Willaston has cut ties with legendary ex-player and A-grade coach Shaun Baker mid-season
Willaston has parted ways with club legend and A-grade coach Shaun Baker, who said he feels ‘disrespected’ by the club he’s spent two decades at.
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Willaston and club legend A-grade coach Shaun Baker have parted ways after the club decided to seek out new mentors for 2021.
Baker has played at the Donnybrooks for two decades before taking up the senior coaching position in 2018 when Mal Greenwood stepped down following a salary cap scandal.
Baker coached Willaston to a preliminary final in 2018, and narrowly missed the finals in 2019 due to a four-point sanction handed to the club following the cap breach.
The Donnybrooks currently sit fourth with one win, draw and loss after three games.
Baker said he felt “disrespected” by the decision by the club to seek for another coach from 2021.
“I thought there was a plan in place,” Baker said.
“We sat down six months ago as a club and put the next two years in place, we plan together on how we could get through the sanctions and move on to the next chapter and try and win a premiership.
“On Monday night, I got informed through someone through the club they were going in a different direction.
“I don’t want to disrespect the club as it’s been a part of my life for a long time, but it feels like they’ve lied to me, they’ve made me go through the sanctions, got through and someone will come in place and have a full hit at recruiting.”
Baker had the option to see out the 2020 Barossa, Light & Gawler Football Association season, but said he would have struggled to do so.
“It’s heartbreaking and if I knew this 15 years ago that this was how I was going to end my football career at Willaston, I wouldn’t have continued playing there,” he said.
“I stayed there through the hard times when everyone left, when my brother left, and I stuck by that club and gave 110 per cent.
“The statement they’ve come out with that I’ve chosen to leave is, it’s not like that.”
Baker sealed the club’s best and fairest in his final playing season in 2018, when he injured his ACL, but he now can’t see himself returning to the club.
“To be honest, I’ll never step foot back in that club,” he said.
“My kids player there and my oldest daughter plays netball there … I’ll be changing that.
“They’ve probably lost a family, not just a player and a coach.”
Baker had a significant bond with the playing group, having coached a number of the players at under-17 level to a premiership.
Willaston Football Club president Aldo Pasin said the club had agreed to explore all its avenues.
“After deliberation and consulting with the Willaston Football Club committee and coaching panel, the club has made a decision for the best interests of the club that we’d like to explore all coaching options for season 2021,” Pasin said.
“From that, Shaun has decided to resign, as a football community, we have to respect his decision and move forward.
“At the end of the day, we would love Shaun and his family to return to the club and be welcome, he’s one of the greatest footballers to walk through our doors, we want to make sure that relationship is as sound as it possibly can.”
Pasin said the meeting the club had with Baker was prior to COVID-19 and it was then going to be reviewed.
“Plans that were place were always going to be reviewed, this is where we’re at now, it was always going to be reviewed 6-8 weeks after,” he said.
“We wanted him to coach for the remainding year, but we were always going to have a look at our other options for coaching in 2021.”
Moving in 2021, Pasin said there’s a number of options the club could explore.
“Playing-coach could come into consideration, we haven’t emailed anyone or advertised anything,” he said.
“That’ll be our next step to get some ads out there and look forward to seeing who the next coach will be.
“We want to thank Shaun for his efforts for the last two years as coach and all the hard work he’s put into the club.”