DISCLAIMER: The information shared on the Off Court Ops blog is based on my own experiences as a parent, coach, team manager, club volunteer and junior sport administrator. The ideas, opinions and suggestions provided are intended as general guidance and may not be suitable for every family, team, club or situation.
My experience is primarily within junior community sport in South West Western Australia, including AFL, basketball and football (soccer), with a focus on primary school-aged participants. Every child, family, club, sport, region and age group is different, so what works in one setting may not work in another. Always consider your own family circumstances, club policies, governing body requirements and local context when applying any advice shared on this website.
You Don’t Have to Be Good. You Just Have to Turn Up.

You Don’t Have to Be Good. You Just Have to Turn Up.

You Don’t Have to Be Good. You Just Have to Turn Up.

This photo was taken of me last year, and my family still says it’s one of the funniest things they’ve ever seen.

For the first 30-plus years of my life, I actively avoided sport.

I wasn’t good at playing it. I wasn’t interested in watching it. Every weekend I’d happily sit on the sidelines with a book while everyone else was cheering, kicking balls or talking stats. Sport just wasn’t my thing.

Then I had kids.

Slowly, without even realising it, my life began revolving around junior sport.

It started with managing my eldest son’s basketball team. That grew into managing his football team, joining the committee, assisting with coaching, and somehow becoming the person who knew the rule books inside out.

This year I was asked to coach my youngest son’s Under 7 soccer team.

I’d only just wrapped my head around basketball and AFL, and suddenly I was knee-deep in a completely new sport.

During one parent-versus-kids game, my smartwatch suggested I call an ambulance.

That’s how naturally suited I am to team sports.

But I’ve never been someone to shy away from a challenge.

So I did what I always do. I started learning.

I searched for rules, coaching guides, training drills and session plans. I quickly discovered one of the best things about organised junior sport—there is an incredible amount of support available.

Whether it’s through your local club, your association, your state sporting body or simply online, there are resources for almost everything. Football West, WA Football, Basketball WA, local leagues, coaching manuals, YouTube videos, parent groups—you don’t have to figure it all out on your own.

On my very first training session I turned up with a folder full of notes, a head full of theory… and not much practical experience.

But we had fun anyway.

More than once over the past year, I’ve mentioned something about coaching to my mum.

Every time she just shakes her head and laughs.

“Who would’ve thought?”

She’s been my biggest supporter in everything I’ve ever done, but even she can’t quite believe it.

This is the woman who watched her daughter read novels through Boxing Day Test matches, AFL Grand Finals and weekends full of sport while my older brother played. I was the black sheep of the family when it came to sport.

Now she’s watching that same daughter spend evenings planning training sessions and weekends coaching kids.

Life has a funny way of surprising you.

The biggest lesson I’ve learnt isn’t about soccer.

It’s about showing up.

The kids I coach have never seen me play a proper game of soccer. I haven’t played since I was about sixteen.

They don’t listen because I was an elite player.

They don’t follow my training sessions because I’m the most technically gifted coach around.

They listen because every week, rain or shine, I’m there.

Even when I’ve been sick, I’m still on the sidelines cheering them on.

Because for kids, especially in junior sport, having someone consistently believe in them matters so much more than having someone who knows everything.

If you’re six, ten… or even thirty-seven… someone turning up for you can change everything.

So if you’re thinking about volunteering, coaching or helping at your local club but you’re worried you don’t know enough, let me tell you something.

Knowledge can be learnt.

Confidence comes with time.

Experience grows every season.

But the one thing your club can never have enough of is people who simply show up.

You don’t have to be the best.

You don’t even have to be good.

You just have to turn up.

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