New Jacana senior coach Glenn McIntyre said there was a real positive vibe as the club looked to return to the field in Essendon District Football League division 2.
After pulling out their senior and reserves teams midway through this year, the Jaguars are on track to have both sides next season.
The club announced last week that McIntyre, who played much of his football at the club, would be senior coach.
McIntyre had been originally appointed the club’s under-18.5 side, but that changed when there was a lack of numbers for that team.
“It is really good,” McIntyre said.
“Jacana is my home club and I’ve been here most of my life. To coach the club I grew up playing for, is really special.
“Given the circumstances, it’s a good time to lead the club and do it the right way.”
It will be McIntyre’s first senior coaching role.
He played football for 15 years at Jacana, and in country Victoria and New South Wales.
He was a playing assistant coach while playing in Canada for a couple of years.
McIntyre said they already had about 30 players committed for next season which was a real positive.
He said many of the players are former players who have returned to the club to ensure they have a side.
They are also targeting to add some youth into the senior side. They are hoping to get enough numbers to have a reserves side too.
“We’re pretty positive player wise,” he said.
“There’s quite a few returning to the club and we’ve got a few players from neighbouring clubs who want to play senior football.
“We’re fortunate that there’s a lot of clubs need us with kids that aren’t getting regular senior games.”
The Jaguars are still looking for more players.
McIntyre said off field things were starting to look up as well. They have managed to clear their debt and a lot of people have returned to the club.
He said the plight the club found themselves in this year, was a wake up call to many people that the club might not be around forever.
“We want to make sure we do right, so we don’t find ourselves in the same position,” he said.
“Older people have come in and and trying to help out as much as we can.
“We want to work hard and get the club moving forward.
“We want to consolidate and not do too much too soon. We want to have a gradual build up.”
Pre-season training starts on November 14.
Anyone interested in playing can contact the club, jacanafootballclub@hotmail.com
