a good deal of excitement around the club for a change at the moment.
“There are a lot of players that haven’t had the chance to play in the highest grade because we’ve had such a strong team for a few years and now they are going to get that opportunity, as they should, to play A Grade games.
“There are a few local girls who have played here their whole lives and they’ve never really had that opportunity and hopefully this year they’ll get their chance and blossom as a result of that.
“While we might have a very different team, we will still be an exciting side, even though it will be a development year as those kids are more than capable of performing at this level, along with the new recruits that we have coming to the club who will be great additions to our list as well.”
Ryan is no stranger to either coaching or developing youth, having previously played and coached at Nyah-Nyah West United, Lake Boga, Birchip-Watchem and Sea Lake Nandaly in previous years, including leading the latter to an A Grade premiership.
But it was as much about her ability to develop young talent, having coached throughout the junior grades in recent seasons at the Magpies, as well as her senior experience, that saw Ryan as the perfect fit for the job.
“I’ve changed a lot over the years as a coach, I used to get a bit of white line fever years ago, but I’ve definitely mellowed a lot and I don’t take everything so seriously as I once did,” Ryan said.
“I feel that your training sessions and you’re relationships with players and club members needs to be easy going, happy and enjoyable these days.
“The game itself I take seriously and I want win every week, but as soon as the game’s finished, then we move on.
“I’ve never been a non playing coach, so that will be something new for me.
“When I came back after coaching at Sea Lake, I coached the A reserves and then juniors here at (Lake) Boga, but in terms of A Grade, this will be the first time I’ve coached as a non playing coach.”
A change in personnel and a change in coach often brings about a change in philosophy and this season will be no different for the Magpies, with Ryan expected to set very clear expectations and standards for her young squad.
“Instinctive and tenacious is the way we want to play,” Ryan said.
“We want to be competitive on the court, but at the same time remain relaxed and enjoy ourselves.
“Yes we want to win and we’ll be doing everything we can to do exactly that, but by the same token, we also want to support each other on the court and be a bit more relaxed and enjoy our netball as well.”
