Westfield W-League side Adelaide United have appointed former Reds skipper Ross Aloisi as Head Coach for the upcoming season.
Westfield W-League side Adelaide United have appointed former Reds skipper and current West Adelaide boss Ross Aloisi as Head Coach for the upcoming season.
Aloisi said he was looking forward to the challenge of coaching the Lady Reds, given they have only won five from 50 matches in five seasons and felt it would be a good test of his coaching capabilities.
“I-ve got no doubt that the task ahead is very difficult but it-s also going to help me evolve as a coach,” Aloisi said.
“There-s a lot of things that I-ll need to learn, especially player management.
“Coaching women will be different to coaching men but there-s no reason why fans can-t support the side like they do for the state-s netball side the Thunderbirds.”
Having retired as a player, Aloisi passed up the opportunity to be an assistant coach at Wellington Phoenix under Ricki Herbert, instead choosing to do his apprenticeship in grassroots football.
Aloisi coached Campbelltown-s U-17-s in 2009 before he was appointed as West Adelaide-s Head Coach. “The Bloods” missed promotion from South Australia-s third tier by a point in his first season.
His side won the competition the following year and are currently just a win away from being promoted to the state-s premier competition.
“I-ve had to earn my way through the ranks as a player and I think that-s also a good road to learn as a coach,” said Aloisi.
“But I-ve been lucky in a sense that I have had good support in taking the job at the Lady Reds.
“It is the fastest growing sport in the country for women and when I was approached to coach the side from the FFSA I did take a long time to think about it.
“My wife Lisa encouraged me to take the job, the people at West Adelaide gave me their full support and so did my captain Paul Pezos.”
Aloisi is just an assignment away from earning his AFC A-licence coaching badge and will continue to coach West Adelaide along with his new role.
The Westfield W-League season kicks off in November.
