CAIRNS GRIDIRON’S NEW COACH
JIM Garcia was once a Groper, Viking and a Hurricane and now becomes a permanent Falcon.
Those are the different names for the incarnations of the sport of gridiron in Far North Queensland and with the Gropers, Vikings and Hurricanes now history, Garcia will coach the Cairns Falcons in the 2018-19 competition.
Garcia, who represented Queensland as a player, takes over from former coach David Tibbetts, who led the fledgling club for the last two seasons.
The Falcons have 35 regis- tered players ahead of their third season as a club with the new mentor boasting over 30 players at training each week.
“I am excited about the opportunity,” Garcia said.
“We have got a good group of guys and we are working hard on the positive culture of the club.
“We have made a few steps in the right direction about training numbers.”
The Falcons were previously based at Ivanhoes Football Club in Smithfield but have moved to Vico Oval in the last few weeks.
The Cairns club compete against Townsville and Mackay in their north Queensland gridiron series, with the first round to be played on November 3 in Townsville.
Garcia is keen for his Falcons to play a more running brand of the game this season, instead of a passing game relying on a quarterback’s accuracy.
“That is not to say we will not pass, because that is part of the game and we are working on that but I would like to see us run more,” he said.
“That is high on my agenda, to get that up to scratch.
“We are Australians and we like to run the ball.”
The Falcons host their first game of the campaign on November 17.