Old Collegians appoint Andrew Sloane as 2024 A grade coach

Andrew Sloane will lead Old Collegians' top team in 2024, assuming the post from 2023 playing co-coaches Jemmah Lambevski and Bec Kavanagh.

Sloane, 42, said he was excited to develop a team, as well as individual players.

"I'm really keen at looking not just at what happens on court but also what happens off court for our players, whether that's, are they getting the right nutrition and sleep, which is often a difficult thing for players," Sloane told The Standard.

"(I'm) really looking forward to coaching the whole player and not just a netballer."

Sloane, a father-of-two, said he had been keen to get involved more at the Davidson Oval-based club, where his son Marshall, 15, plays junior football.

The A grade role, while not initially on Sloane's radar, eventuated after discussions with the club.

"Coaching's something I've really fallen in love with and I'm keen to progress that further in whatever capacity I can," he said. "I'm really thrilled the club is backing me for 2024."

Sloane brings with him a background playing netball starting at the under 10 level.

His work as South West Academy of Sport's chief executive officer also offers a unique skill-set, including insight into the latest training techniques used by state and national sporting bodies.

"The world of sport has changed so dramatically over certainly the last decade and the coaching methods that were once used may not hold up in today's modern game," he said.

"I'm hopeful of bringing some different ways of thinking to the club but also taking on people's lived experience of the game as well, and hearing what they have to say."

Sloane, who praised the Warriors for their junior development in recent years, is hoping to guide the club's A grade side up the ladder.

"The junior program at Old Collegians is second to none, they've done a really great job fostering their youth and introducing them to the senior grades," he said. "That's something that's really exciting, to see that young group of players come through.

"The senior grades are in a bit of a building phase and I'm hoping an off-court perspective will provide some further guidance on court.

"If you look at last year's ladder, they (A grade) were 10 points off Dennington in sixth place but overall goals for and against were pretty similar - clearly some close games that have not quite fallen their own way and that's something I'd love to explore with the current playing group."

Sloane said his first job was to speak to players at the club before looking at where improvements could be made in 2024.

"(I'm) really hoping to keep them together," he said of the 2023 playing list. "That said, we'll take stock of the season, see what worked well, what could be improved and maybe find where some gaps may lie and if there's potentially some players out there at other clubs that feel like they'd like to give somewhere else a go or maybe hadn't had the opportunities we would love to have that conversation."

Old Collegians netball co-ordinator Anna Sanderson said the club was thrilled to have Sloane on board in 2024.

"We feel he's bringing something new and exciting to the club," she said. "We've looked a little bit out the box this year.

"He had exactly what we were looking for, he was asking the right questions... it was quite an easy appointment from our end, it was probably just getting him across the line to get his head around it."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: