OUTER EAST: Upwey-Tecoma signs former Norwood defender Stuart Hill as new coach
AFL Outer East Premier Division outfit Upwey-Tecoma has unveiled a former champion EFL defender as its new senior mentor...
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AFL Outer East top-flight club Upwey-Tecoma has appointed a former premier EFL defender its new senior coach.
Ex-Norwood champion Stuart Hill has landed the Tigers’ main gig following first-year coach Adam Parker’s exit to EFL powerhouse Vermont last month.
Parker was set to coach the club this season after being appointed to the role in late 2019, but this year’s campaign never took off due to the coronavirus crisis.
Hill joined the Tigers as a playing-assistant for 2020 before the season shutdown took hold.
A former captain of the EFL Premier Division outfit, he featured in Norwood’s 2014 top-flight premiership, is a best and fairest winner at the club, as well as a member of the Team of the Decade.
He represented the EFL at interleague level on multiple occasions, captaining the league to the coveted No. 1 ranking in the state in 2018.
Upwey-Tecoma president Craig Waters lauded the appointment.
“Over the course of this strange 2020 non-season, Stuart has quickly developed a love for the club,” Waters said.
“He was a great support to departing coach Adam Parker, demonstrating an in-depth knowledge of the game and game styles, and has already formed strong relationships with the playing group.”
Waters recently spoke of the club’s desire to continue on from Parker’s progress made during his short stint, flagging “modern football” as the key criteria.
“We’re looking for somebody who has those modern ideas and thoughts,” Waters said in July.
The Tigers finished second-bottom last season with just three wins from 16 starts, and Waters said Hill was ready to accept the task of lifting the club up the AFL Outer East Premier Division ladder.
“A Physical Education teacher at Salesian College, Stuart is eager to take on the challenges that lie ahead and to leave his mark on the Upwey-Tecoma Football Netball Club,” he said.