Young talent time for Ipswich

IT was fitting that Barry Dancer was in Ipswich when the new Hancocks A-grade coaching team revealed their plans for the 2010 season starting next week.

After listening to the former Australian Kookaburras coach inspire a group of Hancocks people, men’s co-coaches Adrian Pavitt and Ashley Dobbie said this season was about developing Ipswich talent.

“We’re probably still one of the younger clubs, resisting bringing players in from the likes of the Brisbane comp, and actively promoting our juniors and trying to give them a path to senior hockey,” Dobbie said.

“Even though it’s costing us games, we continue to try and actively promote that.

“Other clubs are supplementing their lack of junior development by bringing in two or three Brisbane or outside guys as marquee players.”

Hancocks stalwarts Pavitt and Dobbie – with more than 800 club games between them – replace Brendan Eleison, who guided the team to the preliminary final last season.

Eleison will work with the Hancocks Reserve grade team this season.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys coming up and he (Eleison) is going to be fantastic with those guys,” Pavitt said.

“You couldn’t get anybody better to look after them. He’s just such a good coach.”

Pavitt is coaching A grade for the first time having “coached just about everything else”.

Dobbie, a former premiership winning captain and state colts player, has coached a number of Hancocks sides over the years.

“We can build a competitive unit,” Dobbie said.

“I think that’s a good start to the next couple of years.”

The Hancocks A-Grade squad includes four 17-year-olds.

“A lot of our juniors are exceptionally good and that’s where we’ve focused a lot of our junior development,” Pavitt said.

“With our juniors, we’re in a really good place at the moment.”

Pavitt said Dancer’s presentation was timely – as an example of what home-grown talent can achieve.

“If we can coach the coaches who then coach the players, all of a sudden you’re building players and clubs and teams,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Brisbane coach Steve “Super” Dodd has accepted the women’s job.

Nicknamed Super for being so fit in his playing days, Dodd is still becoming familiar with the women’s players.

“This year we’re hoping to at least get ourselves into a finals berth and see how things go from there,” he said.

Brisbane-bred Dodd started his junior career with Commercial before switching to South West United and winning a premiership with former national player Greg Browning in 1986-87.

“He (Browning) was quite an amazing coach,” Dodd said.

“That’s where I got most of my coaching from.”

Dodd coached A grade in 1984 and 1988-89 at South West United.

His last coaching position was with QUT after stints with South West and Brothers in Cairns.

He replaces last year’s coach Ross Woodford.