Ronni Hager has seen it all at Seymour.
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Since joining the club in the late 1980s, Hager has won an A-grade premiership and multiple best-and-fairest awards.
But Hager admits it was “hard yards for a long time”.
Now the Lions are back on top of the mountain after claiming the A-grade flag in 2019.
Following premiership-winning coach Elle McDonald’s incredible rise in Super Netball this year it was unlikely she could return and juggle her elite playing commitments with Seymour’s top job again.
Intent on keeping the momentum going at the Lions, Hager will add A-grade coach to her long list of roles at the club in 2021.
After many years assisting on the sidelines, Hager said she was confident she was ready to tackle the role.
“I think deep down I thought I could do it and now the opportunity has come,” she said.
After a long year on the sidelines for almost everyone, Hager is excited to get stuck into it.
“I’ve been around the club for a long time and am pretty proud to be associated with them,” she said.
“I am both anxious and excited about the new role, but there has been so much support here.
“I went into the local bakery the other day and they were saying ‘here comes the new coach'.
“I think the community is really missing its football and netball.”
In recent years, Hager has gained experience as Seymour’s netball co-ordinator, as well as having a stint as a senior assistant coach under Laura Carland.
She has also been a captain and coach in her own right.
“Those days were different, now it’s more organised and competitive,” Hager said.
“The last couple of years, I’ve been fortunate to see what Elle’s done from the background.
“This is a great league — and to do serious community coaching, that took my fancy.”
A fan of game day, Hager said coaching from the sidelines would be a different kettle of fish compared to her years coaching on court.
“I’ve had a window now to see how it works off court,” she said.
“You’re just coaching, steering the girls, getting them in the right frame of mind to get them up for game day.
“But it’s a different challenge when you can’t get out there yourself and help deliver the win.”
Off the back of Seymour’s Goulburn Valley League success in 2019, Hager said she expected the Lions to have a target on their backs.
But the pressure won’t bend Hager and the Lions’ plans moving forward.
“I think a lot of clubs will look at this as a new start after the year off,” she said.
“If we can find momentum and if we work hard, I’m sure we can make finals, and from there, who knows.”
While acknowledging there would be big shoes to fill in her absence, Hager has nothing but respect for McDonald’s achievements in recent years.
“Elle set a path here the club has never seen before, and on the wings of that, girls have been able to play really good netball,” Hager said.
“It goes both ways, Elle puts in so much work, you couldn’t doubt her loyalty to the club.
“And she was a strong advocate for women in netball. She was on the committee and was able to have her say. It was all about equality — she stood for a lot which makes the club stand up.
“There is a lot of respect for what she done for the club.”
Hager hopes to continue the standard McDonald has instilled at the club.
“I’ll look at it with fresh eyes, but as the season gets off, we’ll be evaluating as we go,” she said.
“We’d love to keep that momentum going with our weekly trainings where players turn up ready to go.”
Although Hager’s playing list won’t be set in stone until the new year, the coach said she was hopeful most, if not all, of the club's premiership players would return in 2021.
“After the year we’ve had, we can’t travel much. Hopefully they think of Seymour as part of their yearly plan. We’ll invite them all back,” she said.
“I know Sarah Szczykulski, who is a local, has been training down at the courts.
“We’ll get everyone back together and have a chat and see what we can do.”
Other coaching appointments to be announced at the Den include the reappointments of Ellie O’Sullivan and Courtney Aldous, who will lead the B-reserve and under-17 teams respectively.
Hager said she was excited to work alongside O’Sullivan and Aldous in 2021.
“I think it's important for our players to take on coaching roles, it filters down,” Hager said.
“Courtney, she has a real rapport with those younger aged girls, and Ellie has been moving into more of the tactic and strategy side and getting into those systems.
“They are both super coaches for the club.”
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