OUTGOING Allansford-Panmure coach Jake Bloom says his successor is walking into one of Warrnambool cricket's most supportive environments.
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The Gators are on the lookout for a new leader after a Bloom, a schoolteacher, was forced to relinquish the role due to increased work commitments.
Bloom said the club was open to a captain-coach, a development mentor or non-playing coach.
He said applications and expressions of interest were welcome on the back of an ultra-successful campaign.
The club's under 17 girls and senior women's sides both won premierships on Sunday and its under 17 boys also secured a drought-breaking flag.
The club's division one outfit, meanwhile, lifted both the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association Twenty20 trophy and the $15,000-to-the-winner Sungold Cup on Australia Day.
Bloom said the Gators' flourishing junior program was a major point of upside for any new coach.
"We have some kids over the next three or so years that will really start coming through, as they've done the past three or so seasons under me," he said.
"We've been big on ensuring under 15s are getting a senior game if they want one, ensuring under 13s are getting a senior game if they want one. The idea is the long-term view is that will hopefully produce some senior success for the club down the track. Honestly, we don't feel that's too far away."
Bloom paid homage to junior coordinator Ben Boyd and the club's committeee - which has about 20 members - for their work in spreading the workload.
He said several senior players in the division one side - including current captain Chris Bant, vice-captain Paddy Mahony and several others - meant support was always on offer.
"We've got 60 people having dinners on a Tuesday and Thursday night, which is fantastic, but it's not onerous on that person coming in," Bloom said.
"I haven't found the job onerous at all even though we've doubled in size from the merger. It's just a coordination job and a management job to make sure everyone knows what they're doing.
"For a senior coach coming in, they could potentially just work with that division one side if that's what they wanted to do. I've taken on more a development style of role in nurturing those twos and threes players and some juniors.
"The message really is for anyone coming in is that there are so many good people in this club who will come in and take on responsibility to lighten the load on you so you can do your role to the best of your ability."
Bloom said the club's division one side, which finished second-last in ninth-place, had the talent of a top-four side. "We weren't heavily defeated at all," he said.
"We made a few tactical errors which the boys know and they adjusted in the Twenty20 format on the back of that," he said. "For someone coming in, they're walking into potentially a top-four team."
Bloom said he'd loved his time as coach of the club. He said he'd remain involved in an unofficial capacity.
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