THERE is a Storm coming.
The Manor Lakes Storm are just weeks away from making their Western Region Football League debut with the club hoping to field sides from under 9s through to seniors.
Club president Gary Sheppard said the Storm are rapt with how preparations are coming along after originally expecting to be only a junior club in their inaugural year.
“It was a surprise how it all happened really,” he said.
“We initially set out for junior football but with the amount of people who wanted to play senior football, it was just too much to ignore.
“We took a bit of a punt on it and it has come out really well. We have had great numbers at training and we will definitely have a senior and a reserves side and hopefully competitive ones at that.”
A major focus for the Storm committee has been on getting the club’s name out to the community.
The club has actively used social media to its advantage and has over 1000 members on its Facebook page.
On field, Manor Lakes is keeping its performance expectations under wraps ahead of round one.
“We have our levels that we have spoken to the coach about and want to achieve. I think you always need to have KPI’s (key performance indicators) that you want to reach,” Sheppard said.
“I don’t think there is a lot of expectation from the public after reading a few blogs and a few forums.
“There doesn’t seem to be people thinking that we are going to set the world on fire. Internally we believe that we have recruited well and so far on the training track they have looked good.
“We are just really looking forward to the challenge.”
Manor Lakes will begin its season with a home game against Laverton, which the club is hoping will be a night match, on Saturday 6 April.
In the meantime, Sheppard plans to build player numbers ahead of the season.
“People think, being a new club, that we won’t be able to get numbers together so they sort of shy away or go and play a different sport,” he said.
“That is a challenge for us. We really need juniors to come on board so we can show them what we have to offer. It is not all about football and winning premierships. It’s all about development and enjoyment.
“A lot of times football clubs can be the hub of a community and that is what we want to do with Manor Lakes and really make sure that people come and enjoy it and want to be a part of it.”
