Earlier this week, we were notified by Deputy Head Coach, Kieran Lacey, of his desire to step down from his position within the Senior Committee citing reasons to focus on his own team at U14s next year.
Respecting Kieran’s wishes, we would like to highlight our sincere gratitude to the phenomenal amount of commitment Kieran has given to the club over a protracted amount of time. He has performed many roles and steered us to the current position of the club through rigorous teamwork, ambition and a with a sound knowledge from experience.
We have little doubt that the U14s team who have already progressed so far, so quickly, will now benefit from Kieran’s unwavering loyalty to them. Under his leadership, mentoring and ethos, we know exciting times lie ahead for those members.
At the same time, we are delighted to announce that Head Coach Anthony Rotherham has appointed Gaz Friar as his new deputy. The appointment was ratified by the Senior Committee and will be temporary until the clubs AGM in February as per the clubs constitution.
Gaz has brought many positive attributes to the club since joining the U18s and bought into our ethos of working with the community for the community in line with our OneTeamOneDream approach.
Gaz is a hugely respected, driven, passionate and committed member of our club and already shared some excellent ideas that the club are keen to progress. Gaz has clear ambitions to set up new teams and attract new members to our ever expansive club.
Both Anthony and Gaz shared their thoughts before this release.
Anthony stated, “I would like to thank Kieran for all his work alongside me and know he will remain as a key part of the coaching team. Equally, I am really looking forward to working alongside Gaz and forming a close relationship which will ultimately continue to drive the club forward with new ideas and a fresh outlook. This will be of benefit to all players across all age groups.”
Upon accepting the offer, Gaz stated, “I was blown away by Anthony's offer and considering that I haven't been at Portico for very long I consider it a huge vote of confidence from people within the club. I'm looking forward to working closely with Anthony and the other coaches for the benefit of their teams and ultimately that of the club. The next couple of years promise to be some of the most exciting for the club.”
We jointly thank Kieran and welcome Gaz.
Hobes and Billy on behalf of the Senior Committee