The key on and off field figures leading Ormond’s rise in 2024

Under new coach Kyle Pinto, Ormond is putting the disappointment of last year’s relegation behind it. He opens up on the off-field changes, leading a young group and the rising stars.

Just how high can Ormond soar this season? Photo: Ormond AFC/Facebook.

Sink or swim was the only approach for Ormond’s 2024 season.

After relegation from the VAFA’s third tier, the club could have slid further down the league’s structure or look for an immediate bounce back.

Major change came in the off-season and a fresh coaching approach already has the club seeing the benefits.

New coach Kyle Pinto, who joined from country footy, is leading a group of young men in one of the most promising stories across the competition.

The Monders boast one of the least experienced playing list in the VAFA. In one game, the senior side had an average age of 20.1.

The highest average age has been around 23.5.

With the young men continuing to develop, a Division 1 finals place might not be out of the question.

“We are aiming as high as we possibly can,” Pinto said.

“We’ve got a young squad so it is truly about developing our habits on and off the field to make sure we’re successful long-term as well as the short-term.

“Coming down from C-grade to division one obviously wasn’t ideal, but we did have a lot of player movement, a lot of top end talent and age bracket.

“Going down has been a blessing in disguise in a way.

“We’re just trying to focus on getting our habits and our skills to a level where we can rise the ranks if you like.”

Ormond has had plenty to celebrate. Photo: Ormond AFC/Facebook.

Pinto’s side have won their last three games to climb to third on the ladder with several rising stars quickly establishing themselves among the competition’s best players.

James Tsakonas has booted 25 goals and been named in the best on five occasions with Pinto’s biggest challenge getting the pronunciation of his surname right.

“Apparently everyone gets it wrong and spells it wrong, so he’s happy with anything,” he laughed.

“His form has been amazing. One of the other standouts has been Jackson Hille, who is a returning player and has given us a fair bit of leadership.

“Then another guy Aidan Soria, he’s been really good for us, he’s had a few injuries of late but when available has been a standout.”

Young gun Senin Seymour, 17, has also caught the eye with his performances after starting the season with Ormond’s under-19 side.

“He’s played eight games for us and he’s been right among the best every week,” Pinto said.

Ormond’s on-field success so far in 2024 hasn’t just been built overnight either.

Pinto said a number of key off-field moves during his first pre-season had been invaluable.

Anthony Quon, the former senior coach at Hampton Rovers, was appointed as one of Pinto’s assistants alongside Oscar Persson and Simon Andrews.

Ormond has made an impressive start to the season. Photo: Ormond AFC/Facebook.

“He’s a good mate of mine and it was a really big ploy to get him on board,” Pinto said of Quon.

The club enrolled the help of Performance by Design, formerly known as Leading Teams, a company which has been used by many AFL teams to help with development.

A connection was made through Emile Studham, one of the company’s founders, who Pinto has an existing friendship with.

“They’ve been great for us,” Pinto said.

“Our whole mantra for the year is just mateship. We just want to try and stay together and do the right things for our mates on and off the field.

“I think that’s really led a lot of our on field success as well.”

The Monders will face last placed Old Yarra Cobras on Saturday before a league wide bye on July 6 due to the VAFA’s interleague game against Bendigo.

On the run home, Pinto has already identified what he is looking forward to,

“We’re looking forward to playing the teams above us, we’re third now and we had lost to one, two and three,” he said.

“We want to see if we’ve improved. We think we have internally but it’s always nice to test your mettle against those other teams.”