Do The Work Personal Training

Well done to all the nominated clubs on a terrific season.

Extremely proud to see Piara Waters Junior Football Club in amongst those names. Awesome job, team.

Humbled to be acknowledged for the small part I play at the Piara Waters Junior Football Club

Could not do the little I do without the incredible committee that we have. Your efforts behind the scenes are incredibly appreciated by all of us who get the opportunity to coach the kids at our club 🧡🩶

WHY ARE SO MANY "COMMUNITY" TEAMS LACKING COMMUNITY?

I love elite sports & the achievement that goes along with it.

For decades, I've always been fascinated at the way that individuals are able to push the human body to do things that most of us can not dream of. The will, determination & single minded focus of those at the highest level of sports performance is almost impossible for us to comprehend.

They sacrifice a lot to become who they are. However, the more that we learn about many of these physical marvels, the less I have become obsessed with 'performance' & the more I have had to ask myself the question, 'BUT AT WHAT COST?"

So many of our greatest athletes are, also, so incredibly flawed as human beings. We've witnessed that a single minded focus on any one task or achievement can lead to underdevelopment in so many other areas.

For the past 11 years, I've been privileged to coach at the Piara Waters Junior Football Club. The longer that I've been involved in junior sport, the more I've had to ask this question.

'What is lost when community sport only understands the pursuit of elite?'

The answer, quite often, is COMMUNITY (which, last I checked is at least half of the phrase 'community sport').

Yes, as coaches, we have the responsibility to teach the skills of the game. We're also charged with trying to push them to be their best, allowing them to see what they are capable of achieving when they understand the importance of resilience, determination & hard work.

But we must never forget that we enter the lives of these young people at an important stage & the influence that we have should be measured by more than wins, premierships or kids picked for development squads. What about values that extend beyond 'performance?'

Respect. Support. Togetherness.

I am incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by a parent group who understand the importance of contributing to community. While my shirt reads 'COACH', I am not pulling the cart singlehandedly.

Together, we are modelling to our kids that, in a time where individualism has taken centre stage, there is incredible satisfaction in contributing to a greater good that you simply could not do alone.

Yesterday, we finished our season in the best possible way; our annual 'Parents v Kids' Game. A chance to celebrate a season where we may have gone 7-10 on the field but continued to be undefeated in our ability to foster an environment of love, support & community around OUR 24 boys.

That's pretty elite 🧡🩶

Every kid dreams of kicking the goal that wins the game.

Before this year's prelim final, the only time he'd kicked the winning goal was in Year 5, when he was sent to the opposition team for the final quarter to help even up numbers. Little s**t even came back to our huddle at the end of the game & gave his teammates s**t for losing :P

But this was very, very different.

Behind with 90 seconds to go in a preliminary final, against a team who had toweled us up three times during the regular season, he got onto a slick handpass from a teammate & has the moment that so many of us dream of but never get the chance to live.

I can still hear the celebration of our parents & supporters. Beautiful moment that I'll never forget 🧡🩶

This post is not just to celebrate the incredible achievement of my favourite #8 reaching 100 games to coincide with his team's very first grand final appearance.

It's to thank him for all that he's done for his teammates &, more importantly for me personally, for his father.

Seb is not obsessed with Aussie Rules. Yes, he likes footy but you’ll rarely catch him sitting down & watching games on TV. What he loves is being a part of THIS team. Noone loves going to training more. Noone loves gameday more. Noone loves being around the Seawolves more. It’s his favourite part of every week.

This kid is a lighthouse for all of his teammates. He epitomises team first. Despite being one of the best ball users on our team, you will regularly seem him sheparding to get teammates into the game. He sets the tone with effort at training, all while never judging or berating those who might not share the same enthusiasm or offer the same level of endeavour. He doesn't play favourites. He treats everyone on his team equally.

What I’m most grateful though has been his willingness to share his football journey with me. For 11 years, he has had to put up with me as either an assistant or head coach of his football team. I’ve offered a few times to step aside so that he could just play without the pressure of having his dad as his coach. He’s never once made me feel like I’m imposing & has even expressed his gratitude for me coaching his teams, even if it leads to some unique pressures for him that other kids don’t have to put up with.

Him allowing me to be a part of it has allowed us to share some amazing moments, as well as a few heartbreaking one. I’ll take all the moments, good or bad. I’m just so lucky we get to experience them together.

Well done on 100 games, my guy. Your coach is so proud of you but not nearly as proud as your father.

Congratulations to the Bullcreek Leeming Sharks on their terrific performance today. You were the best team all season & thoroughly deserve your premiership.

Your players, coaches & parents always conduct themselves with great class & it was hard not to be happy for you all as you celebrated your win. Thank you for making youth football an absolute joy, no matter what side of the ledger that we fell on. It was an honour to share the grand final stage with you today & I hope we get the chance to test ourselves against you again in 2027.

To our Seawolves. The spirit that you have played with has been inspiring to all of us who have watched you gut it out this season. The last four weeks have been an epic rollercoaster ride. You should be so proud of yourselves &, always remember, that life will continually deal you wins & losses. How the journey shapes you is what matters most. I'm so grateful to have been on this ride with you all.

And to the Piara Waters Junior Football Club. Your support for our boys through out the last two finals campaigns has been humbling. It's not often you will see a team given a standing ovation for such a hefty loss. Your care for this team is truly humbling & almost reduced me to a teary mess as I left the ground with the team.

This coach is exhausted but extremely grateful. No matter what the scoreboard read today, I will always consider season 2026 a monumental success.

Commiserations to Applecross Gold. Not your day today but you've given us a couple of footy lessons across this season. Your boys & coaches always bring right spirit to our games & I look forward to our continued battles in 2027.

As maybe the first 5-9 team to be playing youth finals, 'right here, right now' was our theme today. We can't change the past & the only way to effect the future is with our actions 'right here, right now.'

We feel very blessed to be playing our first Grand Final. Here we go! 🧡🩶

So proud of these kids.

Commiserations to the Mundijong players & coaching team. Injuries at the wrong time of year robbed you of the chance to show your best footy come finals. I'm sure you'll be back even better in 2027.

To our boys, we're finding form at the right time.

One week at a time. Let's run it til the wheels fall off 🧡🩶