Australia Day honours: Major goal is to have fun, says kids’ coach Lawrence Barnett

Lawrence Barnett has been involved with kids’ football and athletics for 40 years in roles including coaching and umpiring.

Lawrence Barnett. Picture: Aaron Francis

Lawrence Barnett has been involved with kids’ football and athletics for 40 years in roles including coaching and umpiring. While some of his athletes have gone on to the AFL and Olympic Games, for him the most important thing is that everyone has fun.

The 80-year-old said he never really played football himself but from looking after children kicking a ball at half-time, he became involved in organising teams and then coaching. “It’s like everything in life, you take it on because you have kids,” he said.

When coaching a team of 18 junior players, Mr Barnett said almost everyone was there to enjoy themselves, with only about three or four who take the sport seriously and stand out from others in every game. “It’s not everyone — if it were, you would thrash the other team every time,” he said.

Mr Barnett said most other teams were the same. “Most of the kids are there to have a good time and generally all enjoy themselves. If you’re going to have trouble with anyone, it’s going to be the parents,” he said. “It can ruin a child’s life if you force them into an event which they’re not good at or just don’t want to do. Kids are different — if they were all the same, it would be boring.”

Mr Barnett has been made a member in the general division of the Order of Australia for significant service to Australian football and little athletics.