From Football WA
The runaway success of Perth SC's Reserve team will keep the club at
the top of the State League pecking order. Perth wrapped up the Reserve
Premier League trophy before well final round of the season, ending
thirteen points clear of joint runners-up Stirling Lions and Swan
United. "It's a fantastic achievement for the players in the reserves
to win the league, especially in such a comprehensive manner," said
coach Basil Lenzo. "It really assists the club in setting a foundation
for the future of the league team."
The attractive, attacking brand of football played by Perth's
Reserves along with their desire to learn and better themselves, was
pleasing to Lenzo. "We worked hard on individual skills and tactically
as well," the coach said. "It is a pleasure to work at Perth with the
boys as they are a very committed group of young lads that listen and
respect what we were saying and applied what we did on game day. And
the fact our opposition commented on the type of football we played was
a real testament to the boys."
The open lines of communication between Perth's entire coaching team
have contributed to the Reserves success. "The reserves are a 'squeeze
box' with players going up and going down to assist with the first team
and 18's," explained Lenzo. "I'm working with three experienced coaches
- Graham Normanton, John Coyne and Aldo Trinca - and although at times
it is very challenging, we tend to communicate well enough to
understand exactly who is needed (for each team) and when."
Another of the challenges Lenzo has had to overcome is keeping
focused a small number of players on the training track. "The most
trying time is motivating a limited number at training because we have
players over with the first team." he said. "Also, the challenge now
days is managing players expectations as they all believe they can play
first team. To help us manage this we have three reviews a year to
ensure everyone understands how they are tracking against their
personal goals."
Lenzo expects to see many of his squad playing regularly at first
team level in coming seasons. "Josh Perriera is a future star. He's
only 17 and is a little terrier with excellent skills, vision and
passing," said Lenzo. "Then there's a nice little group working hard in
the background - Daniel Colletta, Vlad Naumovski, Chris Rizidis, Jason
Saldaris, Luke Martino, Rhys Loxley, Nathan Rawes, Alan Darlington as
well as Jason Pottier ... the future does continue to look bright for
Perth."
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