Talented and experienced coach Tom Crossley is back at ANU FC, this time to bring international coaching experience to the men’s Capital Premier League (CPL) team for the 2023 season.
The University team will challenge Crossley to apply his international experience to the student-based club with ANU FC expecting promotion to the National Premier League (NPL), a feat Crossley himself envies after narrowly missing out when playing for ANU only a few seasons ago.
But promotion will be a big challenge this campaign, as only two wins and two draws in their first six CPL matches has put them just outside of the final’s positions, almost a third of the way through the season.
Promotion would taste sweeter than ever for these ANU FC players who suffered from a constantly changing coaching team. With a fourth coach in as many years, Crossley ruminated on their bad luck.
“It’s been tricky for a few seasons for the boys. If you go back to Jim Dawson where you had COVID come in, then Adam Condipodero, Talal Safar, and now myself”, reflected Crossley.
“I think for a squad that’s really stayed pretty much the same, it’s hard with four coaches who are all trying to put their footprint on the team. It takes time.”
As Crossley says, the ANU men have had some troubled seasons recently. In 2019 these players, then teammates of Crossley, won the CPL Grand Final, but promotion wasn’t on the cards.
Two seasons later, Crossley and Co finished as runners up under Jim Dawson, but COVID cancelled the finals series, cutting ANUFC’s chances of qualifying for the NPL. Last season, just one Brindabella Blues goal saw ANU miss out on promotion.
There’s no doubt about his confidence of promotion with ANU, as Crossley already starts talking about next season when asked about promotion.
“It’s a good group of boys, they’re very talented but we’ve got to go the next step and that is to get promoted. And then try and stay there.” Crossley said.
“We’ll need to stay in the NPL but when we’re competing with the big clubs our image needs to stay the same, culture is our currency.”
One of Crossley’s preferred phrases, ‘Culture is our currency’ summarises what ANU FC stands for. It’s another reason for Crossley’s passion for the club. As a specialist in talented youth, a university-based club brings in young players every season.
Crossley has been involved with talent identification and coaching since the start of his coaching career after graduating from the University of Canberra (with a double bachelor in Coaching Science and Psychology). After getting involved with Coerver Coaching in the ACT, Coerver took him overseas to work in China’s capital, Beijing.
After stints in London and Spain, Crossley returned to Canberra, where now, alongside ANUFC, he works with Capital Football’s Talent Support Program (TSP) where he identifies and coaches talented youth in the ACT alongside Ex-Gungahlin United NPL coach, Marcial Munoz and current Gungahlin goal-scorer, Phillipe Bernabo-Madrid.
As one of the star coaches in Canberra, Crossley still looks to take coaching to the next level in the ACT.
“I’m about to go off and do my A-licence and a few other bits and pieces,” Crossley admitted. “But in Canberra the two things I want to be working on is ANU and junior development.”
Crossley’s journey with ANU FC continues this weekend, as they take on second-placed Belconnen United FC, on ANU South Oval. Follow his progress with ANUFC on Dribl.com.
Words: Henry Ricketts
