Wolves coach Dean Marnell, right, with Daniel Chircop, left, and Jordan Camov, centre. 84324_01 Picture: JOE MASTROIANNI
By ADEM SARICAOGLU
NEW Williamstown Baseball Club coach Dean Marnell has been everywhere.
His impressive and extensive resume boasts 200 Australian Baseball League games and a year in Major League Baseball’s Colorado Rockies development program, as well as coaching roles in the Netherlands and with the Fijian national team.
However the boy from Melbourne’s West takes great pride in developing the game he loves in his own backyard.
“I grew up in Footscray so I’ve always got time for teams in the western suburbs,” Marnell said.
“I got a taste of coaching down at Essendon and then Williamstown’s just come knocking.
“For a few years they’ve been calling and now’s a good opportunity to head down there.”
Club president Ryan Camov said his club was lucky to have Marnell.
“We’re very excited by it,” Camov said.
“Dean was looking to get back into coaching and we both had matching ideals for what we want for the club, so it was a natural fit in the end.
“We’re pretty rapt to have him, it’s not every day you get to make an appointment like this, and we’re very lucky and excited.”
The Wolves finished sixth in division two last season with a 14-10 record, falling just two wins short of a finals berth.
While getting back up to division one will be this season’s goal, Marnell says his role will be as much about development as it will be about results.
“We’ve got some really talented players that are not very far away from taking that next step,” Marnell said.
“I really feel that physically we can match it with any team, it’s just the mental side of things that we probably need to fix a bit.
“We struggled offensively last year, but did run well, so there’s plenty of room for improvement, and we’ll be building towards that this season.”
The appointment is hoped to give recruiting a boost, with former AFL player Justin Charles and Darren Pollock already committing to the Wolves.
“We’ve had quite a bit of interest because (Marnell’s) great for guys that are looking to come down and improve their game,” Camov said.
Despite revealing the arrival of Charles, Marnell wants to keep his recruiting cards close to his chest.
“Charles will add to our offence but also brings a lot of experience to the team,” Marnell said.
“I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag but we’ve definitely done some decent recruiting.
“We’ve got a few guys down there just to add some depth to the club.”
