Q & A with Adrian Ricciardello

Q1 How have you found your second pre-season in charge of the Colts?

Fun! It’s been really good, we’ve pretty much kept the same coaches, unfortunately we lost Andrew Stephen. But we gained Jonathon Griffin and a new Strength and Conditioning Coach, who have both slotted into what we are trying to sell and so have the players, so it has been good. But now I’m ready for the real stuff, I’m over the pre-season drills!

Q2 You held your Colts camp over the weekend, can you tell us a bit about that and what you like to get out of it?

I felt that I wanted to implement something like this last year but starting the job late and not being able to prep properly meant it didn’t end up happening. This year, the plan in October was to potentially take the boys up to Geraldton, unfortunately that didn’t eventuate. The next best thing was to hold a day camp. It’s an opportunity to really bond the boys and get them training early in the morning, spending a day together because we don’t really get to spend much time when we’re at the footy club. It also included some education, fun and games and some mental health stuff.

Q3 Can you tell us about the Colts partnership with the Kai Eardley Foundation?

The Kai Eardley Foundation (KEF) will sponsor a player award for us each week in 2021.

What we’ve decided to do is find local business to donate money to the KEF for the number of goals we kick during the year. We’ve already been able to lock-in three businesses that will donate on behalf of themselves and the colts to the foundation.

We thought it would provide some perspective for the boys, that yes, we are playing footy but we can do a lot in the community and can use the game as a vehicle to speak up about a very important issue in society not just football clubs.

We also had the KEF facilitate a program through a company called Tomorrow Man during the camp. It was incredibly powerful, we learnt a lot about each other. It was good to be on the same journey and understand that everyone rocks up to footy club but we are all dealing with our own issues. I think we all had a massive understanding that we can deal with these issues together at the footy club, as a unit and move forward. I think it brought us a lot closer. We are already looking to do another workshop in the other half of the year and hopefully before a finals campaign.

Q4 How is the squad shaping up?

 It’s a bit of a cliché, everyone at this time of the year says the squad is fine and everyone is fit and healthy, which is true. The benefit of blooding a lot of youngsters and having about twelve 17-year-olds and younger in the prelim final last year, put us in really good stead.  We had a few that were around the edges last season and would have played if there were more games, put in a solid pre-season, so I think we are looking ok. We just have to be able to put together for 16 weeks instead of 8.

Q5 can you tell us about the coaching group?

Kane Lucas will take our midfield, he was with us last year. Paul Mews will take the backs, so he’s moved from the forward line and Jonathon Griffin will take the forwards. We also have Paul Hansen who runs the bench for us on match day and does a bit of leadership stuff and Griff will obviously help us with that too. Matt Olds has come from Subiaco to replace Jemma who went the other way -  to recruit their League Strength and Conditioning coach was a very good get.

Meg Fraser is our rehab head trainer, and the rest of the crew has stayed the same. We also have Brenton Boddington who is the new Talent Manager for 2021.

Q6 Has anyone impressed you this pre-season?

A few of the boys have, the majority of them from last year have taken that next level up and been committed. There have been a few surprise packages from the development squads that have just got themselves really fit and are willing to do the work. Most of the guys have really stepped up and you can tell that they want to be in the side so that’s pleasing and it’s putting pressure on everyone to play well, so that’s all you can ask for as a coach.

Join Ricca and the Colts this season by signing up as a 2021 member here.

If you’re interested in supporting the Kai Eardley Foundation through the Colts, contact Adrian (adrian.ricciardello@effc.com.au)