FAMILY FIRST
LYNCH CALLS IT A DAY AT GRUBBERS
PAUL Lynch says a desire to coach his sons towards their football dream was the reason behind his decision to step down at Ocean Grove.
Lynch confirmed he had resigned after two years in the job, informing the leadership group on Tuesday night that he would not seek a contract extension.
Speaking just moments after handing in his resignation, Lynch cited family reasons for the shock move to stand aside.
“I’m just a bit worn out and I need to spend more time with my boys,” Lynch said.
“I’ve been doing it for eight years, and coaching can be very selfish at times, and I’ve barely been home for my fiveyear-old’s entire life.
“I’m always at the footy. I just want to put more time into their sport, look after them like my dad did with me and give them every chance to be good at it.”
With his sons Cooper, 13, and Sonny, 5, beginning their football journeys this season, Lynch said it was time to focus on matters closer to home.
“It’s been weighing on my mind for a while, probably since my young bloke (Cooper) started playing under-15s,” Lynch said.
“All I could do was go and watch him on a Sunday and that was about it. I just felt guilty that I wasn’t putting enough time into his football and my dad put a lot of time into me, my football and my sport and I need to do that.
“I want to help out and get involved in his footy. My fiveyear-old has just started Auskick and he’s made it clear that if I’m not going with him, he doesn’t want to go.
“I want to give them every chance.”
Juggling a full-time role as a builder, as well as pouring dozens of hours into his role at the Grubbers, Lynch admitted he needed a rest.
“I’m just a bit worn out. It’s a big job coaching. It’s every day of the week and it’s very timeconsuming,” Lynch said.
“On top of working fulltime as well, it’s hard. It’s 24-7 and I’ve been doing it for eight years now and I just need a spell to freshen up a little bit.
“I’m not saying I won’t pop up somewhere, whether I coach my young bloke’s under-15 team or do some line coaching because I’m a football tragic, but I just need a break right now.”
Grubbers president Tony Potter said he was understanding of Lynch’s call.
“It’s disappointing, but it’s the right decision for Paul,” Potter said. “He’s been doing it for a long time, but he just wants to spend more time with his family and his sons.
“It hasn’t come as a shock because we’ve been talking about it for a long time, but we were hopeful (we would resign him).”
Potter said he and Lynch had been in talks about the coach’s future for several months.
But on Tuesday Lynch had made up his mind. “We sat down for a coffee and we talked it through and it’s great that we can have those conversations,” Potter said.
“It was a good chat, but not a hard one. We talked it out and the decision was made mutually.
“And the reasoning is justified. He wants to spend more time with his family.
“He’s coached for a long time and he puts so much time into prep work and the football side of it, so having 40-50 hours back in his life might be a big help for him.”
With a focus on list retention, the Grubbers will now go in search of Lynch’s successor.
“We’ll start looking straight away,” Potter said.
“We’ve got a couple of leads that we’ll chase down, but we want to get something done pretty quickly. The GFL season is coming to a close, and if you want someone from the GFL, you need to be talking to those players already.
“We’ll get someone on board and hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.”