Alex Gaetani said Riverside Olympic represented a perfect fit for his coaching aspirations even if he had not been a former player who went to school at neighbouring St Anthony’s.
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The 32-year-old said he was proud to take the reins as the Windsor Park club steps up to join next season’s NPL Tasmania.
“I’m excited to take on the role and looking forward to getting started,” Gaetani said.
“When I heard that they were looking at going into the NPL I thought it was about time they took that step because that’s where a club like Riverside needs to be.
“They started ticking all these boxes and I thought they were getting serious about being a major club in the state. That started to get my interest in coming back in some kind of role.”
Olympic received nearly 20 expressions of interest in the head coach role from across Tasmania, mainland Australia and as far afield as England and South America before settling for one of their own.
Born in George Town, Gaetani grew up in Launceston and attended St Anthony’s and St Patrick’s College, playing most of his soccer at Olympic where his father, Mark, is a life member.
He coached Launceston City’s women’s side and assisted with Northern Rangers’ NPL team before joining the technical staff of Football Federation Tasmania, helping to run its elite development program and taking Tasmanian teams to national championships.
“I needed to be in a particular environment and it just so happened that Riverside were very much aligned with how I wanted to go about it,” he said.
We need to be competitive straight away to belong and not just be hanging on
- New Riverside Olympic coach Alex Gaetani
“There are some amazing facilities there for male and female juniors and seniors, it’s not just all about the senior men’s team – the football environment now is just not like that.
“I’ve been involved in female football over the last few years and see that as a priority for clubs along with the need for juniors to be able to develop.
“All these things are extremely important for a club that wants to be in the NPL and become successful.
“With the plans we’ve got in place, we need to be competitive straight away to belong and not just be hanging on.
“That becomes a priority, along with development of young players.”
Goalkeeping coach Chris Rademacher will become Gaetani’s assistant with the club’s existing team of Lynden Prince, Zach Taylor (who respectively coached the seniors and reserves to championships last season), Andy Hall and Frank Compton all remaining involved.
Rob Shaw
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
Heralding the impact of Tasmanian sport without saying "punching above its weight" is not as easy as it sounds.
