Lewis Baker is into the final stages of his first pre-season as senior coach and is thrilled with how the players have progressed during the summer training.

Baker said numbers have been steady since commencing mid-November.

"It has been pretty fantastic so far," he said.

"The young boys coming up from juniors have really stepped it up quite a few levels. They said it is one of the hardest they have done and hopefully improvement will come from that.

"I have been pretty impressed with everyone's commitment. It hasn't been easy, the workload has been big, but especially in a struggling side I have been very happy with the numbers right across the pre-season."

Ararat Eagles Football-Netball Club secretary Jess Wright said the senior group has responded well to Baker following the resignation of Nathan Wemyss due to work commitments.

“It has all been promising signs so far, Lewie has put in the hours and got the boys really fit and disciplined,” she said.

“Skills are also improving and he has really focused on getting the playing group to work well together and be supportive of each other.

“I think as a young coach he is going to be really good for our young list, hopefully they can get a few wins on the board.”

The Eagles have appointed senior players Chris Dahlstrom and Laurie Moyle as joint coaches of the reserves for season 2015, while Andrew Beckwith and Regan Hughes have crossed from Great Western to share the under-16 coaching position.

Wright said after leading the under 16s to back-to-back premierships Jarrod Alexander had decided it was time to step down from the role, but the club was confident its junior talent is in good hands with the new coaches.

“Both Andrew and Regan have previous experiencing coaching in the junior field,” she said.

“Because of work commitments Jarrod wasn’t able to continue, so we have called on these boys and with their experience and knowledge of junior football hopefully they will be able to steer our group to another premiership this year.

“We are also excited with Chris and Laurie stepping up from playing in the seniors last year to take on the reserves’ role as first time coaches. They have worked really well with the group so far and been very proactive around the club.”

See Tuesday’s edition of The Ararat Advertiser for the Ararat Eagles’ season preview.