Bobby Zdravkovski: “Our ultimate goal is to return the most prosperous senior women’s club to its rightful place as the state’s champions”
Going into the 2024 season, Box Hill United Women’s coach Bobby Zdravkovski is adamant on making Box Hill a NPL Women’s powerhouse in the near future.
Zdravkovski enters his second season at Box Hill United after transitioning from his previous role as the Technical Director of Female Football at BHUFC and his 10+ years of NPL coaching experience will help boost this team towards more success.
After a seventh-place finish last season and a year of development, Zdravkovski explains the major improvements he has seen in the squad over the past 12 months.
“The team culture has improved the most, in my opinion. Each member of the team gets along well and is dedicated to the goals we have set for the 2024 season and the club’s values,” he explained.
“The women are fitter, physically stronger and more proficient in the foundations of football and understanding the game plan and style of play which the coaching staff want to implement all of which is helping them play better every time they touch the ball.
“The players’ degree of communication is also the best I’ve seen so far, both on and off the field.”
Bobby laying down the foundations.
Zdravkovski mentioned the players’ rapid skill growth across last season coming into the 2024 campaign and in particular which players have stood out to him in the preseason.
“The team’s pre-season has gone well overall, and I’m happy with every player’s development thus far,” he said.
“Long-time Box Hill United player Olivia Ellis and Zoe Hudson – our American international player – serves as an inspiration for our younger players, because of their exceptional leadership on and off the pitch as well as their drive, determination, and commitment.
“I’m impressed by our new goalkeeper, Natasha Stathopoulos, because of her mindset, technique, and commitment to improving as a player. Also, when given the chance to train and play with the senior women’s squad, Stephanie Katiforis from our U20 squad has always risen to the occasion and impressed me. She is a player to watch out for.”
The women’s senior and junior teams have been a major focus of Box Hill United with a fantastic development system and an ultra-rich history of success in developing legendary talent.
Zdravkovski maintains a high level of expectation for a squad that is talented and deep. The ambitions match the club’s ethos and there’s a focus on getting this club back to reaching the peak of NPL Women’s, like the great teams of the early 2000’s to 2010’s which saw the club win 9 WPL titles in 12 seasons.
“As long as everything proceeds according to plan, we want to be competitive and go to the finals,” he said.
“Our ultimate goal is to return the most prosperous senior women’s club to its rightful place as the state’s champions.”
The new signings, team improvements and coaching experience of Bobby will make for a very entertaining 2024 season, where the sky really is the limit.
By Theo Athans
