Sunbowl or bust for ambitious Stingrays
DESPITE being knocked out in last year’s semi-finals by four points, the Gold Coast Stingrays women gridiron team believe they have what it takes to contend for this year’s Sunbowl.
After starting pre-season training last week, quarterback Lauren Evans said that it’s 2019 or bust to lift the elusive South East Queensland gridiron trophy with a number of the club’s original players looking at departing come season’s end.
“We’re looking to take out the Sunbowl,” the 34-yearold said.
“Some of us are looking at our last run and we definitely want to end up on top.
“We have a lot of returning base players but we’ve also had a few move onto other things or retire but we’ve had a few new players come down.”
Also joining the Stingrays championship push in 2019 is new head coach Ian Richardson who comes to the club with years of playing and coaching experience.
His appointment completes a happy homecoming for the American who first became involved in the Stingrays when he was a kid.
“I actually moved here when I was 10 and I believe my dad was the first head coach to take the men’s team to a championship,” he said.
“I begged my parents to let me move back to the States so I lived with my grandparents but I moved back here five years ago and now all these years later, one of the players my dad coached asked me to be involved.”
After helping out as a positional coach last season, Richardson will now take on his first head coaching role and hopes to use his high school, college and even European playing experience to lift the Stingrays to the ultimate heights.
“Everyone wants to win the championship,” he said.
“I want to teach them how to play the game right and get them up to speed with other countries around the world.
“When you’re paying to play, I think you lose a bit of that professionalism but I want to bring over what I’ve learnt from home because some of them might end up in the United States playing.”
The Stingrays will also use the upcoming season, which starts in August, to push their case for the Australian women’s side for the 2021 World Championships and the Queensland team to compete next year.
The side trains Monday and Wednesday nights at Nerang. “We take all different sizes, speeds, everything. We’ll find a position that suits you,” Evans said.
I WANT TO TEACH THEM HOW TO PLAY THE GAME RIGHT HEAD COACH IAN RICHARDSON