AUSPICIOUS BEGINNINGS

Q I hear you were quite handy on the field as well. How did you go with the ball at your feet?

A I was fortunate. I was one of the players who came through the Australian Institute of Sport program, so as a young lad I was in there. We had four Queenslanders at the time, two of them were from the Far North – Frank Farina (pictured) and Ray Junna. Being in that system and then going back to Queensland at the end of my scholarship, I signed a contract with Brisbane City in the old national league and played in Brisbane Premier League clubs and went overseas with Linfield Crusaders in Northern Ireland. But I started my coaching career at a very young age. I’m one of the weird ones who had a C-licence by the time I was 16. I started coaching when I was 12 and I used to coach teams my dad was responsible for. When I was at the AIS I did my B-licence and I had my A-licence by the time I was 23. Four years later I was in a full-time gig working for Football Queensland out of Townsville. So I feel I’ve had a decent grounding all around the country in terms of coaching and development coach education is something that’s a massive part for me. Q I was actually referring to the brief stint you had with Leichhardt. How long did that last?

A It was very short-lived. When I first came in for Football Queensland they refused to allow us as coaching staff to play for clubs. But after a couple of years I just had to do something to keep fit. In this gig you get very isolated and it was just good to be in a club environment. That’s the one thing I miss about playing.