The Cats have appointed 28-year-old PE teacher James Byrne as their non-playing coach for the 2010 season as a replacement for 2009 joint coaches Tim Rantall and Dallas Armitstead who have both stepped down.

Byrne said there wasn't a lot of difference between teaching PE classes and running footballers through their paces.

``At Allansford we've got 15 guys under 23 and seven players coming up from under 17s _ that's a very large amount of youth on our list,'' he said.

``Having a teaching background and experience dealing with young people are some things I can bring to the club.''

But it not all just about being a phys-ed teacher. Byrne spent last year as a runner for South Warrnambool, but prior to that he was assistant playing coach for premiership side Ouyen United in 2006 in the Mallee Football League.

The 28-year-old, who gave away playing after knee troubles ended his career, also coached the Ouyen United reserves to an unsuccessful grand final in 2008. He's also played with Boort in the North Central Football League and Redan in the Ballarat

Football League.

Byrne is also bringing a couple of key recruits to Allansford, including former South Warrnambool player Ryan McCluggage and ex-Penshurst footballer Elliot Walkenhorst.

``Football doesn't seem to stop these days,'' Byrne said. ``You get to one (end of the season) and you go right around again.

``But it's exciting _ I'm looking forward to (the start of the season), even though it's a long way away.''

Club president Ann Holloway said the club was ``a bit stiff'' to miss the finals this year, having won more games than fifth-placed Russells Creek, who finished ahead of the Cats thanks to two draws and a better percentage.

But Holloway said the club believed Byrne was the man to make the young Cats into a finals-worthy side.

``He's got a plan and a good vision, and he's very enthusiastic about the young players around the club,'' Holloway said.