Happy Valley Football Club coach Simon Hughes quits after one season – less than a month after being reappointed for 2019
A Southern Football League coach quit his club three weeks after it had announced he would continue in the role next season.
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Happy Valley A-grade coach Simon Hughes has quit the football club three weeks after it had announced he would continue in the role next season.
Hughes took over the reins from Ben Coleman for this past campaign but before the club’s annual general meeting last week, a Facebook post informed players and members he had resigned.
He said there was no bad blood, he just did not want to coach any more.
Hughes, who led the Vikings to seventh with a 6-10 record this year, said he felt he did not have the impact he wanted.
“I was given a great opportunity to coach but, quite simply at this time, the fit and suitability for me isn’t how I imagined it to be,” Hughes said.
“I struggled a little bit with trying to have the impact I thought was there for me to have.
“As the senior coach, I really hoped to have a strong impact and in some areas I did.
“I’m blaming myself than anyone else that maybe I could’ve done more or should’ve done more.
“You’ve got to kind of drag yourself back through the season with all the pros and cons and I thought on and off at times about ‘am I 100 per cent with this or am I not?’
“It probably just got to a point where I thought ‘maybe this isn’t right,’ and I have to pull back.”
Hughes said he learned a lot from being at the helm this year in his first senior coaching role and the Vikings were in a “really strong position”.
He will step away from coaching next year and does not expect to return.
“I’m not here to give the Happy Valley Football Club a hard time – I loved the opportunity,” he said.
“The plan is to step back from coaching for the short, and possibly, long term.”
Happy Valley president Steve Greening did not wish to comment.
