Head Coach – Aber Ladies

Aberystwyth Town Ladies are two games into the Welsh Premier Women’s 2014/15 League and we’ve managed to get a short interview with new Head Coach Bryn McGilligan Oliver:

How did you become involved with Aber Town Ladies?
I know most of the players and have been watching the ladies for the last 3 years, also I’ve been working with the academy for a couple years, so I’ve got a good relationship with the club and players. I thought it would be a great challenge and I’m really looking forward to the season.

Aber have had a surprise reprieve back into the Welsh Premier League, how has this changed the preparation for the season?
This has changed the preparation massively. We obviously had planned for games every other week for the local league, but we still wanted to train twice a week. So we didn’t need a very big squad.

Being back in the Welsh Premier means having the best of the best, So in the last 2 weeks I’ve recruited far and wide to bring the best in. This has also meant training 2/3 times a week. I believe now we have one of the strongest Aberystwyth Ladies sides there has been. The attitude from everyone is great. The players have bought into our Philosophy, and we look and feel a strong unit. It’s been a tough but exciting pre-season.

What new signings have joined the ranks this year?
In total we’ve made 12 new signings. The likes of Nia Witts from Penrhyncoch, Chelsie Mason from New Quay, Naomi Evans and Julia Hyndman from Llanidloes, Hannah Miles who has a welsh cap at under 17s We’ve also called Elin Huxtable and Stevie Cook back into the squad. We’ve got a very young squad but I’m excited for them in this new challenge.

How important is it for the main club to get behind you for this new season?
I’m very luck that I already have good connections with the club. Members/directors such as Donald Kane, Ian Pugh, Aneurin Venables and of course Tony Bates have all been very supportive which gives us great pride. It’s exciting times to be involved with the club.

I’ve also recruited a brilliant team of staff. Chris Howells has helped immensely and I can’t speak high enough of him. He’s now our Administrator and Women’s Secretary. Morgan Evans who is the Manager, myself head coach, Clive Thomas GK coach, Kevin Jenkins coach, and Katie jones performance analyst.

After completing your level 2 coaching badge what new coaching techniques will you implement?
I’ve been doing a lot of performance coaching for the Welsh football trust over the last 2 years and that has helped me massively. I’ve started my B license so when it comes to training I can go through the technical drills and then the phases of play.

During pre-season we’ve used a good mix of the 2 styles because we wanted the players to get a good feel for the ball, and play in our certain style and manner. Like I’ve already said, the girls have picked up our philosophy well and I can guarantee exciting football from us this season.

Best of luck to Aberystwyth Town Ladies this season, they haven’t had a great start to the season but there are some very strong sides from South Wales who are expected to compete for the top spots. This young squad will have to adapt quickly to stay up but have a great team around them!

You can follow their progress on Facebook or Twitter

The league page can be found here, hopefully coverage will keep improving too!

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