Darren Murr appointed Frankston YCW Under 19s coach
New Frankston YCW under 19s coach Darren Murr looks back fondly on his days as a talented young footballer at St Kilda playing alongside Rob Harvey and Shane Warne. But by 23 he’d fallen out of love with the game … until he found his true calling.
Mornington
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Darren Murr doesn’t hesitate when asked to name the most notable players he had as teammates at St Kilda.
“Yeah, Robbie Harvey,’’ he laughed.
“I don’t think I can really say too much after that.’’
But, hold on, Murr says.
“Shane Warne was in that side in the under 19s,’’ he says.
Murr looks back fondly on those days at Moorabbin. He was a full-forward, full-back and undersized ruckman in the Saints under 19s in 1989.
And he was good enough to make it on to St Kilda’s senior list in 1990 and ‘91.
The season in the under 19s was a ripper, Murr says.
“That was good fun,’’ he says.
“Darryl Nisbet was coach, we weren’t great, we got belted around a bit, and a lot of traditional old school penalty Monday night training sessions because of it but it was actually a lot of fun.’’
After being delisted by the Saints mid-season in 1991, Murr joined the Frankston Dolphins and played in their reserves premiership the following season.
He then accompanied Rob Mace to Rye as playing assistant coach but after a year fell “out of love with the game’’ and quit.
“My body was shot, and mentally it got me because I’d been battling knees and hammys and hernias for three or four years,’’ he said.
“In the second year I just walked away after about round 3, I just couldn’t do it. I broke down in the showers after the last game I played, I just couldn’t get myself through it.’’
Murr had a long break from football until in 2000 he was “plucked off the hill’’ at Mornington by Simon Goosey who persuaded him to make a comeback with Goose’s Bulldogs.
“That was the best thing I ever did because it was probably the most enjoyable period of footy I can remember playing,’’ Murr said.
Murr’s real calling in footy came years later — by accident.
He took his son Darcy to under 10s training at Beleura juniors in 2012 and by the end of the night had agreed to coach.
“It was one of those beautiful end of summer, early autumn nights and there were 40 or 50 kids there and one coach,’’ he says.
“The president wandered over and said, ‘if we can’t get another coach half these kids aren’t going to be able to play’.
“You sort of say, ‘Okay’ … and away you go.’’
Over the next eight years, Murr discovered his true football love — coaching, nurturing. Season after season he was completely invested in helping the Beleura kids enjoy the game and grow as players and people.
“My own footy hit road blocks with injury and love of the game,’’ he said.
“I disconnected with it.
“Coming back to coach it, it took it back to the purity of it … just being involved in a community and something that’s bigger than you and growing, teaching and learning and challenging each other. It caught me by surprise, it really did.’’
Coaching children reminded Murr why he took up football in the first place.
“And you realise what a big impact you can have,’’ he says.
Now it’s time for a new challenge. Such is his standing as a coach, Murr has been snapped up by Frankston YCW to coach its under 19s in 2021.
Stonecats president Andrew Schneider said the appointment is a coup for the club. “He’s a gun,’’ he said of Murr.
Murr said he’d welcome his Beleura boys to join him at YC but, regardless, he says he will forever have a strong bond with them.
“All of those boys will always have me in their corner, they can ring me any time. I love them like sons,’’ he said.
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