Kris Hemmerling takes over as South West Queensland Futsal director

Kris Hemmerling has big shoes to fill but the Darling Downs football stalwart is confident he has the skills to help futsal grow in South West Queensland. Find out about his plans here.

Former South West Queensland Futsal director Chris McLeod with incoming director Kris Hemmerling.

There is a new face at the head of the futsal table in the South West.

Former South West Thunder women’s technical director Kris Hemmerling has taken over from Chris McLeod and is eager to continue to the sport’s growth which has occurred over the last two years.

“I haven’t really been involved with futsal but I have been involved with football for all my life,” Hemmerling said.

“Watching the sport develop, the way the women’s game has developed in the last five years, I think the next step is futsal and I can see that growing and becoming one of the leading sports in Australia because it is really fast and exciting.

“I just want to develop the game but I can’t stress what a great job Chris McLeod has done so far.

“I have known Chris for a long time and I am hopeful he will be around to help us for a long time because his knowledge and experience is second to none.”

Having been director for the last two years, McLeod is eager to remain involved with the sport and was excited to see Hemmerling take charge.

“I have been in the role for two years and I will return back to teaching but I will continue in the futsal world assisting Kris if he needs,” McLeod said.

“Hopefully he gives me a job with a team as we go to some of these championships because I have loved every minute of it.

“Kris is a gentleman I have known for 15 years and he has done a tremendous job with the Thunder as a technical director.

“He has done a great job as a coach, he’s really affable with people and his enthusiasm and passion for games with kids is evident for everyone that sees.

“When we had to try and find a replacement and earmarked who was around here, he was at the top of the ladder.

“The area will lose nothing at all, in fact it will gain a really good man at the top of the team that we have put together.”

Hemmerling is looking to draw upon his experience with the South West Thunder football team to help lead the Highlanders in futsal moving forward.

“I was the technical director with the Thunder women and when I got there, it was a bit of a shambles,” he said.

“There was no culture or anything like that so we developed the culture, brought in some senior players to help nurture the younger players and we have turned that into what it is now.”

In terms of strategy, Hemmerling has no intent of disrupting the formula which has helped the South West region become a futsal stronghold in recent years, with several strong finishes in various national and state championships.

“The question is how do you grow something which has already started really, really well after what Chris (McLeod) has done, so that is the challenge,” he said.

“I am going to step in, see how it is all running for the first year and just make minor adjustments to let it continue to grow as it is and then we will take it from there.”