Springfield United junior mentor inspired by winning buzz
Springfield United mentor gets bigger thrill and buzz coaching than playing. See why popular coach enjoys his new role so much.
Ipswich
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With a perfect reason to help young footballers, Springfield United coach Paul Waller is happy to share the benefits.
Former Albany Creek midfielder Waller hasn’t been able to play for a number of years due to a troublesome knee.
So on the suggestion of his wife, he accepted the challenge to coach.
“It’s not the same but to tell you what, I get a bigger thrill and a bigger buzz coaching to what I do ever playing football,’’ Waller said. “Especially when you’ve got a good team.
“It could be men’s, juniors and it’s just that buzz when you’re winning.
“You’re doing the actual direction of everyone not yourself, the whole team and when things come off, it’s brilliant.’’
Waller was voted best sports coach in the Ipswich/Springfield region by readers in a News Corp initiative to recognise people doing tremendous work.
The winning coach was delighted to be honoured as his team’s latest Brisbane Youth Premier League South season comes to a close.
“I didn’t actually know anything about it until someone posted it on the messenger page we’ve got,’’ Waller said of his ‘best sports coach’ selection.
Springfield United club president Scott Harding was happy to share the news.
“He’s a very dedicated coach,’’ Harding said.
“He’s brought together a group of boys who are all under 13 and he’s gelled them together very well.
“They are well organised.
“It’s nice to see a local coach getting the recognition he deserves.’’
The promising young team Waller is overseeing is currently third on the table just two points behind the competition leading Ipswich City Bulls.
The Springfield United under-13 side has 10 wins, a draw and only four losses this season.
Springfield United can finish as high as second when they tackle the Bulls in their final game of the season at Sutton Park on October 10.
The Bulls have a game in hand to consolidate top spot with no finals being played.
However, for IT security network engineer Waller, the most satisfaction comes from teaching the young players to become better.
“Because I can’t play anymore, I really just like to pass on my knowledge,’’ he said.
“It’s just because I love the game and if literally, I’m not coaching and I’m not watching out here on a Saturday or a Sunday, I’m watching it on TV.’’
English-born Waller has been with Springfield United for six years, coming to Australia in the late 1990s having grown up in West Sussex.
Waller previously coached seniors at Albany Creek and juniors at Ridge Hills and at Warwick.
“So I’ve pretty much been across from under 5s all the way up to senior mens,’’ he said.
His latest recognition comes in a year the Springfield club nursery has continued to flourish with 65 additional teams this season.
The club built on strong family foundations has grown from 28 teams and 350 players in 2016 to more than 60 sides and 800 players involved in 2021 Football Queensland competitions.
That includes a Capital League 2 men’s side, City League teams, three women’s combinations and the healthy junior representation.
The club’s new base at Springfield Central Sports Complex is also providing a massive boost in attracting players living in the booming region.
Waller’s side typifies that representation.
“They are all from around this area and surrounding suburbs,’’ he said, watching the latest annual under-6 to under-11 carnival at the Springfield Central Sports Complex on Saturday.
“We don’t get any that come from a long distance. It’s a bit more of a community club.
“A third of them are actually under 12s and I have two players that are under 11s.
“More than half the team is actually playing below their grade.
“We were kind of like merged together at the start of the season because we couldn’t really form a BYPL team for the age groups and we’ve just gelled.’’
After originally working with the club’s under 11 side, Waller enjoyed the challenge of bringing some promising kids into the merged under-13 team.
“I knew we could have a pretty good team and now that’s why we’ve got,’’ he said.
“And they have developed this year, especially the younger boys. For them it was the physicality and that’s what they’ve got to learn.’’
To help his team develop further, Waller is taking his side to a Premier Invitational carnival at the Gold Coast next weekend. That tournament features Skill Acquisition Phase (SAP), National Premier Leagues (NPL) and junior Brisbane Youth Premier League sides.
“I took my team there last year for the experience and a lot of them I would say were a bit shocked,’’ he said. “Because people think that football isn’t physical and when you get to higher level it is extremely physical, like any top sport.
“I took them there to say ‘this the level that I would really want to coach and play and peak’.
“If you want to make something, or it’s just good for experience . . . this is the level that you should be playing at.’’
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