The Saints head into its fourth season in the MBCM Northern Women's Country League, and after an inconsistent season meant the Saints finished seventh this year, the club is making sure they are well prepared ahead of their assault on the 2020 competition.
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Walch, who originally hails from Wangaratta, said she would bring her expertise as a physical education teacher at St Joseph's Primary School to her role at the Saints next year.
“I've loved sport all my life and I love coaching,” Walch said.
“I was approached by some players and ex-players who thought I would be the right person to take on a role here.
“I haven't had a senior coaching position, so I'm relishing the challenge.”
Lowe, on the other hand, is no stranger to the Saints women's team, having been heavily involved with the women's and youth programs in recent years as his wife Honnie and daughter Scarlet both play the sport.
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The new coach said it was a no-brainer to come on board and help lead the ship next year.
“I saw a lot of the women's games this year, and know a lot of their issues,” Lowe said.
“The opportunity of working behind the scenes, and on how we improve, I thought I could help out with it.”
While co-roles can sometimes be tricky, Walch and Lowe both agreed the process had been fairly seamless so far.
“From our first time meeting with each other, we were definitely on the same page,” Walch said.
“His professionalism and vision is the same as mine, and we have the same goals as well as how we want to go about it.”
“We're aiming for the same things, and we have the same plan,” Lowe said.
“Lucy's PE background will be awesome.
“We'll definitely have everything covered between us.”
One thing both coaches also agree on is introducing a professional culture to the Saints women's program next season.
“We'll look to add more structure to the team,” Lowe said.
“We'll have uniforms to wear to the game so we look like a team.
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“And we'll be working on individual player plans – so each and every player knows what they want to achieve in the year – even if its trying to get to AFLW, or just playing for fun.”
“I tend to go back to my teaching ideology" Walch said.
“It'll be about giving women the feedback they need, so they feel they're being supported and helped and feel like they are progressing.
“I'll treat coaching this team like I'm coaching an AFLW team.
“We want to build it up to be a destination club.”
● Benalla Saints women's preseason starts tonight, Wednesday, November 6 at 6pm at the Benalla Showgrounds. Anyone, regardless of experience is welcome to come down and give the sport a go. For more details, call Lucy (0497 064 155) or Russell (0409 524 740).