EDFL: Tullamarine coach David Connell locked in until end of 2022
Tullamarine coach David Connell discusses his future, the Demons’ push for promotion to Premier Division and how the Essendon District Football League club is looking to close the gap on its rivals in coming years.
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Tullamarine and coach David Connell have certainty in a period of uncertainty.
The experienced mentor will be calling the shots until the end of the 2022 campaign after putting pen to paper on a one-year contract extension with the Essendon District Football League Division 1 club.
Connell led the Demons to the decider in his first season at the helm before they were eliminated in the preliminary final last year.
Tullamarine also came up short in the 2014 and 2016 grand finals and has not claimed a senior flag since 2003.
“While I’ve still got an appetite for it, I’ve got a driving desire to get the club into Premier Division and then consolidate for a year, then probably hand it over to that next person,” Connell said.
“I’ll be involved at the club post-coaching. I’ll stay behind the scenes and ensure everything underneath that (senior) program allows us to remain in premier.
“That’s the long-term plan, but it’s not something that’s going to happen overnight.”
Connell said his role would also take in director of coaching as the club looks to boost its potential across all levels.
He will play a key part in appointing junior coaches, while time will also be dedicated to the training and development of coaches to ensure a “quality program” for junior players.
The Demons are also keen to have more players graduate to NAB League outfit Calder Cannons and “really hopeful” of fielding under-18s and under-16s teams again in 2021.
“We’ll be looking to put together some sort of development academy to separate the kids with a bit more potential,” Connell said.
“(Extending his contract) didn’t really faze me too much, I would’ve been happy to (only) commit to next year, but the club wants some stability with a lot of kids coming through and things like that.
“The plan the whole time was that Tullamarine would be my final destination.
“I played juniors there and I’ve got fairly involved behind the scenes, in terms of the juniors and trying to get all that stuff back on track or at a level playing field with some of the other clubs in the area.
“Although we’ve been a reasonably successful senior club, there’s a mountain of work that’s got to be done underneath that to give us that long-term sustainability.”
Senior assistant Ben Chapman has also recommitted, along with playing assistant coaches Shannon Bennett and Cameron Hare.
Connell said he would turn his attention to Tullamarine’s senior squad in coming weeks, with next year’s salary cap figures yet to be confirmed.
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