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NEW Maryborough coach Ben Lavars says he is looking forward to the task of moulding a largely young Magpies playing group into a formidable unit.
Speaking to the Bendigo Advertiser for the first time as Magpies coach, Lavars said he was grateful for the opportunity in becoming a first-time coach.
“(Coaching) wasn’t a thing I thought of until they made contact,” he said.
“I’ve been very lucky in having a lot of success as a player and being under a lot of good coaches hopefully I’ve learned something and can pass that on to the players at Maryborough.
“I am really looking forward to it.”
Lavars, who joins the Magpies from Bellarine league club Geelong Amateurs, on a two-year deal, inherits a Maryborough team which has finished in last place in each of the last three seasons.
The Magpies’ sole win last season – a 58-point victory over Castlemaine in round 10 – broke a 47-game losing streak.
Lavars said he was not the type to make wild predictions on potential improvement, but insisted the development at Maryborough would be gradual.
“I guess having been around football a lot, you see coaches in these types of positions and make really outlandish statements, it’s not what I want to do,” he said.
“Coming in, I will sit down with a few of the senior players and talk about some of the big things we need to improve on.
“Not having been a part of the league, I am going to try and watch as many games I can from last year and see how things have gone on the field and where the deficiencies are.
“In meeting with the club, I know it’s a really young list, so initially it’s going to be about instilling the winning mentality.
“Whether that equates to wins or not, I guess we’ll find out next year.
“But being competitive, staying in games and really taking pride in our performance are the things we’ll work on initially.”
In addition to a coach, the Magpies are getting themselves a quality and finals-experienced footballer.
Lavars is a five-time premiership player with Geelong Amateurs and Geelong league team St Mary’s and also spent two seasons with VFL club Werribee in 2007-08.
The now 32-year-old won the 2010 Mathieson Medal as the Geelong Football League’s best and fairest, has been a regular at inter-league level and has twice represented the Victoria Country seconds team.
He was this season named at half back in the Bellarine league team of the year.
Lavars, who is a teacher in Geelong, will move to Maryborough with his wife Taylar and 14-month old son Lucky later this year and will immediately begin the process of applying for jobs at district schools.
Maryborough president Brendan Roughead said the club was very excited to get a coach with the qualities of Ben to lead the senior team.
“Ben has an impressive and successful football record and is of great character and will continue to build a positive club environment at Maryborough,” he said
