VAFA: Simon Cormie appointed senior coach of Old Mentonians

He’s known in southern bayside for his run making but Simon Cormie has landed a senior coaching role in amateur football.

New Old Mentonians coach Simon Cormie.

And the new coach of Old Mentonians Football Club is … a person well known for his exploits with Old Mentonians Cricket Club.

A few years ago Simon Cormie hit more than 1000 runs in a season with the Panthers; hardly a round passed without him in Leader headlines.

These days he’s captain of Mentone Cricket Club.

And now his sporting brief extends to coaching the footballing Panthers.

The amateur club announced his appointment yesterday, presenting him as the replacement for Steve D’Andrea, who stood down a few weeks ago.

Cormie, 31, coached a young OM reserves team this year and would have done the same last year had the season gone ahead.

He was also a line coach for the senior side.

As a player, he was in the reserves and seniors. He missed a couple of seasons when he was off pursuing his cricket in the UK.

“I’ve been around the footy club since around 2011,’’ Cormie said.

“I probably didn’t have the footy career I wanted, not through lack of trying.’’

Simon Cormie hitting down the ground for Mentone.

Cormie acknowledged he didn’t have a “long CV’’ when it came to coaching, but he did have a will to do well.

Seeing an opportunity when D’Andrea moved on, he sounded out a few senior players and they encouraged him to apply to take over.

He did, and he landed the role. Gary Brown and Gareth Snow, both former senior coaches of the club, will support him.

“As soon as I started coaching the reserves, I knew deep-down I wanted to be a senior coach,’’ Cormie said.

“Now whether that was at OMs or whether that meant going somewhere else to further my experience, I didn’t know. But I love Old Mentonians footy club and I want the best for it. So when the position was open and available, I was always going to have a crack and do everything I possibly could to be the right man for the job. It’s obviously a massive responsibility … I’m going to come with an attitude and appetite for the contest and with a pretty solid game plan.’’

He said he would also attempt a “culture shift’’.

“Having noticed a few things in my time at the club, I’m really keen to bring a team-first attitude and a real selflessness through all grades,’’ Cormie said.

“I’ll be attacking it with a lot of hard work and a positive attitude, that’s for sure. I’m super-excited.’’

He’ll also be out to build a greater connection between the school and the football club.

Cormie believes his cricket experience will kick in for him, noting his captaincy role at Mentone involved a degree of man management.

He’s also chuffed he’ll have Brown and Snow at his side.

Snow, a former VFL player, was recently involved in the Dandenong Stingrays.

Cormie said he saw their return as “bringing some Old Mentonians fabric back through the door’’.

Terry Brennan, who coached the South Mornington senior team this year, will guide the reserves.

OM finished 4-7 in Premier C this year.

Josh Gorman, Jai Florent and Darcy Brown are expected to fight out the best and fairest.