Stability is the key word on Max Videla's mind as the new Warilla coach hatches a plan to get his beloved Wanderers back up the top in the District League.
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The club has revealed that Videla is the new man at the helm for the 2024 season. Last week's announcement came a month after Dave Graovac was confirmed as their new head mentor, before stepping away from the role three weeks later.
Graovac had been assistant to previous head coach Steve Micevski this year, with Warilla finishing their campaign in seventh place.
Videla takes over the position having enjoyed a long and prosperous association with the Wanderers - winning premierships as both a player and coach. The 48-year-old is keen to now make his mark on the club's top-grade squad.
"The main thing that I want to do is have some stability at the club. We've had a few different coaches over the last couple of years and we want to provide some consistency," Videla told the Mercury.
"In the season that just went past, there was a lot of good things come out and Warilla had some good young players, and older players as well. So hopefully we can keep as many on board as we can and build on it. I'm looking around for some recruits, but I don't want to mention any names (at this stage)."
Videla grew up in Warilla and first started playing with the club in the under-nines, adding that it was a "special" place to him.
"When you leave school and go out and work, and travel, Warilla is always there. And the club is always somewhere to come home to," he said.
"When I had kids, I took them down there in 2007 and 2008, and I started coaching both of my boys in the under-sixes. I was playing in the church league and doing some indoor stuff, but then one of the guys I used to play with years ago if I wanted to come back and play reserve grade when they came back in 2010. And I never looked back.
"It would now mean heaps, not just to me but the community too, to get the team back to the top."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
