Mehmet appointed to Suns

October 11 2014

Shepparton News

Goulburn Valley Suns have made the first major appointment ahead of next season with the announcement of Shaban Mehmet as technical director.

Mehmet, a Football Federation Australia accredited C-licence coach, is set to undertake his B-licence early next year to bring him up to Football Federation Victoria regulation for the technical director position ahead of the new season.

The technical director is tasked with overseeing the appointment of junior coaches, educating coaches, assisting with player selection and ensuring players are being educated in accordance with the FFA curriculum.

‘‘It’s a big honour,’’ Mehmet said.

‘‘I was rapt when I found out.

‘‘It’s a huge step for me and I think it’s more about organisation and making sure we’re helping the kids in this area to be the best players they can be.’’

Mehmet has been involved in local soccer since his junior days, when he played at Shepparton Soccer Club.

He played his entire career at the Reds, before taking up coaching with the club’s girls’ sides, before coaching the club’s 16 to 18-year age group for three years.

Mehmet attained his C-licence badge last year .

He coached Kyabram Phoenix’s senior team last year in its first tilt at the Regional Premier League as well as co-coaching the Suns’ under-12 side.

The Suns endured a year of ups and downs in its inaugural year, having had two technical directors as well as three senior coaches and Mehmet said the first priority had to be stability.

‘‘We need a stable coach, we need to get junior trials underway and we need to implement our training and coaching policies as early as possible so parents and players know what is happening,’’ Mehmet said.

‘‘I want to try and secure coaches for a few seasons.

‘‘We have a fantastic vehicle here and we need to embrace it.’’

Mehmet will oversee all player trials as part of his role and will play a part in selecting players for all teams.

Trials will commence in the first week of November and continue throughout the month.

Trials for under-12s, under-13s and under-14s start from Tuesday, November 4 and will be held every following Tuesday for the month, with the under-15s, under-16s and under-18s starting the following Friday and continuing every Friday for the month.