Thunder On The Coaching Hunt
Words: Michael Flynn
Image: SWQ Thunder FC
South West Queensland Thunder are in the market for a new senior men’s head coach after confirming Chris Watt will not return next season.
Following a successful 2013 that saw Thunder qualify for the Youth Men’s Grand Final, Watt guided Thunder through a difficult first season in senior competition in the PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland in 2014.
The Toowomba-based club won their first game of the season against CQFC Energy in Rockhampton, only for the points to be rescinded after Energy were expelled from the competition for a breach of their licence.
Thunder’s sole competition point came after their final match of the season against Redlands United was cancelled and officially recorded as a draw.
In addition to Watt’s departure, Thunder Technical Director Richard Mitchell has also decided to step down for next year’s campaign.
Thunder Chairman Anthony Bigby said both Watt and Mitchell depart the club on good terms.
“Chris has young kids and he wants to spend some more time with his family. He has been coaching for the past ten years and he just wants to have a break,” Bigby explained.
“I thank both Richard Mitchell and Chris Watt for all their efforts over the past two seasons in establishing the club.”
While acknowledging the results weren’t flattering this season, Bigby suggested Thunder would be a good place for an aspiring coach with the right credentials to cut his teeth at a higher level in 2015.
“Our club is all about creating a development pathway for players and coaches as part of that NPL philosophy,” he said.
Bigby further added that he believed Thunder demonstrated improvement last season and that he remains confident the new coaching staff will have plenty of potential to draw upon within the squad.
“The results in the last month of competition reflect a massive improvement in our players. They went from six and eight to nil drubbings to losing by one goal,” Bigby explained.
“I think our results show the programme was working and our young players were starting to find their feet in this competition,” he concluded.
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