Embarking on what will be his second stint as coach of Old Students, Saracino’s resume is as impressive as they come in district cricket, having been part of two Haisman Shield-winning teams, three one-day premierships, captaining the club and being inducted as a life member during his 250-game career at A-grade level.
A man that has dedicated his entire adult life to Old Students, he is now looking to give back to the club and help usher in the next generation of players from its junior program.
“I have coached and captained the club before and, for me, I thought it was a great chance to once again give back to the club I have been a part of basically my whole adult life,” Saracino said.
“We have a good crop of juniors coming through and I am just hoping I can help steer them into the senior ranks and it is an honour to coach the club and a major privilege — there will be some challenges ahead, but I certainly look forward to it.”
Taking on the role in what is an uncertain time due to the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, he explained where he believed the season was at right now and the steps the club was going to take to ensure it is ready when that first ball is bowled.
“It certainly has been an interesting 18 months from a club perspective as well as sport in general and it has been quite challenging to get definitive dates for when we are going to start,” he said.
“This year in particular has been difficult as we looked at August as a return to training thinking we’d start playing in October, but then obviously with the current situation Cricket Victoria have a road map out and we are looking at November 13th.
“From our perspective we have had some informal hits, but in saying that our official training will start next Tuesday in line with daylight saving — in terms of how the season itself looks, it is a bit of a wait and see, but we understand it is going to be one-dayers and Twenty20s and from there we will plan accordingly.”
Saracino said the prospect of getting the club back together again for training sessions was exciting given the challenges the entire community has had to face in recent months.
“It is more about getting people back and involved in sport again, I speak on behalf of all clubs that it is really just about reestablishing that connection with one another,” he said.
“Yes winning is great and for a lot of people that is what you play for, but you also play for the enjoyment and that is the most important thing, especially in this current situation we are in and training will be tailored for that to happen.”
With the new season hopefully just around the corner, he explained what excited him most about the squad at Old Students and how it will be looking to improve.
“We have a few going out and few going in and with work commitments we aren’t sure where some are at, but we have a core group of about seven to eight guys that will make up the basis of the side most weeks and then there will be another two or three that could get an opportunity from our juniors,” he said.
“Hopefully with this one-day format it will give us an opportunity to compete on a weekly basis and get some experience into our younger guys, in saying that though, I have always been a bit old school in that sense that you don’t just get gifted games and the most important thing is making sure those guys earn the right to play in whatever grade they are in.”
Away from the field, the club was recently rocked by an alleged break in to its shed where a Rover cylinder mower, Masport lawn mower and brand new cricket balls were said to have been stolen.
Saracino said it was incredibly disappointing.
“Whether it is hard-earned from people that have supported the club or sponsors who have backed us, we have gone out and got this equipment to get the season up and going and to have that happen on the eve it is quite frustrating, but that is in the hands of the police,” he said.
“We will deal with it on our end for now by replacing all the stuff that was stolen and making sure things can get started in November without a hitch.”
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