Bruce Kielly named Fraser Coast’s best sport coach for 2023

Meet the ‘humble’ Maryborough soccer coach the voted the region's best sports coach for 2023 following a neck-and-neck race in a strong field of competitors.

Bruce Kielly is the Fraser Coast's best sports coach for 2023

A “humble” Maryborough soccer coach has emerged from a tough field to be named by readers as the Fraser Coast’s best sport coach of 2023.

Doon Villa Football Club’s Bruce Kielly won the neck and neck race with Isaac Sommerfeld for the victory with the Maryborough man, who has dedicated more than 40 years to growing the game on the Fraser Coast, claiming 23 per cent of the vote.

While the victory may not be a shock to any of the athletes coached by him, it was for Kielly who said he was “humbled by this result, it was unexpected”.

When he first laced up his boots in 1975 for West Soccer Club it was love at first sight and all these later his passion for the sport remains as strong as it was in his youth.

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Bruce Kielly is the Fraser Coast's best sports coach for 2023

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He has been a member at Doon Villa since 1992 and his long service with the club included competing as both a player and coach.

He now served as the head coach of the clubs women’s FQPL side and said it was a “privilege” to watch the women’s game explode in popularity.

“Over the many years of playing and coaching, I have created lifelong memories and friends that I will cherish for the rest of my life”, Mr Kielly said.

“I think that is the beauty of being part of such a great club, it becomes a way of life” he said.

This devotion was shared by his two daughters who play for the Maryborough club.

It had “given me time to share and bond with them, which, of course, for a dad is special” he said.

“I coach because I love helping somebody, whether that being on the pitch or off it, and the possibility to change their life for the better is a privilege,” he said.

Originally published as Bruce Kielly named Fraser Coast’s best sport coach for 2023