SPORT
Dean Casamento (top right) alongside senior coach Pete Davey (top left), club reserves coach Cheyne Kelly (bottom left) and senior assistant coach Heath Levis (bottom right). 201667
Grubbers swoop on Dean By Mark Heenan New Ocean Grove head of fitness and wellbeing manager Dean Casamento was recently welcomed into the senior club's football coaching fold. Casamento, a performance coach, facilitator and trainer, is the latest addition to join the coaching roster at Ocean Grove in 2020 alongside senior coach Pete Davey, senior assistant coach Heath Levis and reserves coach Cheyne Kelly. Former caretaker coach David King will take on a senior assistant coaching role. The Wallington local has strong family links to AFL coaching royalty. He is the son-in-law of Michael Malthouse, 36 VOICE
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Wednesday, 4 December, 2019
who coached a record 718 VFL/AFL games and is a three-time AFL premiership coach and a premiership player. Casamento, a father of three, is the husband of Christi Malthouse, a former Channel 10 sports presenter, journalist and AFL boundary rider. Davey said the key appointment of Casamento was not just about the need to hire a fitness coach, it involves a mental health focus. The Grubbers have gone without the services of a major fitness and conditioning coach in recent seasons. In 2019, Ocean Grove used up to 50 players to accommodate its heavy injury toll. "We have been able to find someone that's going to do the fitness side, the mental health
side and the well being for the club which is fantastic," Davey told the Voice. "We have got a huge social responsibility at a footy club, that we have got guys at an age group where we can shape where they go in their lives. "If we can really make this is a really positive environment for them to feel safe and that they want to be at (then that helps)." Casamento, the founder and director of Melbourne Corporate Health, said his coaching techniques involved the importance of the mind and how it interacts with the body. "It is not the body that controls the mind, it is the mind that controls the body, so if you have a mind approach first the body will generally take care of itself," he said.
BEFORE the move to the Bellarine Peninsula two years ago with his young family, Casamento had a strong involvement at grassroots level and coached junior teams at Beaumaris Football Club. Casamento, a trained Nipper surf coach, has a wider involvement in the Ocean Grove community. He completed a three-week intensive bronze medallion lifesaving course at Ocean Grove Surf Life Saving Club in November. This year Casamento's eldest child Zac played in the Ocean Grove Cobras Under 13s Dean team. IN other developments Ocean Grove began its pre-season football program on Monday 2 December. oceangrovevoice.com.au