BACCHUS Marsh will begin the hunt for a new senior football coach after incumbent Dave Callander announced his resignation last week.
Callander told the Cobras playing group of his decision on Thursday night, citing business reasons. He will coach until the end of this season but will then stand aside.
He insisted, however, he would have loved to have continued in the role, and that it represented an exciting opportunity for whoever takes up the reins next season. “When I spoke with the leadership group, I told them it was about my livelihood, not footy,” Callander said.
“My work life has put a lot of pressure on me this year, and I had to make a decision based on my priorities. I have in the past put footy as a priority in front of other things, and this year I simply couldn’t. When I felt I wasn’t fulfilling the job to the standards I would like, I knew that was the right time to step away.”
Callander is in his third season coaching at Maddingley Park. While the Cobras have missed playing finals during that period, they have improved to eighth from 11th in Callander’s first year at the club.
He says there has also been a corresponding change in attitude at Bacchus Marsh.
“I think it is a great time to begin coaching the club,” Callander says. “If anything, I’d love to start coaching now at Bacchus Marsh.
“The playing group’s expectation is now to play finals. In my time here that has changed. There are some great players coming through the under-18.5s. We haven’t really recruited outside the club, we’ve done it from within. And the playing group is now thinking about how it can climb to the top rather than just avoid the bottom.
“My legacy, I hope, is the players and the club recognise the relationship between effort and reward. You have to reward the right people in your organisation, and I’ve stood for that my entire time here.
“My one regret is not being able to see out what we’ve started to achieve.”
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