STAWELL - Stawell Westlift Warriors have announced Tim Seymour as senior coach for next season.
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Seymour will be a playing coach after he and his family moved from Melbourne to Stawell earlier this week.
Stawell president John Griffiths welcomed Seymour's appointment following a six week search for someone to step into the role left by 2012 coach Andrew Bach.
"Tim sent us his resume and with due diligence, we rang his referees and he came up pretty well. He got up here for our last home game (against Horsham RSL Diggers). We said our preference was for a playing coach and he fitted our bill," Mr Griffiths said.
The process over the next couple of weeks will be for Seymour to meet with Stawell players before signings for season 2013 can occur.
Seymour was in Melbourne this year, playing division (1) football for North Footscray in the Western Region Football League.
Last year, Seymour was the inaugural player-coach of AFL Cairns club, Cairns City Lions, in his fifth year living in the North Queensland town.
Things at the Cairns club didn't work out as expected.
"I was hesitant (to take on a coaching role) with the way it turned out but I have a point to prove to a few people in Cairns that I know how to coach. I thought it's now or never while I can still play footy - so I decided to revitalise my coaching career."
Seymour can play all around the ground, but he primarily patrols the half back flank.
"That's where I can control (the game) a little bit better and see what's happening. But that can change."
He said the key to having a playing coach is having a bench coach that understands the playing coach's positions, the moves that have to be made and rotations.
"It allows the playing coach to concentrate on playing football," Seymour said.
The Warriors new coach said he decided to move to Stawell to give his wife and kids a better life in the country.
"I grew up around Albury/Wodonga and played footy up there. I decided to give the wife and kids a bit better life, the country life. I want to give my kids country lifestyle with more freedom than what Melbourne has," Seymour said.
Seymour has settled in the town, having taken up a position with Northern Grampians Shire Council and is excited by the challenge of coaching Stawell next year.
"The team has potential. It'll take a little bit of work to get the guys confidence up and understand the differences with playing for themselves. It's not just running around on the ground, there are aspects to the way you play the game," he said.
"It'll take a little bit of time for the guys to start maturing."
Seymour has met with a few Warriors players and was impressed.
"The young guys seem keen to take that next step. Hopefully I can give them a bit of guidance and influence. I need to sit down with Andrew (Bach) and get a bit of insight on what can work and what can improve," he said.
"I met Andrew at the last game and he said 'just tap me on the shoulder and let me know if you need anything.' That's a big thing, to be able to walk into a new club and have a bit of respect from the current coach who, with a new coach, is happy to help out."
Seymour admits it is a big responsibility taking on the Stawell coaching role and to be in the spotlight in a new town.
"I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait for pre-season to start," he said, adding that hopefully the players enjoy having a new coach with a new style of football.
"But I don't to change too much of what Andrew's done. There's a core group of young guys and if you try and change too much, you're taking a backwards step. I'll talk with Andrew, see where he was at last year and just build on that."
Seymour hopes to pick up 'four or five' recruits before the 2013 season starts.
"It'll go a long way to giving the young guys confidence back if we can recruit reasonable players. It'll make things a little bit more exciting for them. Hopefully our good recruits can hang around for three to four years - that's the key to Warrack and Horsham's success, they get players to hang round and get the club to a certain point," he said.
"But it's up to them to decide what they want to do."