Gadsden led the Bears to the LVFNL finals in 2017, while Bastian helped the A-grade netballers to one of their best seasons in a decade.

BL-Serpentine president Anthony Holland said it was not a hard decision to reappoint Gadsden. 

“Building on the upward trend of the last two seasons, the momentum has started to turn in a positive direction, with our young senior side winning 10 games in 2017 and reaching the finals,’’ Holland said.

“Gadsden has a wealth of experience to continue to guide our footballers, his ability to retain our current high calibre of players and attract new players is exceptional.”

Bears stalwart Paul Olsen will be playing coach of the reserves in 2018.

Olsen has been involved with the Bears for 21 years and is a former club captain and best and fairest winner.

Zac Stone will continue his coaching role with the under-18 footballers.

The Bears made the under-18 finals in 2017 and are keen to attract some new players for the 2018 season.

Bastian and the A-grade netballers narrowly missed out on making the A-grade finals and were arguably the most improved team in the competition.

“The ripple effect of having Cara Bastian as our head coach last season was phenomenal,’’ Bears’ netball  president Sarah Byrne said.

“The positive shift in player attitude to training, the intensity at training and on game day and the level of skill development was immense.”

Bastian will oversee the netball program and continue her playing-coach role in A-grade.

Sarah Bollard has been appointed B-grade coach, while Tania Twigg will take over the role as C-grade coach.

Emma Brooks and Jaimi Elgar will be co-coaches of the Bears’ under-17 squad.

2017 LVFNL rising star winner Caitlyn Hocking will coach the Bears’ under-15s.

Experienced coach Michelle Francis will look after the minis.

Netball tryouts will be held at Eaglehawk Secondary College on Thursday, December at 6.30pm; Sunday, December 10 at 6.30pm and Tuesday, December 12 at 6.30pm.

Minis training will commence in March.