Good luck for the 2019 season!

It’s my pleasure to welcome players, coaches, managers, committee members, sponsors, and supporters to the 2019 season.

This is a very special year for the club as we are celebrating our 50th year! To celebrate this milestone year, our “50th Anniversary Committee” has put together 5 special events, which we very much encourage you to join in on (details can be found on the website). The Lions has always been a family and social club, and these events are being delivered for no profit to give back to all of our members past and present that makes this the most revered club in NSW.

There have been a lot of changes since last season. Firstly, welcome to the new committee members who joined during the offseason. They have already added tremendous value to the club and we are excited to begin implementing some of the new ideas that will take this club forward, whilst ensuring the prestige and reputation built by our long-time committee members is upheld.

Thank you for your patience as we adapted to the new Play Football registration system. Thank you to Henri & Lesley de Gorter our registrars who were able to navigate the complexities of FNSWs system to ensure our club remains one of the largest, most progressive clubs in NSW. We have well over 1100 players registered with the Lions this year, with over 100 coaches and managers across our mini’s, junior, men, women’s and football 4 all sides from U6 to O45.
A big welcome to the new Premier League coaches, Stuart Zalunardo and Stiven Dimovski. Longtime clubmen and boasting excellent coaching records through the Lions youth set up, their season is already off to flyer. The team is under the experienced management of Steve Crawford; if you would like assistance with coaching or would like to know when they are playing to show your support, please feel free to reach out anytime.

As we enter the 2019 competition, a reminder that if you are coaching or managing a team this year, the club has a lot of coaching resources that can help you develop your skills. Director of Coaching, Brad Walker, is running coaching clinics on Wednesday evenings at Campbell Park and the GHFA runs courses throughout the year, both of which are great platforms to ask questions and learn how to approach coaching the right way. You can find the details of on our website.

Our club continues to move from strength to strength, we have a new website this season, to ensure communication is delivered in a timely manner; you can also use the TeamApp on our website to get messages out quickly to your teams. Our social media will take on an increased presence this year and we want to see and hear the stories from around the grounds each week. We encourage you to share your season with us on social media.

Lots of work has gone into preparing for the new season. The fields are again in excellent condition as we kick off the season please be diligent in their preservation throughout the year.

I would like to finally recognise the hard work of those who contribute off the pitch: whether you’re a coach, manager, committee member, or a parent cheering on the sideline your contribution is greatly valued.There is great optimism around the club this year, our 50th year! Let’s hope that the efforts of everyone involved are repaid by some successful and enjoyable football. I look forward to seeing you all around the grounds in 2019.

Michael Pompeii

Club President