St Bedes/Mentone Tigers Amateur Football Club is pleased to announce that Brad Berry has been appointed U/19s head coach for the 2019 season.
Brad returns to the Tigers VAFA section of the club after a successful four-year stint with the TAC Cup Sandringham Dragons F.C.
Brad has had a 3-decade long association with the SBMT, SMJFL and the VAFA. His remarkable coaching longevity across senior and junior footy, from grassroots through to the elite talent pathway has built an impressive C.V. A four peat of flags spread across SBMT and Old Brighton F.C and a famous SBMT U/11 junior flag amongst his favourites in the highlight package.
Brad was a member of the inaugural SBMT AFC premiership side of 1993. He is a SBMT AFC Hall of Famer and a SBMT AFC Life Member.
Commencing in 2013, Brad was appointed as SBMT first ever coaching co-ordinator, and then became the Director of Coaching in 2016 until the present day. This role has delivered an age group specific and progressive learning football curriculum to players and coaches across the U/8 – U/17 mixed / boys’ program and the U/12 – U/18 girls’ program.
Brad’s vision has helped deliver the SMJFL football program’s progression to the product that is on show today, which sees most age groups fielding teams in division one. Therefore, players, both girls and boys can move through to the VAFA senior ranks (or TAC Cup, VFL or AFL) having had the progressive learning to equip them for the next steps in their football journey.
Brad’s appointment comes at an exciting time for him and the club, with the ongoing development of a full talent pathway from grassroots to elite, a shared desire and objective.
His coaching prowess will align very closely with newly appointed senior coach, Michael Hazell, to create sustainable long-term success in the VAFA premier division.
Senior Coach Michael Hazell has said in relation to the appointment, “I am delighted with the appointment of Brad Berry as our Under 19s coach. Given his depth of experience we are very lucky to have him on board. When I applied for the senior role at St Bedes / Mentone Tigers I was very clear that we needed to build a one club philosophy. The Under 19s are the linchpin of that philosophy being the glue between the junior and senior teams at the Tigers. Just as importantly, seeing young players grow to levels of ability and performance that they never thought possible is one of the great thrills of coaching. I am therefore really looking forward to prioritising the development of our Under 19 boys, commencing with integrating them with our senior teams from our very first training session”.