Coach bids farewell

A team of young Hedland soccer players have said farewell and thank you to their coach, who just happened to be a local police officer.

Earlier this month, the Hedland Junior Soccer Association inter-town under 13 squad, who were accompanied by some of their parents, paid a surprise visit to the South Hedland Police Station to thank their outgoing coach Senior Constable Michael Kelly, who is being transferred back to the city.

Although his own children are not old enough to play in the squad, Sen. Const. Kelly, a keen soccer player himself, had volunteered his time as coach this season.

Although Sen. Const. Kelly insisted he didn’t deserve the recognition, parent Tracey Garbin said he had made a positive impact on the children in the team.

Sen. Const. Kelly said he had been dubbed in for the volunteer position by his wife.

He said his young charges had been so eager to learn they didn’t need any motivation.

“I got involved because I was told they had no proper training, and I knew I could offer something,” he said.

“Training was actually quite fun and the team seemed to really get on board with the different exercises, quite often requesting drills we had done the week before.

“The improvement I saw was out of sight...they went from running around like a bunch of crazy people to actually keeping their shape and passing the ball.”

Despite the humbleness of Sen. Const. Kelly, Hedland Junior Soccer Association president Christian Randazzo said he had been a stand-out coach for an association that relied heavily on volunteers.

He said for the past three years, volunteers were needed to fill at least 24 coaching positions and this year there had been no volunteer for the U13 teams until Sen. Const. Kelly came forward.

“Michael added a level of coaching that a lot of kids who have grown up in Port Hedland have not experienced before,” he said.

“One under 13 boy I spoke to earlier in the season said it was the best training ever.”

It may not have been the world cup but Sen. Const. Kelly is unlikely to forget the team’s performance in one inter-town match.

“The best moment in the whole season was when we scored our solitary goal in the inter-town,” he said.

“I've never heard an eruption of joy so loud, you‘d have thought we won the World Cup, the parents went absolutely mental.”

After presenting their coach with a thank you card and a box of donuts for his colleagues, the squad was given a tour of the South Hedland police station.