LUKE Monaghan admits donning the colours of Strathfieldsaye will take some getting used to.

Monaghan has taken on the newly-created role of coaching development manager at the Storm in what is a return to an involvement at club level.

Monaghan previously spent six years as the senior coach at Eaglehawk from 2011 to 2016, and before that three coaching the Hawks’ under-18s in the BFNL.

While he will always cherish his time at the Borough, Monaghan is excited by the new opportunity at the Storm to continue his passion in supporting and helping to develop coaches.

“My time at Eaglehawk was fantastic; they provided me with an opportunity and I will always be grateful for that,” Monaghan said on Saturday.

“But they have moved on are doing a wonderful job; they are the reigning premiers and ticking along very well.

“I’ve still got a lot of friends at Eaglehawk, but for me this is my next challenge and something I really want to be involved in. It’s a new role that has been created and something I am really excited about getting stuck into.

“Strathfieldsaye is a big, strong club that has some really good values and the role of working with coaches to help improve them is something that really appeals to me.”

The Storm have created the position, which doesn’t have a match-day component, as a way of “supporting and developing our football coaches in a quality learning environment.”

READ MORE – Luke Monaghan lands new coaching role at Strathfieldsaye

Monaghan will work with the Storm in conjunction with his involvement in the new AFL Central Victoria Coaches Academy that he has been heavily involved in establishing.

“The academy is starting up and this role with the Storm fits really well with that,” Monaghan said.

“It’s a great opportunity for myself to not only learn off other coaches because I’m always keen to improve myself, but also help others improve and the long-term goal is we have a better standard of coaching and people are in the game for longer.”

While Monaghan has a strong history with Eaglehawk, in more recent times his family has become involved with the Storm.

“My daughter played netball out at Strathfieldsaye this year and my son is likely to play football there next year, so that was another factor in making the decision to get involved with the club,” Monaghan said.

The Storm’s seniors will again be coached by Troy Coates – a former player under Monaghan at Eaglehawk.

STRATHFIELDSAYE so often in its 10 seasons in the Bendigo Football-Netball League has shown itself to be a forward thinking club keeping a step ahead of the game.

You don’t go from a start-up senior club from scratch to powerhouse of the BFNL in as short a time as what Strathfieldsaye did without being a club with strong foresight.

That was evident again with the recent appointment of Luke Monaghan to the newly-created role of coaching development manager at Tannery Lane.

As much as the off-season headlines are dominated by on-field recruits, the Storm’s off-field addition of Monaghan is a key acquisition given the avenue of support and development opportunities the role will provide to the club’s coaches from Troy Coates at the top through to the under-9s.

Monaghan has a wealth of coaching experience behind him – most notably his six years at the helm of fellow BFNL club Eaglehawk between 2011 and 2016.

The only senior grand final Strathfieldsaye has missed since 2013 was in 2016 when the Storm was knocked out by Monaghan’s Hawks in the first semi-final by a kick.

As well as his senior experience Monaghan has also been involved in coaching at under-age level for three years with the Eaglehawk under-18s before he landed the senior gig, while he also has three years involvement as an assistant with the Bendigo Pioneers on his CV.

It’s a strong coaching background that combined with his passion for developing coaches as evident in his involvement in establishing the new AFL Central Victoria Coaches Academy to be soon launched makes him ideal for such a role at the Storm.

As the demands and pressures associated with coaching country football teams continue to grow its invaluable to have a strong support network and that’s one of the key elements of the new coaching academy.

It’s also why the Storm are so determined to get Monaghan involved with their coaching program, because enhancing the experiences for all its coaches throughout the club can only prove to be a positive for the players in all grades. 

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